Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 A miserable drizzle hung in the air as the camp assembled on the parade ground at dawn. Toto had filled her brothers and Catface in on the previous night's proceedings and suddenly the whole camp looked like a different place. Toto figured that only the truly unruly and aggressive animals were being recruited to the army. The rest would be here for a week then shipped back to their owners. It must be why Drummond had recruited

the Meowsiders to try and get rid of Catface and her brothers. Luckily, no one knew her real identity. For now, she was safe. 'Remember, every other camp mate could be an enemy, so WE MUST TRUST NO ONE,' she whispered to her brothers as they stood in the cold rain listening to Gordon announce the next task. 'For your final task this week, we have an oldie but a goodie. In your teams again, you must flee into the local countryside. In thirty minutes my colleagues here will track you down. He gestured to the pack

of Border terriers, who looked on menacingly. 'Avoid them for three hours out there and you pass. Pass this test: you get to go home. Fail: you stay another week! On your marks: three... two... one... GO.' THE CAMP SCATTERED AND RAN FOR THE HILLS, ALL WITH GENUINE FEAR ON THEIR FACES. 'They look nervous, sis,' Silver said, looking around. 'With good reason,' added a weary Catface. 'Those terriers have a frightful reputation. I was talking to a mountain hare over breakfast; poor chap had his ear torn by one yesterday. Toto, my dear girl, we have to find somewhere to hide for three hours. I'm not sure I've got another long hike in me.' 'OK, let's get clear of the camp. I've got a place in mind.' She knew that Catface didn't have much left to give. The poor cat-rat was shattered (even his normally resplendent outfit looked a bit dog-eared) but she had to get as far away from the camp as possible before the

terriers were let loose. She drove the gang hard and, cutting through the bracken, the sound of the camp became muted and distant. After a time, she heard a dull whistle sound and the dogs barking as they gave chase. Pretty soon after that they started to hear the yelps of the unfortunate creatures who were being rounded up. If they didn't get to their hiding place soon, they'd be caught and goodness knows what else. Toto knew, too, that this task would be the perfect way for the Meowsiders to get rid of Socks, Silver and Catface. She needed to keep them all safe; perhaps the whole camp would be aware of their association with Larry by now, and if the Meowsiders tried to get them a third time, they might not be able to escape again. She finally found what she was looking for: AN OLD, ABANDONED BADGER SETT. She had smelt it on their first hike up to the summit of Ben Canis as her sense of smell was so acute and, well, badgers were so smelly.

'You're not going to like this, but we all need to roll around in the earth, then get down the hole!' 'My dear girl, have you gone quite mad?' said Catface in horror. 'Yeah, sis, I'm not one to question you but it is a little pongy, said Silver with his nose upturned. 'Exactly! If they can't SMELL US, they can't FIND US.'

The gang shrugged their shoulders in acceptance. Toto went first and the others grudgingly followed. Soon all four were covered in smelly dirt and safe, deep in the badger sett. While Catface got some rest, Toto stood guard. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours that her head was spinning and, even though she'd never say it out loud, she was unsure what to do next. She'd come up here for what seemed like a relatively straightforward fact-finding mission and now she found herself in the middle of an animal army attempting a coup. And what of Felis; where did he come into all of this? She couldn't worry about that for now, all she could do was look after her brothers and Catface, then somehow try and delay the Generals until Sandy could get word to Larry for back-up. Her thoughts were disturbed by rustling above and the familiar sound of a dog sniffing. Catface was fast