Rascal (5 page)

Hey! What was that? Rascal heard the jangly noise and wondered where it came from. But he was too busy barking to stop and find out now. After all, he had a job to do. He had to let his people know that someone was at the door!

“Well, that didn't work so well,” Jamie admitted when Lizzie answered the door again. “But don't worry. We'll try some other things.”

Rascal was still barking as Lizzie and Jamie came into the kitchen.

“Rascal!” Dad yelled. “Cut it out!”

Dad was not usually a yeller. But everybody was tired of Rascal's barking.

“I know it's frustrating,” Jamie said. “But you have to try not to yell at him. Try to think like a dog. If he hears you yelling, he thinks you're just barking, too — and he'll want to bark along.”

“But what else can we do?” Mom asked, taking her hands off her ears to hear Jamie's answer.

“Ignore him,” Jamie suggested. “Wait until he winds down. Then praise him.”

They ignored Rascal.

They ignored him some more.

He just kept barking and boinging.

“Or,” Jamie said finally, “you can try spraying him with a little water, or water mixed with vinegar.” She pulled a spray bottle out of her bag and sprayed Rascal when he wasn't looking.

Hey! What was that? It didn't usually rain indoors. Rascal twirled around in a circle, trying to figure out where the water was coming from.

The barking stopped.

“Ahh,” said Mom.

“Finally,” said Dad.

“Good dog!” Jamie said to Rascal, giving him a biscuit. “Now,” she said, “maybe we can get some training done.”

Jamie stayed for over an hour, working with Rascal and with the Petersons.

Rascal tried to pay attention. He really did. But it was boring to sit, and even more boring to stay. Twirling and jumping were so much more fun!

“Thanks for coming,” Mom said when the exhausted Petersons said good night to Jamie.

Jamie sighed. “You're welcome. I wish I could
help more. But the truth is, Rascal may never be a great house pet.”

Charles and Lizzie looked at each other.

“I'll make some phone calls,” Jamie went on. “I know a lady who takes dogs on her farm. Maybe Rascal could stay with her for a while. The dogs don't get a lot of attention, but at least he would have a place to live.”

Mom and Dad nodded. But Charles and Lizzie shook their heads. The farm part sounded good, but Rascal loved people and needed attention. They would have to keep trying to find him the right home — and they didn't have much time left.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Dad asked when he dropped Lizzie, Charles, and Rascal off at the stable the next day after school. Rascal was going to meet Kathy, and then Charles was going to watch him while Lizzie took a riding lesson.

“Kathy said I should bring him,” Lizzie said. “Maybe she'll have some good ideas about training Rascal.”

“Okay,” Dad said. “Just make sure to keep him on the leash. We don't want him getting in trouble.”

Maria was waiting. “Hi, Rascal,” she said, bending down to give the puppy a hug. “You are such a cutie. Kathy's going to love you.”

“Where is Kathy?” Lizzie asked.

“Probably in the barn,” Maria said. She led the
way into the stables. Rascal followed, pulling on the leash Lizzie was holding.

What a great place! Rascal loved all the wonderful smells. There was so much to explore here. And look! What were these huge animals? Were they giant dogs?

“Rascal likes the horses,” Lizzie said, laughing as Rascal pulled her along, stopping at each stall to sniff and greet any horses who looked down to see his little face peering from under their stall doors.

Charles agreed. “He's so excited that he's not even barking!”

Rascal darted from stall to stall, tugging Lizzie behind him. Suddenly, there was a loud booming noise from the end of the aisle. “Sir Galahad!” Lizzie said. The big horse was kicking his stall walls again. She wondered if the noise would scare Rascal, but he didn't look frightened at all. In fact, he pulled even harder in that direction.

“He wants to meet Sir Galahad,” Lizzie told Charles. “But that's probably not a good idea.” She could picture the little dog getting trampled by the gigantic horse — or even kicked!

Just then, Kathy stepped out of Minx's stall, carrying a pitchfork and wiping her forehead. “Whew!” she said. “Last stall of the day. Now they're all clean. Hey, is this Rascal?”

She knelt down and opened her arms, and Rascal pulled so hard that Lizzie had to let go of the leash. The little dog flew toward Kathy, licking her face as she gathered him into a hug. “Well, hello there, cutie!” she said, laughing. “Aren't you something?”

Rascal liked this lady. He liked her very, very much. She smelled so nice! And he could tell that she liked him, too.

Kathy hugged Rascal close, and Lizzie could see tears in her eyes. She knew that Kathy must be
thinking of her old dog, Pepper. But Kathy was smiling, too.

“He's just darling,” Kathy said finally, standing up and brushing straw off her jeans. “He's going to be bigger than my old dog and he has more brown spots than Pepper did, but I can tell he has the same personality. Always in a good mood, always curious, always looking for trouble.”

“That's Rascal!” Lizzie and Charles said together. Lizzie introduced her brother.

“Welcome to the stable!” Kathy said, smiling at Charles. “You've got your hands full with this guy. Jacks aren't easy to train. But they're worth the work! Pepper was the best dog, once he decided to listen to me — at least once in a while.” She sighed. Then she gave herself a little shake. “Well! Ready for your lesson?” she asked Lizzie.

“Definitely,” Lizzie said.

“I think Wayne has Sally tacked up for you already,” Kathy said. “Wayne?” she called down the aisle.

A man emerged from the tack room. “Sally's all set,” he called back.

“Want to meet Rascal?” Kathy asked her husband.

Lizzie saw Wayne shake his head. “Busy,” he said, turning around quickly and walking out of the barn.

Kathy shrugged. “Don't mind him. He just misses Pepper. They were great friends,” she said. “Now, what's Rascal going to do while you and Maria ride?” she asked.

“Charles is going to watch him,” Lizzie said.

Kathy gave Charles the thumbs-up. “Excellent. Let's go!” She led the way to the riding ring, where Sally was waiting.

Once Lizzie was sitting in the saddle, Kathy dropped the bombshell. “No more lead line,” she said. “You're on your own today. You're the boss. You tell Sally which way to go, and how fast.”

Lizzie felt her heart pound. “How fast?” she
asked. “You mean, like, I should make her trot or something?” She knew that trotting was next fastest after walking. Then came cantering and galloping. There was no way she was ready for either of those! Even trotting sounded scary, especially since she knew she would have to start learning how to post. Posting meant bouncing up and down in time with the horse's movements. Lizzie had seen Maria do it, but she had no idea how to do it herself.

“We'll start with a walk,” Kathy said. “Sally's in no hurry. She could walk all day.” She grinned at Lizzie. “Go on, now. Tell her to ‘giddy up,' and start around the ring clockwise.”

Lizzie clucked her tongue and gave Sally a little kick. Then, when Sally started moving, she pulled on the outside rein the way Kathy had taught her — and Sally turned! “Wow!” Lizzie said out loud. She couldn't stop smiling. She was riding!

Lizzie forgot everything for the next half hour.
She was concentrating so hard on her lesson that she probably wouldn't have noticed if the barn stood up and walked away.

But she did notice when Charles started shouting. “Rascal!” he yelled. “Rascal, where are you?”

The little spotted dog was nowhere in sight.

“Charles!” Lizzie said, pulling Sally over to the fence that ran around the riding ring. “Where's Rascal?” From up on the horse, she looked down at her brother. He looked very small — and his face was very white.

“I — I don't know,” Charles admitted. “I got tired of holding him, and he was being pretty good. You were busy riding, but Kathy said I could tie him to the fence.” He pointed to a fence post near the gate. “I went to watch Maria riding over in the other ring, and — now he's gone!”

Lizzie could tell that Charles felt awful. “It's not your fault,” she told him.

By then, Kathy was at Charles's side. “Don't
worry,” she said, putting an arm around his shoulders. “We'll find Rascal.” She looked up at Lizzie. “I think our lesson's over for today,” she said. “Want help getting down?”

Lizzie shook her head. “That's okay,” she said. She knew how to dismount by now. She pulled her right foot out of the stirrup and slid off Sally's back.

“I'll bring Sally back into the barn,” Lizzie said. “Maybe Rascal's in there. I think he liked all the horses.”

“Good,” Kathy said. “You look there. Charles and I will start checking some other places.”

As she led Sally away, Lizzie found herself wishing she would hear Rascal's bark. It seemed as if the stable was the only place he was quiet. She hadn't heard him bark once since he arrived. If only he were barking now, they could find him!

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the stable. She led Sally to her stall. “Wait here,” she told the mare. “We'll come back
and get your saddle off in a minute, as soon as we find that bad little puppy!”

She gave Sally's neck a pat and closed her stall door carefully. Then she headed down the aisle, checking each stall to see if Rascal had wriggled underneath the door for a visit. He wasn't with Willie, or Jasper, or Treasure. Minx was alone in her stall, and so was Jet.

Lizzie listened for the booming sound of Sir Galahad's kicks, but the barn was quiet.

“What's going on?” Maria asked, hurrying up the aisle. She was still wearing her helmet. “I just heard that Rascal is missing!”

Lizzie nodded. “I'm checking the stalls,” she said. She started walking fast toward the end of the aisle. Rascal had been interested in Sir Galahad before. What if he had gone into the big horse's stall? Why was the grouchy horse's stall so quiet?

Maria saw where she was going. “Oh, no!” she said. “Do you think —”

“I sure hope not,” Lizzie said.

Both girls hurried down to the last stall. “Empty!” Lizzie said when she looked inside. Rascal wasn't there — and neither was Sir Galahad!

“Galahad's out in the paddock,” Wayne said, coming up behind them. “I figured he needed some exercise and fresh grass, since he was so bored.”

“I wonder if that's where Rascal is, too!” Lizzie said.

“The dog is missing?” Wayne asked. He followed Lizzie and Maria as they ran outside and around the back of the barn to the paddock.

They arrived at the fence at the same time as Charles and Kathy.

“There's Sir Galahad,” said Maria, pointing. The big horse stood grazing calmly in the shade of a tall tree.

“And there's Rascal!” said Lizzie. She couldn't believe her eyes. The puppy was lying in the shade right next to one of Sir Galahad's big hooves. He
looked completely contented and relaxed. Lizzie had never seen him that way before!

“He's all tuckered out,” Kathy said.

“But he might get kicked!” Charles said.

“I doubt it,” Wayne said slowly. “Sir Galahad looks pretty happy to have him there.”

Lizzie thought she better call him, anyway. “Rascal!” she shouted. The one thing she had taught the puppy to do was to come when he was called. Sure enough, he jumped to his feet and began to trot over to the crowd at the fence, trailing his leash behind him.