Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 'Rise and shine, you 'orrible lot!' Sergeant Major Gordon yelled at the top of his voice, the sound echoing around the glen. Bleary-eyed and bedraggled, the camp's occupants all mustered on the parade ground. There were hundreds of animals: some who had been there weeks were looking cocky and blasé, others who had arrived the same time as Toto and the gang were looking fearful and apprehensive.

'Welcome to what for many of you is your first day at Glenview. And what a marvellous day it is here in the Highlands. They all looked up at the darkening clouds above. 'We have a nice easy challenge ahead of you today. Many of you have done it before, but by now you know the rules of the camp: if you can't pass the test...' 'YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A PEST!' the majority of the camp replied wearily. 'Exactly! You don't pass the challenges, you don't get to go home. So what shall we start with this week? We wouldn't want to overburden our new additions, so how about a nice gentle stroll up the hill?' 'That doesn't sound too bad, said Silver as the rest of the camp let out a collective groan. 'You have twelve hours to get to the summit of Ben Canis and back, he announced, pointing to a snow- capped mountain behind them.

Silver gulped. 'Scrub that, I can barely see the top!' 'Any animal who doesn't make it stays at camp an extra day. Any animal who tries to escape will be severely punished and stays at camp an extra day. Any animal who feigns injury stays at camp an extra day. The Sergeant Major smiled. 'A fine breakfast of porridge awaits you in the mess tent. You leave in thirty minutes. Oh, and one last thing: WE ENCOURAGE TEAMWORK here at Glenview. Terriers, if you would be so kind...?' The Border terriers made their way through the parade ground with some heavy-looking rope and proceeded to tie the animals together by the legs, four to a team. 'Teamwork makes the dream work,' Sergeant Major Gordon chuckled to himself. 'We'll be dropping in on you throughout the day to see how you are progressing. Anyone found to be tampering with their rope will be

-you guessed it- severely punished and...' 'Stays at camp an extra day,' the more seasoned members of the camp echoed back to him with resignation. 'CORRECT!' The Sergeant Major grinned. 'Enjoy your stroll. We shall see you back here at 5 p.m. Fall out!' The camp's occupants all started to move to the mess tent for breakfast. It looked almost comical, like a huge three-legged race with the animals staggering around, some tied to creatures they'd never met before. The bearded dragons were tied to a beagle and a parrot (who was making her displeasure VERY apparent), and were having a truly difficult time of it. Fortunately for Toto and the gang they were a very convenient four to be tied together, although that didn't stop Silver sprinting towards the mess tent and dragging the other three behind him.

'Did you hear him, sis?' Socks said as they munched on their salty porridge in the mess tent. 'We have to pass this test to even begin to think about getting home. And did you see how many animals have been here for weeks? It's NOT GOING TO BE A PIECE OF CAKE, this.' 'Please don't mention cake, dear boy,' said Catface, staring mournfully into his sloppy porridge. 'You're right,' answered Toto. 'The only way we get

out of this is to work together and make sure we get up to that summit and back, while also keeping an eye out for Felis. So eat up and let's get moving! The little gang felt as if they'd been walking for ages before they even reached the foot of the mountain, but the weather had held off and so far they had made good progress. The mountain path narrowed and grew increasingly steep, and pretty soon their fellow teams started to drop out. The group passed others who were complaining bitterly. 'It's too much. Even the porridge is better than having to get to the top of this blooming mountain; lamented one small pug, who was tied to a sausage dog and a pair of exhausted chihuahuas. Toto could tell that her brothers and Catface were tiring too, but they never moaned. They stopped only to drink some water and dunk their heads underneath a small waterfall.