Chris Cooper - Rascal - Racing Against Time

Collect all of Rascal’s adventures:

RASCAL: LOST iN THE CAVES

RASCAL: TRAPPED ON THE TRACKS

RASCAL: RUNNiNG FOR HiS LiFE

RASCAL: FACING THE FLAMES

RASCAL: SWEPT BENEATH THE WATERS

RASCAL: RACING AGAINST TiME

First published as Tramp: Racing Against Time by Puffin in 2004

This edition first published in Great Britain in 2015

by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 2004 Chris Cooper

Illustration copyright © 2015 James de la Rue

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

First e-book edition 2015

ISBN: 978 1 4052 7533 0

Ebook ISBN: 978 1 7803 1673 4

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

For my mum

CONTENTS

Cover

Front series promotional page Collect all of Rascal’s adventures: RASCAL: LOST iN THE CAVES RASCAL: TRAPPED ON THE TRACKS RASCAL: RUNNiNG FOR HiS LiFE RASCAL: FACING THE FLAMES RASCAL: SWEPT BENEATH THE WATERS RASCAL: RACING AGAINST TiME

Title Page

Copyright First published as Tramp: Racing Against Time by Puffin in 2004 This edition first published in Great Britain in 2015 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2004 Chris Cooper Illustration copyright © 2015 James de la Rue The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted First e-book edition 2015 ISBN: 978 1 4052 7533 0 Ebook ISBN: 978 1 7803 1673 4 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Dedication For my mum

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 1

Winter had arrived and the days were at their shortest. By the time Rascal saw lights up ahead, it had been dark for a few hours. A small flame of hope sparked inside the dog at the sight of them – perhaps he’d find a place to rest and shelter from the cold there? But it was hard to keep that hope alive. As night had fallen, so had the temperature. The chill wind buffeted him, and the occasional flake of snow in the air hinted at even worse weather on the way. Pushing through his tiredness, Rascal continued towards the glow of the electric lights.

It wasn’t easy to be cold and alone like this again. The dog had been forced to delay his long journey several weeks earlier, when his back leg had been fractured by a car. Luckily for Rascal, Judy, a volunteer for the local animal shelter and a true dog lover, had taken him in. He had grown accustomed to being warm and well-fed at her house while his leg mended.

And yet, Rascal hadn’t been able to shake the restless feeling at the back of his mind. Judy was a great owner, but she wasn’t his owner. She was kind and loving to him, but she was that way with all dogs. That’s why Judy volunteered to act as a foster owner for any dogs from the shelter that needed special attention. Every time Rascal found himself relaxing and starting to enjoy life with Judy, an image of his old master, Joel – his true master – would pop into his mind, No, he knew he had to continue on his journey home, just as soon as he could.

At last, the day came when Rascal was taken to the vet’s and the splint on his leg removed. He touched the floor gingerly with his back paw. It felt good to walk on all fours once again, even if the muscles of the injured leg felt weak through lack of use.

It was time to move on.

Judy was sitting in her favourite chair with the newspaper when Rascal came up to her and pawed her knee.

‘You’re not looking for more food, are you?’ she asked. ‘I’ve never seen a dog eat as much as you did this morning!’

Rascal just looked at this woman who had shown him such kindness. In a rush he leaned forwards and gave her face a lick.

‘Get off, you great soppy thing!’ laughed Judy.

Rascal wandered out to the garden – out of Judy’s line of vision. He looked at the fence ahead of him. He had jumped over this fence once before, but that had been before his back leg had been injured. It might not be so easy now.

Rascal took a breath and charged towards the fence. As before, he sailed over. The instant he landed on the pavement on the other side, he knew that his status had changed. He was not a pet any more. He was a stray dog again, trying to find his way home.

The rest of the day was a blur of sore feet and aching bones and a growing emptiness in his stomach, as Rascal headed west. It didn’t take long to leave the town behind him, and then he was crossing open land. A large highway ran straight west, and he kept it in sight as if navigating along the banks of a mighty river.