10 The Cave

10. THE CAVE As soon as Matilda arrived home, Fluff started walking figure eights around her ankles, meowing, purring, and wrapping her tail around Matilda's legs. The cat ran across to the patio door and mewed loudly until Matilda opened it. But Fluff didn't disappear across the yard as she normally would. She darted back and forth, in and out of the door, meowing and glaring at Matilda.

"Would you like a snack, Tilda?" called her mom, who was now in the kitchen. "You get comfy on the sofa, and I'll bring you a hot chocolate and some cookies." But Matilda was already following Fluff through the patio door into the yard. She pulled her bike out of the shed, fastened her helmet, and watched Fluff disappear through the back gate. She pedaled furiously to

catch up, but Fluff was running at quite a pace toward the harbor. A few minutes later, she found Fluff sitting beside the Blackhole, meowing as loudly as she could. Bones's head popped over the ship's rail, followed by a furiously wagging tail. He bounded down the gangplank and gave Fluff's head a great slobbery lick. She reciprocated by pushing her cheeks firmly against Bones's face, pacing back and forth, and purring in delight.

"I see our pets are reunited!" Jim chuckled, hanging from the rigging above. "I'm mighty relieved, Matilda! I'd been told ye was one of them 'disappeared' kids." "Nah, I didn't disappear," said Matilda. "But all the other children are gone. I'm wondering if Fluff knows something we don't." Jim grabbed a line and swung down to join them.

As soon as Jim landed on the cobble- stones, Fluff ran off again, this time along the waterfront, with Bones hurtling after her. "Jump aboard, Jim!" said Matilda. "I'll give you a ride!" Jim climbed astride Matilda's back wheel, wrapped one arm around her waist, and they rushed after their pets. Fluff and Bones had quite a head start, but luckily Jim had his telescope and managed to keep them in view. With Dull-on-Sea's rat infestation, most of the tourists had gone home, so it wasn't too hard to follow a cat and a dog along the waterfront, past the pier, past the bandstand, and onto the coast road out of town.

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