Starlight Barking

  “Bliss was more than just enjoying ourselves,” said Pongo.

  “Perhaps it was a bit more,” said the Great Dane, grudgingly. “The fellow’s certainly a very clever trickster.”

  “I didn’t feel he was a trickster,” said Pongo. “I felt that he loved us.”

  “Well, even Sam and I were fooled at first. But we soon found him out when he started changing himself into dogs. To me, he looked like a Great Dane and to Sam he looked like a Chihuahua. Now, apart from being ridiculous, that’s dishonest. I take it that all you dogs saw him as being of your own breed?”

  There were excited murmurs from all the dogs in the gallery.

  “But I don’t think he meant that to be dishonest,” said Pongo. “It was to make us feel he understood us all.”

  “You know what humans feel about people who are two-faced,” said the Great Dane.

  “I don’t,” said Missis. “I didn’t know there were any people with two faces.”

  Pongo explained hurriedly, “It just means—well, people who aren’t sincere.”

  “Exactly,” said the Great Dane. “And as there are getting on for one hundred breeds of dog, Sirius is one-hundred faced. And if you think that’s a sincere thing to be, I don’t.”

  Cadpig felt the Great Dane was being a bit bossy. So she said in rather a haughty voice, “If I might speak a word or two—”

  “Who’s this?” said the Great Dane, glowering.

  “My daughter—at present our Prime Minister,” said Pongo.

  The Great Dane’s manner became charming. “What, Cadpig? Honored to meet you, my dear. You’re a very clever dog. Surely you don’t want to go with Sirius?”

  “As a matter of fact, I don’t. But I think you’re being unfair to him. He said he wanted to save us from The Bomb. Surely that’s a real danger? I’m always hearing about it.”

  “So am I,” said the Great Dane, “from my Professor. But Sirius can’t possibly know that his star will be a safe refuge. My Professor says the next war’s quite likely to be fought in Space—while we sit down here safely watching it on television. Now it’s nearly two o’clock. Let’s all get ready to say to this fellow, ‘Sirius, go home.’ Don’t you want to, Pongo?”

  Pongo had begun to feel he did. The loneliness he had felt when Sirius vanished had grown weaker and his loyalty to the Dearlys had grown stronger. (Surely he had never quite felt he could leave them?) He even felt a loyalty to the whole world that he had always known. But he couldn’t believe that Sirius was a trickster. And he remembered that great sigh he had heard from thousands of dogs when Sirius disappeared. He said quietly, “But it isn’t only what I want, sir. I have to decide on behalf of so many other dogs. And I’m nearly sure that most of them wish to join Sirius.”

  “Pongo,” said Missis. “I think some dogs wish to speak to you.”

  Peering into the gallery were three dogs of mixed breed, one large, two small. All of them looked in poor condition and seemed very nervous. Pongo at once invited them in and, as they drew nearer, he saw that they were pitifully thin. This was particularly noticeable with the largest dog, because his bones were so big. He had a fine head and intelligent eyes; and though his dark coat was now matted, it was easy to see that he could be a handsome dog if well fed and well groomed. He came in a little ahead of the other two and was obviously the leader.

  Pongo welcomed all three dogs and asked what they wished to say.

  The big, bony dog said, “We speak for all the lost dogs. Some are from Lost Dogs’ Homes. Some are strays. Some did not come to London because they could not believe they would have the strength. But those of us who are in Trafalgar Square, over a hundred of us, have talked to many dogs who could not be here—as you know, today our thoughts can travel anywhere. And they all feel as we do. You said that any dog who had anything important to say might come and say it. And to us, this is very, very important.”

  “Then of course you must tell me,” said Pongo. He spoke in a kind, encouraging tone, but his heart sank. He had almost been convinced by the Great Dane that he must refuse to go with Sirius—but surely these pitiful creatures would want to? Surely they would wish to escape from their unhappy lives on Earth?

  “Thank you,” said the big, bony dog. “I should tell you first that we admire Sirius and believe in him. And we are deeply grateful for this wonderful day. Some of us had forgotten what it was like, not to be hungry. And today we have hardly felt like lost dogs—because, in a way, all dogs have been lost. I mean they have all been on their own with no humans to depend on. So we have not felt envious. Oh, none of us will ever forget this day that Sirius has given us!”

  “And so you want to go with him?” said Pongo.

  “Oh, no!” said the big dog. And the two smaller lost dogs also said “No!” in very shrill voices.

  “But why not?” said Pongo, much astonished.

  “We are not ready,” said the big lost dog. “We want our lives here first. Always there is hope for us. Nearly all strays are taken to Lost Dogs’ Homes—and then, very often, kind people come and offer them homes. Most of us can remember homes. Many of those homes weren’t good ones and many of us were turned out, deliberately lost. But we had loved the people who treated us so unkindly and we want our chance to belong to someone again.”

  “You could belong to Sirius,” said Pongo.

  “That wouldn’t count,” said the big lost dog. “Everyone would belong to him. We all want someone of our very own.”

  The Great Dane said kindly, “And I hope you get someone. You all deserve to. And now, Pongo, hasn’t that helped you to make up your mind? It’s time you did,”

  It was, indeed. Big Ben had begun to strike two. And at that moment the room was flooded with light. Pongo knew where the light was coming from. Sirius, the blazing star, was back on top of Nelson’s column. And as the great clock finished striking, they heard the musical thunder of his voice.

  “I am here, Pongo!”

  “Send him away, Pongo!” said the Great Dane.

  “Tell him, not yet!” said the big lost dog.

  Pongo, Missis and Cadpig led the way to the steps and down them to the entrance hall, with all the other dogs following. But even when Pongo went out through the doors into the dazzling light, he did not know what he was going to say. Oh, he knew he must refuse to go with Sirius, but how could he put it, how was he to sound both kind and strong? And when he came face to face with the blazing star he wondered if he had the strength to say it at all.

  He did not have to. For Sirius, who could read the thoughts of all dogs, already knew. From the heart of the star came the great voice saying, “So the answer is ‘No’. And it comes not only from you, all you dogs here in London. I can hear it from all over the world. And I know now that there could not be any other answer. Of all creatures, dogs have lived closest to mankind and they will never desert mankind. And though I do not think such devotion is deserved, I can admire it. And it is something in men’s favor that they can inspire it and, in their way, return it. May you never regret your choice, oh Dogs of the World.”

  The Great Dane said, “Sir, I have misjudged you.”

  “But you were quite right to call me one-hundred-faced,” said Sirius. “And when I am back in Space, in all my loneliness, I shall comfort myself by being every breed of dog there is. I shall imagine it. And imagination can be more real than reality, though that’s something even I can’t explain. And now we must be business-like.” The deep musical voice became brisk. “All dogs must be home before sunrise, because then you will all be ordinary dogs, without power to swoosh or to open doors.”

  “Some of us live farther away than others,” said Pongo.

  “That will be allowed for. All dogs will reach home in time, provided they swoosh steadily and on no account turn back. Remember, the special powers given to you will only last just long enough to get you home. But there’s no need to panic. All crowds must break up in an orderly way. Those on the outside must leav
e first. Pongo, you and your party must wait until Trafalgar Square is cleared.”

  “But will dogs know their way home in the dark?” asked Missis, anxiously.

  “All they will have to do is to think forward thoughts toward their homes and swoosh steadily. Now I must leave you. I have a longer journey than any of you.”

  Pongo saw that the star, though still brilliant, was growing smaller. He called loudly, “Shall we ever see you again, Sirius?”

  “You can always see me in the Dog Days of high summer, when I shine my brightest—if you remember to look.”

  “Oh, we will, we will,” barked very many dogs. And then, as the star grew smaller and smaller, every dog in and around Trafalgar Square barked, “Goodbye, Sirius, goodbye!”

  “Goodbye!” The voice that came from the dwindling star was now little more than a murmur. And then every dog heard a strange sound which was like a soft summer breeze stirring the leaves of many trees.

  “What was that, Pongo?” asked Missis.

  Pongo said, “Perhaps it was the sigh of a lonely star.”

  Now there was only a tiny point of light high on Nelson’s column. And in another second even that had vanished. Trafalgar Square was in total darkness. Then the lights of London came back and quite ordinary stars were twinkling in the sky (if any stars are ordinary). And the Great Dane and the Sheepdog, speaking at the same moment, told Pongo it was time for action and all dogs must be hurried on their way.

  “Then you two Generals do the hurrying, please,” said Pongo, who was feeling very much upset. And so, he saw, were Missis and Cadpig who kept saying, “Oh, poor Sirius! Oh, poor lonely Sirius!” So Pongo comforted Missis, and Patch comforted Cadpig, and the two Generals very loudly told dogs how to get out of the Square. And by the time it was cleared Pongo was quite himself again—which he certainly needed to be, if he was to get his large party safely home. He hoped Sirius had made allowance for the extra swooshing power needed for the Tractor, with Tommy and the cats on it.

  “We must go as fast as we can,” said Missis. “It would be dreadful if Tommy didn’t get home by sunrise.”

  “It would be dreadful if any of us didn’t get home by sunrise,” said Pongo. “But don’t worry, Missis, dear. We shall.”

  But would they, all? Pongo earnestly hoped that Missis would not suddenly remember something which all the excitement had driven out of her mind—for if she did, he would never get her to leave London. Roly Poly was not with them. Where, oh, where was Roly Poly?

  12. A Race with the Sun

  Now that the Square was cleared, Cadpig was in a hurry to get back to Downing Street, as the Prime Minister often woke in the night and would be most upset if she wasn’t there. She said a loving goodbye to all her family, especially to Patch, and promised to send messages by the Twilight Barking.

  “I hope we shall soon see you on television,” said Patch.

  “Oh, I’m sure you will. And I heard the Prime Minister say that the next time he has to be out of England he’ll send me to stay at Hell Hall, so we shall meet again very soon. How I wish you could all be with me when the Prime Minister wakes up!”

  “We want to be with the Dearlys when they wake up,” said Pongo.

  “Ah, the dear, dear Dearlys,” said Cadpig, but her thoughts were really with the dear, dear Prime Minister.

  The dogs in Cadpig’s Cabinet left with her, to return to their own homes. The Staffordshire left for St. John’s Wood and the Great Dane, with Sam the Chihuahua on his back, set off for Hampstead, after arranging to keep in touch with the Sheepdog and the Jack Russell. (The Jack Russell had taken a great fancy to the Chihuahua because the tiny creature made him feel such a big, strong dog.) The three lost dogs had already gone, with all the other lost dogs, to the Battersea Lost Dogs’ Home. All were taking this chance to get into it, knowing they would be fed and have the chance of being adopted by kind people.

  Pongo assembled his party. Tommy, the cats, the Sheepdog and the Jack Russell mounted the Tractor, and the Dalmatians who had brought it to London got into position for the return journey.

  “You and I will lead the way, Missis,” said Pongo. He knew that if they lined up in rows of four—as they had, when coming from the country—she would instantly realize that Roly Poly wasn’t beside her. Now, perhaps, she wouldn’t notice it. Anyway he gave her no time to think. He told all the Dalmatians who weren’t pushing the Tractor to fall in behind him and Missis, and then quickly barked the command, “Quick swoosh for Suffolk.”

  It was surprising how quickly the visiting dogs had got out of London. Already the streets were deserted except for a few dogs standing outside their own front doors.

  “Very different from this morning,” said Pongo. “Are you glad we’re on our way home, Missis?”

  “Yes, Pongo,” said Missis. “But something’s worrying me. And I can’t think what it is.”

  “Don’t try to,” said Pongo. “Just keep your mind on swooshing steadily.”

  “Yes, Pongo,” said Missis. But she still sounded worried.

  Pongo said, “Missis, dear, if you should suddenly remember what’s worrying you, don’t let that stop you swooshing—or the dogs behind will stop, too, and the Tractor may bump into them. Now just let’s think of getting home to our good beds and the Dearlys.”

  “Oh, yes!” said Missis happily, and she thought about this so hard that they had swooshed out to the suburbs before she began worrying again. If only she could find out what she was worrying about! She felt sure it must be important.

  Pongo noticed that her pace was slackening. “Just a little faster, Missis, dear,” he urged. “Think forward thoughts.”

  Forward thoughts! What did that remind Missis of? Who was it that, this morning, had thought a backward thought? It was Roly Poly! Where was he? That was what had been worrying her! Oh, how could she have forgotten?

  She gave a quick cry and almost stopped swooshing but Pongo urged her on. “Steadily, steadily, Missis. Just keep up your pace. Now, what is it?”

  She told him, finishing by saying, “We must go back.”

  “No, Missis,” said Pongo firmly.

  “But we can’t leave Roly behind. Pongo, please stop swooshing. Let me talk to you.”

  Pongo saw that she couldn’t go on, feeling as she did. And the whole army could do with a few minutes’ rest. So he barked an order to slow down, making sure that the Tractor-pushers understood, and called a halt.

  He then explained to Missis why he had felt they must start without Roly. “We’d no way of finding him. And I had to do what was best for us all—as I must now. At sunrise we shall lose our power to swoosh. We can’t risk being stranded miles and miles from home.”

  “But the sun won’t rise for hours yet,” said Missis.

  “It will. Summer nights are short. And remember, Sirius warned us we must on no account turn back. Roly will be all right, Missis. Sooner or later George the Boxer will bring him back to Downing Street and he’ll be kindly treated.”

  “But no one will know where he belongs. He isn’t wearing his collar—and Cadpig can’t tell anyone he’s her brother.”

  “Perhaps she can hint it,” said Pongo.

  Missis shook her head sadly. “We may never see him again. But it’d be something if I knew he was safe. Let’s see if Cadpig has any news of him.”

  Missis at once began barking, calling Cadpig. But the only answers she got were from near-by dogs.

  Pongo said, “I’m afraid we’ve lost our power to reach Cadpig by thought waves. And we must swoosh on.”

  Already the night sky was paler. Pongo felt anxious. What counted as sunrise? Would they be all right until they actually saw the sun or would they stop being able to swoosh as soon as darkness changed to gray dawn?

  “Just one more bark, first!” begged Missis. “And please help me!”

  “We’ll all help,” said Pongo, and gave the word, “Every dog is to bark with Missis, calling Cadpig. Three times! Now!”

&
nbsp; The noise was tremendous. But after the third bark there was dead silence.

  “We’ve done our best, Missis,” said Pongo gently, and he warned everyone to be ready to start swooshing.

  “Listen!” cried Missis.

  Pongo listened, then said, “That’s just a faint bark from some dog a mile or so away.”

  But Missis was now wildly excited. “That’s not just some dog. That’s Roly Poly!”

  Again Pongo listened. The bark was like Roly’s. Were they getting through to London?

  “Roly, my darling!” barked Missis. “Where are you?”

  And now there was no mistaking the answering bark. “I’m here, Mother—coming as fast as I can. Please wait for me!”

  Then the tabby cat, on the Tractor, miaowed loudly, “I can see him!” And a moment later Roly Poly, swooshing at full tilt, was knocking dogs over right and left. He just managed to pull up as he reached his parents.

  “Where have you been?” cried Missis.

  But Pongo said, “You’re not to tell us until we’re safely home. Just get into line between your mother and me. Now all dogs at the ready! Quick swoosh!”

  After a few minutes Missis whispered to Roly. “Are you tired, Roly? Are we swooshing too fast for you?”

  “Oh, this is nothing after what I’ve done today,” Roly whispered back.

  “No whispering!” said Pongo sternly. “Save all your breath for swooshing.” He was thankful that swooshing needed so little breath, but wanted to be on the safe side in case extra speed was needed.

  Soon they were right out of London. They knew this first by the sweet fresh smell that came from the fields. Pongo looked anxiously at the sky. It was still, he told himself, a night sky but only just. He had seen it look like this when there was a moon behind clouds. Tonight there was no moon and he knew that, gradually but certainly, the dawn was coming. He called a halt and asked if every dog felt capable of swooshing faster. All including the Tractor-pushers, said they did.

  “Splendid,” said Pongo. “Missis and Roly, stop whispering. Now off we go.” And he set a faster pace.