“Maybe you can talk to him?” Gizmo asked Stripes. “We met a dog named Belle who was just as mad at everyone as Spots. But we spoke to her and calmed her down, and it turned out she was just lonely.”
Stripes swished her bushy tail. “I can try.”
Waddling over to the door, Stripes jumped up to press her paws against the glass. “Spots!” she cried. “It’s me, your old friend Stripes! Please stop chasing Tiffany. Come speak to us!”
Over the sound of another pile of boxes collapsing to the ground, Tiffany’s muffled voice screeched, “I told you, the name is Silver Bandit now!”
Spots howled.
Tiffany darted at full speed into the center of the room, the hat still on her head, as Spots lumbered out from behind a display.
Max and his friends backed away from the doors just as Tiffany leaped up. She landed on a narrow push bar and fidgeted with a lock on the inside.
A thunk sounded as the lock turned, and Tiffany forced open the door. Then she leaped over Max’s head and landed on the concrete walkway behind him.
“He’s your problem now!” the raccoon squealed.
And as Max, Rocky, Gizmo, and Stripes watched in surprise, the large, very angry Train Dog came howling toward the door, seconds away from barreling right into them.
CHAPTER 13
THE TRAIN DOG’S LAMENT
“Watch out!” Max barked at Rocky, Gizmo, and Stripes.
They leaped out of the way just in time.
Spots lowered his head as he ran toward the door, butting it open so hard that it slammed against the white brick wall. The wooden doorframe cracked, and one of the glass panes fell out, shattering on the pavement.
Huffing, the big Train Dog came to a stop among the animals, his giant head darting back and forth. “Where is she? Where is that little impostor?”
Tiffany sauntered out from behind Max on the concrete walkway, holding the conductor’s hat in her hands.
“Fine, here, have it!” she squealed, looking up at Spots. “I don’t need a disguise, anyway.”
She tossed the hat into the air, and it landed squarely on Spots’s snout.
Spots tossed his head to free it from the hat, then growled down at Tiffany. “That’s not good enough, you varmint.”
The big dog lunged at the little raccoon, his teeth bared. Max was about to leap forward to protect her, when Stripes let out a high-pitched, angry squeal.
“I have had enough!” the skunk shouted.
She waddled forward and shoved Tiffany aside with her wide body. Then she turned so that her backside was aimed at Spots’s face. Hefting up her bushy, striped tail, she took aim.
“You calm down this minute, Spots,” Stripes said, “or I will let loose right in your face. You’ll never get the smell out without a human to help.”
Spots’s eyes went wide. Slowly, he backed away from the skunk. “You wouldn’t,” he said, his voice trembling. “Not to an old friend like me.”
Stripes pressed her chest against the concrete, hefting her wide bottom up even higher. “You haven’t been acting like a friend to anyone lately,” she said. “But if you promise to behave like a nice dog, I won’t make it so you smell for the rest of your days. Deal?”
Letting out a soft whine, Spots said, “Deal.”
Slowly, Stripes lowered her tail, then turned to look up at her friend. Spots nuzzled his big snout against Stripes’s tiny black-and-white head. She leaned in, purring like a cat.
Tiffany flung herself on her back and scrabbled at the air with her little hands and feet. “Boring,” she said. “I was really hoping someone would get squirted today.”
“I think it’s nice,” Gizmo said. “I knew if Spots just listened to Stripes, then he would be willing to talk to us.”
Spots jerked his head up and growled at Gizmo. “Who are these mutts?” he asked. “I didn’t give them tickets to ride on my train.”
Rocky darted forward to stand between Gizmo and the big coonhound. “Hey! Don’t growl at her. And we’re not mutts. We are pe-di-gree.”
Slapping his tail angrily against the concrete path, Spots said, “Could have fooled me.”
“Spots…” Stripes said, a warning in her voice.
The big dog lowered his head, but he did not stop glaring at Rocky.
Max padded forward, careful to avoid the broken glass from the door. Wagging his tail, he said, “I’m Max. These are my friends, Rocky and Gizmo. We didn’t mean to bother you, sir. We just need some help.”
Spots sniffed warily at Max. “What kind of help?”
Max sat down next to him. “We’ve been traveling west for days and days, following a path left for us. But that big storm washed away our trail, and we were chased by wolves. We’d heard that you might know of the place where we’re headed, so we were hoping you could tell us how to get there before the wolves find us again.”
“And where exactly are you aiming to go?” Spots asked.
“To the big city of tents where all the humans have gone,” Rocky chimed in.
“Yes,” Gizmo barked. “The one behind the silver wall.”
Spots’s jaw went slack as he stared at Max and the others. Then, rearing back his head, he howled, long and loud and sad.
“No!” he cried. “I can’t talk about that place. The memories are too awful!”
Stripes nuzzled the old dog’s front leg. “Spots, they came all this way. To see you.”
“You’re the only one who can help us,” Max said to Spots. “Help us find our people.”
“I don’t care,” he barked. “Why did you all have to bother me? Why couldn’t you have just stayed away?”
Shoving past Max, Spots leaped off the concrete walkway and bounded toward the big, old train cars on display behind the museum. He slipped past the gate, then jumped into the cab of the great iron locomotive.
Tiffany rolled onto all fours. “What a whiner,” she said. “I almost fell asleep listening to him. I’m going to see what Chuck and those annoying babies are doing.”
Retrieving the conductor’s hat she’d tossed at Spots, Tiffany plopped it back on her head, then raced off toward the miniature town. “Don’t forget you promised to tell everyone my adventures!” she squealed as she disappeared.
“I’m gonna guess that isn’t the last we see of her,” Rocky grumbled.
Gizmo looked up at Max, ears drooping. “Spots seems so upset. Should we talk to him?”
Max looked over at the big, ancient locomotive. Spots was still inside, pacing back and forth. “We don’t really have a choice,” he said. “We had a head start on Dolph, but between sleeping last night and spending all day here in town, he could catch up if we don’t hurry.”
Stripes paced in a circle. “I did spray the outskirts of town, you know. That should keep the wolves out.”
“Maybe other wolves, lady,” Rocky said. “But this pack of wolves is determined to track us down. If that smell didn’t stop us, it sure won’t stop them.”
“Let’s just hope the spray masked your scent, then,” Stripes said.
“Come on,” Max said. “Maybe Spots has cooled off.”
It was late in the afternoon, and the golden twilight reflected off the glass lights and polished silver at the front of the train. The three dogs and the skunk walked single file toward the locomotive, with Max in the lead and Stripes taking up the rear. Inside the cabin, Spots pressed buttons with his snout and pushed levers with his paws. The evening light shimmered off his mottled fur.
“All aboard for DeQuincy,” the old dog said softly. “Next stop, DeQuincy, where you can meet Spots the Train Dog, mascot of our world-famous train museum.”
Memories came back to Max of Charlie and Emma. When they were younger and he was just a puppy, the kids both loved to wear overalls, tie kerchiefs around their necks, and put on caps like the one Tiffany wore. They played with toy train cars that ran on a wooden track, only those cars were brightly colored, with painted faces.
Gra
vel crunched beneath his paws as Max carefully approached the locomotive’s cabin.
“I bet my pack leaders would have enjoyed seeing you at work,” Max barked up at Spots.
Spots glared down at Max. He didn’t say anything.
“They’ve always loved trains,” Max went on, wagging his tail. “In fact, I think Emma wanted to be a conductor when she grew up.”
The old coonhound’s tail thumped against the metal floor. “Your human family loved trains, too?”
“Yup!” Max said. “I think a lot of kids do. I don’t blame them. These machines are so neat.” He cocked his head. “Do you mind if I jump up there with you?”
Spots bowed his head. “Come on aboard, partner.”
Max glanced back at Gizmo, Rocky, and Stripes, then leaped up into the cabin of the big locomotive. The metal floor was cold beneath his paws, and there wasn’t much room with the two big dogs inside. He looked around at the old iron machinery.
“Do you know how all this works?” Max asked.
“Of course!” Spots said. “I watched my pack leader show off the controls all the time.” He aimed his snout at different parts of the panel. “Those things that look like little clocks show the water level in the boiler and the steam pressure. This lever here controls the brakes that make the train stop, and this one here tells it to go.” Dropping down to the floor, he tapped on a little door. “That’s where the coal goes to heat up the water and create steam. The steam makes the train run.”
Max glanced outside to see Rocky, Gizmo, and Stripes watching silently from below, sitting on the gravel next to the locomotive’s towering wheels.
“That’s really neat,” Max said again. “Is Dots a train dog, too?”
“Naw,” Spots said, sniffing at the firebox door. “He was always a homebody, though he came to visit from time to time. He got along best with our lady pack leader, while me and the man were always best buddies.”
Then Spots turned to glare at Max. “But like I told you, I don’t want to talk about Dots and my pack leaders.”
Max ducked his head. “I understand. I miss my family a whole lot, too. It’s hard not knowing where they are.”
Stamping his front paws, Spots barked, “But I know where they are! Behind that big, dumb wall. That’s why Dots and I went there in the first place.” Something changed in Spots’s expression—his ears drooped and he no longer looked angry, just sad. “And that’s where I lost my brother.”
From outside, Gizmo asked, “Can you tell us what happened?”
Spots glanced out the dirty front window, then met Max’s eyes. “Your pack leaders really loved trains, like mine?”
“They did,” Max said. “They do. And I really wish I could find them.”
Sighing, Spots lay on his belly with his great head hanging out of the cabin. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll tell you what happened. But I ain’t talking about it again, so listen close.”
Max lay down next to Spots while Rocky, Gizmo, and Stripes huddled together on the gravel below the cabin.
“We were desperate after our pack leaders disappeared,” Spots said. “For a while, we waited, hoping they’d come home. Dots kept the homestead tidy, and I made sure to keep the other animals from coming in and wrecking the museum.” He growled. “Or at least I did—until Tiffany broke in today.”
“Yeah, she’s the worst,” Rocky grumbled.
Spots went on. “I came here every day, keeping the place running, making it fun for the littler pets. But after a while, Dots and I just couldn’t wait anymore. We knew our family had headed west, and we wanted to find them.”
From below, Stripes sighed. “I tried to make you stay,” she said. “I had a bad feeling.”
“I know you did, darlin’,” Spots said. “And I shoulda listened. But Dots and me, we were always stubborn fellows. No one could stop us. So one morning we set off in the direction of the setting sun, following the train tracks.
“The trip took days and days, and we were tired and thirsty. And then we saw the wall.”
At the mention of the wall, Max craned his neck forward.
“It was big and metal,” Spots continued. “An ominous thing if ever there was. But that didn’t matter, because as we got close, we could smell ’em: humans, thousands and thousands of them, their scents strong and angry. We could hear ’em, too, their voices mingling in a muddled stew. We just knew our pack leaders were on the other side, trapped and waiting for us to rescue them. So we dug.”
Groaning, Spots rose to his feet. He stretched and began to pace in the cramped cab.
“We tore at the dirt with our paws day and night, scarcely stopping to eat or drink, let alone sleep.”
“You didn’t eat?” Rocky whispered to himself. “That’s crazy!”
“Then, one evening,” Spots said, “we broke through. Between the two of us we’d moved aside all the earth in our way and made a tunnel underneath that stupid wall.”
Spots rested his big head on his paws, despondent. “It should have been me that went through first, since it was my idea to go after our family. But Dots was so excited that he climbed under before I could even get a word out. I started to follow, and even saw a bit of the other side. And then—”
The old dog went silent.
“What happened?” Gizmo asked softly.
Spots sniffed. “I don’t rightly know. A flash of white light flared up through the hole, then darkness, as a rush of something came to fill it in. I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do except back out as quick as I could. Then, I heard my brother’s muffled bark from the other side, telling me to run as far away from the wall as possible—and that he’d come after me when he could.” Spots let out a long, low grumble. “I never saw him again. And I never will. He’s gone.”
“You think he died?” Rocky asked from outside. “You can’t be sure of that, pal. He could be just fine.”
Spots shook his head, sending his long ears flapping. “No, a brother knows when his brother is gone. There’s an emptiness inside me, gnawing at my chest something fierce. There’s a dog-shaped hole in my heart that only Dots could fill.”
Max nuzzled Spots’s neck. “That’s a very sad story. But I don’t believe the humans would kill your brother. Maybe you can take us to the wall and show us where you dug the tunnel, and—”
The old coonhound leaped up to all fours, landing with a heavy clang against the metal floor.
“No!” Spots howled, his voice echoing in the locomotive’s cabin. “I’m never going back there. Never! You dogs can just get. The location of that deadly hole is going to the grave with me.” Then Spots leaped up against the control panels once more, angrily nosing the levers.
Tiny clangs sounded behind Max; he turned to see Stripes climbing awkwardly up the narrow steps into the cabin. She waddled up to Spots and wrapped herself around his hind leg.
“I know it hurts, old friend,” Stripes said. “But don’t take it out on these nice dogs.”
Spots let his front legs slide off the panel, and he landed on all fours. Sitting down, he looked at Max and Stripes in the cabin with him, and Rocky and Gizmo still sitting patiently outside.
“We want to be reunited with our families,” Max said softly. “Just like you do with yours.”
Spots’s eyes went distant, watery. “Emma, you said her name was?” he asked. “She wanted to be a conductor, eh? Just like my pack leader.”
“That’s right.” Max gave his head a gentle scratch. “She also wants to go to the moon, I think.”
Spots barked a laugh. “Maybe she can grow up to do both.” He fell silent, and the others sat still, waiting. All Max could hear was everyone’s soft breathing, and the distant chirping of crickets.
Finally, Spots said, “I suppose it wouldn’t be right to keep two little train enthusiasts from their dog friend.”
Outside, Rocky jumped up, excited. “Does that mean you’re gonna help us, pal?”
“I mean to say that I could be persuaded
to help all of you.” The old coonhound met Max’s eyes, and it seemed like there was a new spark within him. “But first I’ll need you to do something for me.”
Max didn’t hesitate. Wagging his tail, he gave his answer.
“Anything.”
CHAPTER 14
ALL ABOARD
“I’m telling you, Tiffany, all I have to serve is water.”
“I’m an international egg thief, and I drink only the finest of aged milks, sir. And the name is Silver Bandit!”
The barks and squeals of Chuck and the feisty little raccoon echoed over the tracks as Spots led Max, Rocky, Gizmo, and Stripes behind the old train cars to the miniature town.
Dusk had fallen, bringing a navy sky and shadows in the distant trees. The town was aglow with lamps in front of the doors and twinkling white lights strung up under the eaves.
“Look, I have lukewarm water, and I have cold water,” Chuck told Tiffany as he backed toward the swinging doors of the saloon. “My final offer.”
Tiffany flung her arms in the air, then flopped down on the porch. “After a long, hard day riding trains to herd up all the local bobcats, I don’t want to drink water. I want milk!” She tugged at the brim of her striped conductor’s cap. “I’ll just stay here until you find me the good stuff.”
Growling, Chuck nudged Tiffany with his snout. The raccoon went limp and refused to move.
“This varmint giving you trouble, Chuck?” Spots asked.
Chuck’s tail immediately set to wagging. “Spots! Good to see you! Want to come in for a drink?”
“Naw,” Spots said with a shake of his head. “I’ve just brought my new friends to town so they can help me get the train ready.”
Max noticed Tiffany peeking at them from underneath her conductor’s hat. As Chuck descended the saloon steps, she reached out and tugged his tail.
“Psst,” she said. “Don’t tell Spots I’m here. I think he’s mad at me.”
Chuck ignored her. Yanking his tail out of her hand, he circled Max, Rocky, and Gizmo, sniffing them.
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