Emily shook her head.
“It means I can go in and look around. I think we should start just about here, don’t you?” he asked, walking up to the rickety old gate at one end of the fence. He picked up an old brick that was lying on the path, and broke the lock. “Back in a minute,” he said.
Emily could hear the barking from inside the garden getting louder and louder. She was sure the dogs knew they were about to be rescued. “You remember Sam, don’t you?” she asked anxiously, pulling a photo out of her pocket. She’d been carrying it around with her all week, and it was bent and grubby, but Sam was still unmistakeable.
“Don’t worry,” the policeman assured her. “I’ll get him for you. Not that you need much help!”
Emily and Jack stood by the gate, craning their necks to see into the garden. There was a big old shed up against the fence, and they watched as the policeman shoved the door open.
Then Emily gasped as a golden blur shot out of the door, hurtling towards her. Sam!
She sat on the grass, crying and laughing at the same time as Sam jumped all over her, not knowing whether to bark or lick, and trying to do both. At last he stopped, out of breath, and just curled himself into Emily’s arms, his head tucked under her chin. He sighed contentedly. He was back where he should be.
Emily hugged him tightly. It was so wonderful to breathe the sweet doggy smell of his fur, and feel the warmth of him nuzzled in her arms. The strange tight feeling in her middle, all that fear that she’d never see him and cuddle him again had completely gone.
Emily stood up shakily, and smiled at Dad and Jack over Sam’s head. “Come on. Let’s take Sam home.”
About the Author
Holly Webb started out as a children’s book editor, and wrote her first series for the publisher she worked for. She has been writing ever since, with over sixty books to her name. Holly lives in Berkshire, with her husband and three young sons. She has a pet cat called Marble, who is always nosying around when she’s trying to type on her laptop.
Other titles by Holly Webb:
Lost in the Snow
Lost in the Storm
Alfie all Alone
Sam the Stolen Puppy
Max the Missing Puppy
Sky the Unwanted Kitten
Timmy in Trouble
Ginger the Stray Kitten
Harry the Homeless Puppy
Buttons the Runaway Puppy
Alone in the Night
Ellie the Homesick Puppy
Jess the Lonely Puppy
Misty the Abandoned Kitten
Oscar’s Lonely Christmas
Lucy the Poorly Puppy
Smudge the Stolen Kitten
The Rescued Puppy
The Kitten Nobody Wanted
The Lost Puppy
The Frightened Kitten
Copyright
STRIPES PUBLISHING
An imprint of Little Tiger Press
1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,
London SW6 6AW
Text copyright © Holly Webb, 2008
Illustrations copyright © Sophy Williams, 2008
First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.
eISBN: 978–1–84715–264–0
The right of Holly Webb and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
www.stripespublishing.co.uk