Wolfie (6 page)

“Well — what’s the point? What’s in it for me?”

“I already told you. If you don’t come I’m going to tell.”

“But you might do that anyway,” Lucie pointed out. “I’ll tell you what — I’ll come but only if you promise never, ever to tell anyone that Wolfie is a
wolf.” Lucie was not sure that she trusted Marcus to keep a promise, but she thought it worth a try.

“All right,” said Marcus at last.

“You promise?”

“Yes.”

“Then say it.”

“I promise not to tell anyone that Wolfie is a wolf.”

“On Gnasher’s life?”

“On Gnasher’s life.”

“All right then,” said Lucie. “I’ll see you later.”

She felt a bit better, even though she was not sure she could trust Marcus to keep a promise. She would have felt much worse if she had seen his face as he walked away. He was smirking.
Give
him to next door’s dog
, his mother had said. Well, Marcus was not prepared to give up Gnasher He had a much better plan.

* * *

Directly school finished Marcus raced to the After School Club. It met in a building separate from the main school next to the school gates. Lots of children whose parents were
still working went there. At the moment, though, it was still quiet.

The staff who ran the club always gave out drinks and snacks to the children. And for that reason it often had another visitor too.

“Hey kitty!” called Marcus. “Puss, puss, puss!”

From around the corner of the building came a little orange cat. It stood for a moment, hesitating. “Mew!” it called. Then it ran towards Marcus, expecting its usual saucer of
milk.

Marcus crouched down and held out a hand. The cat came closer. And closer. When it was close enough he grabbed it.

“Mew!” said the little cat indignantly.

Marcus tucked it under his jacket.

* * *

Lucie also left school as quickly as possible and went to meet Fang at the gates. Almost immediately they saw Marcus coming towards them.

“Hey Lucie,” yelled a voice. It was Alex, waving at them. He was holding the hand of his little sister, Grace, while their mother chatted to another parent.

“Why’s
he
always sticking his nose in?” muttered Marcus. “Ignore him! Look, I’ve something to show you.”

He beckoned her a little way from the main crush by the gates. With extreme suspicion, Lucie and Fang followed. “What is it, Marcus?” Lucie asked.

“This!” Suddenly Marcus flung back his jacket. There was the little orange cat, clinging desperately with its claws to his shirt.

“Here,” said Marcus to Fang with an evil grin. “I’ve brought you a playmate.”

The little cat made mewling noises as Marcus wrenched it away from his shirt and held it out to Fang.

Lucie just stared. She was frozen with terror. She waited for Fang to snap up the cat. After all, Fang was a wolf. How would she be able to resist when it was right under her nose?

Around them, heads were turning. All the parents and children were now staring at Fang and the little orange cat.

Fang opened her mouth very wide. Her lips curled back. Her pointed teeth gleamed white against her long, pink tongue…

Then she finished yawning and sat down to scratch her hind leg.

Lucie heaved a sigh of relief. The watching parents and children did the same. Only Marcus was disappointed. Scowling, he dropped the cat.

Unfortunately
somebody
was still terrified that Fang would go for the cat. And that was the cat itself! As soon as Marcus let go it went streaking across the pavement — and straight
into the road.

Now cats are quick and this one must have had a sixth sense for cars. It was across the road in a flash of orange, and safe on the opposite side. But meanwhile something even worse happened.
While everyone was still staring at Fang, or else the cat, little Grace Beamer went toddling into the road.

“Pussy Tat!” she cried. “Pussy Tat!”

A blue car was coming straight towards her.

Lucie noticed first. “Fang!” she screamed. “
Do something
!”

Everything happened very fast. While the children and parents were still staring — almost as if they had been put under a spell — Fang bounded into the road. With a swish of her
tail, she seized Grace in her mouth, and leapt for the opposite pavement. The car’s brakes squealed. Grace’s mother squealed louder — then fell in a faint. Marcus squealed too
(this was because Alex had just thumped him). Then it seemed like everybody was squealing at once.

Everybody except for Grace. “Nice Doggy,” she said, patting Fang on the nose. “Woof woof!”

F
ang was a heroine. And yet although she was famous in the school, and everybody was proud of her, and Lucie’s parents were delighted with
her, Lucie was in more danger of losing her than ever before.

Luckily Lucie had no idea of this — yet.

The next day there was a story in the local newspaper.

Super-Dog Rescues Baby!

Lucie read the story to Fang, who did not seem terribly interested. “You’re a hero!” Lucie told her. “I mean
heroine
. Or should I say
wolferine
—”

“Don’t you call
me
a wolverine!” said Fang, mishearing. “I’m not anything like one of those weaselly creatures. And stop waving that newspaper at me. We
wolves aren’t like you humans — always hankering to get our picture in the paper.”

“That’s good,” said Lucie, “because your picture isn’t
in
the paper.”

But secretly Lucie thought it would be lovely if it was. And the newspaper editor must have thought the same thing, because the next day when Lucie came out of school a photographer was waiting.
He rushed up and started taking pictures of Fang from all angles.

“My name’s Jeb Jevons,” he said, FLASH FLASH “from the Courier,” FLASH FLASH. “Thought we should get some shots,” FLASH “of the super-dog,”
FLASH “that saved the little lass,” FLASH FLASH “don’t you think?”

Fang did not like the flashes. She kept turning her back or trying to hide behind Lucie. But the camera was clicking so quickly that Jeb Jevons must have got several shots.

Some parents and children came to watch.

“What sort of dog is it?” asked Jeb Jevons, as Fang pulled back her ears and showed him her teeth. “What a set of gnashers! Looks almost like a wolf!”

Alex was standing close by. “Well, there’s wolf blood in her,” he said proudly. “Isn’t there, Lucie?”

It was an unlucky remark. Lucie hesitated, not sure what to say. Some of the parents began to look nervous. They began grabbing their children, and pulling them away.

“Wolf blood, eh?” said Jeb Jevons. “That’s interesting. Very interesting.”

“Well, actually —” began Lucie. She was going to say it was all a misunderstanding — that of course Wolfie wasn’t a wolf. But it was too late. Jeb Jevons climbed
into his car and drove away.

Alex and Lucie were left staring at each other on the empty pavement. “Wonder why they all ran off like that?” asked Alex.

“I don’t know,” said Lucie. “Come on, Wolfie. Let’s get home.”

* * *

Next day there was a huge picture of Fang in the paper. On the front page too. It was one of the ones where she was showing her teeth. Underneath was written:

Wolf-Dog At Large

Fang just yawned when Lucie showed it to her, then started chewing the newspaper.

Others reacted differently.

That afternoon, when Lucie came out of school, there was an empty circle of pavement all around Fang. It seemed nobody wanted to stand too close to the “Wolf-Dog”. From a safe
distance the grown-ups muttered amongst themselves.

The odd word floated over to Lucie. “Enormous” and “teeth” and “wolf blood” and “savage”. Then she heard somebody say clearly, “Really, it
shouldn’t be allowed!”

Lucie ran to Fang and hugged her.

“Oh Wolfie!” she cried. “It’s not fair.” Then she turned on those around her. “Cowards!” she shouted. “She won’t hurt you!”

She was about to march off when she heard a stern voice behind her. “Lucie Firkettle! What is the meaning of this?” Lucie turned to see Mr Dundas, the Head of the whole school,
glaring down at her.

Lucie swallowed. She had hardly ever spoken to Mr Dundas before. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Mr Dundas pointed at Fang. “Is this the dog that has been causing all the fuss?”

“Fuss!” Lucie was so furious she forgot to be shy. “
Fuss
? She saved Grace’s life, if that’s what you mean!”

“Lucie!” Mr Dundas frowned. “Don’t be impertinent! Now tell me: is it true this animal is part wolf?”

There was a long silence. All the parents and children waited to hear what Lucie would say.

“
No
,” she said, as definitely as she could. After all Fang was
not
part wolf. She was
all
wolf.

“But you said she had wolf blood in her,” said Marcus, who was hovering close by as usual. “I heard you tell Alex so, on the very first day of term!”

“You little creep!” said Alex, scowling. “Don’t take any notice!”

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” said one of the mothers nervously. “I heard this boy —” she pointed at Alex — “say exactly the same thing to that
newspaper man yesterday.”

“But not to get Wolfie into trouble!” said Alex. “I think Wolfie’s great!”

“Hmm,” said Mr Dundas irritably. He was still frowning at Fang. Fang, meanwhile, was sitting peacefully on the pavement, as if all the commotion bothered her not at all.

Suddenly Lucie remembered how she had calmed everybody down in the playground in the park. It had worked then, so why not now? “My goodness!” she cried in a high, bright voice.
“Do you really believe all these stories about wolf blood? How ridiculous! I mean, whoever heard of a wolf at school! Ha ha! Hee hee!”

But although she chortled and chuckled until she felt she was going blue in the face, this time it did not work. Nobody joined in. They just went on staring at Fang.

“Look at the size of its paws!” said somebody.

“And its teeth!”

“And its pointy ears!”

“And its tail!”

“Bite you soon as look at you.”

“Savage, that’s what it is —”

Fang began to get annoyed. She drew her lips back in a half-snarl. This did not help.

Lucie felt close to tears. “Come on Fang,” she said shakily. And although she could hear Mr Dundas calling her back, she paid no attention, but ran for home.

W
hen she got home, Lucie was surprised to find her parents sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, with very worried faces.

“Hello,” she said.

“Oh…err…hello Lucie.” They avoided her eyes. Her dad fiddled with his coffee spoon.

“What’s the matter?” she asked

“Nothing,” said Dad. “At least, nothing serious. At least, I don’t think it’s serious. Err, I don’t think.”

“We’ve just had a phone call from Mr Dundas,” said Mum. “He’s very concerned. It seems there’s been a lot of complaints…about Wolfie. He says some
people are saying…well, they’re saying that Wolfie might be a wolf. Ridiculous, I know.” But Mum didn’t laugh at how ridiculous it was. She just looked at Fang. It was a
worried look.

“But Mum, it’s not fair! All Wolfie did was save someone’s life.”

“I know. But Mr Dundas seems to think that if Wolfie hadn’t been outside of the school in the first place then none of it would have happened…”

“It wouldn’t have happened if Marcus Mainwaring hadn’t been up to his nasty tricks! Why don’t they get rid of
him
?”

“It doesn’t work that way. And Mr Dundas says that unless we can prove that Wolfie is not a wolf, then he is going to report the whole matter to the police.”

There was a long pause. Everybody looked at Fang, who sat quietly on the kitchen floor.

“She can’t be a wolf…” whispered Mum “…can she?”