by Ron Roy
“We don’t have any money for a reward,” Brian said.
“I do,” Officer Fallon said. He winked. “Now go out and paper the town with those pictures.”
The kids thanked Officer Fallon and hurried back outside. Bradley handed each of them some pictures and kept the rest for himself. “Let’s walk up Main Street and hand one to everybody we see,” he said. “All the stores, too. We’ll meet in front of the library when we run out of pictures, okay?”
“Nate, you and I will take this side of Main Street,” Brian said. “Brad, you and Lucy hit the other side.”
With a plan and a pile of pictures, the kids took off. Bradley and Lucy walked to the gas station first. They found the owner, Mr. Holly, fixing a flat tire. His face was smudged with grease marks.
“Hey, kids, what’s up?” the jolly man said.
“Our pony and dog ran away and we’re looking for them,” Bradley said. He handed Mr. Holly a picture of Polly and Pal.
“Golly, Polly is lost?” Mr. Holly said. “If they stop in, I’ll give the police a call!”
The kids thanked him and ran next door to the Book Nook. Mr. Paskey took a picture as well, and hung it in his front window. He promised to keep an eye peeled for the missing pets.
Across the street, Bradley could see Nate and Brian coming out of the Green Lawn Savings Bank. He waved and they waved back.
“Howard’s Barbershop is next,” Lucy said.
“Good,” Bradley said. “Howard can hand pictures out to his customers.”
Pretty soon Bradley and Lucy were almost out of pictures. Bradley had given his last one to Ron Pinkowski. Mr. P, as the kids called him, owned Ron’s Bait Shop. He promised to watch out for Polly and Pal.
“Well, I guess we go to the library and wait for the other guys,” Bradley said. “I can’t believe no one saw Polly!”
“I saved one picture for the library,” Lucy said. “The librarian can show it to everyone who checks out a book!”
“Great idea,” Bradley said.
When they reached the library, Lucy went inside with the picture.
Bradley sat on the steps. While he waited, he thought about Polly and Pal. Where would they go? Were they hiding on purpose? Had they been kidnapped, as Lucy had suggested? Did they decide to go off on an adventure, like that mouse Stuart Little?
Lucy came out of the library and sat next to Bradley. “She’s going to show the picture to all her patrons,” she said.
Bradley nodded. He couldn’t look at Lucy because he had tears in his eyes. “Maybe they ran away for good,” he whispered.
“No, they didn’t!” Lucy said. “They have to be somewhere in Green Lawn. We can’t give up, Bradley.”
Just then Brian and Nate came loping past the town hall. They were out of breath and out of pictures.
“Well, we did all we could,” Brian said. “Now I guess we just have to hope someone calls Officer Fallon.”
The four kids flopped on the grass under a tree.
“You’re right, Lucy,” Bradley said. “We can’t give up on this.”
“But we’ve looked everywhere,” Brian said. “My brain is tired.”
“What brain?” Bradley teased, tickling his brother under the arm.
Brian threw a handful of grass at Bradley.
“Ponies and dogs aren’t stupid,” Bradley said, wiping pieces of grass off his T-shirt.
“Nobody said they were,” Brian said. “So what?”
“So they wouldn’t just wander around,” Bradley went on. “They’d have a plan.”
“Yeah, only they didn’t bother to tell us what it was,” Nate said.
“What do they both like to do?” Bradley asked. “What do Polly and Pal like better than anything?”
“Food!” the other three kids yelled, and they all laughed.
“Right,” Bradley said. “So who do we know who gives food to animals?”
“We do,” Brian said.
“No, I mean other people,” Bradley said.
“Dr. Henry, the vet, does,” Nate said.
“And Mrs. Wong, at the pet shop,” Brian said. “She even feeds squirrels and pigeons!”
“Did anyone bring them a picture of Polly and Pal?” Nate asked.
“Bradley and I tried at Dr. Henry’s, but he wasn’t there,” Lucy said. “The place was closed.”
“We stopped at the Furry Feet Pet Shop, but Mrs. Wong’s shop was closed, too,” Brian said.
“Well, I think we should try them again,” Bradley said. “They both keep a lot of pet food around. Polly and Pal would smell it.”
“We’ve tried everything else,” Brian said. “Let’s go.”
The kids hiked back across Main Street and up East Green Street. They tried the front door of Dr. Henry’s office, but it was locked. They walked all around the building. Bradley checked the ground for hoofprints.
“Okay, let’s go to Furry Feet,” he said.
The Furry Feet Pet Shop was on the corner of Main and Oak Streets. The kids stood in front of the shop, peering through the glass. They saw kittens, fish, and hamsters. No pony. No basset hound.
“The note’s still on the door,” Nate said. He read it: “At the petting zoo.”
Bradley stared at the note. “Remember when we saw Dr. Henry this morning, on the way to the parade?” he asked the others. “He said he was going to help out at the petting zoo. And this note says Mrs. Wong is there, too.”
“The vet said there was a party there for the animals today,” Lucy said.
“Right, now I remember,” Bradley said. He looked at the other kids.
“If there’s a party for animals, there’ll be food for animals. We should check it out.”
The kids cut across Oak Street and passed People’s Pond. They hurried past the police station, library, and senior center.
“Wow, the place is crowded!” Nate said. Hundreds of people were at the Children’s Petting Zoo and Aquarium. Almost everyone had a pet with them.
Many of the kids had party hats on.
There was a lot of noise from the animals and the people. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
“Look, there’s Mr. Neater,” Brian said. He waved at a tall man with white hair. Mr. Neater used to be the janitor at their school. Now he worked as a volunteer at the petting zoo.
Mr. Neater was holding his rabbit, Douglas.
“Hey, kids, welcome to the party!” Mr. Neater said. “It’s our own Fourth of July celebration.”
The kids looked around. They saw Mrs. Wong talking to some children while she fed baby ducks.
Dr. Henry was there, too. He was showing some kids how to brush a lamb’s wool.
“Your pony and dog are here somewhere,” Mr. Neater said.
“They are?” Bradley asked.
“Didn’t you know?” Mr. Neater asked.
“We’ve been looking for them for hours!” Bradley said. “They ran away from the parade!”
“Goodness, they’ve been here all this time,” Mr. Neater said. “My friends Ted and Sally have been watching them. We were wondering why you kids weren’t here, too.”
Bradley laughed. “We’ve been running all over town!” he said.
“Follow me,” Mr. Neater said. Carrying Douglas in his arms, Mr. Neater led the kids over to a small barn. Lots of people were there, feeding a flock of goats and some chickens.
Polly was being brushed by an elderly couple. A little girl was feeding her carrots and apples. Polly looked very happy.
Pal lay on the ground next to Polly’s feet. He was watching some baby chicks pecking in the grass.
“Polly looks like a pony again,” Bradley said.
Mr. Neater laughed. “Oh yes, we got rid of that funny wig and hat,” he said. He looked at the kids. “Let me guess. You dressed them for the mayor’s contest, right?”
Bradley nodded. “Yeah, and they hated it,” he said. “I think that’s why they ran away.”
“They look happy now,” Lucy sa
id.
“I still want to be mayor for a day,” Brian grumped. “It was gonna be so cool!”
Bradley put his arm around his twin brother’s shoulders. “When you grow up, you can run for mayor,” he said.
“No one would vote for me,” Brian said.
“I would!” Nate said.
“Me too!” Lucy added.
“And I definitely would vote for you, bro,” Bradley said.
Polly whinnied and Pal barked.
“See, even Polly and Pal would vote for you,” Bradley said.
He walked over and hugged his pets. “And no more costume contests for you two, I promise,” he whispered.