5. Brian Hears a Splash

Chapter 5 Brian Hears a Splash The kids thanked Mrs. Fallon and walked back to the sidewalk. Bradley opened his jacket. He handed the puppy to Nate. "You want to carry him next?" Nate grinned. "Sure!" He slipped the puppy inside his coat.

They headed back to Main Street. With Pal leading, they hiked past the elementary school to Eagle Lane. "Can you take the puppy to your house?" Bradley asked Nate. "I'd like to, but Tiger might have a fit," he said. "So would my mom and my sister!" "Let's take him to our house," Brian said. "Pal can play with him, so he won't be lonely." "That's right," Lucy said. "If it hadn't been for Pal's nose, the puppy would still be out in the cold." The kids walked into the kitchen at Bradley and Brian's house. Bradley saw a note on the table: Out shopping. See you soon. Have a snack. —Mom A bowl of tangerines sat on the table, and the kids each took one. They sat down to peel them. Nate put the puppy on the floor with Pal and poured some of Pal's food into a bowl. The puppy

raced to the bowl and began eating. "What should we do with him?" Brian asked, pointing at the puppy's wagging tail. "We have to find his real home!" Lucy said. "Before tomorrow." "I know that," Brian said. "I meant right now." "I'll get a box for him to sleep in," Bradley said.

"What about Mom?" Brian asked, grinning. "She's always telling us, 'No more animals!'" Bradley grinned back. "Mom won't find out. We'll hide him, then figure out where the puppy belongs before she even knows he's here." "But how are we going to figure it out?" Nate asked. "TO and FROM are still a mystery." "I'll try calling Mrs. Wong again," Brian said. "If the puppy came from her shop, she can tell us who adopted him. If she does, we'll just bring the puppy where he belongs. Mystery solved!" Brian pulled the napkin from his back pocket. "Leonard wrote the number down." He dialed the number. "It's ringing," he whispered to the kids in the kitchen. Then he said, "Hello, Mrs. Wong? This is Brian Pinto in Green Lawn. We found a puppy, and we think it came from your store! We're trying to find—" Brian held the phone away from his ear and looked at it. Then he put it back to his ear. "Mrs. Wong? Are you there?" Brian hung up.

"What happened?" Bradley asked. "I heard a splash," Brian said. "Then nothing." "Maybe she jumped into the water," Lucy said. "Or she dropped her cell phone in the water," Bradley suggested. "She's scuba diving!" Nate said. "Maybe a shark swallowed Mrs. Wong and her cell phone!" The four kids looked at each other. "We have to hide the puppy before Mom and Dad get home," Bradley said. "Maybe we should walk around town and ask everybody we see if they lost a puppy," Lucy said. "Let's call the police station," Brian said. He was still standing next to the phone. "If someone lost this little guy, they might have reported it." "Good idea!" Lucy said. "In my hometown, the police have a special officer in charge of finding lost pets." Brian dialed the police station. "This is Brian Pinto," he said into the phone. "My friends and I found a puppy on Main Street. Do you know if anybody lost one?" Brian listened. "We brought him home," he said. "On Farm Lane."

He listened again. "He might be a Christmas present for someone," he said. He explained about the tag. "Okay, we will. Thank you," Brian said before he hung up. "We will what?" Bradley asked his twin. "The dispatcher says we should put pictures of the puppy on telephone poles and in stores," Brian said. "On Christmas Eve?" Nate asked. He looked out the window. "It's snowing again, and it'll be dark pretty soon." Lucy nodded. "People are sitting around their Christmas trees," she said. "No one's out looking at telephone poles!" They all gazed at the puppy, curled up on the rug next to Pal. "I guess we keep him till Mrs. Wong gets back from Florida," Bradley said. "You mean if she gets back," Nate said. "She might be in a shark's belly!" Bradley sighed. "I'll look in the basement for a box," he said.