Hotel for Dogs by Lois Duncan ch 7-1
CHAPTER SEVEN Getting Red Rover to follow them was not difficult. The big dog seemed to realize that Bruce was his new master. All he had to say was, “Come, Red,” and the poor animal struggled to his feet and allowed himself to be led through the backyard of the house next door and across the vacant lot to the dog hotel. The problem came with getting him through the window.
“We'll never make it,” Andi said, studying the distance from the ground to the sill and then turning to evaluate the size of the dog. “He's too heavy to lift that high. Do you suppose we could get him to jump?” “Not in the condition he's in now,” Bruce said. “The poor thing can hardly even walk. We'll have to try lifting him. There's no other way.” A voice spoke from behind them. “Why don't you rig a ramp?” Bruce froze. Then he turned slowly to face the speaker.
“What are you doing here?” he asked in a low, tight voice.
Tim Kelly regarded him calmly.
“Looking for you. I saw you crossing the lot, but I couldn't catch up with you.” He paused and then repeated his original statement. “You could put up a ramp. We've got some old lumber over at my house if you want to use that. All it would take would be a couple of boards propped against the sill.” “You're a spy!” Andi burst out furiously. “I've seen you with Jerry! You're one of his gang, and you're going to run back and tell him we have Red Rover.” “That's crazy,” Tim said. “If I was going to do that, would I be offering you boards for a ramp?” “What's the deal?” A little color was beginning to come back into Bruce's face. “Why do you want to help us hide Red?” “Do you think I want Jerry to get another crack at him?” Tim asked. “I was in on that scene yesterday, remember? What do you think I am, some kind of monster? I wouldn't send any animal back to that.” “I thought you wanted to be part of the gang,” Bruce said. “You don't want to be a loner, do you? You told me you didn't.” “I wouldn't have to be, would I?” Tim said slowly. “I mean — well, one friend, the right kind of friend — is worth more than being part of a mob of guys following along behind a dictator like Jerry. Anyway, that's the way it's beginning to seem to me.” His blue eyes were questioning. “How about you?” Bruce nodded soberly, but inside he felt like cheering. “It's always seemed like that to me,” he said. The boys stood silent a moment, a little embarrassed by the sudden change in their relationship.
Then Tim grinned. “Okay, that's settled. Now, how about we go over to my house and get those boards?” “Wait a minute,” Andi broke in cautiously. “Before you can be part of the hotel staff, you've got to promise on your honor that you won't tell anybody. Not just about Red, but about Friday, too. And Tom and Dick and Hairy.” “Tom, Dick, and Hairy?” Tim looked bewildered. “Who are they? Who's Friday?” “They're the rest of the dogs,” Andi explained. “They have the pink bedroom. I think we should give Red the family room. That way he'll have more space to move around in when he starts feeling better.” “You mean you've got four dogs in there already!” Tim exclaimed incredulously. “You have to promise,” Andi persisted.
“Of course he promises,” Bruce said. “Now, you stay here and keep an eye on Red, while Tim and I get the stuff for the ramp.” Tim's house turned out to be the gray one with the yard full of swings and bicycles across the street from Aunt Alice's. The lumber he had spoken about was stacked along the side of the house.
As they selected the boards they would need, Bruce noticed several round, freckled faces, much like Tim's, gazing down at them from an upstairs window. “Those are my sisters,” Tim said. “I told you how nothing over here is ever private. They'll think we're taking the boards over to Jerry's. He's been talking about wanting to use them to build a clubhouse.” “Well, Jerry will know that's not where we're taking them,” Bruce said, glancing worriedly in the direction of the Gordons' house. There was no way to get the boards across the street except to carry them openly. Although no one was in evidence, he could not help the uncomfortable feeling that Jerry was somewhere peering at them. “Which is his window?” “It's the ground-level window on the side facing your aunt's house,” Tim told him. “That's where he has his bedroom. Actually he's got the entire basement all to himself. He's got a pool table and a big-screen TV and a kind of gym setup for working out. All he has to do is ask for something and his parents get it for him.” “Let's carry the boards down the driveway into our backyard,” Bruce suggested. “That way, if Jerry's watching, he'll think we're going to build something back there. Then we can cut over through the yard next door and across the lot to the hotel.” As they were crossing the yard, Mrs. Walker opened the back door and called out to them. “Bruce, did you find your sister?” “She's — well, she's right around here,” Bruce said awkwardly. “I just saw her a minute ago.” “I want you to tell her to come home immediately,” his mother said in an exasperated voice. “She said she would do the kitchen, and she hasn't even rinsed off the plates. Aunt Alice gets terribly upset when things are left a mess.” Andi was sitting in the grass in the yard behind the hotel. She had Red Rover's head in her lap and was gently stroking his ears. “You don't have to tell me — I heard her,” she said, when Bruce and Tim came up to her. “She sure was yelling loud. Mom never used to yell that way.” “You'd better get over there,” Bruce said. “You did say you'd do the cleanup.” “I didn't say when I'd do it,” Andi said. “At home Mom never minded if we let the dishes sit for a while before we loaded the dishwasher. Why should it matter so much here?” “Because it does, that's all.” Bruce lowered his end of the boards to the ground. “How do you want to do this, Tim?” “Simple.” Tim lifted the ends he was holding and leaned them against the window ledge. Side by side, they became a slanted bridge between the window and the ground. “Now comes the tough part — getting Red to walk up it.” “I'll go inside and call him,” Bruce said. “That won't work. He doesn't come when he's called. I've seen Jerry call him lots of times, and he just cowers and pretends he doesn't hear.” “He'll come to me,” Bruce said with certainty. Walking to the top of the ramp, he turned to face the dog. “Here, Red!” he called softly. “Come up here with me!” Without an instant's hesitation, Red Rover lifted his head from Andi's lap and got stiffly to his feet. Crossing to the ramp, he staggered up it until he reached Bruce.
“See!” Bruce's voice was triumphant as he gently eased the big dog through the window. A moment later both were inside the house.
