Charlie

скачать книгу бесплатно


“Come on then,” said Suzi, checking her watch. “My appointment is at three o’clock sharp!”

They drove back towards the centre of Sandmouth. Smoke was still hanging over the school and part of the town was coned off. Bella saw some of her friends walking along the pavement with their parents. She grinned and waved. Her friends’ eyes grew round as they saw the new pink Dream Dogs trailer trundling past. Pepper put his head out of the window and barked. He loved the feeling of the wind in his ears when they drove along.

“We need number twenty-three on this road,” said Suzi, peering at the numbers on the houses as they took a sharp left. “There!”

Number 23 had a wide driveway. Suzi carefully backed the dog-wash trailer up the drive and put the handbrake on. As Bella and Louie scrambled out of the car, the front door banged open. An old man limped out. His hands were jammed in the pockets of his old cardigan. The top of his head was bald, although tufts of white hair were growing out of his ears. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses.

“Are you the dog-wash people?” he said gruffly.

Bella blinked. DREAM DOGS MOBILE DOG-WASH was printed in big letters on the side of the trailer. Of course they were the ‘dog-wash people’. Then she saw that the old man was holding a small, folded-up white stick in one hand. He was blind!

“You must be Mr Flynn,” said Suzi cheerfully. “Hello there!”

The old man didn’t smile. “About time you turned up,” he said. He called back over his shoulder. “Archie! Here, boy!”

A large German shepherd trotted outside. He had a big black body and a golden head, and he sat down obediently at Mr Flynn’s feet. He was wearing a special harness on his back, which Mr Flynn could hold on to.

“Is he your guide-dog?” Louie asked.

“What else might he be?” said Mr Flynn sourly. “My guinea pig?”

Bella frowned. The old man wasn’t being very nice.

“Wait in the car, children,” Suzi said. “I won’t be long.”