VILLAGE OF DOGS by Wendy Lewis

Author:Wendy Lewis [Lewis, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mazard
Published: 2015-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

As they set out for their walk the following morning, Patch towed his person up the road beside the village green, his toenails scrabbling on the tarmac.

‘Hey, boy! Steady on! I said I’d take you for a walk, not a run,’ said his person, leaning back against Patch’s not inconsiderable pulling power.

‘Emergency!’ he telepathed to his person, who, as usual, seemed unable to receive even the most basic of communications.

Once they got on to the common he unclipped the lead, and Patch set off at a gallop towards Three Pines Hill.

‘I’m on my way, Dachdan. Soon have you out of there.’ There was no answer.

He could see the three pine trees now, and below them something white was flickering about on the ground. His person’s heavy feet thudded on the sandy track behind him as he tried to keep Patch in sight.

‘Must be spring,’ the man puffed to himself. ‘Haven’t seen Patch this sprightly since I can’t remember when.’

‘Annie! I’m on my way to rescue him.’ Patch didn’t tell her that he thought Dachdan had died in the night.

He was nearly there now and panting hard with deep rasping breaths, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He could see the white thing again, just outside the entrance to a large rabbit hole. It waved about, looking very much like a snake. He hoped it wasn’t a snake. Some of the ones on the common were adders, and he’d heard of dogs being killed by bites from adders. He slowed down slightly, while he tried to decide whether a dead Dachdan was worth dying for.

His person caught up with him just as Patch realised what the white snaky thing was, as next door’s tabby cat backed out of the hole, swishing his bandaged tail where Flash had bitten off the end.

Patch’s person hurriedly clipped the lead back onto his collar to stop him chasing the cat.

‘What are you doing out here, pussy-cat? What have you got down that hole? Baby rabbits?’ said his person.

‘Nothing…mind your own business, stupid human. There’s an idiot dog stuck in there, spoiling my hunting. There’s nothing like having a dog jammed in your exit tunnel to stop the baby rabbits from coming out to be caught. Dogs tsssst!’ The cat stuck his bandaged tail in the air and bounded away over the heather.

As his person began to pull the struggling Patch away from the hole, Dachdan whimpered, and the man heard him.

‘Did you hear that, Patch?’

‘Of course I did…why do you think I have been racing to the rescue. Annie and I …and Dachdan, have had a terrible night trying to work out how we could get him out.’

‘Can you hear that Patch?…A sort of whimper?’

‘Yes, I just said….Oh, never mind.’

‘Do you know, boy, I think that cat has found Mrs Brown’s missing dog.’

‘The cat!’ Patch was lost for words.

‘Come on, boy. Afraid you’re not going to get a proper walk this morning. I’ve got to fetch a spade, and tell Mrs Brown that the cat has rescued her dog.

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