by Andrew Cope
‘Now!’ barked Lara. Star hit the light switch, plunging the cafe into darkness.
PC Winkle’s boot hit the tiles and he slipped on the oil, his feet disappearing from under him in a comedy fall. His head hit the tiles with a crack. Lord Burlington was next, running on the spot before collapsing in a pile on top of his accomplice. His gun fell to the floor with a clatter. The pups came out of hiding and circled the men, yapping furiously.
Lara raced past and took up a new position behind the kitchen door.
The two men were dazed, and PC Winkle had a huge lump on his forehead. They clambered to their feet, holding on to each other like beginner ice skaters. PC Winkle hit the light switch and the puppies came into view.
‘Puppies!’ he yelled. ‘One of you terrors bit my nose. You’ll pay for that,’ he roared. He grabbed the pistol and aimed it at Spud.
Yikes, thought the puppy, I’ve already got a hole like Mum’s. Don’t want any more! He and Star ran for it. Too late.
The gun went off with an almighty bang.
Missed! yapped Spud with relief.
The puppies kept running. Lara peered from the door, a smirk on her doggie lips. The policeman’s face was covered with soot and his eyebrows went wild as he tried to wipe the black dust from his eyes. She’d switched his weapon with one of the pistols from the wall of the cafe while the men were scrabbling on the floor. I’ve loaded it with soot from the fireplace. So the gun is harmless, unless you’re the one shooting it and then you get a face full of grime. Hopefully, he’s learnt his lesson.
Lara poked her head back to safety and ushered the pups silently into the kitchen. Phase two.
The baddies were aware of the booby traps and were being more careful.
‘Come out here, you pesky mutts,’ snarled the lord.
Lara heard a door open. Then footsteps. I have to time this right, she thought. And she did. A man came through the door and she brought the frying pan down hard on his head. Very hard. Take that! she thought at the satisfying clunk of metal on bone. Lara looked in horror as Professor Cortex slumped to the floor. Whoops, she thought. That wasn’t supposed to happen! She dragged the unconscious professor out of the way and propped him up by the sink. ‘Star, Spud,’ she woofed. ‘Throw some water on him. Wake him up if you can.’ Star did as she was instructed. Spud got busy sniffing for crumbs. This was a kitchen and he hadn’t eaten for nearly two hours!
Lara was running out of strategies. She crept back to the door and put the finishing touches to her plan. She eyed the sword, still resting on the cooker. Excellent, she noted, nice and hot. ‘This way, guys,’ she barked.
PC Winkle shoved open the kitchen door and pointed at Spud, cowering in the corner. ‘There you are!’ he bellowed as the saucepan of soup fell from the top of the door. He was drenched in pea and ham gunge. The policeman wiped his face and advanced, angrier than ever. Star was pelting him with mashed potato. He spied the metal sword, placed temptingly on the cooker. Go on, urged Lara, it’s just what you need.
PC Winkle reached for the handle and grabbed it, the sizzling sound of burning flesh drowned out by his scream. As he knelt down, yelling at his blistered hand, Lara had him right where she wanted him. She signalled to Spud, who opened the cellar door and pushed the man forward with all her might. Spud slammed it shut and they heard the policeman tumbling down the stairs. Lara secured the lock.
He’s going nowhere, she thought. One down, one to go!
Professor Cortex opened his eyes and looked at the mess around him. ‘What the dickens?’ he began, shakily getting to his feet. ‘GM451, what is going on?’
‘Keep out of the way, Prof,’ said Lara with a warning bark. ‘There’s still a baddie on the loose. Puppies, positions, please.’
‘Winkle!’ came a shout. ‘Have you got rid of those dogs?’ Lord Burlington barged through the kitchen door and Star let go of the rope, releasing the side of beef. It swung from the ceiling and missed the American by a fraction. Instead, Professor Cortex took the full force of the swinging cow and he slumped back to sleep.
Lord Burlington headed for the stairs. He got two steps up before he slipped a little but kept going. His momentum took him halfway up before Star’s gobstoppers defeated him.
‘Argh!’ The lord bumped to the bottom of the stairs, hitting a different part of his body on each one.
Lara winced as he thudded down. Ouch, ow, eek, aah, bump, she thought as the man came to a stop at her feet. That’s gonna hurt.
He looked around at the puppies and Lara. His head was spinning. ‘Meddling dogs,’ he declared, before Spud clonked him with a ladle and he passed out.
21. A Lucky Break
The professor still looked a bit groggy a few days later. His bandaged head was thumping and both his eyes had gone black.
Everyone was enjoying a celebratory meal at the Smugglers’ Cafe. Mr and Mrs Cook had driven up to collect the children as soon as they got the call.
‘Poor Professor,’ cooed Mum, her broken leg propped up on a chair. ‘It must have come as a bit of a surprise.’
‘That’s an understatement, Mrs Cook,’ he sniffed. ‘Being clonked on the head by the spy dog I trained.’ He glared at Lara. ‘And then knocked unconscious by a large piece of meat. Most careless of you, GM451.’
I’ve said sorry, Prof, wagged Lara, planting a lick on his cheek. You’re my favourite scientist in the whole world. I didn’t know it was you. I was protecting my pups and the kids.
‘So what happened after you’d got Lord Burlington and the policeman under control?’ asked Dad.
‘Lara, Ben and Sophie wrapped them up in clingfilm,’ laughed Ollie.
‘It’s the only thing we could find in the kitchen,’ explained Sophie. ‘Quite effective. They were trussed up so tightly they couldn’t move.’
‘By the time the real police arrived they were all sweaty,’ grinned Ollie. ‘And very angry!’
‘I bet,’ agreed Mum. ‘But I’m glad to hear that you all helped the cafe owners clear up and get the place back to normal. And how are you feeling now, Aggie? It must have been awful to have been tied up and threatened like that.’
Aggie nodded but her positive attitude remained. ‘These brilliant children saved me,’ she said, beaming at Ben, Sophie and Ollie. ‘And the dogs,’ she added, waving her hand around the room at Lara and the pups.
Star and Spud sat proudly at the table. Our first adventure, wagged Spud. We bagged a couple of baddies and saved Aunt Aggie. Not bad for trainee spies.
A waiter cleared their plates and disappeared back to the kitchen.
‘It seems the power cuts were deliberate,’ said Aunt Aggie. ‘The men had been cutting the wires, trying to scare me. And all that banging in the night had been them clearing the tunnel. Then that awful American kept offering to buy the house. I guess he thought that I’d get fed up and sell.’
‘A shame you didn’t unearth the treasure, though,’ commented Dad, munching on some crusty bread.
‘A real shame,’ agreed the waiter, returning with some cheesecake and plonking it in front of Mum. ‘I was kind of hoping you might have found it here. I mean, this was the “Castle Inn”, after all.’
‘Probably melted down,’ said the professor. ‘And spirited away. Years ago, I shouldn’t wonder.’
‘What’s going to happen to the real castle?’ asked Ben. ‘Now that His Lordship and the policeman are in jail.’
‘Not sure,’ replied Aggie. ‘I guess it’ll just be left to ruin. Which is a real shame because if it had some money spent on it we’d make it into a brilliant tourist attraction.’
‘Mum,’ barked Spud. ‘I’ve finished my cheesecake. May I leave the table, please?’
Lara nodded. ‘Take your napkin out of your collar,’ she said.
‘And me?’ asked Star, holding her paw up, asking for permission.
‘Off you go, the pair of you,’ she said. ‘But no mischief.’
Star and Spud sniffed for interesting smells. The
floor smelt of cooking oil. ‘It’s been cleaned but it’s still a bit slippery,’ said Star, taking a run up and gliding across the floor.
‘Hey, that looks cool,’ woofed Spud, galloping to the other end of the room to take a run-up.
‘Careful,’ warned Lara. ‘Don’t overdo it.’
Spud wasn’t listening. He scampered towards the fireplace, hit the oil slick and slid on his furry bottom. ‘Yippee!’ he squealed as he sailed past everyone.
‘Careful!’ warned Lara. ‘Watch out for the armour.’
Spud looked up at the suit of armour. It was getting closer. And fast! He had no brakes. The puppy sailed headlong into the metal suit, crunching into its shins.
‘Out of the way, everyone!’ shouted the professor as the armour creaked, toppled and fell. The two-hundred-year-old outfit crashed to the floor and everyone stared in open-mouthed silence.
Er, sorry, wagged Spud. I had a bit of an accident. Again!
The helmet rolled across the floor and lay at Ben’s feet. He picked it up and everyone’s eyes were drawn to a glint of gold.
‘That’s pretty,’ said Sophie.
Professor Cortex reached for the helmet and banged it on the tiled floor. He chipped away some of the coating and more sparkly gold was revealed. ‘And feel the weight,’ he said, passing it to Dad.
‘Gosh,’ said Dad, taking the heavy helmet. ‘There’s only one metal that weighs this much.’
‘It’s an alloy, actually,’ corrected the scientist. ‘Usually mixed with silver and platinum. Sometimes with copper too.’
‘Gold!’ exclaimed Ben.
‘Exactly,’ said the professor, chipping more of the coating away. ‘I think the suit of armour is made of solid gold. Just covered over with grey paint to hide it.’
‘Wow!’ said Ollie, his eyes wide with excitement.
‘So the treasure’s been in this castle for centuries. Melted down and made into a suit of armour!’ said Sophie.
‘Under everyone’s noses,’ exclaimed Aggie.
Brilliant, thought Lara.
‘We’ve solved the puzzle,’ barked Star.
‘And I found the hidden treasure,’ yapped her very proud brother. ‘Maybe I’ll qualify as a spy pup after all!’
22. Reporting for Duty
Lara held the newspaper up to the puppies. ‘Check it out,’ she woofed. ‘We’ve made the news!’
‘“Gold Diggers”,’ read Spud, his eyes shining with excitement.
Star was the best reader so she scanned the article and barked it to her brother. ‘“A two-hundred-year-old mystery was solved and two criminals arrested for their part in a daring robbery. American citizen Arthur Burlington and his accomplice, PC Frederick Winkle, are expected to receive long sentences for armed robbery.”’
‘Quite right too,’ wagged Spud. ‘What else does it say?’
‘“A local restaurant owner has unearthed a golden suit of armour. The legend of the castle gold was solved when tourists accidentally knocked over the armour, revealing it to be made of solid gold.” And here’s a picture of Aunt Aggie. Check out her grin,’ said Star, slapping the paper with her paw. ‘And look at her quote. ‘She says “Mr Burlington is swapping gold bars for prison bars.” Nice one, Aunt Aggie.’
‘Apparently he isn’t even a proper lord,’ explained the professor. ‘He just called himself Lord Whatever because he owned the castle. Turns out he’s got a long criminal record. He’s wanted in America too.’
Spud’s ears were on full alert, sunlight shining through the bullet hole. ‘And what’s the cafe owner doing with the money?’ he woofed.
‘It says the gold isn’t his,’ explained Star, her eyes following the story. ‘The treasure is actually owned by the whole village. They’re using the money to buy the castle and renovate it. It says they’re going to make it into a wonderful tourist attraction,’ she read. ‘Just what Aunt Aggie wanted.’
Lara breathed a sigh of relief. It’s been a frantic few weeks! And a relaxing stay at Aunt Aggie’s has turned out to be anything but relaxing. Maybe things will quieten down from now on and we can get back to normal family life.
‘No mention of us, though,’ said Star, her tail drooping slightly.
‘That’s because we’re following in our mum’s footsteps,’ yapped Spud, sitting up. ‘Working on special missions,’ he said, standing to attention and sucking his stomach in. ‘Keeping our abilities secret.’
Lara winked at the professor and he stepped forward and cleared his throat. ‘If I may have your attention for just a minute,’ he said. All doggie eyes fell on the scientist. ‘I have to admit,’ he began, ‘that I’ve been very impressed with your investigative work. Very impressed indeed.’
Lara glowed with pride. They are rather special.
‘And I’ve had discussions with GM451 about code names,’ added the professor.
Star and Spud sat up straight, controlling the urge to wag. Code names, like proper spies! How thrilling!
‘GM451 isn’t keen on numbers,’ explained Professor Cortex. ‘A bit too formal for her. So we’ve come to a compromise.’
The pups cocked their heads in concentration.
‘Star,’ added the professor, ‘you are now “Special Tactics and Rescue”.’
Spud could feel his sister’s tail bashing him in excitement.
‘And you, young pup, are “Super Performing Undercover Dog”.’
‘Woo hoo!’ Spud backflipped and scampered across to the professor for a hug. The old man grinned as he patted the dog’s head. ‘You two are the world’s first ever “Spy Pups”.’
‘What do you think of that?’ barked Lara.
‘For real?’ woofed Star.
‘For real,’ assured Lara.
‘We’re not just any old puppies,’ howled Spud. ‘We’re Spy Pups. Code names STAR and SPUD, reporting for duty.’
The puppies put their paws to their eyebrows in a double doggie salute. ‘And long may our adventures continue!’