Read Online Selby's Stardom by Duncan Ball - Free Book Online Page A

time,’ he said, pouring the beans out onto two plates. ‘Here.Eat up — eat up and shut up,’ he said, giving a little laugh.
    Selby took a mouthful of beans and then spat them back on the plate.
    â€˜Yuck!’ he thought. ‘These are even worse than Dry-Mouth Dog Biscuits.’
    â€˜Hey, you. Eat those. That’s all you’re getting,’ the old man said. ‘Old Shish loved them. What a dog!’
    â€˜Yeah, well, you probably killed him with those beans,’ Selby thought. ‘Now to look for a way out of this dungeon.’
    Selby pushed away his plate of cold beans and set about investigating the house for a means of escape.
    The front door and back door were both locked. One by one, Selby crept into the other rooms of the house and tried to raise the windows.
    â€˜I don’t think these things have ever been opened,’ Selby thought. ‘No wonder it stinks in here, there’s never any fresh air.’
    There was one last room but Selby couldn’t go in to check the window without Dave seeing him.
    â€˜I know,’ he thought. ‘I’ll trick him into letting me out.’
    Selby scratched at the back door and whimpered.
    â€˜Want to go to the loo, do you?’ the old man said.
    Selby watched as the man got an old laundry basket and filled it with crumpled newspapers.
    â€˜There you go — your own personal loo,’ he said.
    â€˜I’m not doing anything in that contraption,’ Selby thought. ‘What does he think I am, a puppy?’
    Selby watched as Digger Dave finished his beans and slumped down on the dust-covered lounge. It wasn’t long before he started to snore.
    â€˜I could wait until he takes me for a walk and then do a runner but he probably never goes out,’ Selby thought. ‘I’ll have to get the front door key.’
    While the old man dozed, Selby carefully worked his paw into Digger Dave’s pocket. Then, just as he touched the key …
    â€˜Hey! What’s going on here!’ Digger Dave cried, grabbing Selby’s paw. ‘Get out of it!’
    The old man sat up and laughed.
    â€˜You probably just want a pat, don’t you?’ Digger Dave said, pulling Selby up onto the lounge beside him. ‘Shish was with me when I walked across Antarctica and he learnt to do just what you did. He used to put his paws in my pockets to warm them up.’
    â€˜Oh, spare me,’ Selby thought. ‘In your dreams you walked across Antarctica. Tell me another one.’
    â€˜He was also with me when we got lost up the Amazon,’ the old man said with a laugh. ‘That was an adventure! Made a raft, we did, and floated down the river for a month until someone found us.’
    â€˜I can’t believe it,’ Selby thought. ‘He
did
tell me another one.’
    â€˜Poor old Shish,’ Digger Dave continued. ‘When I found him in the jungles of Mexico he was just a puppy. Speared right through the tummy, he was. Someone probably mistook him for some sort of wild animal, poor guy. Half-dead and bleeding like you wouldn’t believe, he was.’
    â€˜Oh, please,’ Selby thought. ‘What does he take me for? Speared through the tummy? This guy watches too much TV.’
    â€˜I nursed him back to health. That’s where I got his name: Shishkebab — like that nice spicy meat on a stick. Ever have shishkebabs, Selby? Stupid question. What would you know, you mongrel.’
    â€˜Of course I’ve had shishkebabs,’ Selby thought. ‘That does it. Go back to sleep, Digger Dave, so I can get out of here.’
    â€˜Melissa shouldn’t have said those things about him,’ Digger Dave said. ‘No good place for a dog, a flat in the city. That wasn’t right.’
    â€˜Melissa?’ Selby thought. ‘Must be the daughter who kicked him out. Can’t say I could blame her.’
    â€˜I remember the time we were crossing the