Chris Cooper - Rascal - Lost in the Caves

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 in Great Britain in 2015

by Egmont UK Limited

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

Text copyright © 2002 Chris Cooper

Illustration copyright © 2015 James de la Rue

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

First e-book edition 2015

ISBN: 9781405275118

Ebook ISBN: 9781780316666

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 Megan Louise

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 in Great Britain in 2015 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2002 Chris Cooper Illustration copyright © 2015 James de la Rue The moral rights of the author have been asserted First e-book edition 2015 ISBN: 9781405275118 Ebook ISBN: 9781780316666 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 Megan Louise

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

Back series promotional page

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

It all started with the big dog’s bone.

Rascal could smell it before he saw it, of course. The smell was coming from the other side of a line of trees. He froze for a second, sniffing the air. As usual, there were new smells all over this place, but that bone was the best of all. Rascal followed his nose, making his way through the cluster of trees. His master, Joel, was somewhere back along the path. He wouldn’t mind if Rascal did a little exploring for a minute or two!

Rascal cleared the trees and there it was on the grass – a nice big bone, the kind with the marrow in the middle. It was resting under one heavy paw of a sleeping dog. A big sleeping dog.

Rascal padded forwards. The big dog was snoozing outside a wooden holiday cabin. It was small, just like the one Rascal was staying in with Joel and his family. He could hear people’s voices from inside the cabin, but nobody came out.

Rascal wagged his tail in eager excitement. He forced himself not to run too fast. That would spoil the fun! When he was close enough, he dropped to his belly and slid forwards. The sleeping dog let out a tiny noise – half grunt, half bark – that seemed to die in the back of its throat. It was probably dreaming about chasing cats.

Rascal inched on. He carefully placed his jaws around the tip of the bone and pulled. As the bone slid out, the big dog’s paw flopped to the ground.

The dog’s eyes opened. It was wide awake in an instant. It fixed the smaller dog with furious brown eyes.

Rascal’s tail was wagging wildly. The bone dangled from his mouth. He was ready to play! A tug-of-war, a pretend fight . . . he was ready for anything. He let out a happy bark.

But the big dog’s reply was very different. A deep growl escaped from its jaws. The growl built and built until it exploded into a fearsome bark. Then the big dog sprang to its feet. It glared down at Rascal menancingly.

Rascal was confused. He wasn’t really stealing the bone! He was just having a bit of fun. But the big dog didn’t see it that way. Not one bit, because suddenly it was lunging forwards and there was only one thing Rascal could do. Get out of there fast!

He whirled around and charged back the way he had come. He wasn’t even aware that the bone was still clamped between his teeth. He didn’t look back, but the big dog’s angry pant told him all he needed to know. He was being chased.

Rascal burst through the trees, back to the footpath. His master was there now. Joel gave him a puzzled look.

‘Rascal? What’s wrong?’

Rascal raced up to Joel and huddled behind his legs.

‘What have you got there?’ asked the boy. He reached out a hand and took hold of the bone.

Rascal let out a nervous whimper. Joel’s brow was creased in confusion. And then the bigger dog crashed through the bushes and on to the path. When it saw that Rascal had stopped, it slowed. It let out a low snarl as it came closer. Its ears stood on end and its tail slashed the air angrily. It was ready for a fight.

Rascal tried to disappear behind his master’s legs. Joel stepped between the two dogs. His voice was calm as he spoke, but Rascal knew his master too well. He could hear the anxiety that bubbled under Joel’s voice like a hidden stream.

‘It’s OK, doggie,’ said Joel to the big dog. He lifted his arm slowly. ‘This is yours, isn’t it?’ He was holding the bone out.

The big dog was watching suspiciously, as if this was some new kind of sneaky trick.

Joel let the bone fall to the ground.

‘There you are,’ he said. ‘All yours.’

But the big dog didn’t seem satisfied. It glared at Rascal and took another step forwards. Its growl became louder. Rascal pressed himself even closer to his master.