by Andrew Cope
Yep, Prof, I couldn’t agree more. It might be nothing, but it might be something too. I think it’s a great idea for us to be in the school. We can keep an eye on Mr Thompson and on Sophie and Ollie too.
Lara gave the professor a big nod and closed one eye in a wink.
‘I knew you’d understand,’ he said with a smile.
7. Great Gadgets
The children always loved seeing the professor’s latest inventions. Some of his gadgets went straight off to be used exclusively by MI5 and MI6, but others were designed to be sold to the general public to raise money for future research.
Everyone gathered round the sandpit, watching as he produced a bizarre-looking contraption, including two buckets of different sizes, a plastic spade, lots of cogs and wheels, and a small, solar-powered engine.
‘As I’m going on holiday to the seaside I thought I’d design –’ the professor paused for dramatic effect and then said with a flourish – ‘an automatic sandcastle-builder! Ta-da! Just watch this!’
He put the contraption in the sandpit, stood well back and zapped it with a remote control. There was a faint buzzing sound and the spade began to dig, filling one of the buckets with sand.
‘This is the basic program,’ explained the professor as the machine turned the bucket over and lifted it up to reveal a perfect little sandcastle. ‘But now watch this!’
He zapped with a different button. This time the machine moved round the sandpit, making a circle of small sandcastles and finally adding a bigger one in the middle, using a different bucket.
‘I’m working on several more programs to produce various designs,’ said the professor. ‘Moats, turrets, all that sort of thing … But I’m taking this prototype to the beach to try it out. The great thing is I’ll be able to make sandcastles while I’m sitting in my deckchair reading a scientific journal! Isn’t that fantastic? What do you think, kids?’
There was a second’s silence.
‘It’s really good,’ said Sophie kindly.
‘But?’ said the professor. ‘It’s OK, young lady, I can hear there’s a “but”. Don’t worry, I can take it!’
‘But maybe the really fun thing about sandcastles is actually building them yourself?’ suggested Sophie hesitantly.
The professor scratched his head. ‘Hmm, I see what you mean,’ he said at last. ‘Well, never mind, I’ll treat it as a work in progress. I’m sure I can adapt the idea somehow. Now, let me see, what else have I got … ah yes!’
He took his hands out of his bag and held them in front of him with his fists loosely closed. ‘What do you think of this?’
‘What?’ chorused the children.
‘Oh, can’t you see it?’ teased the professor. ‘Ben, would you do a simple karate chop movement through the air between my hands? Not too hard, just a quick slice towards the ground.’
‘OK,’ said Ben, mystified. ‘Here goes … Yow!’ Ben’s hand stopped in mid-air directly in line with the professor’s fists. ‘There’s something in the way!’
‘That’s right and that something is … invisible string!’ said the professor proudly. ‘I’ve discovered that if I coat some strong thread with a special light-reflective mixture, it becomes invisible to the naked eye. Feel it, everyone! It’s really there, but you just can’t see it!’
‘Wow!’ said Sophie. Even Mrs Cook was impressed.
‘Could you coat me in your special mixture?’ asked Ollie. ‘Then I could be invisible too?’
‘I’m afraid it wouldn’t work on you, Ollie,’ said the professor. ‘It has to be something that’s really very fine, like thread or wire. You can have a sample, though. In fact you can all have one – I’ve got plenty. I’ve already run this idea past MI5 and I can tell you they’re very interested!’
The children each took what looked like a plain bit of cardboard, but when they touched it they could feel the invisible string wrapped round.
‘I can’t wait to show this to my friends!’ said Ollie, ‘Oh, hey – we can show them together, Spud!’ he added, remembering that Lara and the pups would be going to school with him too.
The professor looked at his watch. ‘Goodness me, I should be going. I haven’t even started my packing yet! I’ve just got one other new invention here; I’ll show you quickly.’
He produced a rather scruffy-looking brown paper bag and took out a small, black capsule. ‘I call this my black-out capsule,’ he said. ‘It can make any room entirely private in seconds.’
Very useful for spies, thought Lara.
‘How does it work?’ asked Sophie, looking at the capsule doubtfully.
‘Allow me to demonstrate,’ said the professor, leading the way back into the kitchen.
‘Now, you have some delightful curtains at your window, Mrs Cook, so if you wanted privacy you could simply pull them closed. But let’s suppose you didn’t have any curtains; perhaps you were in an office or a train …’ He suddenly hurled the capsule at the kitchen window. It broke open and a pool of what looked like thick, black ink began to spread across the glass.
Mrs Cook gasped. Lara blinked. I think you’ve gone too far this time, Professor!
The black substance covered the window perfectly, stopping neatly at the edges. The sunny room was instantly dark and Ben had to turn on the light.
‘It would be good for people who need to sleep in the daytime too,’ said the professor thoughtfully. ‘I hadn’t thought of that before.’
‘It’s brilliant,’ said Mrs Cook, ‘but, er, how do you get it off?’
‘Oh, no problem at all,’ laughed the professor. ‘I call it intelligent plastic. Look – it just peels straight off if you pull it!’ Sure enough, the professor lifted up a corner of the coating and the whole thing came away, leaving the window looking as good as new.
‘Impressive!’ said Ben. ‘Professor, you’re a genius!’
‘Oh no, not at all,’ said the scientist modestly, shaking his head. ‘I just do what I can, you know. You children can have a sample one of these too, if you like, and now I really must be off!’
After the professor had gone Mrs Cook picked up one of the books he had given her for the stall. It was called Investigations in Molecules and Matter. She blew the dust off the cover and glanced inside. As far as Mrs Cook was concerned, it might as well have been written in a foreign language – she couldn’t understand a word! ‘Oh well,’ she sighed. ‘These might not be the first books we sell at the fete, but I suppose someone may buy them eventually!’
Spud and Star were so excited about going to school that they wanted to pack their school bags straight away. Ollie found them pencil cases, and helped sharpen some pencils and crayons for them.
Lara looked on thoughtfully. Like it or not, I get the feeling that another Spy Dog mission is under way.
8. The Monster Machine
‘Welcome to Year Five, Lara!’ said Mr Thompson. ‘As you know the experiment simply requires you to be in the room, so feel free to join in with our lessons as little or as much as you like.’
Everyone in the village knew about Lara and her special skills, although they made a point of never discussing it with strangers. Mr Thompson was well aware that most of his lessons would be far too easy for Lara.
‘If you just want to sit in the corner and observe, that’s fine too,’ he added.
Oh no! Lara shook her head vigorously. That’s way too boring for me!
‘I’m sure Lara would like to get involved,’ said Sophie. ‘She always helps us with our homework and she’s taught the pups loads of things too.’
Lara nodded enthusiastically.
‘Well, that’s great!’ said Mr Thompson, looking pleased. ‘This is a lively class and I could certainly use a helper, if you’re willing!’
Lara liked Mr Thompson. He was young and funny and he clearly loved his job. She was secretly rather proud to be his new classroom assistant.
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As the children began their number work, Lara strolled between their tables, gently pointing out any mistakes with her paw. Sometimes she put a pencil in her mouth and made a small correction – she was particularly strong on maths.
Later in the morning, when Sophie’s friend Grant was making a list of creatures that live in Antarctica and got stuck after ‘seal’ and ‘polar bear’, Lara did such a funny impersonation of a waddling penguin that poor Grant almost fell off his chair laughing.
Lara could easily work the interactive whiteboard and she happily trotted around the classroom giving out worksheets and collecting books, carrying them carefully in her mouth. Then, when Molly Jenkins suddenly got a nosebleed, it was Lara who found her some tissues and went with her to sit quietly in the office for a while.
‘I don’t know how I ever managed without you,’ said Mr Thompson at lunchtime. ‘You and I make a great team, Lara!’
That’s right! thought Lara happily. We’re a lean, mean teaching machine! I like this job almost as much as my old one!
After lunch Mr Thompson started telling the class about the ancient Greeks. Lara was fascinated. She hadn’t studied much ancient history with the professor and she always liked learning anything new. She listened, wide-eyed, as Mr Thompson explained about the clever people who lived in Athens over two thousand years ago.
It was another hot day and, as she glanced through the window at the school field, Lara noticed that Ollie’s teacher had taken her class outside. The children were sitting cross-legged underneath a big, shady tree while their teacher sat on a chair reading to them.
There’s Ollie – and Spud, sitting beside him. Both of them being as good as gold, thought Lara proudly. Spud isn’t fidgeting at all. He must be really interested!
In the distance Lara could hear the sound of the school gardener mowing the grass with his big ride-on lawnmower. The fresh, grassy smell wafted into the classroom.
This is lovely, thought Lara. A perfect afternoon.
She noticed the noise of the mower was growing a little louder. He must be coming this way. Then Lara glanced towards the sound – the lawnmower, a powerful red machine like a miniature tractor, was certainly coming their way. It seemed to be gaining speed as well, but instantly Lara realized that there was no one driving it! That mower is out of control – and it’s heading straight for the children!
‘So, does anyone know where the first Olympic Games were held?’ asked Mr Thompson, looking round the room. ‘Lara! Where are you going?’
For no obvious reason, Lara had jumped up and leapt out of the open classroom window. A second later she was racing off across the grass, barking wildly.
Spud! Spud! Look out! Get everyone out of the way! she woofed.
Spud heard his mum and looked round. He saw the lawnmower charging towards them and started barking too and pulling at the sleeve of Ollie’s T-shirt.
Ollie, look behind you! There’s a monster machine on the loose!
‘Shhh, Spud, behave yourself,’ said Ollie. ‘Listen to the story.’
Ollie’s teacher looked up from her book, but from where she was sitting she couldn’t see anything wrong. She just assumed the gardener was cutting the grass nearby.
‘If you don’t stop barking, Spud, you’ll have to go back in the classroom,’ she said sternly.
Meanwhile Mr Thompson had seen what was happening and he too had leapt out of the window and was running, shouting and waving his arms.
And the runaway lawnmower was gaining speed.
Lara ran her very fastest. Her heart was banging in her chest and she was gasping for breath. If I don’t do something, those children will be mown down like daisies.
As the machine closed in on them, Ollie’s teacher suddenly realized what all the fuss was about. She jumped to her feet and screamed. The children all started screaming too. No one knew which way to run.
But Lara was there. With the runaway mower only seconds away from the first child, Lara leapt into the driver’s seat and wrenched at the steering wheel. The machine veered sideways, crashing into the tree, hitting its trunk with enormous force. Then it tipped over, hurling Lara out as it rolled. The mower lay on its side with its engine throbbing and its blades still spinning, but Lara lay in a crumpled heap, completely still.
‘Come on, Lara, wake up, old girl!’ The Spy Dog felt something wet trickling down her face. Is that blood?
Lara could feel a dull pain at the back of her head where she must have hit the ground. She opened one eye and saw Mr Thompson’s worried face looking down at her. She opened the other eye and realized he was gently sponging her forehead with warm water.
‘It’s OK, you’ve had a nasty bump and you just passed out for a couple of minutes.’
Lara moved her legs experimentally. Seems like I’m still in one piece.
‘You did a fantastic job, Lara. I’ve never seen anyone move so fast,’ said Mr Thompson. ‘Thank goodness you were here this afternoon. If it hadn’t been for you, there could have been a very nasty accident.’
Lara was fully conscious now. I’m sorry, Mr Thompson, but you’ve got it wrong. Lawnmowers don’t do things like that by themselves. Someone had tampered with that machine and jammed the throttle on. Someone had aimed it at those children – someone who didn’t care what happened next. Whatever happened this afternoon I know one thing for sure – it was no accident.
9. Painting Plates
‘Nice one, bruv, so did you see what happened?’ Cliff was talking to Dale on his mobile phone as he made for his usual corner in The Dirty Duck.
‘Nah, the school gardener came back and I had to leg it – but I heard lots of kids screaming and dogs barking and then a really big crash. I’m guessing someone definitely got hurt,’ said Dale with a horrible smile. He was holding his phone in one hand and steering very badly with the other as he sped along the lane away from the village.
‘Well, that should put the frighteners on our friend the teacher,’ said Cliff. ‘He’ll know that, next time, it just might be him!’
‘That’s the idea,’ laughed Dale. ‘So when we pay him our next little visit I think he’ll be more than happy to help us, don’t you?’
‘I think he will, Dale, I think he will. Now he knows the kind of people he’s up against, I think he might just spill the entire can of beans and tell us everything we need to know.’
‘Costa del Sunshine, here we come!’ yelled Dale, accelerating away after his car grazed the wheel of a woman on her bicycle and sent her flying into the hedge.
But Dale and Cliff were completely wrong. Mr Thompson knew nothing of the ways of the criminal underworld and he had no idea that the incident with the lawnmower was meant as a threat. Once he was sure that Lara wasn’t badly hurt, he thought no more about it and came whistling into school each day, just as cheerful and relaxed as ever.
Lara, however, remained on full alert and she warned the pups to be the same. ‘I know you’re having lots of fun at school,’ she said. ‘But remember, Spy Dogs never drop their guard. If you notice anything odd, come straight to me.’
Spud and Star nodded solemnly.
‘Everything seems normal,’ went on Lara, ‘but there’s definitely something strange going on around here – and one way or another I intend to get to the bottom of it.’
As the pets-in-the-classroom experiment continued, it became increasingly clear that having Lara and the pups in the school was good news. The teachers reported excellent results and were pleased with the way their classes were working.
‘I thought the animals might be a distraction,’ said the head, ‘but funnily enough they seem to be helping the children to concentrate. It makes me wonder whether every class should have a resident dog!’
On Friday, Year Five were continuing their studies of the ancient Greeks by making decorated plates.
‘We prepared the plates last week,’ Mr Thompson explai
ned to Lara. ‘Now we’re going to paint them in the style of ancient Greek pottery.’
I know someone who’ll enjoy that! thought Lara. Sophie was very artistic and loved anything that involved painting or drawing.
‘But first I want everyone to research images on the Internet,’ Mr Thompson went on, addressing the class. ‘Find as many examples of ancient Greek pottery as you can and choose a design that you’d like to copy. The finished results should look as authentic as possible. You can do one too, Lara, if you like. I’ve got a spare plate you can have.’
Lara wagged her tail. I’m not great at painting, but I’ll give it a go!
Lara and Sophie sat side by side at the class computers, searching on various websites. Sophie soon found an image that appealed to her.
‘Look at this, Lara,’ she said, pointing to a picture of a horse with huge wings. ‘It’s called Pegasus, the flying horse. I’m going to print it out and see if I can copy it.
The design was really striking, but Lara was more interested in the text that went with the picture. It was an article from a news website. The headline was:
PRICELESS GREEK PLATE STOLEN
FROM LONDON MUSEUM
It went on to say that, only a few weeks earlier, thieves had broken into the British Museum and stolen an important and very valuable piece of ancient Greek pottery.
What a shame, thought Lara. A precious bit of the past like that should be somewhere where everyone can see it. Looks like that museum might need better security!
‘Found anything yet, Lara?’ asked Mr Thompson.
Lara shook her head. I need something that’s easier to copy, she thought and began clicking and scrolling with increasing desperation. Those ancient Greek guys were good! A bit too good for a doggie painter like me.
In the end Lara found a picture of a dish with three big painted fish following each other around inside it. She decided to go for that.
