Waggit's Tale Read Online Free

come back. Wherever it is, it’s permanent. Now, I’m not saying I know what they do when they get you towherever they take you, but it seems to me that there’s only one thing that’s really permanent; there’s only one thing you never come back from.”
    â€œWhat’s that?” asked Waggit, although he’d really rather not know.
    â€œDeath, little brother,” Tazar replied quietly. “Death.”
    Waggit sighed and lay with his head between his paws, and thought about how dangerous life had become, and how quickly. Only a day ago it had been so comfortable, so safe.
    In a mournful voice he said, “What can we do, I mean, if they come, the Ruzelas and the Stoners? What can we do?”
    â€œWe can run. You and I can move faster than any Upright; even Lowdown can if he gets a bit of a start. So that’s what we do, we run and scatter, and then we meet, not here but at another place we’ve got.” He looked at the young dog. “Be cheerful, little one. It works. We’re not going to lose you; don’t worry.”
    Waggit was not so sure.
    â€œHow do we know if an enemy’s coming?”
    â€œWe use our senses—eyes, ears, and noses. Each night one of us stays here and waits and watches tomake sure the team sleeps tight and safe.”
    â€œWhat if someone comes?” continued Waggit.
    â€œSo many questions from such a small brother. If somebody comes, why, then we sound the alarm.” Tazar pointed with his nose to the far side of the bridge, where eight or ten soda cans had been placed on top of the balustrade. A sly grin broke out on his face as he looked at Waggit.
    â€œYou know, those dogs should be up by now. They’re getting awful lazy. Why don’t you and I see how sharp they can be?”
    He moved quietly to where the cans were, then quickly ran his tail along them, causing them to fall with a clatter and a clang into the back entrance of the tunnel. Instantly Tazar and Waggit heard muffled sounds of panic and confusion. They watched as the dogs burst out of the tunnel and scuttled along secret paths over the hill and out of sight. The last to leave was Lowdown, his little legs flying so fast that it seemed as if he should be covering twice as much ground as he actually was. Tazar chuckled his wicked laugh.
    â€œSee, I told you, all he needs is a bit of a start.”
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    It took Tazar and Waggit several minutes to get to the meeting place. The mist had cleared, and warmth was finally coming to the park. Waggit almost felt happy as he trotted along beside Tazar. A couple of times the puppy fell behind to try to imitate the black dog’s swagger, but his paws seemed too big and his legs too long. And Waggit didn’t have a magnificent plumed tail that bobbed and fluttered with each step, like the flag of a general. So he contented himself with sniffing interesting smells, attacking windblown leaves, and casting a careful eye over anybody who looked even vaguely like his master.
    The rest of the dogs had assembled at a place called Half Top Hill. Tazar proudly told Waggit that this was the scene of the last and most humiliating defeat of Tashi’s team, which had retreated in disarray when the Tazarians rolled three large trash barrels down the long slope at them. “Trash beating trash,” was how he put it.
    Even Waggit realized that this would be an easy place to defend. The only way up was the long slope that the barrels had gone down, the other sides of the hill being much too steep to climb. There were good views all around, one over the field where peoplechased balls, and another along the road to the Risingside. All around the hill was a crunchy black path for horses, and any dog with a pair of ears worth the name could hear somebody walking on that.
    In fact the waiting dogs had seen Waggit and Tazar approaching long before they arrived. They crowded around with worried faces.
    â€œWhat was it,