Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.
Suddenly the Aldens could hear the unmistakable sound of a dog eating. The children looked at each other. The sound was coming from near the end of the line.
“Hold on!” Jessie said. “That dog is eating the food.” Jessie pointed to a black and white speckled sheepdog. A boy about Jessie’s age was standing with the dog as it chomped away at his bowl of food.
“Why is that dog the only one in the whole line eating the food?” Henry wanted to know.
“Maybe the other dogs aren’t hungry,” Violet suggested.
“But Violet, they’re dogs,” Benny said. “Grandfather once told me that dogs are always a little hungry.” He patted his tummy and added, “Sometimes, I think I might be part dog.”
Henry and Violet laughed.
“Woof,” Jessie teased, patting him on the head.
From where they stood, the Aldens could hear Ms. Werner talking to the boy with the speckled dog.
“What is your name?” Ms. Werner asked.
“Dante Oliver,” the boy replied. “And this is Buffalo.”
Benny giggled and whispered to Violet, “That dog looks nothing like a buffalo.”
“Well, Buffalo sure seems to be a nice dog,” Ms. Werner said kindly to Dante. She put out her hand and Buffalo licked it. Suddenly Buffalo leapt forward. He pulled against his leash and tried to get closer to Ms. Werner.
“Down,” she said firmly, stepping away. “I’m going to put a star next to Buffalo’s name,” Ms. Werner told Dante. “We’re going to keep an eye on your dog.” Then she walked away.
“Oh no,” Benny said to his siblings, “Ms. Werner already likes Buffalo best of all because he ate the Wundermutt food!”
“Don’t worry,” Jessie assured her little brother. “The auditions have barely begun.”
Twenty dogs and their owners had made it through the first round. Ms. Werner and Lisa led them all to a special room in the mall reserved for the Wundermutt Company.
It was a large room. On one side there was an obstacle course, which was a little path with things for a dog to jump over or through—a wooden log, a small bench, a hoop. At the end of the course was a tall slide with thick stairs. On the other side of the room was a small stage with a set made up to look like a kitchen. Finally, at the back of the room, there was a little desk, a table with a coffee pot on it, and a few chairs. It looked like a makeshift office.
“Now we will pick the top three dogs,” Ms. Werner told everyone. “All the dogs will have to do a few tricks—lie down, play dead, roll over, fetch, and bark.”
When it was Watch’s turn to do the tricks, he did everything right! He lay down like a carpet and didn’t move. He played dead very well, and he rolled like a log, over and over until Jessie told him to stop. Watch jumped high to catch a ball in his mouth before returning it to Ms. Werner. And best of all, when Jessie told Watch to speak, he barked, loud and sharp.
“You sure trained him well,” Henry told Jessie. She beamed happily.
Watch rested while the Aldens watched the other dogs. Ms. Werner and Lisa watched the tricks carefully and Lisa wrote notes on her clipboard.
Benny giggled when a big black dog walked across the room on her back legs, an extra trick. “She looks like a bear!” Benny said.
Another dog they watched could easily fetch the ball, but wouldn’t give it back to Ms. Werner. After a few tries, Ms. Werner gave up and walked off.
Buffalo went next. He played dead pretty well, but didn’t stay dead very long. He fetched a ball, but didn’t catch it in the air. Instead, he waited until it stopped rolling, slowly got the ball, and very slowly brought it back.
“I think that Buffalo is part dog and part turtle,” Benny said.
Ms. Werner whispered to Lisa, who wrote on her clipboard. Buffalo’s turn was over.
“Oh look! There’s Lucky,” Violet said, recognizing the next dog. Lucky’s owner, Samantha Fine, was in Violet’s class at school. Lucky did very well at all the tricks.
“Lucky’s good,” Henry said, “but I think Watch is just as good.”
Finally all the dogs had finished their tricks. Lisa tucked the clipboard under her arm and followed Ms. Werner out of the room.
“Ninja was really good, huh?” Benny said while they waited. “Did you see him catch that ball Ms. Werner threw? That was way better than a regular fetch! I knew Ninja could jump super high. He does it on TV all the time.” Benny loved seeing his hero do tricks.
“I wonder who they’ll choose for the next round,” Henry said.
The dog owners grew suddenly quiet as Ms. Werner and Lisa returned. There was a man with them. He was heavyset and bald.
Henry heard Ms. Werner say, “I still think it’s crazy that company employees can’t enter their dogs in the audition.”
“Rules are rules,” the man said firmly “I don’t want to discuss it again.”
Ms. Werner pinched her lips together. Then she introduced the man to everyone in the room. “This is the owner of the Wundermutt Company, Mr. Lillipool,” she said. “The search for a new Wundermutt star was his idea.”
“And a fine idea it was,” Mr. Lillipool said with a wide grin. He walked around, petting dogs and greeting everyone.
“Hello, children,” Mr. Lillipool said to the Aldens. “Who is this?” he asked, bending low to scratch Watch beneath his collar. Watch immediately dropped to the floor and rolled on his back, wanting his belly to be scratched, too.
Mr. Lillipool laughed. His deep chuckle filled the room. “What a wonderful dog!” he exclaimed. He wished the Aldens good luck and then went off to look at the other dogs. They watched the way Mr. Lillipool petted each dog. “He sure loves dogs,” Henry said.
When Mr. Lillipool was finished, Ms. Werner walked him to the door. They stood near the entrance whispering for a moment or two. At last Mr. Lillipool left and Ms. Werner turned to the group.
She clapped her hands and announced: “Our final three dogs are …”
Benny and Henry held their breath.
“Ninja,” Ms. Werner said.
Ninja’s owner raised his eyebrows. “Well, that’s no surprise!” he said.
Jessie and Violet held their breath, too, as they waited to hear the next name.
“Watch,” Ms. Werner said. The Aldens all exhaled at the same time.
“Whew!” Jessie said. She wanted to cheer, but there was one more name to be called.
“And our last finalist is,” Ms. Werner paused. Finally she called out: “Buffalo.”
“Buffalo?” Henry wondered.
Dante, Buffalo’s owner, nodded at Ms. Werner. He didn’t cheer or shout. Henry noticed that Dante didn’t even smile. “I don’t think Dante’s very excited that Buffalo was picked,” Henry said to Jessie. “I wonder why.”
“It’s like he knew Buffalo would make it all along,” Jessie said.
Henry was about to say something more, but Ms. Werner interrupted.
“Thank you to everyone who tried out today. Please help yourselves to some Wundermutt dog food coupons on your way out,” Ms. Werner told the crowd. She and Lisa stood near the door, saying good-bye to the other dog owners and handing out coupons.
“I don’t understand how Buffalo got picked. He did all the tricks, but lots of dogs did better,” Jessie said.
Violet went over to her friend Samantha and gave her a hug. “Your dog was really good,” she told her.
“We did our best,” Samantha replied, petting Lucky’s head. “But if you ask me, Watch should get the commercial. He was amazing.” Samantha glanced over at Dante and Buffalo. “Buffalo didn’t do very well, did he?” she asked. “I don’t understand why he gets to stay.”
The Aldens waved good-bye to Samantha and Lucky and watched them leave.
Then Benny said, “I have two questions about Buffalo.”
“What are they, Benny?” Henry asked.
“Number one,” Benny held up one finger. “Why is he the only dog who ate the fo
od? And number two,” Benny held up a second finger. “Why does Buffalo get to stay when he didn’t do very well in the audition? Do you think Ms. Werner really likes him best already?” Benny stopped and looked at his fingers. “That was actually three questions.” He shrugged.
Jessie smiled. “Three important questions.”
“You’re right, Benny,” Henry said. “The Wundermutt audition mystery is getting even more mysterious.”
CHAPTER 4
The Top Three
It was time for a short break.
The Aldens decided to get to know the other dog owners a little better. They went to talk to Dante first.
“Good luck in the next round,” Jessie said.
“Thanks,” Dante said. “You, too.” Dante was acting nervous. He kept glancing over at the door.
“What kind of dog is Buffalo?” Benny asked.
“Ummm.” Dante scratched his chin.
“A spotted one. Look, I gotta go somewhere.” He tugged Buffalo away quickly and left the room.
“Dante sure was in a rush to get out of here.” Violet said. “Maybe we can get to know him better later.”
Mr. Benjamin was in the corner of the room, brushing Ninja’s teeth. The Aldens walked over to him.
“Hello, Mr. Benjamin,” Henry said. “Congratulations on the audition so far.”
“There is no need to congratulate me,” Mr. Benjamin said, standing up. “I knew Ninja would be picked.” He tucked Ninja’s toothbrush in his pocket. “I’m sorry for you kids, though. Your dog doesn’t have a chance.”
Henry didn’t want to seem rude, so he just said, “Ninja is a very good actor.”
“The best,” Mr. Benjamin said. “It’s so wrong that we had to come here to Greenville.”
“Greenfield,” Benny corrected.
“Whatever,” Mr. Benjamin said. “Ninja never has to try out for a role. He is always given everything that he wants!” Mr. Benjamin gathered Ninja’s leash. “We are off to buy Ninja a bottle of water in the mall’s food court. Ta ta.”
The Aldens were alone in the big room.
“I’m so nervous,” Violet said. “Mr. Benjamin seems confident that Ninja will win. But I really hope that Watch will get the best score,” she said. “Then he’ll be a star.”
“And Josh will get his bike fixed,” Henry put in.
“Josh can bring his bike when he visits us in Hollywood!” Benny said.
Just then Grandfather came into the audition room. “I met Ms. Werner outside,” he said. “She said you had a short break, so I came to take you out for a snack.” He gave Benny a wink. “How is everything going?”
“Great! Watch has been picked to go to the next part of the audition,” Jessie said.
“He’s going to be famous,” Benny said. “When Watch is a superstar, you can be his chauffeur so you’ll drive him to all his important meetings,” Benny explained.
“We’ll even get you a fancy hat!”
Grandfather laughed.
After a snack and a short walk, Grandfather dropped the children and Watch back at the audition room. He made plans to pick up them up when it was over later.
“You see, I’m already the chauffeur,” he said.
After Grandfather was gone, Henry saw something odd through the big window at the back of the room.
Ms. Werner and Dante were outside speaking privately. It looked like Ms. Werner was giving Dante a marker pen. But he wasn’t sure. “Did you see that?” Henry asked Jessie.
“I think I saw Ms. Werner give Dante a marker,” Jessie said.
“That’s what I thought, too!” Henry said.
“That’s really weird. A bunch of strange things have happened at this audition,” Jessie said.
“You should write it all down in your journal when we get home,” Henry said.
“Yeah,” Jessie agreed. She began thinking about what she’d write. She’d start with the fact that none of the dogs in line were eating the Wundermutt food. Except Buffalo.
“Hello.” Lisa came over to the children. “Your dog is terrific.”
Jessie beamed. “Thanks,” she said.
“Is it fun to work in show business?” Benny asked.
Lisa didn’t smile. “No. I don’t think it’s fun.”
“Why not?” Benny asked. “I think it would be great!”
Lisa groaned. “It might be great for some people. But I don’t want to be in show business. I want to do other things for the Wundermutt Company.”
“What do you want to do?” Violet asked in her soft voice.
“I’m an inventor,” Lisa told the children. “I’ve created a new dog training product. It’s called—”
“Lisa, I need your help,” said Ms. Werner, who had come back into the room.
“I have to go now.” Lisa sighed. “But I have a plan.” She tossed back her hair and gave a small smile. “Soon everyone will notice me and listen to my incredible idea!” With that, Lisa hurried off.
“What do you think she has in mind?” Henry wondered.
It was time for the obstacle course. Lisa showed the dogs and owners how it worked. “Each dog will have to go over the log, under the bench, through the hoop, and finally, slip down the slide,” she said.
“We want to see how athletic and healthy your dog is,” Ms. Werner said. “Plus, these same tricks will be used in the commercial.”
Ms. Werner pointed at Lisa’s clipboard. “We will give each dog points for how well they perform on each of the events we have planned. At the end, the dog with the most points will get to go to Hollywood, star in the Wundermutt commercial, and win one hundred dollars in prize money.”
“Wow!” Jessie said. “That’s exactly enough to get Josh’s bike fixed.”
“Winning is going to be a piece of cake!” Benny exclaimed.
“Benny’s always thinking about food,” Henry said with a laugh.
Ms. Werner announced that Buffalo would run the course first. Ninja would be next, and finally, Watch.
Buffalo moved up to the starting line. A bell rang and Buffalo started out. The dog jumped smoothly over the log, though his back feet briefly touched it.
As Buffalo went through the course, Dante cheered him on.
“Good dog!” he shouted. “Don’t mess up. No mistakes. People are counting on you. When you win this audition, it’ll prove a point.”
When Buffalo slid under the bench, he hit the underside with his back. The bench wobbled but didn’t tip. Buffalo sailed through the hoop, but skidded on his landing. For the last trick, Buffalo slid smoothly down the slide.
At the finish line, Dante gave Buffalo a big hug. “Good job, Bandit!” he said. “Great work.”
“Bandit?” Benny whispered. “I thought his dog’s name is Buffalo.”
“I don’t know why he called his dog another name,” Henry said.
“We must have heard wrong,” Violet said.
“All of us?” Jessie asked.
“Great work, Buffalo.” Ms. Werner said. “A solid run.” She told Dante he didn’t need to stay to watch the others.
“Buffalo needs to be refreshed,” Dante said. Then they headed out.
When Mr. Benjamin moved Ninja to the start line, Benny began to clap. “Go, Ninja!” he said. He still wanted Watch to win, but it was exciting to see his favorite TV hero in action. “Now, Ninja, now!” he shouted. That was what the announcer on “Ninja at Night” said whenever Ninja sprang into action.
But Mr. Benjamin wasn’t pleased. He just glared at Benny.
“Sorry,” Benny said, and then he was quiet.
The bell sounded and Ninja was off. He went over. Under. Through and down. Unlike Buffalo, Ninja didn’t need any direction on the course. He did it all perfectly on his own.
“Good job, Ninja,” Benny said softly when Ninja’s turn was over.
“Ninja really did well,” Henry admitted. “He’s a pro.”
“I told you Ninja would win,” Mr. Benjamin said, as Ninja sat dow
n next to his feet.
Watch was getting ready to take his turn on the obstacle course.
Mr. Benjamin looked around the room. “Hold on,” he said. He turned to Ms. Werner. “I can’t find Ninja’s leash.”
Everyone looked around, but nobody noticed the leash.
“I’ll check over by the stage kitchen,” Henry said. Lisa went to look with him. Jessie and Benny said they’d look by the door and under the waiting area chairs.
“I’ll check the little office,” Violet told them, and Ms. Werner followed her. The desk was messy. Violet picked up a coffee mug so she could move some papers. On one side of the mug was a picture of a white fuzzy dog. There was a big red heart around the dog. On the other side there was some writing.
“I’ll take that!” Ms. Werner said. She was right behind Violet.
Ms. Werner took the cup so fast that Violet didn’t have time to read the writing.
“That dog looked familiar,” Violet said. “Is that a photo of a famous dog?”
“No,” Ms. Werner said, putting the cup away in a cabinet. “But I wish he was.”
Violet looked around the desk. “No leash here.”
“I found it!” Benny suddenly called out. “It was under one of the chairs,” he said.
Without saying thanks, Mr. Benjamin took the leash. He hooked up Ninja and quickly left the room.
“Okay, Watch,” Jessie said, stepping onto the starting line for the obstacle course. “Do your best.” She scratched Watch on the neck and set him free.
Brinnnnggg! The bell sounded. Watch was off and running.
Watch went over the log easily, but as he appeared on the other side there was a loose bit of rope tangled around his leg.
“Where did that come from?” Henry asked.
Watch managed to remove the rope himself by shaking one of his hind legs. He then hurried to the next task. As he ran beneath the bench, one of the four legs suddenly came off! The bench tipped over and narrowly missed falling on him. When Watch jumped through the hoop, it broke in two.
“Something bad is going on,” Violet said.
The final task was the slide. Watch got up the steps okay, but as he began to slip down, the whole slide began to shake. It wobbled. Then it creaked. It was beginning to fall over!