A flash of the eyes from Twitch warned Lucky not to try lifting him by his scruff, so instead he circled the long-eared dog and shunted him along from behind until Twitch was able to climb the rest of the hill by himself. Watching Lucky in action, Fiery set Nose down. Moon gathered the pup to her alongside his litter-sister, who watched, wide-eyed.

“What’s he doing?” asked Squirm.

Moon licked her ears. “He’s helping.”

Fiery nudged Whine over the worst of the rocks without difficulty. The short-legged, snub-nosed dog mumbled his gratitude and continued his clumsy clamber up the hill, his flanks heaving.

Fiery yapped to Lucky and returned to Nose, scooping him into his jaws before he and Moon went on with the puppies.

Lucky looked back at the dark cloud, which was spreading toward the camp below. From his vantage point, he could see that it was rising from a valley behind some low-lying trees, probably not far from the city. It hung close to the ground, not high overhead as clouds usually did. But at least they were escaping it; soon they would be far away, building a new camp.

When he turned back to the hill where the last of the dogs was disappearing, Lucky heard a howl of terror.

It was Daisy! She was at the point where the slope crooked sharply to the right. Lucky bolted toward her.

“Mickey’s in trouble!” she yelped.

The black-and-white dog had lost his footing near the top of the hill and was sliding backward. One of his hind legs dangled dangerously over the edge of the ravine, his other hanging on by its hind claws.

Daisy yapped frantically. “Come on, Mickey! You can do it! Just climb back onto the hill!”

Mickey clung to the trunk of a gnarled tree with his forepaws. As he started to lose his grip, dusty earth rose from the base of the tree. It was coming loose from its roots! He turned his muzzle away, his eyes wild, but he never let go of the glove in his jaw.

Lucky reached Mickey just as the black-and-white dog’s other hindpaw slipped off the edge of the hill. Dart and Spring turned to see where he was going and yelped in panic when they saw Mickey.

Lucky tried to stay calm. He locked his jaws around Mickey’s collar, careful not to shunt his friend away from the hill or cause him to lose his remaining grip on the tree trunk. Using all his strength, Lucky tugged Mickey back onto the hill. For once, he was grateful that the Leashed Dog insisted on wearing his collar—he was far too big for Lucky to tug by the scruff, as he had with Sunshine. The two of them collapsed in a pile on the dusty earth as Lucky dragged him over the last scrap of ground to safety.