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“I’m sorry…” Rob muttered finally. “It was all a mistake. Smudge was sniffing around my bag, and then he climbed in and went to sleep. I just wanted to have him for a bit to see what it would be like…”

“You stole him!” Olivia yelled down the phone. “Bring him back now!”

There was silence. Then Rob whispered,“I can’t…”

“What do you mean, you can’t?” Ben asked.

“He’s gone.” Rob sounded almost like he was crying.

“You’velost him!” Olivia cried.

“I think he got out of my bedroom window,” Rob gulped. “He must have done. I searched my whole room, and he just wasn’t anywhere. I’m sorry.”

Mum reached out for the phone.“Rob, can you get your mother for me, please.”

Olivia didn’t even hear as her mum and Rob’s tried to sort out what was going on. She was slumped on the sofa, her hands squashed into her eyes to stop herself from crying.

Eventually Mum ended the call, and put one arm round Olivia, and one round Ben.

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“It looks like Rob did take Smudge,” she said slowly. “His mum said she couldn’t believe he’d do something so stupid. He hadn’t told her what had happened. She’s really sorry.”

“What are we going to do?” Olivia wailed. “Can we go round to Rob’s house and look for Smudge?”

“Rob’s dad just came home, and he’s going out to look, and ask all the neighbours,” Mum explained. “I don’t think there’s much point in us going over there, it’s almost dark. Rob’s mum said he thinks Smudge must have been gone for about half an hour, he could have got away down the road.”

“But it’s so cold,” Olivia whispered. “Smudge is out there all on his own!”

Chapter Seven

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Smudge was still hiding in the long grass, wondering what to do. He was dreadfully hungry. If he was at home, he was sure it would be teatime. A bowl of crunchy biscuits, or perhaps some of the meaty stuff he really liked. The thought of food made him more determined. He had to go home. He crept out of the clump of grass, and looked around the alleyway worriedly. He had no idea if he was close to Olivia’s house or not.

Perhaps he could call for Olivia? But then, he was still very close to the house. What if that boy heard him?

He took a few steps down the alley, his fur prickling. The air felt strange, and it was making him edgy. He carried on, hoping desperately that he would see some sign of Olivia. Wouldn’t she come and look for him? Now he was further away from Rob’s house, he risked mewing hopefully. But no one was around to hear him.

A large raindrop landed suddenly on his nose, and he jumped back in surprise. It was followed by another and another, and in seconds Smudge’s fur was soaked and clinging to him. The rain was followed by a strange eerie flash that seemed to split the dark sky and then a rolling boom of thunder. Smudge shot across the alley to the tumbledown garages, looking for a place to hide. They were all locked up, but he spotted a hole, where a brick had come loose, and squeezed himself inside. There was another crash of thunder. Startled, he jumped back, bumping into a pile of boxes and paint tins, which fell clattering all around him.

Smudge scampered away with a terrified squeak. When he looked back, he saw that a heavy wooden box had fallen right in front of his hole. He was trapped.

He sprang forward, frantically mewing and clawing at the box, but it was far too heavy for him to move.

At last he stopped scrabbling, and sat back, exhausted. He wove his way through the dusty darkness, round the piles of boxes and bikes and all sorts of rubbish that was stored in the garage, hoping to find another hole. But he couldn’t find even the tiniest gap.

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Miserably he settled down on a pile of old dust sheets. It was cold, and he was starving, and he wanted to be on Olivia’s lap on the sofa. Sadly, he snuffled himself to sleep.

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“Look at the rain,” Olivia whispered, peering out of the living-room window.

Mum came up behind her, and hugged her.“I’m sure he’s tucked himself away somewhere safe. We’ll find him tomorrow.”

“He’s only ever been out in the garden with us.” Olivia turned to look at Mum, her eyes wide and worried. “He’s never been out in the rain! And the thunder’s so scary, he must be terrified.”

“Like you,” Ben muttered from her doorway. But he didn’t seem to be putting much effort into teasing her. He sounded too miserable to bother. He came over to the window, and stared at the rain. “Rob’s dad phoned just now. He’s asked all the neighbours to look out for Smudge, but he had to stop looking and come back inside – he said he couldn’t see anything, it was raining so hard.”

Their dad came in, carrying the phone.“Olivia, it’s Lucie on the phone for you.”

Olivia took the phone reluctantly. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to talk to Lucie or not. She desperately wanted to tell someone how angry she was with Rob, but at the same time she didn’t want to have to say that Smudge was missing.