by Andrew Cope
‘Probably because the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed for years,’ laughed Spud.
His sister jumped on to a small table and then on to the window sill. She swished open the curtains, lifting the gloom and blinking at the daylight. The puppy eased the catch with her nose and pushed the window wide open. There was an overgrown bush outside. ‘I think I’ve found his scratching,’ she barked. ‘The wind blows these branches and they tap on the window. Probably sounds quite scary at night,’ she said, dragging her claw down the glass to make a horrible screeching sound.
‘Good detective work, sis,’ woofed Spud, his nose still twitching at the carpet. ‘We’ll make a spy dog out of you yet! Hop down and check this out.’
His sister joined him and the two puppies stood by a boot print. ‘It’s a size ten at least,’ said Star. ‘It’s nearly as big as me! And it smells fresh.’
‘Who wears size tens in this house?’ asked Spud. The pups looked at each other, their tails wagging excitedly.
‘Nobody!’ they chorused.
‘Maybe Ollie was right?’ said Star, sniffing the carpet. ‘Here’s another muddy print. And another!’ she yapped, following the boot prints to the wardrobe. Star gulped. She scratched at the wardrobe door. ‘It’s locked,’ she woofed, looking up at the key.
Spud went over to the chair and pushed it towards the wardrobe. ‘Let’s check it out,’ he woofed. ‘We need to turn that key.’
The dogs scrambled on to the chair but still couldn’t reach the key.
‘Shoulders,’ said Spud. ‘You stand on my shoulders and we’re there.’ He bent down and his sister scrambled up. ‘Ready?’ he asked.
‘When you are,’ she replied, and her brother heaved up on to his hind legs, raising his sister to key level. She fumbled for a minute – it was difficult with paws instead of hands! Eventually the key turned and Spud was glad to put her down. They dragged the chair away and Star put her paw into the crack of the opening and pulled.
‘Here goes,’ she said as the hinges creaked open. Inside it was empty apart from some old coat hangers.
‘Nothing! Phew!’ said Spud.
Star jumped into the wardrobe and sniffed hard. ‘Woodworm. Moths,’ she decided. ‘But, hmmm, that’s the whiff of a person! And not someone I recognize.’
‘Yikes,’ barked Spud. ‘Why would a stranger have been hiding in Ollie’s wardrobe?’
‘No idea, Sherlock,’ said Star. ‘But smell this,’ she said, snuffling at the back of the wardrobe.
Spud scrambled inside to join his sister. ‘Fresh air,’ he said. ‘There must be a hole at the back.’ Spud sat down, his bottom hitting a small lever. ‘Whoa!’ he barked.
The back of the wardrobe slid away to reveal a black hole.
‘No way!’ yapped Spud, looking wide-eyed at his sister. A secret tunnel!’
‘A smugglers’ passageway,’ wagged his sister. ‘And a chance to explore!’
‘You’re not serious,’ protested Spud. ‘We’re not going down that spooky tunnel, are we?’
Too late. His sister had already bounded to the kitchen and dragged the professor’s kitbag back to the bedroom. She picked out her torch hat. ‘Come on!’
‘Are you sure, sis?’ questioned Spud. ‘Mum said we could go out later if we behaved.’
‘Well, we can go out now, silly,’ woofed Star. ‘And we’re not misbehaving, we’re being trainee spies. Mum would do exactly the same. Let’s follow this tunnel and sniff out whoever’s been sneaking around Ollie’s room.’
Spud thought carefully about what trouble they would be in if their mum found out. What if we’re not around for Aunt Aggie’s cake and our walk this afternoon? But the idea of finding treasure was just too tempting. Anyway, they could just take a look inside the tunnel and their mum would never even have to know.
‘OK!’ he yapped.
‘Good,’ said Star. ‘Now stop worrying and help me with this.’
Spud pulled Star’s torch hat on straight, then used his teeth to snap the clasp in place. Star returned the favour and the dogs looked at each other, their headlamps shining brightly as their tails wagged with excitement.
‘Let’s do it,’ commanded Star. ‘Let’s have our first ever spy-pup adventure!’
10. Gold Digger
It was a breezy day but the rain from last night’s storm was gone. Lara bounded ahead of the children.
So many rabbits, she thought, nose to the ground. It’s doggie paradise!
They followed the narrow road from Aunt Aggie’s towards the sea.
‘Wow!’ exclaimed Ben, gazing out over the cliffs. ‘Look at the jagged rocks down there,’ he said. ‘It’s no wonder there were so many shipwrecks.’
The group strode along the path towards the castle. It was a magnificent building that stood high on the cliff, looking out to sea. Half was in ruins but the other half had been rebuilt, the turrets rising royally over the town below. An American Stars and Stripes flag billowed from the flagpole.
Lara bounded ahead. It sure is an impressive building, she thought, looking up at the sturdy walls.
The children joined her, and Ben had to shout to make himself heard above the wind. ‘Let’s see if we can get in,’ he yelled.
They approached the huge wooden door. It was five times taller than Ben and had a rope hanging at its side. Ben hesitated for a moment before pulling it.
‘Cool doorbell,’ cooed Ollie.
They waited for a minute. ‘Nothing,’ said Sophie, sounding rather relieved.
Lara cocked her head and listened. No, nothing, she agreed. Nobody home.
The children turned to go as two men approached from the village. One was a policeman in a dark blue uniform. The other was speaking very loudly in an American accent. Sophie winced at his clothing choice of bright pink trousers and lime green jumper.
‘What are you kids doing up here?’ yelled the American as he came towards them. ‘Can’t you see it’s private?’
‘His voice is as loud as his clothes,’ whispered Sophie.
‘Er, we did see the signs,’ admitted Ben, ‘but we thought it was worth asking. Our aunt says there’s old treasure hidden in this area and we just wanted to have a look around, if that’s OK?’
As the two men stalked up to the children, Ollie jumped as he recognized the policeman. His big nose was unmistakable – it was the man from his bedroom the night before, he was sure! He shrank behind his brother.
‘Well, it sure ain’t OK,’ bellowed the man, glaring at the children. ‘And keep your pesky mutt away from my castle. I don’t want dog doos everywhere.’
Me neither, thought Lara, taking an instant dislike to the man. I’m toilet-trained, if you please. And I’m neither pesky nor a mutt. I’m actually a highly skilled spy dog.
‘Do you own the castle?’ asked Sophie.
‘Gee, ain’t she the bright one,’ the man yelled. ‘Do I sound like a local?’ he asked. ‘I ain’t from these parts, little lady. My name’s Art Burlington. From New York City. I’m also lord of this castle. My friends call me “Art” so you can call me “Lord Burlington”.’ He gave the children a smug look and Lara couldn’t help but raise her hackles. ‘I bought the castle as, let’s say, an investment.’
‘For the gold?’ asked Ben.
‘What do you think, sonny?’ shouted the lord, his face as pink as his trousers. ‘I sure didn’t buy it cos I wanted to live here. Awful place and awful weather,’ he added, staring out to sea.
The policeman eyed the children suspiciously. ‘You lot aren’t from round here, are you?’ he enquired. ‘Not seen you before.’
‘No,’ began Sophie. ‘We’re staying with our aunt. At Smugglers’ Cottage.’
Both men stiffened. They exchanged glances and then looked back at the children. ‘Smugglers’ Cottage, eh?’ repeated Lord Burlington. ‘It’s a draughty old cottage, ain’t that right, PC Winkle? Awful place. Power cuts, if I’m not mistaken. Well, your Aunt Agatha has been very difficult,’ he said, glanc
ing at the policeman. ‘What your aunt probably hasn’t told you is that I’ve offered to buy her rundown cottage. In fact I’ve made several offers. Very good offers. But the stubborn old lady won’t budge.’
‘Aunt Aggie isn’t a stubborn old lady,’ said Ben defensively. ‘That cottage is her home. What do you want to buy it for anyway?’ he asked suspiciously.
‘None of your business,’ snapped PC Winkle.
‘Is it the gold?’ questioned Ollie, stepping out from behind Ben. ‘I-I-I saw you snooping round my room last night,’ he said bravely, pointing to the policeman. ‘Were you looking for the gold?’
Lord Burlington boomed with laughter.
‘Ollie!’ said Sophie. ‘You can’t accuse a policeman of that!’
‘Never you mind why His Lordship wants to buy the cottage,’ PC Winkle snarled as Ollie retreated behind Ben’s back again. ‘And I wasn’t snooping in your bedroom. Listen to your sister – that’s a ridiculous thing to say to a policeman,’ he stuttered, turning bright red with rage. ‘Now you lot run along and take this flea-ridden mutt with you.’ Lara had to dodge his huge boot as he aimed it as her.
Er, excuse me, thought Lara. I’m a karate black belt – you don’t want to take me on. And I pride myself on cleanliness. I have a shower every morning. I even use Ben’s shower gel. There are no fleas on me, matey.
‘You need to remind your stubborn Aunt Agatha that we’ve made our best offer,’ added the lord. ‘She needs to sell up and move out before the power cuts become even more regular. Don’t you agree, PC Winkle?’ he smirked.
‘Yes, Lord Burlington, that’s right. And please don’t come round here again. Not only is it private property but it’s dangerous, see,’ added the policeman. ‘We wouldn’t want anything nasty to happen now, would we? Like your dog getting hurt, for instance.’
Lara growled at the men. Just try it, she dared.
‘Don’t worry, we won’t be coming back here,’ said Sophie as she turned to leave.
Ben dragged Lara away and the children headed down the hill.
Lara was angered by the men’s unfriendly attitude. I’m tempted to do some martial arts on those two, she thought, but I’m only supposed to do it in self-defence. And fleas? How dare he!
‘Scary,’ said Ben.
‘Yes,’ agreed his little brother. ‘Pink trousers. More like terrifying!’
‘Not his clothes, silly. His attitude.’
A yellow digger chugged up the track and they watched as the gate opened and it pulled into the castle grounds.
‘I bet he’s digging for gold,’ said Ben. ‘He’s bought the castle on the cheap, closed it down and is now ripping it apart. It’d be awful if a horrible bloke like that actually found the treasure.’
It’d be criminal, thought Lara.
‘What did you mean about PC Winkle being in your room, Ollie?’ asked Sophie. ‘You’re not serious, are you? Aunt Aggie’s story just put silly ideas in your head.’
‘It was definitely him,’ blurted Ollie. ‘The policeman. I didn’t imagine it, I promise. I saw his face in the light from the storm – his nose was exactly the same.’
‘The policeman was in your room?’ repeated Sophie.
‘He came out of my wardrobe,’ said Ollie. ‘He really, really did.’
‘OK, Ollie, we believe you,’ said Ben, squeezing his younger brother’s shoulder.
The older children were puzzled. It was unusual for Ollie to tell lies and they knew by his voice that he really believed what he was saying.
Lara slunk along, head down, thinking hard. OK, so I’m retired from spying, she thought. But castles, hidden gold, a smugglers’ cottage and policemen in a wardrobe. This is going to need some investigating!
11. Captured!
‘You first,’ said Spud, pushing his sister from behind. ‘It was your idea.’
Star took a deep breath and entered the tunnel, her wag-powered torch lighting the brickwork on the walls. Spud followed, providing extra light. It was a decent-sized opening, high enough for a child Ollie’s age to stand upright. But an adult would have to bend double.
The puppies ventured onwards, following a series of stone steps that dropped deeper in the direction of the cliffs. The steps stopped as the tunnel flattened out, and Star and Spud stood with their lights shining into the eerie distance. There were a few cobwebs and the sound of dripping water, but apart from that, nothing.
‘Come on,’ urged Star, her bark echoing into the distance. ‘Let’s see if we can sniff out an adventure!’
The dogs followed their noses, scampering into the darkness. They came to a fork in the tunnel and decided to investigate the left-hand side first.
‘Whoa, some steep steps,’ barked Star, the light picking out a downward path carved into the rock.
Within a minute they saw daylight and scampered out of a cave on to a pebble beach.
‘Wow!’ woofed Spud, looking around at the steep cliffs. ‘This looks like the only way on to this beach. I bet this is where the pirates collected the shipwrecked treasure and hauled it through the tunnel. To Smugglers’ Cottage!’
The puppies sat and rested a while, their lights glinting in the gloomy weather. Waves crashed against the rocks and thousands of pebbles churned around in the powerful ocean before crashing on to the beach.
‘There’s no way that ships would survive on these rocks,’ woofed Star. ‘Easy pickings for smugglers.’
The pups re-entered the cave and headed back to the fork in the tunnel. ‘Right takes us home,’ said Star.
‘So left it is,’ woofed Spud, getting a taste for adventure. ‘You’re right, this sure beats sitting around the house. And it’s a hundred per cent better than homework!’
The dogs scampered along the tunnel until they eventually came to a metal grille. ‘It’s locked,’ said Spud, ‘but I reckon we might be able to squeeze through the holes.’
‘Good idea,’ said his sister. ‘Let’s give it a go.’
Star breathed in and she was through. Spud stuck his head through but was soon regretting his extra bacon butty. Whichever way he tried, his tummy got stuck. Eventually, he stood on his hind legs, breathed in as deeply as he could and squeezed his hardest. Star pulled and her brother popped through the gap like a cork.
‘Made it!’ yelped Spud, looking at the scratch marks on his side. No second helpings from now on! And no finishing Star’s leftovers! ‘Where are we?’ he asked, looking around at the stone walls.
‘Not sure,’ shrugged his sister. ‘But I suspect we might be in the castle.’
A shiver went up Spud’s spine. ‘What if there are baddies? Or ghost pirates?’
Star’s eyes shone with excitement. ‘Well, let’s see what we can find, then go home and tell Mum. She’s a spy dog. She’ll know what to do.’
The puppies looked around and decided they were in the castle dungeon.
‘Good job we’ve got Professor Cortex’s torches,’ said Spud. ‘Otherwise it’d be totally scary.’ His woof echoed through the big empty space and the puppies made sure they stayed close together. They sniffed for a way out.
‘There are more steps over here,’ said Star, tiptoeing up them. The winding staircase ended in a heavy wooden door that was wedged open with a box of apples. They climbed over the crate and jumped down into a room that looked like the castle kitchen.
‘Light at last,’ said Spud, stopping his wagging to dim the light.
‘Careful,’ hissed Star. ‘I can hear footsteps.’
The pups shrank into a nearby corner with their tails drooped as a burly lady hurried by. She was carrying a pile of plates and the pups heard them crashing into the sink as she began the washing-up.
Spud could smell food. Lots of lovely food, he thought. Roast beef. And spuds. Oooh, and gravy. I love gravy, he thought, his mouth watering.
Star nudged her brother. ‘Stop slobbering. We’re not here to eat. And we’ll need to squeeze back through those bars,’ she warned. ‘We’re here to f
ind information that can solve this mystery.’
But Spud couldn’t concentrate. He could hear the cook scraping leftovers into the bin. He loved the sound of scraping plates because it always meant there would be something exciting in his doggie bowl. I wonder if they’ve got any Yorkshire puds left over, he wondered, creeping out of the shadows.
‘Spud,’ whined his sister, ‘get back here!’
Spud’s ears had stopped working like they always did when he was hungry. Roast beef, he thought, following his nose towards the bin. He saw a huge slice of lemon meringue pie on the table. And pudding too! Oh boy! His tail was on autopilot – his torch shining brightly.
Star sneaked out from her hiding place and grabbed his tail with her teeth in an attempt to pull him back. But Spud was bigger and stronger than his sister and she was dragged out into the middle of the castle kitchen.
If the cook turns round, we’re doomed. Star let go of her brother and scurried under the table. She watched in agony as he sniffed his way to the bin.
He licked at a few gravy puddles and then sat there wagging his tail, looking up at the cook. Any roast beef? he thought, his torch shining on the back of the lady’s head.
The cook had her hands in the soapy water. She reached for another batch of dirty plates and turned to scrape the leftovers into the bin. As her foot hit the pedal she stopped in amazement, blinking hard at the puppy.
‘A dog!’ she exclaimed. ‘A tiny dog? With a miner’s helmet!’ The cook dried her hands and bent down, grabbing Spud by the collar. ‘What on earth are you doing in my kitchen?’
12. Kitchen Chaos
Star expected the worst. Maybe for her brother to be taken outside and sent away, leaving her alone in the kitchen. But to her surprise the lady cradled Spud and stroked him lovingly.
‘I love dogs,’ she cooed. ‘And you are so cute. And that’s a lovely hat. What’s your name, little fella?’ she asked.
‘Er, Spud,’ woofed Spud, fixing his best doggie grin.
