by Jenny Dale
Neil grinned. A few seconds later he heard a voice at the other end, as the phone was answered.
“Bob?” his mum said. “Yes, it’s me. We’re stuck in a barn somewhere. Neil found us and – oh.” She flashed a look at Neil, and handed him the phone.
“Neil, I’ve been frantic!” Bob’s voice came through clearly. “You shouldn’t have gone off like that without asking.”
“But you wouldn’t have let me go,” Neil protested. “And Mum and Emily would—”
“I’ve got the police out looking for you as well now!” his dad interrupted.
“Well . . .” Neil started to feel guilty. “I guess I could have left a note. But I’m fine, honestly, Dad. And you should have seen Sam! He—”
“Neil, put your mother on again. But don’t think you’ve heard the last of this. We’ll have a talk when you get home. A very serious one.”
“OK, Dad. Bye.”
Neil handed the phone back to his mum.
He was glad that he wasn’t going home straight away. His dad probably needed some time to cool down – but Neil wasn’t too worried about getting a stern dressing-down. He was confident he had done the right thing in setting out on his marathon journey with Sam.
Carole finished telling Bob what had happened, and then called the police to ask for help. Not really listening, Neil leant over to stroke the sleeping Jake.
“Beth and Gina will be over the moon,” he said to Emily. “Do you think the pantomime will go on now?”
“Yes, I suppose . . .” Emily broke off, and her eyes filled with tears. “But I’ll be out of it now, with this stupid ankle!”
“That’s tough,” said Neil. “I’m really sorry. Still,” he added, “Denny’s safe, and that’s the main thing.”
Emily sniffed, and nodded. “Yes, I know. But Neil, there’s something else—”
She was interrupted again as Carole put the phone back into her pocket and said, “The police are on their way. We’ll be out of here before we know it.”
“I hope so,” Emily said. “That’s what we haven’t told you, Neil. When Mum found Denny in here the door was shut. There was no way he could have got in by himself.”
“You mean someone shut him in here?” Neil asked.
Carole nodded. “I don’t know why, but it looks as if somebody is keeping him here. And whoever he is, I really hope the police arrive before he gets back.”
9
By now the barn was almost dark. Neil could barely make out the shapes of Emily and his mum or the dogs. Everything was quiet except for little scuttling noises in the hay, and an occasional snuffling from Jake in his sleep.
“Neil,” Carole said, “do you think you could go down to the car and wait there for the police? They shouldn’t be long, and I don’t want to miss them.”
“Er, sure,” Neil said, groping to find the gloves he had taken off.
Before he could get up they all heard footsteps scrunch in the snow outside the barn, and someone whistling a tune. Then both footsteps and whistling stopped, and were followed by the sound of someone fumbling with the door catch. Emily audibly drew breath. Neil felt his heart start to pound. He got to his feet, and his mum switched on the torch as the door swung open.
A man stood in the entrance, shielding his eyes from the light. He was tall, wearing a long ragged overcoat tied round his waist with hairy string. Even though there was snow on the ground he wore scruffy trainers, which gaped at the toes. He carried a bulging plastic carrier bag.
Carole lowered the torch slightly and the man took his hand away from his eyes to reveal sharp features pinched with cold, surrounded by a bush of straggly white hair and beard. He was peering suspiciously at the Parkers.
“Who are you?” he asked. “What’re you doing here?”
To Neil’s surprise, it was Emily who replied. “Did you steal Denny?” she demanded fiercely. “The Wards aren’t cruel to him. They’re not!”
She tried to struggle upright and face him. Disturbed, Jake shot off her lap, yapping frantically, and hurled himself at the newcomer’s trainers. Sam got to his feet, a low growling deep in his throat. Alarmed, the old man took a step back.
Only Denny stayed calm. He got up and trotted over to the man, who stooped and petted him, a smile spreading over his face.
“There’s a good lad,” he said. “Want to see what I’ve got for you?”
Neil started to realize that this wasn’t an Animal Rights protester, even one crazy enough to steal a dog to make his point. And anyone who was that fond of a dog couldn’t be all bad. Neil told Sam to sit, and scooped up Jake before he could make any more holes in the man’s trainers.
“Emily, calm down.” Carole had relaxed, as if she too realized that the newcomer was not a threat. “This dog belongs to some friends of ours,” she told him. “They’ve been really worried.”
“I didn’t steal him, missus,” the old man said. “I found him wandering. He weren’t wearing a collar. I’d have taken him home if I’d known where he lived.” He bent down again and scratched Denny’s ears. “Denny’s your name, eh? I called him Snowy,” he explained, “cos it was snowing when I found him.”
“He had a collar when he went missing.” Emily was still suspicious. “And you could have taken him to the police.”
“There weren’t no hurry,” the man said defensively. “Me and him, we found somewhere warm to stay, didn’t we, lad? And then I went off to get us both something to eat.”
He came further into the barn and started to rummage around in his carrier bag. From it he produced a rather soggy parcel and spread out the wrappings in front of Denny.
“There we are, lad. Nice bit o’ liver.”
Denny started to eat hungrily. Sam showed no interest, but Jake wriggled in Neil’s arms, yipping in a frenzy, and the old man, his wrinkled face creased into a smile, gave him a scrap of the liver in his fingers.
“He’s a fine little fellow,” he said. “Is he yours, son?”
“Yes, his name’s Jake. I’m Neil Parker, and this is my mum, Carole, and my sister Emily.”
The old man ducked his head.
“Pleased to meet you, missus. They just call me Nick. I didn’t mean no harm, you know,” he said to Emily.
Emily smiled, but Neil thought she still didn’t look entirely sure that she wanted to trust Nick. Neil suspected that the old man was lonely, and might have been putting off the time when he would have to give Denny up. At least he’d kept him safe, when he might have died of cold.
“You can come with us when we take him home,” he said. “The Wards will want to thank you, and—”
He was interrupted by the sound of a car engine labouring through the snow on the road at the foot of the hill. Blue light flashed on and off in the darkness outside the barn door.
“The police,” said Carole.
Nick looked terrified.
“It’s OK,” Neil said. “We didn’t call them because of Denny. Just to shift our car out of the ditch.”
“I’ll go down.” Carole handed the torch to Neil. “You stay here where it’s warm, and keep the dogs out of the way.”
When she had gone, Nick started to unload more bits and pieces from his carrier bag, as if he was going to settle in.
“You’re not staying here, are you?” Neil asked. “Haven’t you got anywhere to live?”
Nick shook his head. “I’ve been on the road for years. Reckon I wouldn’t feel right no more with a roof over my head.”
“But tomorrow’s Christmas!” Emily protested.
Nick shrugged.
“You can’t spend Christmas in a barn!”
Neil hid a quiet grin. The best way for Emily to stop being suspicious of Nick was for her to find out that he was in trouble. Emily couldn’t resist helping – dogs, people, you name it.
“Why don’t you come to stay with us for Christmas?” she continued. “Mum and Dad wouldn’t mind, would they, Neil?”
Neil wasn’t sure about that,
but still . . . it was Christmas. “No, of course they wouldn’t.”
Nick frowned and shook his head. “Don’t reckon I could do that. Wouldn’t be right.”
Another car engine roared into life. The Range Rover! Neil looked out of the door and saw the police van, its blue light whirling, and the Range Rover with its lights on. A policeman in a bright yellow jacket was moving between the two vehicles.
“They’ve fixed a tow rope,” Neil reported to Emily, who was trying to persuade Nick to change his mind. “The Range Rover’s not moving though. I wonder if—”
He broke off as the police van slowly moved backwards, and the Range Rover lurched and almost leapt backwards out of the ditch.
“Yes!” Neil said. “They’ve done it!”
He went on watching as very slowly and carefully his mum turned the Range Rover so that it faced towards the main road again. Then she got out and climbed the hill to the barn, closely followed by the policeman.
“. . . so if you could help me get her into the car, I’ll take her straight to our doctor,” Neil heard her say as she came into earshot.
“No problem,” the policeman said, clapping his hands together. He was a huge young man with a friendly grin. “Good heavens, you’ve got a right collection here, haven’t you?” The grin faded as his eyes fell on Nick. “Who’s this, then? He’s not with you, is he?”
“Yes, he is!” Emily said, flying to Nick’s defence.
“I’m not doing no harm,” Nick said. “Just sheltering from the snow.”
“Well, you can’t shelter here, mate,” the policeman said. “This is private property. You’ll have to move on.”
“In this?” Carole said. “Oh, come on, officer. You’re not going to throw somebody out into the snow on Christmas Eve?”
The young policeman looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but the law’s the law. There’s a fire hazard, for one thing, if he stays here. Come on, mate. Let’s go.”
Muttering under his breath, Nick had already started to pack up his belongings into the plastic bag.
“Mum,” Neil said, “this is horrible. Can’t he come and stay with us for Christmas?”
“Please, Mum!” Emily added.
“Well . . .”
Carole was starting to smile, but the policeman interrupted her. “It’s not a good idea, ma’am, if I may say so.”
“No you may not,” Carole said crisply. “Who I invite into my house is my affair. This gentleman has already been very helpful in looking after our friends’ dog, and if he wants to come to stay with us he’s very welcome. Please come and spend Christmas with us, Nick.”
Nick still looked doubtful, glancing from Carole to the policeman and back again. Inspired, Neil said, “We run King Street Kennels. We’ve got lots of dogs for you to meet.”
“You could give us a hand with them if you like,” said Carole.
Nick’s face lit up, and creased again into a pleased smile. “Well, missus, if you’re sure . . .”
“That’s settled then,” said Carole. “Now, officer, if you could just give Emily a hand, we can all get moving.”
Everyone slowly made their way down the hill towards the waiting cars. Carole went first, followed by the policeman carrying Emily. Nick came next with Sam and Denny padding after him. Last of all, closing the barn door carefully behind him, came Neil with Jake bundled inside his jacket. He wasn’t going to risk the little dog running off again.
The policeman helped Emily into the back of the Range Rover, and went back to his own van where another policeman was waiting.
“I was going to take you to Casualty,” Carole explained to Emily. “But the policeman tells me they’ve got queues a mile long. So I rang Dr Harvey, and he says that if we go round there he’ll see us at home. He’s already closed for the holidays.” Briskly she added, “Neil, can you get the dogs into the back? Nick, you sit next to me.”
When he was in the back of the car, surrounded by dogs, Neil leant over and murmured into Emily’s ear, “Don’t you there’s something funny about this? Nick – Nicholas – bushy white beard . . . ?”
Emily started to giggle, but the engine starting up covered the sound.
“Better hope Squirt doesn’t catch on,” Neil added. “She always said Father Christmas would bring Denny back!”
10
Dr Harvey gently examined Emily’s ankle.
“You’ve got a nasty sprain there,” he said. “But that’s all it is. I’m sure it’s not broken. I’ll put a bandage on it, and you’ve got to stay off the foot as much as you can for the next few days.”
“Thank goodness it’s no worse,” said Carole.
The Parkers were huddled round the fire in Alex Harvey’s sitting room. Finn and Sandy, the doctor’s two dogs, lay on the hearthrug and watched his every move. Finn was a Kerry blue, a real show dog, while Sandy was just an ordinary mutt, but now that the two of them had settled down together they were the best of friends, and Alex loved them both.
Carole had left Sam and Denny in the car with Nick to look after them, but Neil had insisted on bringing Jake inside. The tiny Border collie scrambled around on his lap, eager to get down and make friends, but Neil kept him firmly out of the way. Finn at least could be a bit uncertain in temper at times. Besides, Neil didn’t dare think what Jake might do with a bandage!
“You’ve got a lively one there,” Dr Harvey said as he fastened Emily’s bandage in place. He leant over and tickled Jake. “Are we going to see him winning all the Agility prizes like his dad?”
“Maybe,” Neil said.
“No, he’s a tracker dog,” Emily contradicted.
Dr Harvey laughed. “Is he really? Isn’t he a bit small for a bloodhound?”
“You could try training him for obedience and tracking events,” Carole said. “But there’s time enough to think about that when he’s bigger. Let’s get Christmas over first.” She got up and started to put her coat back on. “Are you going away for Christmas, Alex?”
Dr Harvey looked gloomy.
“I was going over to my sister and her family in York. But all the roads across the Pennines are closed because of the snow. I’ll never get there now.”
“That’s awful!” said Emily. She exchanged a look with her mother and Neil. “Mum, couldn’t we . . .”
“Yes, of course we could. Alex, you’re coming to have Christmas dinner with us. And Finn and Sandy, of course.”
The doctor’s face broke into a smile. “If you’re sure . . .”
“No problem. Bob bought a turkey big enough to feed half of Compton. You’re very welcome, Alex.”
“Then in that case . . .” Alex Harvey’s grin broadened, “we’d be delighted. All three of us.”
“Ace!” said Neil.
“Come about twelve noon,” Carole said as the doctor carried Emily out to the car. “Things should be livening up about then.”
Neil looked up at the sky. The snow had almost stopped, though a few stray flakes were still drifting down.
“I hope you don’t get stuck,” he said.
“Don’t worry,” Dr Harvey promised. “I’ll get there. Even if I have to borrow a sledge and harness Finn and Sandy!”
Back in the car, Carole turned for home.
“We’ll drop Denny off on the way,” she said. “It’s a good thing it’s not far.”
The lights were on in the Wards’ house when the Range Rover pulled up outside. Neil hurried up the path and rang the bell. Emily refused to stay in the car and hobbled after Nick and Carole who had brought Denny.
Beth Ward opened the door and stood frozen, staring at Denny at Nick’s feet.
“Oh it is!” she said at last. “Oh, thank you! You’ve really found him.”
“Beth?” It was Gina’s voice. “Who are you—”
She came up the passage behind Beth, and broke off as she saw Denny. The retriever bounded away from Nick, barking eagerly and licking Gina’s face as she hugged him.
“Easy to
see he’s yours,” Nick said, a bit sadly.
“But where did you find him?” Beth asked. “His collar’s gone – and Emily, what happened to you? Oh, come in, everybody, and tell us all about it.”
They all crowded into the Wards’ tiny kitchen. Gina went to fetch her mother to hear the good news, while Beth found a chair for Emily. Neil let Jake and Sam roam around while he and Emily told the story, with additions now and again from their mother and Nick.
“So it’s you we’ve really got to thank,” Mrs Ward said to Nick, when they had finished. “I’m sure Denny would have died of cold if you hadn’t looked after him. You naughty boy!” she added to Denny. “Don’t you dare wander off like that again!”
Denny, with his face in a bowl of food, didn’t seem too bothered by the scolding. Mrs Ward took out her purse and emptied it of notes, which she held out to Nick.
“Don’t be offended,” she said. “But I’m sure you can make good use of this. And Denny’s worth ten times as much to us.”
Nick grinned. “I don’t offend easy, missus.” He took the notes and stowed them away inside his ragged overcoat. “Thanks. It were a pleasure to look after him. He’s a grand dog.”
“He’s really clever!” Emily said. “Beth, show Nick some of Denny’s tricks.”
Denny had finished feeding, so Beth snapped her fingers to get his attention, shook hands with him, and made him beg for a biscuit and jump over her outstretched arm.
“It’s silly to think he doesn’t enjoy it,” Emily said.
“I wouldn’t force him,” Beth said, petting Denny and rewarding him with a biscuit. “All right, trouble, here you are,” she added to Jake, who trotted up to her and pushed his nose into her hand. She gave him a biscuit, and one to Sam, who had better manners, but was looking on hopefully. “At least now we can forget about that horrid phone call. It wasn’t anything to do with Animal Rights at all.”
“Glen told us none of his friends would steal a dog,” said Emily.