Hour of the Doomed Dog (4 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

As they left the hotel to play crazy golf, Joe spotted Frankie asleep in the hallway. He tiptoed past. Hopefully he’d be back before Frankie realized he’d gone!

The Jolly Roger Adventure Golf course was only a few minutes’ walk from the hotel. There was a huge plastic pirate outside and all the obstacles were pirate-themed – wooden barrels, treasure chests, cannon and sea monsters…

“Good shot!” called Uncle Len, as Damian’s
ball whizzed up a ramp and into a skull’s eye socket, before dropping out of the other side and landing with a THUD on the grass below. Joe had matched Damian shot for shot on the first five holes. But the sixth one looked trickier…

“Give it a good whack!” boomed Uncle Len, as Toby lined up to take his turn. “You’ll need plenty of power to get up that ramp.”

Toby blasted the ball but it zoomed left, missing the ramp completely and landing in the bushes.

“Maybe you should take it again,” smiled Dad as Toby went searching for it.

“No way!” Damian snapped. “Every shot counts. Your go, Joe.”

Joe lined up his ball…

WHACK!

It shot up the ramp, straight as an arrow, into the skull’s eye…

Joe listened for the THUD as it came out of the other side and hit the grass. But there wasn’t one.

“It didn’t come out!” called Toby.

Joe bent down and peered inside the skull’s mouth.

A small hairy face with bulging green eyes peered back.

“There you are, Joe!” yelped Frankie. “You sneaked off without telling me!”

“Did you swallow my ball?” Joe whispered.

Frankie burped. “Maybe!”

Joe tried to grab him, but the little dog slipped away and jumped out of the back of the obstacle.

“Can you see it, Joe?” called Dad.

“No. It must have got stuck in the skull somewhere…”

“Ha!” giggled Damian. “I win this hole!”

“Go and get another ball from the cabin,” said Dad. “You can catch us up.”

Joe trudged off, and moments later he
heard the scuttle of small paws.

“Stop, Joe! You’ve got to listen to me. The robbers are in the hotel! NOW!”

“Go away!”

“They really are, Joe. It’s them! I saw them! They’re in the lobby of the hotel. We’ve got to stop them from stealing Sylvia’s money!”

“Get lost!”

Frankie bared his teeth and let out a growl.

“How dare you! You’re supposed to be helping me!” Joe glared back.

“Why should I? You’ve just ruined the game! For once I had the chance to beat Damian, then you ate my ball!”

Frankie stopped looking fierce and a puzzled expression appeared on his face. “Was the game really that important?”

“What? Me beating Damian?” said Joe. “Yes! He beats me at everything!”

Frankie thought for a moment, then suddenly he coughed a few times and spewed up Joe’s ball.

“Urgh! Gross!” Joe said, as the ball dropped to the ground, dripping with goo.

“Quick! Go and finish your game,” said Frankie. “But just for five minutes! Sylvia was working in her office when I left, so the robbers won’t be able to steal from the safe yet.” Then Frankie turned and raced back to the others.

Joe picked up his slimy ball and went over to the others at the seventh hole…

“Only three more to go,” crowed Damian. “And you lost the last one, Joe. Looks like you’ll be paying me a pound!”

“We’ll see about that!” growled Frankie. “Listen, Joe, there’s a bump under the green
on this hole. It makes your ball go left, so aim right!”

Joe frowned. How did Frankie know that?

“I’ve been here loads of times,” declared the dog airily, “with Sylvia and her granddaughter. Now remember, hit your ball to the right!”

The hole was supposed to be a crocodile swamp. You had to hit your ball straight down the middle, past several crocodiles and into a giant crocodile’s mouth.

“This is gonna be easy!” boasted Damian, as he lined up to take his first shot.

WHACK!

It was a good shot – straight through the small gap between the crocodile heads. But just as Frankie had predicted, the ball went wildly off to the left.

“What?” Damian’s eyes nearly popped out.

“There must be a bump in the green,” suggested Uncle Len. “Aim to the right, Damian!”

Damian took his shot again. He deliberately aimed the ball to the right this time.

But Frankie was restless now. He was pacing up and down the course, and he didn’t see Damian’s ball coming towards him…

THWACK!

It bounced off Frankie’s side and landed in the rough again.

Frankie gave an angry bark. “OUTRAGEOUS!”

Damian grabbed his ball and gave it a final angry hit.

This time the ball sailed over the hole and landed with a splash in a little pond.

“I think it might be your turn, Joe,” said Dad, trying not to laugh.

The game was over pretty quickly after that. Damian was so cross that he totally missed the target on the next two holes as well.

“Come on, Joe!” said Frankie, racing ahead. “We’ve got to stop the robbery!”

“I’m coming,” Joe whispered. He’d beaten Damian. Now it was time to beat the bad guys!

When they got back to the hotel there were people everywhere. The wedding was due to take place in the hotel gardens in less than an hour and the guests were milling around.

Frankie stared up at the sea of faces. “Where are the robbers?” he yelped. “I saw them arrive! Where are they now?”

“There you are!” said Auntie Kate. “Damian! Go and get changed at once. And Joe – you and Toby, too…”

“You can’t go,” wailed Frankie. “You’ve got to help me find the robbers!” He was weaving in and out of the crowd, staring up at all the wedding guests.

“What do they look like?” whispered Joe.

“Tall and thin. One with black hair. One with brown hair.”

Joe sighed. That could describe most of the men in the hotel.

“Come on, Joe!” Dad said, guiding him towards the stairs. “We’ve got to get dressed now.”

“Don’t go!” barked Frankie. Then he was swallowed up in the crowd of guests.

Joe tugged at his collar. He was thinking about the robbery. This would be the perfect time for the thieves to strike, when there was so much happening in the hotel. It would be easy for someone to sneak into Mrs Stanway’s office. “Can I go down now?” he asked Dad.

“Go on then, Joe,” Dad replied. “We’ll be along in a minute.”

Joe raced out of the room.

“Watch it, squirt!” snapped Sarah, as Joe
nearly collided with her and Scarlet on the stairs. They were wearing their lilac bridesmaids’ dresses and going incredibly slowly!

Joe dodged past them and charged down the last few steps. He had to find Frankie…

“Coo-eee!” Gran was waving to him from the middle of the lobby.

Joe hesitated, then stopped to say hello.

“You look very smart, Joe,” she said, linking her arm through his. “Shall we go out to the garden together?”

“Er,” Joe looked around for Frankie but couldn’t see him anywhere.

Just then the clock in the dining room began to chime…

“Ladies and gentlemen,” called Mrs Stanway. “If you’d like to make your way outside and take your seats, the wedding will begin shortly.”