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“Oh! Mr Larkin! The keys!” Scarlett’s face disappeared from the window, and Bootle wriggled himself round as the door rattled and shook. And then it opened.

With a joyful yowl, he bounded back to the wobbly chair, and took a flying leap to the mats, and then Scarlett was there, hugging him.

Bootle purred and purred, and rubbed his face against hers, and purred louder.

“Izzy! Scarlett! What are you doing out here? Oh! Oh, no, has he been shut in here?” Mrs Mason peered worriedly into the dusty shed.

“All night,” Scarlett told her, shivering. “Can I call my dad, Mrs Mason, please? Can I take him home?”

Mrs Mason nodded.“Yes, you’d better take him up to the office again. I hope he doesn’t keep doing this, Scarlett.”

Scarlett stroked Bootle, who was pressed against her cardigan like he never meant to let go.“Me too.”

“Well, he got soaking wet and trapped in a shed, so maybe he’ll stay at home now,” Izzy suggested.

Scarlett nodded.“He looks like he wants to go home,” she agreed, feeling the sharp little points of Bootle’s claws hooked into her cardigan. “I promise I won’t ever let you get lost again,” she whispered to him, feeling his whiskers brush across her cheek. “I’ll look after you always.”

[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]

“I’m really glad my mum said I could come back with you.” Izzy sighed happily and blew on her hot chocolate.

Scarlett nodded, stroking Bootle, who was curled up on her lap, with his claws hooked determinedly into her school skirt. He wasn’t letting her go. “We might never have worked out where he was if it wasn’t for you! He could have been stuck in there for ages – until Mr Larkin had to put the chairs away again.”

Bootle purred as Scarlett gently rubbed behind his ears. He was finally starting to feel properly warm again.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_41]

Scarlett’s dad had lit the fire in the living room, and the girls were huddled in front of it – it was raining again, so it had been a wet walk home. They’d splashed through the puddles as fast as they could, anxious to see Bootle again, and check that he was OK.

“Do you want any more hot chocolate, girls?” Dad asked. “Jackson’s after another cup.”

Scarlett shook her head.“No, thanks.”

Izzy smiled at him.“No, that’s OK, thanks. It was lovely. It’s a pity cats can’t have hot drinks, though, Bootle must have been frozen after a night in the shed.”

“I’ve had him on my lap ever since I picked him up,” Dad told them. “Apart from when he was wolfing down a massive dinner and breakfast in one. He definitely wanted company, and since he couldn’t have you, Scarlett, I was the next best thing.”

“I hope he’s not going to follow us again tomorrow,” Scarlett said, looking down at him anxiously. He didn’t look very adventurous at the moment…

Dad shook his head.“No, I’m sure he’ll remember being trapped. He won’t want that to happen again. But I promise I will make sure every window’s closed. I’ll even let him play with the computer, Scarlett.” He grinned. “I’ll find him one of those homework websites, then he won’t need to go to school.”

Bootle stretched out his paws and stared up at them in surprise as they laughed, and then he huddled himself back into the front of Scarlett’s cardigan. It was lovely and warm inside. And dry. He hadn’t realized how damp and miserable it could be, following people. For the moment, he was going to stay right here.

26. THE KIDNAPPED KITTEN

“Laura! Laura!” Tia waved, as she rushed down their street on the way home from school.

Her neighbour stood up and waved back. Laura was planting something in her front garden and her beautiful cat, Charlie, was sitting next to her, staring suspiciously at the turned-over earth.

Tia ran up and leaned over the wall, and her little sister, Christy, followed, panting,“You went too fast for me!”

“Sorry,” said Tia, taking her sister’s hand. “Laura, guess what?”

Laura smiled.“What? Something good, it sounds like.”

Tia nodded.“The best. Mum and Dad say we can have a cat!”

Christy did a twirly dance.“A cat! A cat!” she sang.

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“Oh, that’s so exciting.” Laura beamed at them. “You’ll be brilliant cat owners. You were great when you came with your mum to feed Charlie while I was away. He looked quite grumpy when I got back – I don’t think I was fussing over him as much as you two were.” She looked up in surprise as Charlie suddenly pounced on the pile of earth. “Oh, Charlie! Stop it! You don’t want it, you silly cat.”

“What is it?” Tia tried to see what Charlie was patting at with his paw.

“A worm. No, don’t eat it! Euurrgh!” Laura picked up Charlie and dusted the soil off his paws, and the worm made a quick getaway.

“He eatsworms?” Christy peered over the wall at Charlie.

Laura grinned.“He eats everything. Especially things that wriggle. Bengals are a bit like that. Really nosy.”

“Charlie’s a special breed of cat then?” Tia asked thoughtfully. “I’ve never seen another cat that looks quite like him. He’s like a leopard.”