Rascal: Lost in the Caves. Chris Cooper

      

      Collect all of Rascal’s adventures:

       _{RASCAL: LOST IN THE CAVES}

       _{RASCAL: TRAPPED ON THE TRACKS}

       _{RASCAL: RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE}

       _{RASCAL: FACING THE FLAMES}

       _{RASCAL: SWEPT BENEATH THE WATERS}

       _{RASCAL: RACING AGAINST TIME}

      First published in Great Britain in 2015

      by Egmont UK Limited

      The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

      Text copyright © 2002 Chris Cooper

      Illustration copyright © 2015 James de la Rue

      The moral rights of the author have been asserted

      First e-book edition 2015

      ISBN: 9781405275118

      Ebook ISBN: 9781780316666

       www.egmont.co.uk

      A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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      For Megan Louise

      CONTENTS

       Cover

       Front series promotional page

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

CHAPTER 1

       CHAPTER 2

       CHAPTER 3

       CHAPTER 4

       CHAPTER 5

       CHAPTER 6

       CHAPTER 7

       CHAPTER 8

       Back series promotional page

       CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

      It all started with the big dog’s bone.

      Rascal could smell it before he saw it, of course. The smell was coming from the other side of a line of trees. He froze for a second, sniffing the air. As usual, there were new smells all over this place, but that bone was the best of all. Rascal followed his nose, making his way through the cluster of trees. His master, Joel, was somewhere back along the path. He wouldn’t mind if Rascal did a little exploring for a minute or two!

      Rascal cleared the trees and there it was on the grass – a nice big bone, the kind with the marrow in the middle. It was resting under one heavy paw of a sleeping dog. A big sleeping dog.

      Rascal padded forwards. The big dog was snoozing outside a wooden holiday cabin. It was small, just like the one Rascal was staying in with Joel and his family. He could hear people’s voices from inside the cabin, but nobody came out.

      Rascal wagged his tail in eager excitement. He forced himself not to run too fast. That would spoil the fun! When he was close enough, he dropped to his belly and slid forwards. The sleeping dog let out a tiny noise – half grunt, half bark – that seemed to die in the back of its throat. It was probably dreaming about chasing cats.

      Rascal inched on. He carefully placed his jaws around the tip of the bone and pulled. As the bone slid out, the big dog’s paw flopped to the ground.

      The dog’s eyes opened. It was wide awake in an instant. It fixed the smaller dog with furious brown eyes.

      Rascal’s tail was wagging wildly. The bone dangled from his mouth. He was ready to play! A tug-of-war, a pretend fight . . . he was ready for anything. He let out a happy bark.

      But the big dog’s reply was very different. A deep growl escaped from its jaws. The growl built and built until it exploded into a fearsome bark. Then the big dog sprang to its feet. It glared down at Rascal menancingly.

      Rascal was confused. He wasn’t really stealing the bone! He was just having a bit of fun. But the big dog didn’t see it that way. Not one bit, because suddenly it was lunging forwards and there was only one thing Rascal could do. Get out of there fast!

      He whirled around and charged back the way he had come. He wasn’t even aware that the bone was still clamped between his teeth. He didn’t look back, but the big dog’s angry pant told him all he needed to know. He was being chased.

      Rascal burst through the trees, back to the footpath. His master was there now. Joel gave him a puzzled look.

      ‘Rascal? What’s wrong?’

      Rascal raced up to Joel and huddled behind his legs.

      ‘What have you got there?’ asked the boy. He reached out a hand and took hold of the bone.

      Rascal let out a nervous whimper. Joel’s brow was creased in confusion. And then the bigger dog crashed through the bushes and on to the path. When it saw that Rascal had stopped, it slowed. It let out a low snarl as it came closer. Its ears stood on end and its tail slashed the air angrily. It was ready for a fight.

      Rascal tried to disappear behind his master’s legs. Joel stepped between the two dogs. His voice was calm as he spoke, but Rascal knew his master too well. He could hear the anxiety that bubbled under Joel’s voice like a hidden stream.

      ‘It’s OK, doggie,’ said Joel to the big dog. He lifted his arm slowly. ‘This is yours, isn’t it?’ He was holding the bone out.

      The big dog was watching suspiciously, as if this was some new kind of sneaky trick.

      Joel let the bone fall to the ground.

      ‘There