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CHAPTER TWO

The Journey Begins

She thought that the animals were traveling north, on vacation with Longridge.

She had no idea that they were now on a lonely country road, going west.

Longridge got up early the next morning. The sun was already shining over the fields and through the bedroom window. It was the beginning of a perfect, warm fall day.

He shaved and dressed quickly, and then went downstairs. The animals were waiting patiently by the outside door for their early morning run. He let them out, then cooked and ate his breakfast.

He was putting his bags in the car when the dogs and the cat returned from the fields. He gave them some cookies and they lay by the wall of the house in the sun.

They watched him as he put his guns and hunting equipment into the back of the car. When it was time to leave, he crossed the yard to the animals.

He said goodbye to each of them.

“Be good, Mrs. Oakes will be here soon, Goodbye, Luath,” he said to the Labrador retriever. “I know you want to come with me. I’d like to take you, but I can’t. Our boat is too small for three of us.”

As he spoke, he put his hand on the young dog’s soft face. The golden- brown eyes looked into his, and then the dog did an unusual thing.

He lifted his right paw and placed it in the man’s hand! Longridge was surprised at the dog’s friendliness. “Thank you, Luath,” he said. “You’re a good friend.”

He looked at his watch. “I have to go now,” he said to the animals. “I’m already late.” He wasn’t worried about leaving them alone in the yard.

They never went far without him. And when they wanted to get back into the house, they could push the door open. They all looked happy in the sun, too.

The cat was washing carefully behind his ears. The old dog was resting after his early morning run, with his long pink tongue hanging out of his smiling mouth. And the Labrador lay quietly by the terrier’s side.

Longridge started the car, waved to the animals through the window, and drove slowly down the road. He smiled to himself, feeling stupid. “

What do I want them to do,” he laughed. “Wave to me? Or shout ‘Goodbye’? I’ve lived alone too long, and I’m beginning to love them too much.”

The car turned a corner and disappeared. The cat started washing one of his back legs; the old dog lay down and went to sleep.

The young dog stayed near him; only his eyes moved, and his nose from time to time.

Twenty minutes passed. Then suddenly, the young dog got up and looked hard down the road. He stayed like this for a long time. The cat watched him closely, with one leg up in the air. Then the Labrador started to walk slowly down the road.

After a few seconds he stopped, turned, and looked back at the others. He was inviting them to follow. The old dog struggled up to his feet and joined him.

Together they turned the corner of the road and disappeared from the cat’s view.

He stayed by the house for a minute, blue eyes shining in his dark face. Then, with a curious run, he started to follow the two dogs. They were waiting by the gate when he turned the corner.

When the cat reached them, the Labrador continued up the road. But the old terrier didn’t move. He looked back, hoping to see Mrs. Oakes with some delicious food. And the cat stood next to him, with one paw in the air.

He didn’t know what to do. Then suddenly, they both decided to follow Luath. Soon all three disappeared down the road, walking quickly and with purpose.

About an hour later, Mrs. Oakes walked up the road. She was carrying a bag with her working clothes and some special food for the animals. “That’s strange,” she thought. “Where are the dogs?

They usually run up to say hello. Maybe Mr. Longridge left them inside the house.”

But when she pushed open the kitchen door, there was complete silence. She stood at the bottom of the stairs and called the animals. Nothing happened.

Then she walked through the quiet house and out into the front yard. She called again, but they didn’t come.

“Maybe they’ve gone up to the school,” she said to herself in the empty, sunny yard. She went back into the kitchen and sat down.

“It’s funny that Tao isn’t here, though,” she thought as she put on her work shoes. “He usually sits near the window at this time of day. Maybe he’s out hunting again.”

She washed and put away some dishes. Then she went into the living room. On the desk she saw Longridge’s note.

She read the first page. Then she looked for a second piece of paper but couldn’t find one.

“That’s strange,” she thought. “Where has Mr. Longridge taken them? The second page of the note must be here somewhere.”

But when she searched the room, she couldn’t find anything. Then, when she was cleaning the fireplace, she noticed a burnt piece of paper. She picked it up carefully, but there was no writing on it now.

“That’s very strange,” she said to herself while she cleaned the room. “In his note he’s written, I will take the dogs (and the cat, too, of course!). He’s taken the animals to Heron Lake with him!

But why has he suddenly done that? He asked me and Bert to look after them. He didn’t say anything about it on the telephone last night. But wait a minute! I remember now!

He said something about the animals that I couldn’t hear. Maybe he was trying to tell me about a new plan.”

Mrs. Oakes finished cleaning the house, locked it, and went home. She thought that the animals were traveling north, on vacation with Longridge in the back of his car.

She had no idea that they were now on a lonely country road, going west.

For the first hour of their journey the animals moved quite quickly. The bull terrier and the Labrador walked together.

The old dog couldn’t see out of his left eye, so the Labrador walked near him on his left side. Behind them came the cat.

Always curious, he often stopped for a few minutes to look at things. Then he had to run after the dogs. His long, thin body moved quickly along the road with his tail close to the ground.

Soon the old dog got tired, so they turned off the quiet road. They stopped in a wood next to a clear, fast-running stream. The bull terrier was very thirsty and drank deeply. The cat walked over to a rock and sat on it.

Later, they rested in the dry leaves under the trees. The old dog lay, exhausted, with his eyes half closed. The cat was busy washing himself as usual.

After about an hour the young dog got up and started to walk toward the road. The old dog stood up with difficulty and followed the Labrador, his head low. The cat finished washing himself and danced into the sunlight. He played with a leaf and then ran straight to the dogs.

All that afternoon they walked along the quiet country road. When the young dog heard a car, they moved to the side, onto the grass.

By late afternoon the cat was still walking smoothly and strongly, and the young dog was fresh, too. But the old terrier was exhausted and could only walk very slowly.

They turned off the road into the woods and the terrier stood for a minute, his heavy head down. He was tired and hungry, and the place looked safe and comfortable.

He lay down on his side to rest his aching body. The cat looked around carefully and then lay down in the leaves near him. The young dog disappeared to find some water, then came back and lay down a little way from the others.

The old dog was shaking badly, exhausted and weak. At last his eyes closed and he fell asleep. Later, when it was dark, the Labrador moved over and lay down close to the bull terrier.

The cat moved closer too and lay between his paws. And so, warm and comfortable with his two friends, the old dog forgot about the pain in his tired, aching body.

In the middle of the night a strange noise, like a baby’s crying, woke the terrier up. When he looked around he couldn’t see the cat. Tao was hunting in the woods.

The young dog slept badly. He often woke up, nervously lifting his head. He barked softly from time to time, and once jumped up to his feet.

In this wild, dangerous place only one thing was clear to him: he was going home, home to his dear master. Home was in the west, he knew. But he couldn’t leave the other two. He must take them with him, all the way.