He turned away from the fence, his head drooping. They were all cross with him. Everyone was. Even that woman had shouted at him – and he’d only been trying to play with the little boy with the ball. He trailed along the path, not sure where he was going. If he went back across the field to the garden fence, she might still be there. He didn’t want to go past her again. And besides, everyone at home was angry with him, too. Maybe he shouldn’t be going back there at all? But he wanted to see Amelie and Josh so much. He was hungry, too, he realized. His stomach was growling – it felt like a long time since he’d eaten. Perhaps he should go home…
Monty stopped and sniffed. He could smell food! He followed his nose until he came to a scattering of stale bread, piled up at the edge of the path. He started to gobble it down eagerly, even though it was old and dry.
Then, suddenly, a huge creature was there, too, snapping and hissing and flapping its wings. Monty jumped back with a growl of fright. It was a goose. He’d seen geese round the lake before. Amelie always pulled him away when they came stomping past.
Monty hated to be chased away from the food. He had found it first, after all! But the goose was enormous. And now there was another one coming and another.
They hissed and darted their beaks at him until he backed away further. He crouched under a bench, watching as they ate up all of the bread. They weren’t going to leave any of it for him and his stomach was still so empty. Monty sagged down, resting his chin on his paws and gazed at them sadly.
“Josh, look! There is a hole! Daisy showed me.”
Josh looked at the fence. “Monty couldn’t get out through that. It’s not big enough.”
“But look, I think he dug underneath. See where the soil’s all scratched away? And if he pushed this loose bit of fence, too…”
Josh shook his head. “I still reckon Mum must have let him out the front by accident. But no one’s seen him – I’ve asked the neighbours on both sides. I think I ought to go and look for him along the next couple of streets. Can you stay here, Amelie? In case the phone rings? It’s the home number on his collar – someone might find him and call. I just checked the answering machine and there aren’t any messages yet but people will be coming home from work now. He might be in somebody’s garden.”
“All right.” Amelie nodded, getting up to follow Josh into the house. “Come on, Daisy.”
But Daisy didn’t follow her. Amelie glanced up the garden at the house as Josh disappeared inside. She was about to go and leave Daisy behind but something held her back. The dachshund was still sniffing at the hole and looking out at the field. As Amelie watched, she clawed at the fence, pulling it back a little. There was definitely a space, even with only Daisy’s small paws working at it. Monty would have been able to pull a lot harder, Amelie thought.
“He did go out that way, didn’t he?” she muttered to Daisy. She glanced uncertainly back up the garden. What if someone called, like Josh had said? But they could leave a message, after all… Amelie bit her lip, peering through the wire at the field. Daisy obviously thought Monty was out there somewhere. Maybe she could even help Amelie to find him? Amelie couldn’t lose this chance – although she knew she wasn’t allowed to go to the park on her own.
“I’ll be back soon, I promise,” she whispered, looking back towards the house. Even though Josh wasn’t actually there, she felt as though she ought to explain.
Amelie nodded her head firmly. She had to go. She was sure that Monty had run off because of the way she’d treated him. She’d been making such a big fuss of Daisy that he must have felt like she didn’t love him any more. And then she’d been so grumpy about her project!
“Daisy, stay!” Amelie dashed back into the house, grabbing Daisy’s lead and then Monty’s as well. Because she was going to find him. Then she ran back down the garden. The dachshund was clawing at the fence again, her tail wagging briskly from side to side. But she let Amelie clip on her lead.
Amelie pulled the loose edge of the fence back as far as she could and crouched down, watching as Daisy darted through the gap. Then she wriggled after the dog. The gap where the fence had come away from the post was easily big enough for Daisy, and even Monty, but it was tight for a nine-year-old girl. The loose edges of the wire caught in Amelie’s hair and she panicked for a moment, sure she was stuck. Then, with a huge pull, she was free, collapsing on to the grass.
Amelie stood up, rubbing at the sore patch where her hair had pulled. “Come on, Daisy. I’m sure he’s out here somewhere. Monty!”
Amelie had been racing all over the field for what seemed liked hours, with Daisy leaping in and out of the clumps of grass. She wasn’t feeling nearly so certain now. There were quite a few other dogs out with their owners and Amelie had even seen a black Labrador. For a second her stomach had jumped with excitement and then she realized that the Lab was far too big.
Now they were hurrying round the lake and Amelie was peering along the banks. She was pretty sure that Monty was too big to squeeze through the bars of the little fence – but then she hadn’t expected him to escape out of their garden, either.
“Sorry, Daisy,” Amelie muttered. The dachshund was plodding along now, panting heavily. But she hadn’t stopped, the way Amelie had seen her do with Grandad. Normally if she got tired on a walk she’d sit down solidly and sulk until someone carried her.
Daisy seemed to be just as keen to keep looking as Amelie was.
“Monty doesn’t like the lake as much as the field,” Amelie said, crouching down for a moment to rub Daisy’s silky ears. “But he likes watching the ducks. Maybe he did come this way. Oh, I just don’t know! And we’ve been out for ages, Josh must have got back by now…”
She stood up, looking back and forth between the lake path and the opening in the hedge that led back to the field. What should they do?
“Just a quick look,” she said to Daisy at last. “We can’t give up yet, we just can’t. Monty ran away because of me and now I’ve got bring him home.”
Chapter Eight
Monty lay huddled under the bench in the shady patch where a huge buddleia bush had started to grow over the seat. The geese had gone now but he hadn’t come out of his hiding place. It seemed better to stay where he was, even though he was so hungry. He let out a great, heavy sigh and wriggled on the dusty tarmac until he was a bit more comfortable. He was tired after all that running and the fright from the geese. The bees buzzing in the purple flowers over his head were making him feel sleepy, too…
Monty had almost drifted off when he heard them. The busy clicking of little clawed paws and Amelie’s voice calling. Calling him!
“Monty! Monty! Here, boy!”
They were just a bit further round the path. Monty shook his head sleepily and almost leaped out from under the bench. But then he woke up a little more and something stopped him. Amelie had been so cross before – maybe he shouldn’t go to her. But he wanted to! He shuffled forwards uncertainly, peering out between the branches. He wanted Amelie to pat him and pull his ears that special way she did and tell him he was a good boy. But what if she didn’t? Daisy was with Amelie, too – and Amelie never seemed to be cross with her.