Lucky took a deep breath, and tried to keep the fear out of his bark. “The Forest-Dog will protect us. It isn’t dark yet, and if we move quickly, we can cover a lot of ground before no-sun.”

Forest-Dog! Please don’t let these little pups come to any harm! he added silently. They’ve already suffered so much.

His eye caught the shape of the big house, eerie in the long shadows; then he turned to peer through the surrounding thickets and trees. They had a long journey ahead of them, and not much light.

The sooner they left this place of death, the better.

CHAPTER TEN

Twigs and leaves crunched under Lucky’s paws as he led the others through the darkening forest. They had covered only the length of four rabbit-chases since leaving the Dog-Garden, and Lucky’s flanks trembled as he thought about how much farther he and Mickey would have managed to walk if they were traveling alone. The pups were painfully slow, scrambling and struggling over each arching root or fallen branch. Their smaller legs tired out more quickly and they regularly stopped to fill their tiny chests with air. But they kept going bravely, encouraging one another with little yips.

“That’s it,” said the female, addressing her litter-brothers. “Great progress!”

“Think how far we’ve already gone,” the larger male agreed.

Lucky was impressed by the pups’ resilience. I felt so bad about being forced out of the Pack. But if these pups can find the strength to keep going, after all they’ve been through, I can do the same. I can stop feeling sorry for myself.

Their little tails shot up proudly but Lucky wasn’t sure they would be able to walk much more. He spoke quietly to Mickey. “I think we should take turns carrying them, while the third pup walks between us.”

Mickey looked warily at the stout, glossy-furred pups. “I think so too, but . . . they’re Fierce Dogs. They seem proud. Do you think they’ll let us?”

Lucky wasn’t sure either. He turned to the pups. “You’re doing really well,” he told them. “But it’s a bit uphill now. Would you let us take turns carrying you for a while?”

He watched the pups blink at one another. They stood stiff-legged and the female gave a hostile whine.

“Me and Lucky like to tease each other about who’s the best at climbing uphill,” Mickey said. “If we can each carry one of you it’ll be good training for us.”

“That’s right!” Lucky blinked gratefully at Mickey, then looked at the pups. Has he convinced them?