guest?”
“It has all sorts of rooms,” Andi said. “There’s a whole second floor. But what other guest are you thinking about?”
“MacTavish,” said Debbie.
“Who?” Now it was Andi’s turn to look blank.
“That’s the black-and-white dog who always hangs around the school grounds. He used to belong to a boy who went to school here, but last summer the boy’s family moved and they didn’t take MacTavish with them.”
Andi was horrified. “You mean they left him here to starve?”
“Oh, he doesn’t starve,” Debbie said. “All the kids feed him, and he sits outside the cafeteria at lunchtime and the ladies who do the cooking put out scraps for him. The thing is, it’s starting to get cold now. What will he do when winter comes and he doesn’t have a warm place to go?”
“Isn’t there anybody who wants him?” Andi asked. She thought of the careful plans her own family had made to leave Bebe with the Arquettes. How could people possibly get into a car and drive off without making any kind of arrangements to have their pets cared for?
“Couldn’t you take him?” she asked.
“If only,” Debbie said wistfully. “But my mother has a cat. Fluffy is a very special, blue-ribbon Persian, and she hates dogs. If we got one, Mom is afraid Fluffy might run away.”
“Isn’t there anyone else who might want him?”
Andi asked the question, but her mind was flying ahead of her. It was moving on wings down the hallway that led from Friday’s pink bedroom, past the family room where Red Rover stayed, and up the stairs to the second-floor hall where a whole row of doors opened into unused bedrooms.
I wonder,
she thought,
if a black-and-white dog would like blue wallpaper better than green?
CHAPTER NINE
There was nothing difficult about locating MacTavish. When school was out for the day, Debbie led the way to the back of the cafeteria, and there he was. When she saw him, Andi had the immediate feeling that he was waiting there just for her.
“I wish I could help you get him to the hotel,” Debbie said. “I would if I didn’t have a Scout meeting.”
“I can manage fine,” Andi told her. “He isn’t so big. I was afraid he might be the size of Red Rover.”
Actually, although he was a small dog, MacTavish was heavy, for he had gained a good deal of weight eating sandwich crusts and potato chips and spaghetti left over from school lunches. Andi was panting by the time she got him to the hotel.
Still, it was worth it! Never had she seen a dog so happy! She had decided to give him the blue room,as it had a built-in window seat from which a dog could look out over the backyard, and MacTavish leaped up there at once. From there he jumped to the floor and ran around sniffing, exploring the room from one corner to another. Then he leaped upon Andi. Wagging and licking and wriggling with delight, he burrowed into her arms, making little squeaking sounds of joy.
Hooray!
he seemed to be saying.
At last I have a home!
“You poor thing! Imagine your master going off and leaving you!” Andi hugged the dog hard, ducking her head to keep the busy pink tongue from washing her face. “Just wait until Bruce sees you! Friday’s so busy with her puppies, she isn’t much company for Red Rover. Bruce will be so glad to have a friend for Red to play with!”
She was wrong about that, however. Bruce was not happy at all.
“Another dog!” He regarded his sister with disbelief. “Andi Walker, you must be crazy! Tim and I are working ourselves to death to take care of the ones we already have.”
“He won’t eat much,” Andi said. “He’s already fat. One meal a day should do him just fine.”
“Fat dogs eat more than thin ones,” Tim volunteered. He and Bruce had stopped by the hotel on their way over to the Kellys’ to get their rakes. “It’s the same with fat people. Their stomachs stretch, and they have to eat more and more food to fill them up.”
“That’s not so,” Andi
“It has all sorts of rooms,” Andi said. “There’s a whole second floor. But what other guest are you thinking about?”
“MacTavish,” said Debbie.
“Who?” Now it was Andi’s turn to look blank.
“That’s the black-and-white dog who always hangs around the school grounds. He used to belong to a boy who went to school here, but last summer the boy’s family moved and they didn’t take MacTavish with them.”
Andi was horrified. “You mean they left him here to starve?”
“Oh, he doesn’t starve,” Debbie said. “All the kids feed him, and he sits outside the cafeteria at lunchtime and the ladies who do the cooking put out scraps for him. The thing is, it’s starting to get cold now. What will he do when winter comes and he doesn’t have a warm place to go?”
“Isn’t there anybody who wants him?” Andi asked. She thought of the careful plans her own family had made to leave Bebe with the Arquettes. How could people possibly get into a car and drive off without making any kind of arrangements to have their pets cared for?
“Couldn’t you take him?” she asked.
“If only,” Debbie said wistfully. “But my mother has a cat. Fluffy is a very special, blue-ribbon Persian, and she hates dogs. If we got one, Mom is afraid Fluffy might run away.”
“Isn’t there anyone else who might want him?”
Andi asked the question, but her mind was flying ahead of her. It was moving on wings down the hallway that led from Friday’s pink bedroom, past the family room where Red Rover stayed, and up the stairs to the second-floor hall where a whole row of doors opened into unused bedrooms.
I wonder,
she thought,
if a black-and-white dog would like blue wallpaper better than green?
CHAPTER NINE
There was nothing difficult about locating MacTavish. When school was out for the day, Debbie led the way to the back of the cafeteria, and there he was. When she saw him, Andi had the immediate feeling that he was waiting there just for her.
“I wish I could help you get him to the hotel,” Debbie said. “I would if I didn’t have a Scout meeting.”
“I can manage fine,” Andi told her. “He isn’t so big. I was afraid he might be the size of Red Rover.”
Actually, although he was a small dog, MacTavish was heavy, for he had gained a good deal of weight eating sandwich crusts and potato chips and spaghetti left over from school lunches. Andi was panting by the time she got him to the hotel.
Still, it was worth it! Never had she seen a dog so happy! She had decided to give him the blue room,as it had a built-in window seat from which a dog could look out over the backyard, and MacTavish leaped up there at once. From there he jumped to the floor and ran around sniffing, exploring the room from one corner to another. Then he leaped upon Andi. Wagging and licking and wriggling with delight, he burrowed into her arms, making little squeaking sounds of joy.
Hooray!
he seemed to be saying.
At last I have a home!
“You poor thing! Imagine your master going off and leaving you!” Andi hugged the dog hard, ducking her head to keep the busy pink tongue from washing her face. “Just wait until Bruce sees you! Friday’s so busy with her puppies, she isn’t much company for Red Rover. Bruce will be so glad to have a friend for Red to play with!”
She was wrong about that, however. Bruce was not happy at all.
“Another dog!” He regarded his sister with disbelief. “Andi Walker, you must be crazy! Tim and I are working ourselves to death to take care of the ones we already have.”
“He won’t eat much,” Andi said. “He’s already fat. One meal a day should do him just fine.”
“Fat dogs eat more than thin ones,” Tim volunteered. He and Bruce had stopped by the hotel on their way over to the Kellys’ to get their rakes. “It’s the same with fat people. Their stomachs stretch, and they have to eat more and more food to fill them up.”
“That’s not so,” Andi
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