by Holly Webb
Perhaps he could climb back up to her? The ledge was very narrow, and it trailed away into a tiny little path that went winding up the cliff. Georgia wasn’t really all that far away, Lucky thought, staring up at her white and anxious face. He limped along to where the ledge narrowed, and looked thoughtfully up at the path. It was very narrow. He started off up it, squeezing himself as close as he could to the side of the cliff and feeling the sand trickle down into his fur.
“Lucky, stay!” Georgia was calling to him. She sounded worried – cross, almost. He was only trying to reach her, why was she cross? But he knew what “stay” meant from his obedience classes. He had to do as he was told, even though he really didn’t want to. He sat down on the path, his ears drooping, feeling confused.
“It’s OK, Lucky, sorry. I’m sorry…” Up on the cliff, Georgia took a deep breath, and tried not to feel frightened. It just felt as though Adam had been gone for ages and ages. Every time she looked down, Lucky’s little ledge seemed to have grown even narrower, and the sea wilder. And if the tide came up much more, the ledge would be underwater! She tried to remember when high tide had been the day before, but her mind felt foggy.
“Good boy, Lucky. Stay! What a good boy! Lots of biscuits soon. Stay! That’s it.” Just don’t move, Lucky, please! she added silently to herself.
“Georgia! Georgia!”
Lucky looked up, his tail wagging. Adam had come back too! He tried to bark happily to show Adam he was pleased to see him, but jumping about hurt his paw and his balance seemed all wrong. He slid backwards, scrabbling and yelping, and Georgia and Adam’s faces appeared over the edge of the cliff, both looking horrified.
“Lucky, keep still!” Adam yelled. His voice was sharp and fierce, and it made Lucky scared. He skittered about on the ledge anxiously.
“Down, Lucky! Down! Stay!” That was Georgia again. She didn’t sound scared like Adam, but she sounded very firm. Not cross, but he could tell he had to do as she said or she would be. Lucky lay down flat on the ledge, feeling the cold water splash over his back. He wanted to get away. He hated it down here! He howled, and howled. But he kept still.
Up above Lucky on the cliff, Adam explained to Georgia what was happening. “I got to the phone box and called the coastguard. But I didn’t know exactly where we were on the cliffs; I hope I told them the right place. I said it was just up from Cliff Cottage.”
“Are they sending someone?” Georgia asked anxiously.
“Yes, they said the boat will come out from Woolbridge harbour, and it won’t take long at all. The lady on the phone said it might even get here before I did.”
“Did she say to do anything else?”
Adam shook his head. “Just to come back and try to keep Lucky calm, and you’re doing that brilliantly. And we should watch out for the boat and wave, in case they can’t see Lucky.” He propped himself up on his elbows, staring out to sea. “That’s not a coastguard boat, is it?” he asked, pointing to a small boat, far out on the waves.
Georgia shook her head. “No, I think that’s the trip boat from Woolbridge. Anyway, the coastguard boat won’t be that far out, I bet. It’ll come round the edge of the bay.” She frowned down at Lucky on his ledge, and the nasty-looking rocks below him. “How are they going to get to him, Adam? They won’t be able to get a boat close up to those rocks, will they?”
“If it’s the inflatable they will. I saw it in the boat shed when I went to Woolbridge Beach yesterday. It’s made for going in and out of the rocks round the coast. Look, there are people on the cliffs – maybe they saw it being launched. Josh and Liam said people always go up there to watch when the coastguard boat goes out.”
Georgia nodded, watching the little crowd of people gathering further along the cliffs above the beach. She could see they were chatting and pointing at Lucky. If it had been another dog, she would have been interested too. Now it only made her feel sick.
“Georgie, look! I can see it coming!”
The coastguard boat was roaring around the far edge of the cliffs in a cloud of spray, and bouncing over the water towards them. It was quite small, and there were only three crew, but it was very, very fast.
“I wish Mum and Dad were here,” Georgia said worriedly, as the little grey boat shot towards them. “Maybe they saw the boat being launched from Woolbridge when they were shopping. Do you think they’d come back to see what was going on?”
“Maybe. They might even be in that crowd over there.” Adam hugged her.
The boat was getting closer now, and they could see the coastguard men waving to them. They waved back and pointed down to Lucky.
Lucky could see the boat coming too. It was very loud, and he didn’t like it at all. He barked at it, wishing it’d go away.
“Shhh, Lucky, it’s OK!” Georgia called down. “I think he’s scared of the boat. Lucky, stay!”
The coastguard boat had stopped by the rocks, and one of the men was climbing out. Georgia held her breath anxiously. It looked so slippery.
“Hello up there!” the man called to Adam and Georgia. “He looks pretty frightened. Can you get him to stay? I don’t want to scare him into jumping.”
Georgia nodded. “Lucky, stay there! Stay!”
Lucky stared wide-eyed at the man in the bright orange suit, with his huge life jacket and white helmet. He looked like some sort of strange creature, and he’d arrived in that great noisy thing that was still grumbling and snorting below him. Lucky gave a loud series of barks, trying to sound big and scary. But the man didn’t go away. He climbed slowly closer instead. Lucky looked around, desperate for a way to escape. There was only the little narrow path where he’d already slipped. But he didn’t have a choice. He started to back away up it, still barking at the strange man.
“Lucky, no!” It was Georgia, calling him from up above. “Stay! Lucky, stay!”
Lucky knew he should do as he was told, but he didn’t want to stay! The strange man was coming after him!
“Stay, Lucky!” It was Georgia’s firmest voice. If he did as he was told, he might get dog treats – he knew Georgia had them in her bag. And he was very hungry. The man was coming closer. Lucky stayed still, and looked imploringly up at Georgia. Did he really have to stay?
“Yes, good boy, Lucky! Stay!” Georgia sounded pleased with him.
The man was nearly at his ledge now, and Lucky wanted to growl at him. He didn’t look nice at all with that big white helmet on. But he kept quiet. He was sure Georgia wouldn’t want him to.
“You’re a good dog, aren’t you?” the man called, as he climbed on to the ledge. The man’s voice was actually quite nice, and Lucky stopped shivering. “Look what I’ve got.” The coastguard held out a bit of biscuit, and Lucky gulped it down gratefully. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all, even if he did look scary. “Want some more biscuit?” The man reached down and picked him up, and gave him a whole biscuit this time. “Aren’t you a little star, hey? Come on then.” And he started back over the rocks to the boat, with Lucky tucked tightly under one arm.
Up on the top of the cliff, Georgia hugged Adam tightly. “They’ve got him, they’ve got him, Lucky’s really going to be OK!”
Chapter Eight
Adam hugged Georgia back, laughing, and then turned back to peer over the edge. “Hey, shhh, they’re calling us!”
“We’ll take him round to the small beach in the boat!” one of the men shouted up to Adam and Georgia. “We’ll meet you there, OK? You’re both all right, aren’t you? Not hurt at all?”
“We’re fine! Thank you!” Adam yelled back, and Georgia called, “Good boy, Lucky!” They raced back along the top of the cliff as fast as they could, making for the path down to the beach just in front of the cottage.
“I can see our car parked behind the cottage!” Adam yelled to Georgia. “Mum and Dad are probably down on the beach. We’d have met them on the path if they’d come after us, they must have seen the boat and gone to watch.”
They scrambled down
the path and ran across the sand to the little group of people who’d gathered to watch the coastguard boat pull in. It beached with a soft crunch of sand, and one of the men jumped over the side into the water, which only came halfway up his big orange boots. Another of the coastguards handed Lucky over the side to the man, and Georgia ran into the water to take him, even though she had her trainers on.
Lucky was squeaking with delight at seeing her and Adam, and he wriggled madly, trying to get out of the man’s arms to reach her.
“He’s a lovely little dog, isn’t he?” the man told her, as he handed Lucky over. “Did I hear you calling him Lucky?”
Georgia nodded, and the man laughed. “Well, you certainly named him right. He’s very lucky. Could have been a lot worse. You look after him now. Don’t let him go near the edge of any more cliffs.”
“I won’t,” Georgia said. “It was my fault he fell. We’ll be more careful, I promise.” She laughed as Lucky licked her all over, and then licked Adam’s face too.
“You were right to call 999 though,” the man told them. “Don’t you ever go climbing down those cliffs yourselves.”
Adam shuddered. “We won’t.”
“Georgia! Adam!”
Mum and Dad were making their way through the small crowd, looking horrified.
“What on earth happened?” Mum demanded.
“Sorry, Mum…” they murmured. “There was an accident,” Georgia added. “Lucky went over the edge of the cliff.”
“That cliff?” Dad gazed up at it, his face pale. “But we agreed you’d keep him on the lead up there.” Dad looked from Georgia to Adam. He seemed really disappointed.
“They did the right thing,” the coastguard told Mum and Dad. “They called 999, and got us out to help.”
Mum nodded. “Thank you so much.”
Georgia caught her arm. “Mum, can we explain later, please? Lucky hurt his leg when he fell; we have to take him to a vet.”
“There’s a vet’s on Woolbridge high street, just down from the supermarket,” the coastguard told them. “Good luck. I hope it’s nothing too serious.” And he splashed back to the boat, with everyone waving and cheering, and they sped away.
Lucky yawned sleepily, and licked at the bandage on his paw. It was itchy, and he was sure if he nibbled it carefully he could pull it off.
“Hey, don’t do that, Lucky.” Georgia sat down beside him, and tickled him under the chin. “You know if you keep chewing it, you’ll have to wear that horrible collar thing, and you wouldn’t like that. The vet says the bandage has to stay on for at least a week.”
“He was so lucky not to break anything,” Mum said. “You really did choose the right name, Georgia. Only four stitches, and the pulled muscles. It could have been so much worse.” Mum’s face was serious. After they’d got back from the vet’s the day before, she and Dad had made Georgia and Adam sit down and tell them exactly what had happened up on the cliff path. They’d felt awful as they explained that it was all their fault Lucky had fallen and got hurt. Then Mum and Dad had told them how disappointed they were.
Georgia shivered. “I know,” she said. “I don’t want to go along the cliff-top path ever again.”
“Me neither,” Adam agreed, munching on chocolate-spread toast.
“It’s a pity not to go out though,” said Mum, getting up to check the weather from the window. “It’s such a lovely day. You two could go down to the beach with Dad, if you like. I can stay and watch Lucky.”
Georgia shook her head, and glanced at Adam to see that he was doing the same. “I’d rather stay here and be with Lucky,” she explained. “Yesterday was so scary. I just want to be with him for a bit.” She stroked his ears lovingly, and Lucky yawned, and nudged her with his little damp nose.
Adam came over, and slipped Lucky a dog treat. Lucky gulped it down happily. Everyone was being so nice to him!
Dad nodded. “Well, we’ve still got three more days of the holiday left. Lucky might be all right to go down to the beach tomorrow if we’re careful. And it’s good just having a quiet day, anyway.”
There was a loud knock at the door, and Adam burst out laughing.
Dad sighed. “What did I say that for?” He got up, and went out to the front door, coming back with a dark-haired woman, with a big camera hanging round her neck. “It seems you’re famous, you two,” Dad said, smiling. “This is Melissa, from the local paper. She heard all about yesterday’s adventure, and wants a photo of you and Lucky.”
“It’s such a lovely story,” the reporter explained. “And apparently you called the coastguard yourselves? That was really good thinking.”
Adam grinned proudly. “That was me. But it was actually Georgia who kept Lucky safe all the time he was on the ledge. She was brilliant at getting him to stay.”
Georgia smiled. “But it was our fault Lucky fell,” she added sadly. “We were arguing over who got to hold his lead and we dropped it, and he ran off and slipped over the cliff edge.”
Melissa smiled. “I don’t think I’ll put that in. These things happen, don’t they? I used to fight with my brother all the time. We’ll just remind people to be extra careful when they’re walking up on the cliffs.” Lucky jumped down from the sofa and went to give her a curious sniff. “And this is Lucky?” She patted Lucky, and he licked her fingers, making her laugh. “He’s a real sweetheart. And it sounds like he was lucky too!”
Lucky heard his name and barked happily. The lady was right, he was Lucky, he knew that!
Georgia beamed as they posed with Lucky for the newspaper photo – her and Adam on either side of their beautiful puppy. She knew he’d had an amazing escape. Georgia stroked Lucky’s silky golden ears, and smiled at the camera.
Just now, she felt like the luckiest girl ever.
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, 2011
Illustrations copyright © Sophy Williams, 2011
First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2012.
eISBN: 978–1–84715–278–7
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.