to bite down.
‘It’s OK. I won’t hurt you,’ said the man at the door, but Rascal was already running back.
He made it to the park as quickly as he could, taking care not to drop the food or let it trail along the ground. When he reached the bushes by the shelter, he set the slice of pizza down on the ground and pushed his way again to the canvas bag. He moved the top of the bag gently with his jaws . . . and looked down at the two puppies inside.
Two puppies!
The biggest of the three was no longer in the bag.
Rascal backed out of the bushes as fast as he could. The other puppy couldn’t have gone far, could it?
He scanned the park quickly but saw nothing. He turned his attention back to the bushes. Perhaps it had crawled in deeper? But then he heard a small sound from behind him, a little yap of curiosity. It was coming from beside the river.
Anxiety pressed down on Rascal like a terrible weight. He started towards the river, unable to see the puppy beyond a line of plants at the edge of the park lawn. Suddenly there was another noise – this time a yelp of surprise and alarm. Rascal felt a jolt of fear run through him like lightning. He raced to the river’s edge.
At first he saw nothing in the murky water. But then a tiny head broke above the surface. It was the little puppy and it was terrified. It let out a panicked yelp and then disappeared back under again.
A torrent of fear swept through Rascal. Just the sight of the struggling puppy brought back terrible memories. It was in the black waters of an underground river that Rascal had been separated from his master, Joel. The dog had been lucky to survive. Even now, months later, he could still remember the icy currents that had battled to drag him below the surface. He would never forget the dreadful helpless feeling as that jet-black water had poured into his mouth and nose.
Rascal looked around in alarm. If only there was someone he could alert, a person who would know what to do, a human who could help . . . Perhaps the man he had seen in the alleyway? But a line of trees blocked Rascal’s view that way, and there was no time to go back to see if the man was still around.
He would have given anything not to have to do this, but there was no alternative. The puppy was going to drown unless . . .
Rascal took a deep breath and jumped in.
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