The Lamplighter Inn seemed to be just as full of people and dogs and hustle and bustle as the Greenfield Center had been.
“How will we find Mrs. DeCicco?” asked Benny, staring.
“We’ll ask at the desk,” said Henry.
He led the way to the inn’s front desk and asked for Mrs. DeCicco’s room. Soon the Aldens were on their way to the north side of the inn.
“Here’s her room,” said Jessie. She knocked crisply on the door.
A few moments later, Mrs. DeCicco answered it. She looked just as flustered as before.
“Oh, good, I’m so glad you came. Ruth is still missing. It’s not at all like her …” Mrs. DeCicco stepped back and motioned for the Aldens to come inside.
Along one side of the room were the dogs, in three large wire cages with flat metal bottoms. Each cage had a different blanket in it, along with dog toys and bowls for food and water. A small plaque above the door of each cage had the dog’s name and the name DeCicco Kennels.
Mrs. DeCicco handed Violet, Henry, and Jessie each a leash, and began opening the cages. She lifted the first beagle out. “This is Sally. Good girl,” she crooned as Sally wriggled and began to lick her face. Handing Sally to Henry, she reached for the next beagle. “Here’s Gloria. She’s Sally’s mother.” Gloria and Sally looked exactly alike. Jessie took Gloria and clipped the leash to the dog’s collar as Henry had done with Sally.
“And this,” said Mrs. DeCicco, opening the last cage, “is Joe.” She handed Joe to Violet.
“What about me?” asked Benny.
“You can carry their dog biscuits,” said Mrs. DeCicco. “If they behave on their walk, you may give them each a dog biscuit at the end of it.”
“Oh, good,” said Benny. He took the three dog biscuits and put them carefully in his shirt pocket.
“Give them a brisk half-hour walk,” instructed Mrs. DeCicco. “Don’t let them dawdle too much.” She had to raise her voice, for the beagles had begun to bay and leap up in excitement, and then to pull the children toward the door of the hotel room.
“See you in half an hour!” called Mrs. DeCicco as the Aldens and the beagles hurried out.
The Alden children didn’t have to worry about getting the beagles to walk briskly. They trotted along the street in front of the hotel, heads down and ears flying, sniffing everything. People smiled and nodded as they passed, recognizing Mrs. DeCicco’s prizewinners. One woman said, “Ah, the DeCicco beagles. Are you helping Mrs. DeCicco?”
“Yes we are,” Henry said.
“It’s too bad she didn’t have a beagle for you to walk, too,” the woman said, turning to Benny. She motioned to the little dog she was walking. “Would you like to walk Britty for a little while?”
“That would be great!” Benny said, looking down at the woman’s long, skinny dog. “He looks like a hot dog!”
“He’s a dachshund,” the woman told him. “I’ll wait for you here.”
Benny took the leash and the children continued their walk. As they were passing the Greenfield Center, Benny exclaimed “Uh-oh!” and backed up into Jessie.
“What is it, Benny?” Jessie asked.
Benny pointed, his eyes round. A very big black-and-white spotted dog with a square head and pointed ears was being led on a leash toward them.
“Wow,” breathed Violet. “That’s a huge dog.”
“Excuse me,” said Henry. “What kind of dog is that?”
The tall, thin woman holding the dog’s leash smiled down at them. “He’s a Great Dane. We call him Berries. Because of his spots, you see?”
Berries lowered his head toward Benny and wagged his tail.
“Is he friendly?” Benny asked.
“Very. Great Danes are a very friendly breed,” the woman said.
“I don’t know …” Benny said, backing away nervously.
“How about if your brother holds his leash, and you can pat Berries,” the woman offered.
Handing Sally’s leash to Jessie, Henry took Berries’s leash, feeling a bit nervous himself. But Berries stayed perfectly calm. Benny reached out and patted Berries’s head. Berries lowered his head even more and his tail wagged harder.
“He likes that,” the woman said. “Well, I think Berries and I had better be on our way.” Henry returned Berries’s leash to her. “Come, Berries,” she said.
After they had left, Benny turned to his sisters and brother. “He looked like he would be big and mean,” said Benny.
“That just goes to show you can’t judge by appearances,” Henry said.
“Yes, but you should never pet strange dogs without asking their owners first,” Jessie told Benny.
They had now gone all the way around the block, and they saw Britty’s owner waiting for them.
“Thank you for letting me walk her,” Benny said, giving her the leash.
“Thank you,” the woman replied.
As they were heading back to the hotel, the Aldens passed lots of other people and dogs.
There were two full-coated collies being walked by a stately man with long, flowing golden hair, and a bulldog being walked by a thickset old man with a mashed-in nose.
“You know, some people look just like their dogs,” whispered Violet.
“It’s true,” said Jessie. “Oh look! Excuse me, what kind of dog is that?”
A short, stout woman with very short, very white hair stopped and smiled at them, while her dog pulled on his leash and grinned a doggy grin. “She’s an English bull terrier,” said the woman. “Her name is Shug.”
They all looked at Shug, who also had very short white hair and was very solidly built. “She looks like a nice dog,” said Jessie politely.
“Oh, she is when she wants to be,” said the woman cheerfully as Shug pulled her in the opposite direction.
Just then a large, shaggy dog bounded around from behind and stopped in front of them. It was clear from his excited wiggling that he wanted to play. He didn’t have a tail, but his whole back end was wagging.
“A sheepdog!” cried Violet.
“An Old English sheepdog, actually,” said a voice behind them. A man in a rumpled gray suit, with shaggy gray hair, came up to them.
“He’s beautiful,” said Violet.
“Thank you,” said the man. “He’s a champion — Champion Burger Plum Pudding.”
“What a funny name,” said Benny.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Burger is the name of my kennel where he was born and bred. Plum is from his father’s name — Plum Best, you know — and Pudding is from his mother’s name, Proof of the Pudding.”
“Oh,” said Benny. “Hello, Burger Plum Pudding.” He began to pat the dog’s head.
“I call him ‘Plum’ for short,” said the man, smiling.
“Like Sunny!” said Benny.
“Sunny?” The man abruptly stopped smiling and his eyes narrowed. “Sunny?”
“That’s the dog who’s staying with us. She has a longer name, but the Teagues call her Sunny for short.” Henry explained.
“The Teagues,” repeated the man. “Well, well, well.”
“Do you know the Teagues?” asked Jessie eagerly.
The man stared at them, then turned abruptly without answering. “Come, Plum,” he ordered, and stalked away.
Plum hesitated. He liked having Benny pat his head.
“Now,” ordered the man sharply.
Plum reluctantly obeyed.
“I wonder what that was all about,” said Jessie, frowning as she watched the man march away with Plum trailing along behind him.
“I don’t think he liked us,” said Benny.
“He seemed to like us fine at first,” said Henry, puzzled. “Until we mentioned Sunny. Oh, well, our half hour with these guys is almost up. We’d better get back. We don’t want Mrs. DeCicco to worry.”
“Do you think Sunny knows Plum?” asked Violet.
“We can ask tonight,” said Jessie.
“I think that would be a very good idea!” agreed Henry.
“Is it a mystery?” asked Benny.
“Maybe it is, Benny,” said Henry. “Maybe it is.” |