Smudge the Stolen Kitten (5 page)

Chapter Five

Smudge woke up, and was surprised to find that everything was dark, and the bag was bumping around. The little kitten swayed from side to side, mewing with fright. Where was Olivia? Why was he stuck in here? He needed Olivia to let him out!

“Hey, ssshhh. I’m going to get you out of there.”

The bag opened, and Smudge could see Rob peering inside. He gave a soft little mew. This wasn’t right. He had thought that Olivia would come and find him. He cowered back against the bottom of the bag, and hissed as Rob tried to open it up a bit more. The boy had been kind before, stroking and cuddling him, and feeding him sandwiches, but now Smudge was confused, and he wanted Olivia.

“Hey, Smudge. Don’t you want to get out? Come and see my bedroom,” Rob said, gently reaching in to pick up the kitten.

Smudge spat crossly as a warning, and when Rob didn’t take his hand away, he clawed at it, hard.

“Ow!” Rob sat back, sucking at the bleeding scratch. Then he sighed. “OK. I suppose I’d scratch if I got shut up in a bag and bounced around all over the place. Maybe I’d better get you something else to eat.” He smiled at Smudge. “You liked that ham sandwich, didn’t you?”

Smudge saw him stand up.

“I’ll go and see what’s in the fridge, but I might be a while. Mum still thinks I’m sick, so I’ll have to wait till she’s not looking. Back soon. Here, you can play with this ball, it’s got spikes, look! That’d be fun, wouldn’t it? See you in a minute, Smudge.”

The bedroom door clicked, and Smudge waited, his heart thumping. Had the boy gone? Was it safe to come out?

Slowly, cautiously, he wriggled out of the bag.

“I can’t find him anywhere.” Ben was standing in the doorway, and his voice
had changed. He wasn’t angry any more, he sounded frightened.

“I told you so!” Olivia swiped a hand across her eyes. “You must have opened a window, or let him out of the kitchen door, or something!”

“We didn’t! You and Mum were in the kitchen the whole time, how could we let him out of here?”

“Ben’s right, Olivia, you’re not being fair.”

“Even if Ben didn’t let him out, his stupid friend did!” Olivia sobbed. “And now Smudge is lost!”

“I didn’t let him out, I promise I didn’t, and Rob didn’t either. He would have said if something had happened.” Ben’s voice was shaking now.

“Both of you calm down. Olivia, try
and stop crying, sweetheart, it’s only making you feel worse. Come on. We’ll all do another proper search round the house. Look at yesterday, when Smudge got himself stuck behind the oven! He’s around somewhere, I’m sure of it.”

Olivia shook her head. “Then why can’t we hear him? If he was here and stuck, he’d be meowing, Mum. Wouldn’t he?”

Mum got up. “Maybe you’re right. If Smudge was shut in somewhere, we’d hear him. We’d better go and check outside. Maybe there’s a window open that we’ve missed.”

“I told you!” Olivia wailed. “Rob let him out, he must have done.”

Even Ben was looking less certain now. “Rob wouldn’t just let him out –
I told him Smudge wasn’t allowed outside on his own yet…”

They hurried out into the garden, calling and calling, but apart from next-door’s cat, Lily, who looked very curiously at them, the garden was empty. It was starting to get dark, and cold. Olivia shivered, thinking of Smudge outside in the chilly wind.

“What about the garden shed?” Mum suggested, trying to think of places a kitten might find interesting. “Could he have squeezed himself in there somehow?”

The shed door was tightly shut, but they checked anyway. And under the patio furniture, and behind the pile of flower pots, and even up the cherry tree.

Smudge was nowhere to be found.

“You two stay here, I’ll just go and ask Sally next door if she’s seen him,” Mum said. “Why don’t you go and have another look inside?”

“I’m sorry I said you let him out,” Olivia muttered, as they peered behind the sofa. “I know you wouldn’t really.”

“Do you think he’ll be all right?”
Ben asked miserably. “I just don’t see where he can be!”

Olivia stood up again, and went to check behind the curtains, but then she stopped. “Rob forgot his lunchbox,” she said slowly, pointing at a Star Wars lunchbox down by the side of the sofa. “And a load of his books, look. His reading record and everything…”

Ben frowned. “Why would he take all that stuff out of his bag?”

“His bag… He was carrying it in a funny way.” Olivia stared at Ben, her eyes wide. “Ben, he didn’t let Smudge out, he
stole
him! Rob put Smudge in his school bag and took him home!”

“Don’t be stupid,” Ben said, but he was chewing his thumbnail worriedly. “He wouldn’t…What’s he going to do, hide Smudge in his room? I know he really wanted a pet, but he wouldn’t steal our cat…”

“I bet you he did,” Olivia told him grimly. She heard the sound of the key in the lock, and rushed out into the hallway. “Mum! We think we know where Smudge is!”

Chapter Six

Smudge gazed around the room. He had no idea where he was, but he knew this wasn’t home and he wanted to get away. His ears were laid back, listening for footsteps. But no one was coming. He had to get out and find Olivia. He shook his head, feeling dazed from bumping around in the bag. His nose was still full of the smell of ham
sandwich, and the musty scent of the inside of the bag, but there was something else…

The window was open! Smudge’s eyes widened a little.

Rob’s bed was pushed up against the wall. If he could jump on to that, it was only a little climb to the windowsill. But the bed was very high up. Much higher than the steps on the stairs he’d struggled with. Smudge glanced anxiously round at the door. He was sure the boy would be back soon. He had to be quick. With a huge effort, he ran at the bed, hooking his claws into the duvet cover and scrabbling upwards furiously. From the top of the bed it didn’t look such a small climb to the windowsill after all, but Rob had nice
long curtains. Smudge raced up them, his heart hammering, leaving a pattern of little hooked loops all the way up. And then he scrambled up on to the windowsill.

He peered out of the open window, his nose twitching, trying to see where to go next. But below him was only a straight wall down to the garden. Smudge teetered on the edge of the window, his tail flicking anxiously back and forth. He had to get out, and this was the only way. He edged a little further, on to the outside windowsill. He could see all the way along the garden, and he was sure that if he could get down there, he could find his way back to Olivia somehow. But it was a long way to jump… He paced up and down, mewing pitifully. He was cold, out there on the windowsill. The sky was darkening, and there was a chill wind ruffling his fur. It shook the branches of the tree in the corner of the
garden, and they kept tapping against the wall and scraping the windowsill.

Smudge crouched on the windowsill, shivering, and watching the twigs brushing against the wall. It was the only way down, but the branches were like thin little fingers. He had never climbed a tree, and certainly never climbed
down
one.

Suddenly, Smudge whipped round. He could hear the door handle turning. He had to go now! He sprang on to the nearest branch that looked strong enough to hold him, and mewed with fright as it wobbled and dipped underneath him. He clung on desperately, digging his claws into the bark, and wailed as a gust of wind shook the tree again.

He scrabbled his way along the branch towards the tree trunk, and skidded and bumped down to the fence, where he perched, mewing with fright. It was a very narrow fence, but at least it wasn’t shaking – or not as much as the tree had been.

Smudge teetered, trying to work out which way to jump. Back into the garden? But then the boy might come and find him. So, down the other side of the fence? There was long grass down there that looked soft enough to jump on to. But he had no idea where the alley went, or if it would lead back to Olivia. There were only a few battered-looking garages.

He jumped, bouncing down the side of the fence, and landing in a flurry of paws on the soft grass. Now where should he go?

“Yes, Rob’s here, I’ll just get him, Ben.”

Ben put his hand over the phone
receiver and nodded to Olivia and Mum. “He’s coming.”

Olivia sat forward on the sofa, trying to listen, and Ben rolled his eyes and pressed the speakerphone button. Rob’s voice echoed out into the room.

“What is it?” He sounded jumpy and worried.

“Where’s Smudge?” Ben demanded.

“What do you mean?”

“He knows!” Olivia hissed. Rob was trying to sound as though he didn’t understand, but he wasn’t very good at it.

“We found all your stuff. You took him away in your school bag, didn’t you?” Ben said angrily.

“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’ve
lost
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.

“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!”