Mutt's Promise

by Julie Salamon

  He paused for effect.

  “Canvas, that’s nothing!” he scoffed.

  Chief had wriggled out of his sack and was sitting next to Luna by then.

  The weird little creature looked suspiciously at the puppies. “What are you fellows doing in here?” he asked. “I was hoping to find some food.”

  Chief growled. “Before we tell you, let’s get out of here,” he said. “Raymond may be coming back.”

  As the stranger asked, “Who’s Raymond?” Luna and Chief made their way over to find Charlie, who was sitting on his sack next to another of these funny little creatures.

  “Hey there,” Charlie said. “This is Jack. He’s a chipmunk.”

  “Chipmunk?” asked Luna.

  “I’ve heard of chipmunks,” Chief said. “You’re rodents!”

  Jack raised his miniature paws and curled them into fists. “You have a problem with that?” he asked.

  Chief leaned toward Luna and muttered in her ear, “I’ve heard they’re awful pests that eat just about anything.”

  Jack glanced from side to side, as though he was processing many rapid thoughts.

  “You know what they say,” he squealed. “One dog’s pest is another dog’s hero.”

  He lay on his back laughing.

  “You’ll have to excuse him,” said the other chipmunk. “He loves his own jokes.”

  Then he began glancing from side to side, just like Jack. “Sorry to be rude,” he said. “My name is Jackson.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Luna said with a giggle. “Jack and Jackson?”

  Jackson shrugged. “It’s the chipmunk way,” he said mysteriously. “Sometimes we just call ourselves a pair of Jacks.”

  Chief took charge.

  “Thanks a lot, you two,” he said. “But we have to get on our way.”

  Luna looked wearily at her brother. Now that they had stopped, she realized how tired and hungry she was.

  “Chief, I can’t take another step without something to eat,” she said. “I just can’t.”

  Charlie nodded. “That goes double for me, champ,” he said. “I don’t have much fight left in me.”

  Jack scampered over to Jackson. They conferred in the same high-pitched chatter that had frightened Luna at first.

  Then the chipmunks scooted back to the puppies.

  “Here’s the plan,” Jackson said.

  “I wasn’t sure if we should do it,” Jack confessed. “Spring isn’t really here yet.”

  “And we are still scrounging for food,” filled in Jackson.

  “That’s why we chomped through these bags,” added Jack, nodding toward the crumpled sacks.

  “You must have been scared in there,” Jackson said.

  “You think?” Jack replied. “Those sacks don’t look so scary—”

  “But it was dark,” said Jackson.

  Chief barked at them impatiently.

  “Can you two get to the point?” he demanded.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jackson and Jack said, more or less together. “Who was it who rescued you?”

  Luna interjected gently. “He—we—we’re just hungry,” she said. “We appreciate what you’ve done for us.”

  Chief tossed Luna a look filled with pride for her.

  “You’re right,” he said, hanging his head.

  “Sorry, sorry,” Jackson said, glancing from side to side and back. “Just follow us.”

  They zoomed off, causing Charlie to shout, “Slow down.”

  “Right,” said Jack. “Jackson, slow down!”

  Within a few minutes they paused near a tree and began to dig. Soon they had unearthed a good-sized pile of nuts, seeds, crackers, and dried apples.

  The dogs stared at this bounty in amazement.

  “Don’t just stare,” Jack said. “Eat! It’s on us.”

  The famished puppies began to devour the feast the chipmunks had spread out on the ground.

  Chief gobbled an apple and then stopped.

  “Don’t eat too many nuts,” he warned Luna and Charlie.

  “Why not?” Luna asked. “They’re delicious.”

  Chief replied, “I can’t remember exactly, but someone—Mr. Thomas or Gilbert—said it wasn’t good for dogs.”

  “Know-it-all,” Luna grumbled. But she stopped eating the nuts and focused on the rest.

  Their meal was interrupted by Jack and Jackson, who began to scamper again.

  “Come on,” they shouted. “Leave some for the rest of the winter.”

  This time the puppies didn’t hesitate. For the next hour or two, they followed the chipmunks from one hidden treasure to another.

  Along the way, Chief asked, “How did you know about all this?”

  Jack replied, “We put them there!”

  Jackson added, “That’s what we do.”

  Stuffing his cheeks until they were about to pop, he explained. “See, we find some seeds and collect them in our cheeks,” said Jackson.

  “Our saliva is a kind of preservative,” explained Jack. “That way we have food in storage all winter and it doesn’t spoil.”

  “You were lucky,” said Jackson. “We sleep most of the time when it’s cold, but every once in a while we refill our bellies so we can continue to rest till spring. You just happened to catch us when we were out and about.”

  As Jackson was talking, Luna spit something out.

  “What’s that?” she said. “I can’t bite through that seed.”

  Jack inspected the thing she spit out.

  “Whoops, I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s an olive pit. You can’t eat that.”

  Luna was struck by a strange feeling she couldn’t describe. She didn’t realize that the word “olive” reminded her of the song Gilbert used to sing to her.

  The pleasant moment was interrupted by the sound of screeching tires in the distance.

  “Raymond!” Luna exclaimed in terror.

  “Follow us,” said Jack and Jackson at the same time.

  The puppies scrambled through the underbrush after the chipmunks, their way lit by moonlight, until the chipmunks suddenly disappeared.

  “Where are they?” Charlie asked in a panic.

  Jackson’s—or Jack’s—head popped up out of a hole.

  “Come here!” he whispered. The puppies dived after him, into a huge tunnel that led underground.

  When they finally stopped, the animals huddled together, trying to catch their breath.

  Jack and Jackson stood up and bowed.

  “Welcome to our burrow,” Jack said. “You’ll be safe here.”

  Before the puppies could properly say thank you, they had collapsed into the sweet slumber of freedom. For the first time in weeks, hope, not fear, ushered in sleep. Not only had they taken charge of their destiny, they had met two new friends. Though Luna knew they were not yet out of danger’s way, she was finally able to rest.

  chapter nineteen

  FREEDOM’S FEAST

  Luna woke at the first inkling of dawn.

  As soon as the others stirred, she stood up and said, “We have to go.”

  Chief and Charlie rose onto their paws and stretched their legs without saying a word.

  “You’re leaving?” Jackson asked, rubbing his eyes.

  “We just got to know you,” added Jack. “What’s the rush?”

  “I want to go home,” Luna said. Suddenly she realized how much she missed her mother.

  Chief barked in agreement. “Me too.”

  Charlie was silent.

  “What’s wrong?” Chief asked, giving Charlie a companionable head bump.

  “Nothing,” said Charlie.

  Luna walked over to him.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Charlie covered his
face with his paw.

  “Nothing,” he insisted.

  Then Luna understood. Charlie didn’t have a home to go to.

  “There’s plenty of room on Mr. Thomas’s farm for all of us,” she said. “You can meet Mother and Penny the chicken.”

  Charlie looked at her gratefully.

  “Let’s go,” said Luna.

  Jackson let loose a high-pitched trill.

  “Are you crying?” asked Jack.

  “No!” the chipmunk said indignantly. “I just got something in my throat.”

  Before they could go on, Luna walked over and nuzzled the chipmunks in thanks. Charlie and Chief did the same.

  For once, Jack and Jackson didn’t have anything to say. They led their guests to the tunnel’s opening and out to the road. They listened and looked to make sure the way was clear. Then, cheek to cheek, they stood and watched as the puppies headed off for destinations unknown.

  Gone was the exhilaration that had propelled Luna away from Puppy Paradise. But gone too was the terror. She no longer feared the worst because she had experienced the worst—or something close to it.

  The three dogs trotted down the road looking purposeful, as if they knew how to get back to Mr. Thomas’s farm. Fueled by food and by the kindness shown them by Jack and Jackson, they were determined to keep moving.

  When Charlie asked Luna and Chief which path they were planning to take, Luna answered first. “We’ll know when we get there.”

  Chief nodded. He didn’t have a better answer.

  Few cars traveled this lonely country road. Once in a while the ground rumbled, meaning a vehicle was approaching, the signal for them to hide behind trees or under bushes. They were taking no chances.

  As the days passed, they became skilled at sneaking into barns to scavenge for food, filching animal feed, apples, potatoes, whatever they could find. They learned to follow the footprints of other animals that would lead them to ponds and streams.

  One day while foraging in a barn, they stumbled onto a nest of chicks.

  Charlie and Chief growled at the small yellow birds and said, “Let’s eat them.”

  But Luna stepped between them and the nest.

  “You can’t do that,” she said. “They’re like the chicks back home.”

  Their debate was interrupted by the loud clucking of a hen. She kept her distance, furiously beating her wings.

  “Why doesn’t she come closer like crazy old Penny used to?” Luna asked Chief.

  He looked at her and the hen and back again.

  “We’re a lot bigger than we were then,” he said. “She must be scared.”

  None of them had noticed, but day by day they had grown. Charlie turned to Luna and asked, “Well? Should we eat them?”

  Luna hesitated, pulled in one direction by instinct and another by the memory of Penny. Her stomach was rooting for instinct.

  Just as she was about to decide, her dilemma was solved by a breeze carrying a whiff of something delightful. She forgot about the chicks and trotted toward the tantalizing smell. The fragrance drew her out the barn door, up a path, and to a farmhouse whose back door was ajar.

  She nosed open the door. It was dark inside. No one seemed to be home.

  The smell got stronger.

  When Luna saw what she smelled, she barked, signaling the others to join her.

  Whoever lived there had left a giant roast lamb cooling on the stove, and two pies on the table, one overflowing with blackberries, the other with cherries and peaches. The flaky crusts looked and smelled rich and buttery.

  Within seconds all of them were inside. Chief stood on his back legs, grabbed the roast with his teeth, and yanked it onto the floor. Luna and Charlie brought the pies crashing to the ground. Luna found a giant bag of chips that she emptied onto the floor.

  They had no remorse whatsoever about gorging on this feast. For several minutes they produced a barrage of joyful noise as they slurped and chewed, swallowed and belched.

  When there didn’t appear to be a scrap or crumb left, Chief rolled onto his side and stared at his swollen belly in a happy stupor. Then he belched.

  Luna found one last morsel of pie that had been flung under a cabinet. She stared at it for a second, wondering if she could eat another bite. Yes she could, she decided, and gobbled it up.

  She licked her lips and sighed and stretched.

  She lay peacefully on the floor for a minute or two, and then lifted her head.

  “Sorry, pals,” she said with regret. “We have to go.”

  Chief and Charlie stared at her as though they didn’t understand a word she’d said. They could barely move, they were so stuffed. Despite her words, Luna was in no better shape. When she tried to pull herself to her feet, she sank back to the floor, weighed down by meat, chips, and pie.

  Just as she extended her legs for another glorious stretch, all three of them heard the sounds of a car or truck approaching.

  Fear is a great motivator. The dogs jumped to their feet as if they’d just spent the last half hour preparing for a race, not cramming food down their throats. Without a second of hesitation, they sprinted—out the door and back onto the road, almost colliding with the car pulling into the farmhouse driveway.

  “Hey,” yelled the driver as she slammed on the brakes.

  By the time the woman could get through the door to her house and take in the wreckage they’d left behind, the dogs were on their way, heavier and happier than they had been since they’d left home.

  Freedom was a fine thing, but nothing was as satisfying to a hungry dog as food. With their systems jolted by sugar, salt, and protein, Luna and her companions kept going until dark and then collapsed in a comfortable pile of dirt near the road’s edge.

  That night, exhausted by flight and weighted down by a full belly, Luna slept without dreaming.

  chapter twenty

  LUNA’S DANCE

  Why did we have to leave Jack and Jackson?” Luna asked one afternoon, when she was especially weary of scrounging for food.

  “Why bring that up now?” Chief retorted. They had been traveling for weeks by then.

  Luna sighed. “I know, I know,” she said.

  “You’re trying to get back home,” Charlie chimed in.

  They kept moving across the hard winter terrain, sometimes venturing onto the road but mainly hiding in the sparse cover of the woods, stripped by cold. All of them, even Charlie, had gotten muscled from constant exercise. But they still looked ratty. Their fur was matted and their ribs poked more prominently against the surface of their skin. Their eyes had hardened. They’d become thieves and sneaks, good at invading barns and storage bins, where they foraged for grain. Despite their friendly encounter with the chipmunks, the former pets had become fierce hunters, quick to pounce on rabbits and other small creatures. They were dogs in the wild now.

  Some days were spirit-crushing, when the frigid weather and perpetual search for food wore them down. There were nights when they couldn’t rest, no matter how tightly they snuggled against one another. But there were also those days when the sun filtered into the gray woods and the air was brisk rather than raw. On those days Luna felt as though she were flying, impervious to the elements, oblivious to the clawing and cracking of the frozen brambles and dry limbs that scratched her legs and clung to her fur.

  Chief set the pace.

  “The number one rule,” he repeated frequently, “is stay together. We’re harder to break when we run in a pack.”

  “Don’t worry,” Luna always replied. “I have no intention of being out here by myself.”

  “You can say that again,” Charlie would chime in.

  But one day Luna fell behind the others, distracted by a melody that ran through her head. It was Gilbert’s song about the moon. She didn’t know why it popped into her head, but ther
e it was. That memory sparked another and another, and soon she was thinking of Gilbert and Mutt and Mr. Thomas’s farm. Those were heavy thoughts she usually tried to push away because they slowed her down.

  After some time Luna realized she was alone. She was startled but not frightened the way she once would have been. She had grown woods-wise. She could spot the trail carved into the frozen grass by Chief’s and Charlie’s paws, and she began to run. She kept her nostrils flared, seeking her companions’ familiar smell.

  Soon enough, her nose caught a whiff of Chief and Charlie. The wind was picking up, forcing Luna to bend her head as she ran. Her feet moved to the rhythm of Chief’s number one rule: Stay together. Stay together.

  As their scent grew stronger, another smell crowded in. Luna didn’t know what it was.

  Then her senses were jolted by an unfamiliar medley of sounds, a strange combination of clacking, woofing, and snorting.

  She heard familiar, frantic barks.

  “Chief!” she barked. “Charlie!”

  Though she felt she’d been running as fast as she could, somehow she found deep reserves that propelled her even faster.

  Her ribs hurt from breathing so hard, but she had to reach them. She raced through a thicket of evergreen brush, and came to a full stop.

  The two dogs were standing like statues, staring at an enormous creature encased in a mass of thick, black fur. Luna had heard about bears but never seen one before.

  He seemed terrifying, with huge paws that looked like they could smash a dog’s face in without effort. His back was arched, as though he was ready to pounce.

  Yet he wasn’t pouncing. He was making all those weird noises as he and the dogs stared into one another’s eyes.

  “What are you doing?” Luna asked.

  Charlie growled, “What do you think we’re doing?”

  Chief added, “You have to stare at a bear or he’ll overpower you.”

  “How do you know that?” Luna asked.

  Chief said impatiently, “Not now, Luna!”

  Luna inhaled deeply and smelled something familiar. It was fear. But it wasn’t coming from Charlie or Chief. It was coming from the bear.