 
The Haunted Circus - Astro's Adventures

by

Susan Day

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Susan Day on Smashwords

The Haunted Circus - Astro's Adventures

Copyright © 2015 by Susan Day

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

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The Haunted Circus - Astro's Adventures

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the dogs of the world that don't have a warm bed to curl up in, toys to play with or a cat to chase. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to rescue shelters to help you all.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20 – DOG A LOGUE

THE ASTRO'S ADVENTURES SERIES

OTHER TITLES

A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER 1

A group of dogs walked down the road together. These weren't just any dogs. These dogs came from a special organisation that saved other dogs from neglect. It was called The Organisation and it existed right under our very noses.

If a dog was left alone in its backyard; if a dog wasn't getting enough food or water and; if a dog was lonely and unloved, The Organisation would send out its crack team of operatives to save it.

These dogs were specially trained spies that could get out of any tricky situation. They were just returning from a mission where they had been sent into space to replace the Moon.

It had been blown up by the evil genius, Speed Bump Charlie. He was an old alley cat who had dedicated his life to trying to rid the world of dogs. All dogs, not just big ones or small ones, and not just smelly ones or ugly ones - every last mutt that trotted around sniffing another mutt's backside.

The dogs noticed something very colourful up ahead. As they got closer they saw it was a row of clowns. The clowns were standing on the road blocking their way. Each one had his arms folded across his chest and each one looked very angry indeed.

Their leader was an old clown called Gozo. He wore a large baggy jumpsuit which was covered with coloured dots. He had bright pink hair growing on top of his head and just above his ears.

"Uh, oh. I forgot about the circus tent," Commander Rocky said, coming to a stop.

Commander Rocky was a black Border collie. He was the leader of the Organisation and although he could be a bit bossy sometimes, he was well liked by his team.

The other dogs pulled up behind him.

When the dogs had come back to Earth in the spaceship after their last mission to save the Moon there was nowhere to land. They decided to jump onto a circus tent to cushion their fall. One by one they landed softly - except for Alfie.

Alfie was a large Doberman. He was very strong and always hungry. Alfie wasn't very bright either, and he was the heaviest so Commander Rocky had insisted he jump last.

As he did he went rip, tear and swoosh through the top of the tent. Fortunately for Alfie his fall was cushioned by the clowns who were practising their act inside.

The clowns standing in front of them were the same ones.

"Why did you run away!" shouted Gozo.

"Well, we had to stop a pretty nasty cat from sending all the dogs to their doom. There was no time to lose," Commander Rocky told him.

It was true. After finding a replacement for the moon, the dogs had to stop Speed Bump Charlie from luring all the dogs into a giant bone. He planned to push it over a cliff – with all the dogs in it!

"I don't care about that nonsense!" screamed the old clown. The other clowns glared at the dogs and began to move towards them.

Commander Rocky put out his paws towards the clowns.

"Now, now! I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement. We don't mind paying to get the tent fixed," he said.

"So, you admit you ruined our tent and our lives!" Gozo cried. "Our tent is ripped to shreds. We can't put on our show. No show equals no money. No money equals no food. Do you know how angry a hungry clown can be?"

Commander Rocky let out a long sigh. "No, I don't and I can't say I've met an angry clown before. Aren't you guys meant to make people laugh?"

"Commander, look behind you," Stella whispered.

Stella was a small Cocker spaniel and she was blind. She had special powers and could speak to people through her thoughts. Sometimes she knew when things were going to happen before they did.

While Commander Rocky had been talking to Gozo a group of circus performers had gathered behind them.

There was Horace the Strong Man, Carol the Snake Handler, two dwarfs, three trapeze artists, a group of acrobats and a really grumpy monkey.

Commander Rocky smiled. "Look, let's talk about it clown to dog...," he started but he didn't get a chance to finish.

"Get them! Get them all!" screamed Gozo. "Don't let them get away! We'll make them pay for what they have done!"

The circus performers jumped forward and grabbed the dogs. They tied them up with a never-ending line of coloured scarves.

"You're all coming with us!" Gozo cried. "We'll teach you for ruining our tent!"

The dogs were pushed, pulled and prodded up the road until they reached the circus. The clowns grabbed each one of them and threw them into a large cage. It had rusty wheels and steel bars and the paint was peeling off the walls and the ceiling.

"Get in there!" shouted Gozo. "If any of you survive the night I've got a special treat in store for you all!"

He threw his head back and laughed. The other clowns joined in. They sounded like a flock of crows cackling at one another's jokes.

A cold shiver went down each of the dogs' spine. Along with Rocky, Stella and Alfie there were Digger, Astro and Indy.

"Well, I suppose this is not too bad," Astro said, making himself comfortable in the cage.

"At least there's straw and it's nice and dry."

Astro was a grey shaggy dog who had joined the team after he staged a very exciting escape from the Check Out and rescued hundreds of abandoned dogs.

Alfie sniffed at the air. "I can smell something," he said. "Cat, I think."

"It's probably you. You always smell," sighed Digger.

"What a mess! I was so looking forward to going home and having a nice long bath."

Digger was a little terrier who liked to keep his white coat clean. He was the tunnelling expert and was always looking after his nails. He owned a diamond encrusted nail file and wore a green beret.

Just then they all heard a deep, low grumble.

"That sounds like a lion to me!" Astro whimpered.

A door slid back and, sure enough, a massive, ferocious lion walked through it. The lion stopped and sniffed each of the dogs. They were terrified. They were bound so tight all they could do was tremble.

"Oh, I don't want to be a lion's dinner!" moaned Digger. "What are we going to do?"

"If I could just reach my hunting bone," murmured Indy, as she twisted around in the scarves.

Indy was the commando fighter. She was a Blue heeler and had come from the rough outback of the Australian desert. She always carried a hunting bone and a stink grenade.

She was famous for saving the others from such terrible things as a dog-eating crocodile, a wicked gypsy cat, pirate catfish and much more.

The lion spun around and growled. It bent his head down and rushed straight for her.

"Oh, crikey, it looks hungry!" Astro cried.

CHAPTER 2

The lion was really big. He had feet the size of dinner plates. His eyes were wild and crazy. He bent down and sniffed Indy. Indy was very brave. He snorted air out of his nose at her. She snorted air back. She bared her teeth and growled at the lion. The lion bared his teeth and growled back at her.

"What are you doing?" Alfie screeched. "Don't make him angrier than he already is!"

"Why not," growled Indy. "If we are going to be eaten I want to go down fighting!"

"I don't," whimpered Astro.

"Me neither," whined Digger.

Stella lowered her head and shuffled around. She managed to spin her legs to the front and sit cross-legged. She lowered her head down to help her concentrate.

Then she began to hum.

The lion stopped and looked at her. It let out a growl and then stepped towards her.

"Hey! Listen here, you ugly lion!" Commander Rocky shouted, in an attempt to draw him away from Stella. "As Commander and leader of this team I demand that you leave us alone and don't eat us."

The lion spun around and narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why not," he said. Alfie thought his voice sounded like thick gravy sliding slowly over a juicy steak. His stomach rumbled.

"Because we are a crack team of professional spies. We have saved hundreds of dogs from cruel and irresponsible owners," Rocky continued. "And I simply will not allow you to eat us!"

Rocky was very brave.

Alfie nodded in approval, but the others all stared in shock.

"I'm a very large lion and I'm hungry. I'm also ten times bigger than all of you put together. Those mean clowns were even considerate enough to tie you up for me. I don't think you're in a position to tell me what do to," the lion grinned.

Then he stopped and thought about what Rocky had said.

"Dogs? Do you only save dogs?" the lion asked. The lion stood back and looked at Rocky intently.

"Well, no, we've saved other creatures, and Santa's sleigh, and once we found Neptune's Trident," Commander Rocky offered, recounting their previous adventures.

"We saved a crab that day too," Astro said.

"Yeah, I guess we did," Rocky nodded.

"Lions? Do you save lions?" the lion asked.

"What from?" Alfie laughed. "Wouldn't what you eat need saving first?"

The lion spun around and glared at him.

"I am a prisoner here too and I would like to go home. We all would," he grumbled, waving his paw towards the other cages.

"What's in those other cages?" Astro asked.

"Lions, leopards, tigers, zebras, elephants and dogs; we're all kept in these cages," the lion said.

"But you get out for performances," Digger said. "That must be fun; jumping from box to box, through hoops of fire, all that sort of stuff."

"Fun!" roared the lion. "We are whipped all the time and we are hungry, very, very hungry." He moved slowly towards the little dog licking his lips.

Digger squirmed back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Commander Rocky had to think quickly. "Although we've never saved a lion before we are the best rescuers in the world. If you want to be saved we can't help you if you eat us. Can we?"

The lion looked at him and at the others. He scratched his head. "I suppose not," he muttered.

"Well, why don't you use those lovely sharp teeth and gnaw through the scarves we are tied up with. Then, when we're free we'll do what we can to help you," Commander Rocky smiled.

Lion looked at him suspiciously. "What if you run away before you save me?" he asked.

Alfie shook his head and whimpered, "How did he know what I was thinking?"

Indy looked at Alfie and she shook her head, but for a different reason. Then she rolled her eyes.

"What if we give you our word?" Stella suggested. "We could all make a solemn promise not to run away if you free us."

The lion thought about it for a second. "I suppose. But can I trust you?" he said.

"Of course," Rocky said.

"Sure can!" Astro offered.

"One hundred percent!" said Digger.

"One hundred and twenty percent!" Alfie nodded, trying to reassure the lion.

Indy nodded too but she would keep a watchful eye on the lion at all times.

"And if we promise not to run away and help you," Stella continued. "You have to promise not to eat us."

The lion scratched his chin. "But I'm so hungry. Couldn't I just eat the little one," he asked pointing to Digger.

"NO!" Digger cried, and promptly fainted.

"Well, you could," said Stella patiently, "but he's an expert in tunnelling and we may need his talents." She was an expert at keeping a cool head in times of crisis.

The lion looked out of his cage and off into the distance. "I've been cooped up in here for as long as I can remember. I just want to go home to see my family. The clowns are mean and cruel. They don't care about the animals."

He turned and looked at Rocky. "They steal dogs too," he continued.

"What for?" Commander Rocky asked.

"They steal them off the street then use them as part of their circus acts. They keep them locked up in a special cage."

"Is that why the clowns wouldn't let us fix the tent?" Commander Rocky asked. "The Organisation would pay for it. That wouldn't have been a problem."

"They'll want to make performers out of you all, one way or another," the lion explained.

Digger picked himself up and shook his head. He was a little bit groggy, but he had heard what the lion had said. "Perform? What would we do?" he mumbled.

"Anything they want you to do," the lion said. "They use dogs for knife throwing practise; jumping through hoops of fire, trapeze stunts; that sort of thing. Those clowns are mean and cruel and believe me, they are not very funny at all."

"Well, let's do something about it," Stella said. "Free all of us now and we'll sort them out! I promise!"

"Me too!" Alfie and Astro chimed together.

"Okay, I promise not to eat you," the lion said.

He bent down and lowered his head. Then he recited the secret lion oath:

I cross my eyes; I cross my paws,

A lion's promise is lions' lore.

Then he used his sharp teeth to slice through the scarves. The dogs pulled them off and stood up. They brushed themselves down and picked off loose pieces of hay from their fur.

Commander Rocky looked at his team. "Okay, canines. Let's get started!" he barked.

CHAPTER 3

Inside a giant bone two cats sat, sad and defeated. One was the legendary alley cat, Speed Bump Charlie. The other was a very small kitten named Furball.

"How are we going to get out?" Furball asked. "The doggie door at the back only swings in, not out."

"I know that!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled. "I created this trap, didn't I?"

"Yes, but not for us," Furball sighed. "Who'd have thought that we would end up being the ones trapped in here when we, I mean you, cleverly designed it to trap those stupid dogs."

Furball sat down with her paws under her chin. When she joined Speed Bump Charlie she knew that being the right-hand-paw of the most evil genius the world had seen - the one and only Speed Bump Charlie - would have its setbacks, but this was too much.

She kicked at the tennis balls that sat around them. Speed Bump Charlie had invented them too. Hundreds of them lured hundreds of silly dogs into the trap. The balls were programmed to whistle and bounce a few times. That's all it took to mesmerize them and they chased the balls to their doom.

If it hadn't have been for Rocky and those other dumb dogs they would have gotten away with it too. Rocky had made them get in the trap as a punishment. Now, they were stuck with no way of getting out.

Furball stopped, sat up straight and looked at Speed Bump Charlie. "I have an idea Mr Bump," she said.

"Yeah, what? Are you going to dig your way out? Scream for help?" he muttered.

"Nope, but I think I can get the door open," she said, and she gathered up some tennis balls into her arms. Carefully, she stepped over the ones on the floor. She didn't want her feet to roll from under her. When she got to the trap door she put the balls down gently.

"Now, let's see," the little kitten muttered. She took one ball and set it on top of another, but it rolled off. So, she took three balls and made a triangle. Then she took another two balls and placed them on top. It worked. The balls didn't roll away. She added balls until she had made a tower. Then she used her claws and pulled the swinging door inwards. It wasn't easy. Speed Bump Charlie had set springs to hold the door shut. Furball really had to struggle to lift the door high enough, but she was strong and determined.

Speed Bump Charlie looked up.

"What are you doing?" he snarled at her. "You're letting a draught in!"

"And us out!" Furball replied, as she slowly pushed the tennis ball tower under the door with her back paw. She had done it. The tower was just tall enough to rest the door on and leave enough room for them to escape.

"After you, Mr Bump," Furball bowed.

Speed Bump Charlie didn't need to be told twice. He rushed forward and scrambled through the door. Furball followed him and the two cats stood in the sunlight blinking.

"Here, wear these," Speed Bump Charlie said, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and handing them to Furball. "I'll wear my spare pair."

She tried to fit them on her head but they were too big and kept slipping off her nose. When she pushed them back they were foggy from her breath. She took them off to clean them with her elbow.

Meanwhile, Speed Bump Charlie was making his way down the road.

"Where are you going?" she called after him.

Just then three seagulls flew overhead. Furball could hear them chatting about how strange, colourful people had kidnapped six dogs.

"Mr Speed Bump," she cried. "You might want to hear this."

"I doubt it," Speed Bump Charlie said without turning around. "The quicker we can get away from here the better."

"I just heard the seagulls saying that six dogs had been kidnapped by a bunch of colourful people," she said.

"Colourful people? What are you talking about?" Speed Bump Charlie asked. He kept walking down the road.

"I don't know, but six dogs? Think about it? It must be that Rocky and Astro, and the other mutts."

Speed Bump Charlie stopped and looked back at her.

"What kind of colourful people?"

Just then they heard music and a loud toot from a trumpet. The music was quick and lively and Speed Bump Charlie couldn't help but tap his paw in tune with the beat.

"Where's that coming from?" he asked.

Furball ran under a tree and tilted her head so one of her ears reached up higher. She stood quite still and listened to the birds nattering above her.

"It's the colourful people," she repeated to Speed Bump Charlie. "They're at something called a sir-cuss. Whatever that is." She shrugged.

Speed Bump Charlie looked at her and then in the direction of the music. "Colourful people. Are those idiot birds talking about clowns? Clowns that wear paint on their faces and crazy clothes? Clowns who do stupid things so stupid people laugh at them? Clowns who might have kidnapped six dogs, perhaps?"

"I guess so," Furball replied.

"Then they're my kind of clowns!" roared Speed Bump Charlie, and he let out a long laugh.

"C'mon kid. We're going to run away with the circus!" he boomed and he trotted up the hill.

"What's a clown?" She had no idea what Speed Bump Charlie was talking about. "And what's a sir-cuss?"

"You'll find out!" Speed Bump Charlie called over his shoulder. "Now, hurry up, Hairball!"

CHAPTER 4

Behind the lion's cage the dogs huddled together and formed a plan.

"Astro, contact headquarters and tell them what's going on," Commander Rocky ordered.

Astro scratched at his collar seven times. This activated his microchip. Microchips were little computer chips humans had place in dogs so if they got lost they could use a scanner to find them. The Organisation had cleverly reprogrammed them so dogs could communicate with each other. That way if a dog needed help all they had to do was scratch.

A beep came from nowhere and he could hear Dotty's voice. "Welcome to The Organisation. Your call is important to us. Please hold the line and..."

"Oh, Dotty! It's Astro here. Commander Rocky wants me to let you know we're going on a mission to save some circus animals," Astro interrupted.

"You heard me," Astro stated firmly. "Yes, I know we just got back from space, but we had to make a deal with a lion."

"Yes, a lion! He was enormous. Trust me, it was either make a deal or we were lunch," Astro continued.

"No, we were going to be lunch!" he yelled.

Commander Rocky looked around at his team. They were loyal, and dedicated to saving dogs. Alfie was strong and Indy was brave. Digger could dig long tunnels in just minutes. Astro's heart was in the right place and Stella was blind. They weren't perfect, but they were all he had to work with.

He let out a long sigh.

"Okay team. We have to know what animals are here if we are going to rescue them," Commander Rocky explained.

They all listened carefully. Well, all except Alfie. He was hungry and a delicious smell had found its way up his nostrils and was banging on the door of his tummy. 'I'm coming,' he whispered to his empty tummy. 'Not too long now.'

Commander Rocky continued, "Right, Stella and Digger. I want you to stay together. Go around the cages and find out who's in there. Indy, I want you to go into the Big Top and find out what you can about those clowns. They are up to no good for sure.

Astro and Alfie, I want you to sneak around and find out who else is here. We need to know who and what we are dealing with if this mission is going to be a success. We'll meet back here in one hour. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" everyone replied.

They all went on their assignments. Commander Rocky decided he would find the dog-napped dogs and see if he could get more information from them.

Astro and Alfie crept quietly into an area that was marked NO ENTRY – STAFF ONLY. Unfortunately, within a few minutes they had been seen and were being followed.

The first caravan they came to belonged to Horace the Strong Man. On the sides were paintings of Horace dressed in leopard skin tights. He had his arms outstretched and had a girl perched on each one. There was another picture where he was lifting a tractor off the ground and another where he was pulling a train – all by himself.

Alfie stood in front of the pictures and mimicked them.

"Do you think I'm as strong as Horace?" he asked.

Astro shook his head. "I'm not sure about the rest of you, but your head would be. I wonder if he can break down concrete walls with his," Astro replied.

Alfie smiled and rubbed his head. "Yeah, that was some rescue mission," he laughed.

"What's that over there?" Astro said pointing to a purple caravan.

"The sign says, 'Carol the Snake Charmer'," Alfie said, "And look, there's a picture of a gigantic snake drooped over the van."

They went to have a closer look.

"The snake looks so real," Astro whispered in awe.

"Go on. I dare you to touch it," Alfie elbowed Astro in the ribs. "Go, on!"

Astro leant closer and took a deep breath.

Alfie stood behind him smiling.

"It's only a picture of a snake," laughed Astro. "I mean, what harm can a picture do?"

He decided to be really brave and stepped forward and slapped the picture of the snake – really hard! Astro and Alfie now had a new problem! It wasn't a picture. It was a real snake!

It raised up its head and hissed at them! The two dogs screamed and tried to jump into each other's arms.

"I thought you said it was only a picture," Astro squealed, stumbling under Alfie's weight.

"Well, it looked like one!" shrieked Alfie. "Let's get out of here!"

The pair turned and ran into a solid brick wall. They staggered backwards and rubbed their heads.

Astro muttered, "There wasn't a wall there a minute a go!"

"What are you two doing sneaking around here?!" the wall boomed in a loud, gruff voice.

Astro and Alfie looked at each other and bit their lips. Then slowly, they looked up. Their knees were knocking.

Before them stood Horace the Strong Man.

"Whoops!" Alfie said.

"Whoops, indeed!" another voice said from behind. "What have you found, Horace?"

"Two escapees!" Horace growled.

Astro turned around to see a woman holding the snake. He nudged Alfie in the ribs.

"We're in a bit of trouble I'm afraid, Alf," he whispered, nodding towards the woman with the snake.

Alfie turned around and saw Carol the Snake Charmer. He let out a small yelp of fear.

"I think these two will make a nice delicious snack for Karen," Carol said, smiling wickedly.

Alfie wiped sweat off his brow.

"Phew! For a minute there I thought she was going to feed us to the snake," he said. "Who's Karen?"

Astro stared at him. "I have rather a sick feeling in my stomach that 'Karen' is the snake," he whimpered.

"No! Who'd call a snake 'Karen'?" Alfie laughed. "That's the stupidest name for a snake I've ever heard!"

Carol lunged forward and thrust the snake towards Alfie.

"Here, mutt, meet Karen!" she laughed, and then she threw her head back and let out a long shriek that echoed around the circus.

The snake shot its tongue out to smell the dogs. Then it licked its lips and narrowed its eyes. Astro wasn't sure, but he thought it was actually grinning at them.

"Let's get out of here!" Astro cried, and they ran around Horace and headed back to the lion's cage.

They tore around the side of Horace's caravan. Horace dashed after them. Astro and Alfie were faster, and for a few seconds they thought they were going to escape.

However, a dwarf was lying on the ground around a corner. Before they could stop, both dogs tripped over her and fell face first into the dirt. As they scrambled to get up, Horace grabbed them by the scruff of the neck and lifted them off the ground.

"Well, what is the boss going to say when I hand you two in I wonder?" Horace laughed.

Astro and Alfie squirmed and struggled to get free. They kicked and tried to punch him. It didn't do any good. Horace held them just out of reach and laughed at them.

"It's no good, Alfie, I think we've been caught. He's taking us to his boss," Astro cried, going limp.

"As long as his boss is not named 'Karen' I'm okay with that!" Alfie shouted throwing one more swipe at Horace, but missing.

CHAPTER 5

Stella and Digger crept around the animal cages. Being only small, Digger had to lift himself up to see into each cage. Stella stood back and offered moral support.

"What can you see?" she asked him. "And please be careful!"

"I think this cage is empty," he said. "I can't see anything inside."

"You had better get down so we can go to the next one," Stella said.

Just then a black paw shot out of the straw and grabbed Digger's arm. He screamed and tried to get away.

"Let me go!" he yelled dangling from the side of the cage. His short legs kicked and he tried to pull the black paw from this arm with his free paw.

"Who are you?" roared a deep, angry voice. "Are you my dinner?"

Digger's arm was hurting, but he managed to find a foothold on the side of the cage. He regained his balance and stared at the black face.

"I am certainly not your dinner!" he protested. "Let go of my arm immediately!"

A black panther slowly rose up out of the straw and stared through the bars of the cage.

"Who are you then?" she growled.

Stella looked up. "Listen, we're here to help you. If you release my friend, we'll tell you what we are going to do."

"I don't need help. I need my dinner!" the panther roared. "And a chubby little dog will do nicely!"

This comment made Digger angry.

"Chubby!? Listen, you over-sized good luck charm! Do you want to get out of here or not? Because if you don't, that's fine with me. I'm happy to leave you here in this cruel and dismal place!"

The panther let go immediately.

"What did you say?" she purred. "Get out of here? Me?"

Digger fell to the ground.

"Yes, you," he said rubbing his arm. "You've got a strong grip, I'll give you that."

Stella explained, "We mean you no harm. The lion sent us. We are going to help you escape so you can go back to your family."

The panther squeezed her head up against the bars so she could see Stella. Then she looked over to Digger. Then she laughed. She laughed and laughed and laughed!

"How rude!" Digger protested. "What is she laughing at?"

"You two? Two little dogs? You are going to help me escape from those crazy clowns?" the panther continued to laugh.

"Well, there's a few more of us," Digger muttered.

He was a little indignant. This panther clearly had no idea who she was talking to.

"How? How are you going to free me?" the panther asked. She was still chuckling.

Digger and Stella looked at each other.

Stella made an effort, "Well, we're not sure at the moment, but we will. We've never failed a mission yet!" she tried to sound confident.

The panther waved her paw and turned away from the dogs.

"Well, when you know, call me. I'd love to get away from here and those clowns," she said over her shoulder. "Who needs to work with ghosts?"

Digger and Stella looked at each other then made their way to the next cage.

"What a strange thing to say," Digger whispered looking back over his shoulder.

At the next cage they met a big, old elephant. She had been watching Digger and Stella. She pushed her trunk through the bars of the cage and waved at them.

Stella walked straight up and shook it.

"Nice to meet you," she said.

"And it's very nice to meet you two, too!" the elephant sang.

"You, with the green hat, is it true you are going to rescue us?" she asked Digger.

"It certainly is!" Digger exclaimed. "That's what we do, you know!"

"Well, just be warned. The gossip is spreading and if you're not careful you'll be in a cage too," the elephant whispered. "But you can count me in. In fact, you can put all the animals here on your list. I don't think there are any that want to stay. Well, all except the monkey," she added.

"Why does the monkey want to stay?" Digger asked.

The elephant looked down at the two dogs. "He's like the clowns," she answered.

"What do you mean?" Stella asked. "Like the clowns?"

The elephant raised her eyebrows. "You don't know?" she let out a long sigh.

"There was a terrible fire and the whole circus was destroyed in a burning inferno. Everything was lost, the tent, the equipment, all the animals and the clowns."

"Lost? What do you mean?" Digger asked. "They looked perfectly fine when they were bundling us up to feed to the lion!"

Stella nodded. She understood, "Oh, I see."

The elephant nodded. "Look, I don't know who you are or where you're from, but I wouldn't hang around here. All the animals were replaced after the fire. It's nice of you to want to save us, but it all happened over one hundred years ago."

"One hundred years! Clowns don't live that long!" Digger remarked.

"I didn't say they were living," the elephant looked at him.

Suddenly, Digger realised what she was saying. "You mean they're d... de... dea... dead!" he gasped in horror.

"The circus is haunted??!!"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. The clowns are all dead. They're ghosts. They travel from town to town putting on shows, but they don't do it for money or to make people happy regardless of what they say. They're trapped. They didn't take care of the animals in the first place. Their punishment was to keep travelling from town to town; city to city. They can't stop. This just makes them angrier and meaner. That's why they are so horrible to us."

Digger only heard part of what she said. As soon as she said the word ghost he fainted. Stella bent down and shook him gently. "Digger, wake up! Wake up!" she pleaded.

Just then two dwarfs ran up behind them. Stella was grabbed from behind. Another one jumped onto Digger and then swung him up and over his shoulder. He hung there like a limp rag. Stella struggled to get free, but she couldn't move.

The elephant let out a trumpet call of alarm and took a swing at the dwarfs. She missed and could do nothing to help.

The panther watched from her cage. She shook her head. "I knew it was too good to be true," she mumbled to herself.

"Let me go!" Stella demanded but it was no use. She punched and kicked at her captor but she was only a little dog and she wasn't very strong.

The dwarfs ignored her. They didn't reply because they couldn't speak. The dwarfs were mutes. They looked at each other and nodded. Then they ran towards the Big Top with the two little dogs in their clutches.

CHAPTER 6

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball wandered up to the Big Top.

"Let's have a look round," Speed Bump Charlie suggested. "Look, there's the animal cages. I wonder if the dogs are in there."

"What will you do if you find them," Furball asked. "Will you let them go?"

"No!" Speed Bump Charlie smiled. "I'll just point and laugh; and laugh and laugh and then I'll laugh some more!"

Just then they heard a long, low growl. It was from the lion. "Don't worry about the other animals," he cooed. "Why not hop up here and say hello to me?"

Speed Bump Charlie scrambled up the side of the cage and saw the lion. "Oh, I don't think so!" said the wily cat. "If we climb in there you'll eat us!"

The lion let out a long sigh. "Looks like I'm never going to get my dinner," he moaned and slumped to the floor of his cage.

"Well, you're certainly not having cordon bleu kitten!" Furball declared.

They crept around the back of the lion's cage. At first they didn't see the two dwarfs carrying Stella and Digger, but then the two cats had to jump under the cage to avoid being knocked over.

"Hey! Watch where..." Furball started to yell.

"Shhh!" Speed Bump Charlie whispered. He put his paw over Furball's mouth. "Let's not draw attention to ourselves," he hissed.

They watched as the two dwarfs took Stella and Digger into the Big Top.

"I wonder where they are taking those two," Speed Bump Charlie muttered. "Let's follow them. It's got to be safer than hanging around here."

Furball agreed and they both walked towards the Big Top. Furball was heading towards the front entrance when Speed Bump Charlie pulled her back.

"Not that way! We don't want anyone to know we're here," he said. "Crawl under the bottom of the tent. We'll go in the back way."

Inside the big tent, Speed Bump Charlie and Furball stood up and brushed the sawdust from their fur. As their eyes adjusted to the dim light they could see a human tower. There were trapeze artists hanging upside down from swings. They were holding pieces of the tent roof together and sewing them was one of the acrobats. He was standing on a pyramid of other acrobats. They stood one on top of the other five people high. It was quite something to see.

"That's impressive," Speed Bump Charlie nodded towards the tower of people. "Wonder why they just don't use a ladder?" he mused.

Furball smiled, "I wonder if the people on the bottom are ticklish."

Speed Bump Charlie laughed at the thought of them all falling down. He was about to suggest they go and find out when he heard yelling.

"What's going on over there?" he said, crawling around the back of the seats. Furball followed him.

Through the gaps, Speed Bump Charlie could see Alfie and Astro. They were standing in front of a big wheel. The two dogs were tied together and couldn't move. The wheel was decorated with glittery stars.

"Let us go!" Astro demanded.

"Yeah, you have no right to tie us up like this," Alfie yelled.

"Wanna bet!" a man stepped forward. He had jet black hair and a big moustache. He was wearing a purple shiny suit. It had silver glitter stripes down the arms and matching ones down the legs.

"Put a gag on them, Betty!" he ordered a young woman. "I am the Ringmaster of this circus and I need to practise in peace and quiet!"

"Yes, sir!" the girl quickly obeyed, and tied a green scarf around Astro's mouth and a red one around Alfie's.

The Ringmaster picked up a purple box. It was the same colour as his suit. He placed the box on a stand and opened the lid very carefully. Out of the box he took several sharp knives.

Furball gasped. "What's he going to do with those?" she whispered.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's going to be fun!" muttered Speed Bump Charlie under his breath.

The Ringmaster stood back and placed one of the knives carefully on his open hand. Then he looked up and smiled at the dogs. Astro and Alfie's eyes were popping out of their heads. They struggled to get free, but it was no use.

The Ringmaster grabbed the blade of the knife and threw it at the dogs.

'Twang!' it hit the board just missing Alfie's arm.

Alfie pushed towards Astro to try and get away. The Ringmaster's assistant used a broom to push the dogs back.

"It'll be a lot better for you both if you keep still!" she warned.

'Twang!' Another knife struck the board. This time it landed in between Astro's legs. He tried to jump, but couldn't move.

'Twang! Twang! Twang!' Knives were flying towards the dogs.

Alfie and Astro continued to struggle.

"Just keep still!" the assistant warned, and she poked them both with the broom again.

"This is my last knife," the Ringmaster smiled. "What do you think, Betty? Do you reckon I should give one of those mutts a haircut?"

'Twang!'

Astro fainted and slumped to the ground. A lock of grey hair floated gently down and landed on his nose.

CHAPTER 7

Indy had snuck into the Big Top earlier. She managed to stay there undetected for some time. She watched the acrobats stand on each other's shoulders and become a human tower. They were like a pyramid with people at the top stitching up the hole in the tent. The trapeze artists were hanging upside down holding the pieces for them.

She crept through the heavy red curtains and made her way backstage. In the darkness, Indy could hear voices. She slowly crawled alongside some packing crates and hid behind a stack of trunks and cases.

The clowns were sitting around a table playing cards. There were five of them all together. Indy recognized Gozo, the leader. Next to him sat a small clown with bright yellow hair.

Gozo turned to him and spat angrily, "Well! Are you gonna have your turn or not, Dripoh?"

Dripoh scratched his head and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'. Hold ya horses!" He fumbled nervously with his cards.

Next to Dripoh was a large women dressed in a green and yellow striped jumpsuit. She was holding her head up with one hand and drumming her fingers impatiently on the table with the other. She was known as Pillgoh.

Next to Pillgoh was a very fat clown. His red costume was bursting at the seams. His name was Waggoh. He turned to Pillgoh and whispered, "Can you lend me some money? I'm bust again!"

Pillgoh let out a long sigh and pushed some coins across the table towards him.

The last clown was very tall. His name was Sterros. He had extremely long arms and Indy could just see his feet sticking out at the other end of the table from where he sat. He wore large blue pants and suspenders. Sterros wasn't wearing a shirt.

Indy gasped in shock. She could see straight through him. Sterros – was invisible!

Waggoh leaned forward and put his hand up to his face. Then to Indy's horror he took his face off! It was a mask.

Indy crawled around the crates to get a better look, but when she did she wished she hadn't. Waggoh didn't have a face!

Her eyes darted from clown to clown. She couldn't see Pillgoh's legs, just her pants – she didn't have any legs! She looked closely at the gaps in Waggoh's clothes and sure enough she could see through to the other side of the room. Dripoh took off his yellow hair – it was just a wig and sure enough there was nothing underneath it. No hair, no head!

"They're ghosts!" Indy muttered to herself. "All ghosts! It's not safe here for any of us. I have to get back and tell Commander Rocky. "

"Oh, I don't think so!" a voice creaked.

She spun around and saw Grumpy the Monkey behind her. Indy was still in shock and wasn't thinking clearly. He quickly grabbed her by both arms and pushed her into the room.

Waggoh grabbed his mask and put it back on. Dripoh picked up his wig and dumped it back on his head.

Gozo looked at her and smiled. "Well, what do we have here?" he said. "Looks, like another escapee."

"I'm not afraid of you," Indy growled. "You're all ghosts. Everyone knows ghosts can't hurt you!"

"Is that so, little blue dog? I'm afraid we are more than just ghosts," Gozo continued. "We are cursed ghosts which means we are meaner than ordinary ghosts."

He leaned closer to Indy and smiled broadly. "And, we enjoy being cruel and hurting animals as you're about to find out!"

Indy struggled to free herself but the monkey had a tight grip.

"You see, we roam from town to town putting on stupid performances and putting up with stupid kids in the audience," he continued.

"What's that got to do with me and the other dogs?" Indy asked.

"Well, you can only be cursed once so I guess we thought we'd make the most of it," Gozo shrugged his shoulders. "Like I said, we enjoy hurting animals. We often whip them and force them to do silly tricks for our amusement and we don't care if they break a leg or get hurt. It's loads of fun." A wide wicked smile slowly spread across the clown's face.

"What do you want me to do with her?" Grumpy squeaked.

"Well, let's see. There must be lots of tricks a little blue dog can do," Gozo said, scratching his chin.

"Let's shoot her out of the cannon!" Pillgoh suggested.

"Yeah! Or we could use her as target practise and shoot arrows at her!" Dripoh laughed.

"What about if we made her jump from the 100 foot tower into a bucket of water?" Waggoh said.

"No, a glass of water!" added Sterros. "That would be fun!"

"Not for me, it wouldn't!" Indy snarled at him.

Sterros jumped back at the sight of Indy's sharp teeth.

"No, I think that the acrobats should catapult her through the Burning Ring of Flames!" said Gozo smiling from ear to ear again.

"Yes! Yes!" the other clowns cheered.

Gozo leaned closer to Indy's face. "After all, every time they perform that trick one of them gets burned very badly. Might as well be someone else for a change," he threw back his head and laughed and laughed. The other clowns joined him.

Indy growled and bared her teeth. She wriggled and tried to get out of the monkey's grip, but it was too tight.

"Tie her up and leave her somewhere she won't be able to escape from again. When we're ready we'll find something deliciously horrid to do with her," Gozo ordered the monkey.

"I could always tie her under the spotlights," Grumpy suggested. "It's 200 feet in the air. If she gets free, she'll fall to her death!"

"What a splendid idea!" Gozo sneered.

"Get it done immediately and then go and see if any of the other dogs are loose," he commanded.

The monkey grabbed some rope and tied Indy's front and back legs. Then he dragged her to the back of the tent where there was a very long ladder. He bustled Indy under one arm and climbed to the top. She struggled to get free, but her legs were bound too tight. The monkey wound the rope around the steel arm that supported the spotlights and left Indy dangling above the circus ring.

Indy struggled to get free. She kicked her legs and thrashed her arms from side to side.

"Oh, I'd be careful if I were you," the monkey warned. "When the lights go on they become very hot and they might melt your ropes." He looked down at the ground. It was a long way down.

"I'd hate to see what sort of a mess you'd make if you fell all the way down there!" And with that he scampered down the ladder and disappeared.

Indy tried to call out, but she was too high up. No one could hear her. She looked around and she could see the Ringmaster throwing knives at Astro and Alfie. When Astro fainted she shook her head.

She tried to call out to Alfie, but then she saw the dwarfs bringing in Stella and Digger. "Oh, I wish I could free myself and save them. I wonder what they are going to do to poor Stella and Digger," she mumbled.

She didn't have to wait long to find out.

CHAPTER 8

Commander Rocky looked around. He could see lots of cages on wheels. Each one had a picture of an animal painted on the side. He noticed that the lion's cage had a lion painted on it. He saw the elephant sticking her trunk out of a cage that had an elephant painted on it. The cages were arranged in a circle.

He listed them off: lion, panther, elephant, ponies, tiger, dogs... that's the one!

Rocky snuck around the back of the cages and stayed in the shadows so he wouldn't be seen. There were two men standing around talking. One of them must have been the guard. He had a large bunch of keys hanging from his belt. The other man was carrying a shovel. Neither one noticed Rocky because he was so quiet.

When he got to the dogs' cage he couldn't hear anything. It was completely silent. "I wonder if I'm too late," he whispered. "Surely not?"

Slowly, he lifted himself up and peered inside. He could see several dark lumps curled up in the straw. There were four altogether and they were different sizes. One lifted up its head and Rocky saw two sharp ears poke up out of the straw. It let out a short gruff then a long sigh.

The other lumps stirred. They all looked up and realised they were being watched. Without a second's hesitation all four dogs rushed to the side of the cage and barked wildly.

"Shhh! be quiet!" Commander Rocky hissed at them. "I'm here to save you."

"Who are you?" the small dog squeaked.

"I'm Commander Rocky from the Canine Release Program and head of The Organisation," Rocky announced.

He hopped up and squeezed through the bars. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom he could see the dogs more clearly. They were all standing in front at him.

"Who?" a Labrador said.

"Where?" a Poodle moaned.

"What?" a Belgium Shepherd groaned.

The little dog was a Chihuahua. She moved closer. "I've heard of The Organisation," she said. "But isn't it just a story that parents tell their pups before they leave home to make them feel better?"

"We certainly are real and I'm definitely going to save you," Rocky reassured her.

"I've never heard of it," the Poodle said.

"Me neither," the Belgium Shepherd sighed.

"Well, I'm so scared at the moment I'll believe in anything," the old Labrador snivelled.

"Before we get started I'm going to need names and you're going to have to trust me," Rocky continued.

"Spruce," said the Labrador.

"Lemon," the poodle sighed.

"Sparky," the Belgium Shepherd said standing to attention.

"And I'm Hutch," the Chihuahua squeaked.

"Great. So that you know, my team of elite, professional spies are currently combing the area finding the best way we can help you get out of here."

"No they're not," sighed the Poodle. "We saw two of the little humans carry a golden dog and a funny looking terrier into the Big Top."

"And I saw the strongman carry two larger dogs in to the tent too. One under each arm!" the Chihuahua nodded her head.

"What!" Rocky exclaimed. "Did you see a little Blue heeler by chance?"

"No," the dogs answered together.

"Where's she supposed to be?" asked the Poodle.

Rocky looked at them and bit his bottom lip. "I sent her into the Big Top," he said. "On her own."

"Well, that's where your team is," the Labrador sighed. "That's a shame. I thought you were serious about saving us."

"I am!" Commander Rocky declared. "I'll have you know my team and I have saved hundreds of dogs, as well as, many different animals."

The Chihuahua moved closer and touched Commander Rocky's paw gently.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but dogs are taken in there all the time, but not one has ever come out. Never," she smiled weakly.

"Oh, my team are trained professionals. They're experts and they're brave and strong," Commander Rocky looked from one dog to the other for reassurance. He got none.

"Never? No dog has ever come out?" he asked.

They all shook their heads. The Poodle dropped her head and sniffed back a tear. "We're all doomed," she whimpered. "Doomed!"

CHAPTER 9

Speed Bump Charlie pumped the air with his fists when he saw Astro faint.

"Is he dead?" Furball asked.

"Probably not, but still that was great fun!" Speed Bump Charlie replied. "Hang on, what's going on now?"

Speed Bump Charlie pointed to the Ringmaster. He was rubbing his elbow. He tried to stretch his arm up but the two cats saw him wince and pull it back quickly.

"Looks like he's hurt his arm," Furball said.

"More good news!" Speed Bump Charlie declared. He grabbed Furball and dragged her into the centre of the ring.

"Excuse me!" Speed Bump Charlie called loudly. "My name is Speed Bump-ious the Great and this is my assistant Furball-ious the Not-so-Great!"

Speed Bump Charlie bowed low and tugged at Furball so she'd do the same. She frowned at him and shook her head.

"I'll give you, Not-so-Great," she grumbled under her breath as she bowed to the Ringmaster.

"What do you want?" the Ringmaster said angrily.

"Well, we were just passing and I noticed that you seemed to have hurt your arm. I am a professional circus ringmaster and, along with my assistant, I am willing to do the show for you.

It seems that it is less than an hour until curtain call and you can't lift your arm above your head. How are you going to throw the knives and crack the whip?" Speed Bump Charlie smiled broadly.

There were days that his cleverness out reached even his expectations. Today was one of those days.

"Get lost!" the Ringmaster said rudely.

"There's no money to pay you so there's no point in you hanging around," he scowled.

"But we'll work for free," Speed Bump Charlie cooed gently.

"Well, almost for free. There is only one thing that my assistant and I would like as payment."

The Ringmaster looked down at the two cats.

"What's that?" he asked.

"We'd like to use the new dogs in every performance – the black one, the hairy one, the stinky one and the others. And, we'd like to do whatever we want to them," Speed Bump Charlie bargained.

He leaned closer and narrowed his eyes. "Anything," he hissed.

Betty tugged on the Ringmaster's arm and whispered something into his ear.

"Yes, you've got a point," he replied. They were also being held against their will by the evil clowns. If this stupid cat wanted their jobs, it gave them the perfect chance to escape.

Then, turning to Speed Bump Charlie he said, "Alright! You've got a deal. Betty will take you backstage and find costumes for you both. You'll find my whip and everything else you need in my room. But I warn you, if you're not able to run the show properly the clowns will not be pleased."

Speed Bump Charlie shrugged his shoulders, "What can a bunch of clowns do to an evil genius like me?" he thought to himself.

He stuck out his paw.

"It's a deal," and he and the Ringmaster shook on it.

~~~

One hour later an old tabby cat stood in the centre of the ring. He was dressed in a large top hat, a black coat with red tails and in his paws he carried a very long whip.

Next to him stood a small kitten, dressed exactly the same. She was also carrying a whip; only hers was much shorter.

The lights had been turned down and an eerie silence fell over them. Right on time, Grumpy the Monkey ran into the circle carrying a tiny trumpet. The spotlight followed him. The crowd clapped but he squealed at them to be quiet. Then he stood very still and put the trumpet to his lips. He waited a few seconds then he began to blow a long, low note. The audience were enthralled. He stopped. They waited. Then he played a quick and lively tune. He danced and the audience clapped. He did somersaults and the audience cheered.

"He's got them eating out of the palm of his hand," Speed Bump Charlie nodded his approval.

"Paw," Furball corrected. "He doesn't have hands."

Speed Bump Charlie rolled his eyes and was about to yell at her when they heard the announcer clear his throat. It was Gozo the clown.

"Ladies and gentlemen, children and siblings, aunts and uncles! Welcome to the greatest show on Earth. Welcome to the Haunted Circus!"

The crowd cheered and clapped.

"Haunted? You didn't tell me the circus was haunted!" Furball gasped. Her eyes darted from side to side.

"Shhh! It's just a gimmick," Speed Bump Charlie reassured her. "Entertainers tell fibs all the time. Look at me. Earlier I was stuck in a giant bone with hundreds of tennis balls and an annoying kitten. Now, with a little bit of fibbing, I'm about to take control of a circus and," he lowered down and hissed between his teeth, "Get rid of those pesky dogs once and for all!"

Furball thought about it for a second. "Okay. As long as it's just made up," she whispered, but her words were lost in the cheers and the music.

The announcer continued, "And your Ringmaster for tonight is..."

There was a muffling sound and they could hear voices arguing.

"Gone? Where?"

"We don't know. There was a note left backstage."

"But who...?"

"A cat and a kitten?"

"What?"

"Yes!"

The announcer made a long sigh. "Alright then," he muttered.

"Tonight, for a special treat, you get two Ringmasters for the price of one!"

The spotlight hit Speed Bump Charlie and Furball. They held up their paws for the crowd's applause then they bowed together.

"Introducing, Speed Bump-ious the Great and his assistant Furball-ious the Not-so-Great!" the announcer completed the introduction.

The crowd went quiet.

"Thank you everyone!" Speed Bump Charlie said waving his arms and cracking his whip over his head.

"Tonight you will see the unbelievable; experience the unthinkable and..."

"He's just a cat!" a voice in the audience interrupted.

"The little one is cute!" another voice said.

"Doesn't look like much of a Ringmaster to me," a third voice added.

"What?" Speed Bump Charlie spun around but the lights were down and he couldn't see the audience.

"Do you doubt my ability to run this flea-bitten circus? How dare you question my authority?" he roared into the darkness. Then he cracked his whip to show them he meant business!

"Don't get your knickers in a knot!" the first voice said.

Speed Bump Charlie spun around and glared in the direction the voice came from.

"It's just that we've never seen a cat-ringmaster," the second voice giggled. "Mind, you look funny in that hat."

"Cute? Funny!?" Speed Bump Charlie was furious.

"Come out of the dark and I'll show you funny!" he raised his paws and unsheathed one claw at a time. He waved them above his head and spun around so everyone saw them.

The audience were wowed by the shiny steel blades and the very unpleasant cat who owned them, but they weren't scared because they thought it was part of the act.

CHAPTER 10

Backstage Gozo was really angry. "What's he doing?" he cried.

"Send in the ponies before he starts a brawl!"

The other clowns ushered four white ponies into the ring. Two went one way and two the other. They ran around Speed Bump Charlie and Furball in a circle. The ponies had a dog balancing on each of their saddles.

"What are they doing? I was about to teach that guy a lesson!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled.

"Look, Mr Bump, on the ponies' backs," Furball cried over the noise.

Speed Bump Charlie looked up and saw a sight that made his old evil heart skip a beat.

"Oh, look at them," Speed Bump Charlie smiled wickedly.

Stella, Digger, Alfie and Astro were all trying to keep their balance as they rocked backwards and forwards. They teetered to one side, then the other, and it looked like they were going to fall off. The clowns hadn't put any bridles on the ponies so there was nothing to hang on to.

Digger had one paw on his hat and he was holding the pony's mane with the other. The little dog bounced so high he nearly went over the pony's head.

Alfie was sliding and bouncing from one side of the saddle to the other. "Hey, w... w... wait up!" he yelled, but it was no use. He held onto the front of his saddle as his bottom bounced up and down, up and down and side to side, side to side.

Once in the ring, the ponies only took orders from the Ringmaster.

"FASTER!" Speed Bump Charlie shrieked.

Astro bounced so much he was hanging off the back of his pony. He held on tight to the back of the saddle, but his bottom slipped off and he ended up bouncing up and down on the pony's wide rump.

Stella tried to remain calm. She had worked out that there were no reins so she sat cross-legged and faced the other way. Stella was able to use her special powers to raise herself a few inches off the saddle and simply float in the one spot. The pony galloped along and Stella's long ears flapped up and down in rhythm with the pony's stride.

Speed Bump Charlie raised his whip and cracked it hard.

"Faster! Faster!" he screamed. The ponies ran in fear, worried they would feel the sting of his whip.

Furball encouraged the audience to clap and cheer while the ponies galloped as fast as they could.

Dust rose up into clouds filling the ring and completely surrounding Speed Bump Charlie and Furball. Speed Bump Charlie began to laugh. He laughed so much it sounded like a long scream.

Only Indy could see what was happening from where she was tied to the spotlights.

"Wait till I get my paws on that horrible cat!" she cursed under her breath. She wriggled and tried to pull herself free but the ropes were bound too tight.

Speed Bump Charlie cracked the whip again. The ponies turned to the centre and came to an abrupt stop. In fact, they stopped so suddenly the dogs were thrown over their heads.

Digger was the first to fall then Astro came crashing down on top of him. Alfie was so heavy he nearly crushed the others. Stella couldn't stop herself falling, but she managed to miss the pile and land softly in the sawdust.

Unfortunately for Speed Bump Charlie the dogs had all landed on him. Furball had managed to jump out of the way just in time.

The crowd roared with laughter. They clapped and cheered and whistled.

Gozo gave a shrill whistle and the ponies trotted off stage one after the other.

"Get off me, you idiots," Speed Bump Charlie screamed.

He squirmed and wriggled and being a very small cat he managed to free himself before the dogs could get to their feet.

Furball ran and stood next to him. She held up her whip ready to sting the dogs if they tried anything.

"What's next?" Furball whispered.

"I have no idea," Speed Bump Charlie looked down at her.

They didn't have to wait long to find out. Gozo yelled into the microphone, "Let's meet the acrobats!"

Music sounded from a tape deck and the acrobats ran into the ring. They were all dressed in glittery costumes of red satin. They ran to the front of the ring and bowed to the crowd.

Then they ran around and one of them picked up Digger and another, Stella. Two of them hooked their arms under Astro's arms and dragged him out of the way.

Another two tried to drag Alfie away, but he was too heavy. Two more came over and helped by grabbing his legs. The four of them carried him away.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball just stood there waiting for the fun to begin. The crowd cheered and clapped.

CHAPTER 11

Commander Rocky looked at the Big Top. He could hear the crowd cheering. He looked back at the dogs.

"What do you think they're doing in there?" he asked.

Sparky pointed to the tent.

"Does that answer your question," he said.

They all turned and watched a large cannon being rolled into the back entrance.

"What's that for?" Rocky cried.

"They'll choose one of your friends and fire him or her out of it," Lemon sighed.

"It's not very pretty," Spruce added.

"Makes an awful mess," Hutch murmured.

"Well, I'm not standing for this!" Commander Rocky.

"No one shoots a member of my team out of a cannon," he cried.

He looked around and started to devise a plan. Then the man he'd seen earlier walked up to the cage.

"What's going on in here?" he yelled. "All I can hear are you mutts barking and howling. How am I supposed to enjoy a quiet afternoon if you lot keep up that noise?"

Commander Rocky hid in the shadows. When he was sure he wouldn't be seen he slipped out of the back of the cage and crawled under it. He stood quietly behind the guard. Then he slowly unhooked the keys from the man's belt.

"You're lucky the boss found those other dogs or one of you would be flying out of that cannon, you know!" the guard chuckled.

"Still, I suppose there's always tomorrow's performance," the man laughed cruelly.

Sparky gulped and Lemon let out a whimper.

Rocky was about to crawl back under the cage, but he couldn't resist. He hid the keys in his pocket and took a very deep breath.

Then Rocky let out a loud bark frightening the guard. Then he did it over and over again.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

"What the dickens!" the guard cried, and as he spun around Rocky jumped up and bit him on the nose.

"Ouch!" the guard screamed holding his nose. Then Rocky stomped on his foot and bit him on the hand.

The guard hopped around rubbing his foot while holding onto his nose with his good hand. He couldn't hold his balance and he tripped and fell into a large pile of elephant poop. He yelled and cried. He stumbled and tried to get up but he slipped and fell again, only this time he hit his head on the side of the cage and fell unconscious.

"That takes care of him!" Rocky said, wiping his paws.

The dogs cheered.

"Right, this is what we are going to do," Rocky said. He handed the keys to Spruce.

"I want you four to free the other animals and take them to the woods behind the circus. Can you do that?"

"But the lion might eat us!" Hutch cried.

"He promised he wouldn't," Rocky reassured the little dog.

"And I promised I would free all the animals. Even the ones with very sharp teeth and large appetites!"

"What will we do when we get there?" Lemon asked.

Commander Rocky thought about it for a few seconds.

"Do you all have microchips?" he asked.

"Sure do!" the dogs replied.

"Do you know how to activate them?" Rocky said.

"What?" the dogs asked.

Commander Rocky looked at them and shook his head.

"Don't they teach you anything at puppy school?"

He lifted up his back paw and showed them what to do.

"Just scratch at your neck seven times. When you hear a beep you'll be connected to our Communications Team. Speak to Dotty. Tell her to send a van for each animal. Have them wait on the other side of the woods."

He looked around at the dogs. He could see they were scared.

"Are there any questions?"

"What will happen to us?" Sparky asked. "How will we get home?"

"Do any of you think you can find your way home?" Commander Rocky asked.

They just shook their heads, "No."

"Okay, we'll work something out, don't worry. I'll make sure you all get home safely. I promise."

Lemon raised her paw.

"Yes?" Commander Rocky asked.

"You're sure about the lion?"

He nodded. "Absolutely. Are you ready?"

The dogs nodded.

"What are you going to do?" Spruce asked.

Commander Rocky looked back at the tent.

"I'm going to have to save my team," he said.

He puffed out his chest and nodded.

"Again!" he added, thinking of previous adventures.

CHAPTER 12

While the acrobats did somersaults and cartwheels three trapeze artists ran into the ring. The crowd cheered.

"Ladies and Gentlemoos! Meet our fearless family of trapeze artists!" the voice boomed through the speakers.

"Firstly, there's John the Brave." A large man ran forward and bowed.

"Then there's Sylvie, John's lovely wife." Sylvie ran forward and bowed.

"And lastly, Preston, John and Sylvie's son. He's only ten years old, Ladies and Gentlemugs, and he's going to perform the most death-defying tricks you've ever seeeeen!"

The crowd clapped and cheered as Gozo's voice echoed around the large tent.

The trapeze ladders were lowered and young Preston and his mother began to climb high into the darkness. John ran to the back of the ring and grabbed Digger.

"Let me go, you brute!" Digger squealed but John ignored him. He patted Digger's head roughly and held him up to the audience. They let out a huge roar of laughter. The little dog struggled to get free, but the performer was too strong.

Then, from out of nowhere Sylvie dropped down and grabbed Digger by his back paws. She was hanging from the trapeze swing by her knees. She swung the little dog backwards and forwards through the air. She swung him up and up and then down and down. Digger held on to his hat as the ground rushed past him.

"Heellllpppp!!!" He screamed. "Somebody help me!" No one could hear him over the cheers of the crowd.

Then Preston swung past his mother and he grabbed Digger's front paws.

"Oh, no!!" Digger cried. "Pleeeeasseee put me dooowwwn!"

He swung Digger even higher and then tossed the little dog through the air. Poor Digger thought he was a goner. His arms and legs were flapping wildly as he tumbled over and over. There was nothing he could do. Speed Bump Charlie and Furball stood beneath him with their mouths wide open.

"Look at what they're doing to that dog?" Furball cried.

"This is definitely the best thing I've ever seen!" Speed Bump Charlie exclaimed. He rubbed his paws together in delight.

"Look out! Here he comes!" Furball yelled as they watched poor Digger plunge to the ground.

Just before Digger hit the ground one of the acrobats bounced off a trampoline and grabbed him. The crowd cheered madly. The acrobat gently put Digger down and ran to the front of the ring and bowed.

Digger staggered about and tried to compose himself. He rubbed himself all over to see if he had any broken bones.

'All good,' he muttered to himself. He looked around, but before he could run away Speed Bump Charlie wrapped his whip tightly around him.

"You're not going anywhere, poochie!" he hissed into Digger's ear. "I have a feeling these bunch of crazies haven't finished with you yet!"

A loud trumpet sounded and everything went quiet. The lights dimmed and the audience held its breath.

"What's next?"

"What's happening?"

"Where are the clowns?" voices murmured.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball stood in the darkness.

A flickering glow could just be seen in the darkness from the back of the ring.

Slowly, it got brighter and brighter and then, all of a sudden – BANG - there was a loud explosion. The Burning Ring of Flames blazed brightly, lighting up the whole tent.

The audience clapped and cheered. Two of the acrobats bounced out and bowed to the audience. Then one did a somersault through the Burning Ring of Flames. The other one did the same thing. They bounced and leapt around each other. Then one ran backstage and dragged Astro into the ring.

Gozo's voice boomed out of the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemites! You are going to witness something tonight that no one has ever seen in the history of entertainment before! Here before you stand two of the bravest acrobats in circus history and a dog."

"I'm not just any dog," Astro protested. "I'm a secret spy and I've been into space and..." No one was listening. "And... and... I'd like to go home now, please!" he added.

"Yes, laddies and gentlegerms, this is no ordinary dog. This canine is brave and fearless and hairy. Do you know what that means?"

"Well, I might be hairy, but I'm not really that brave so if you could let me go I'd really appreciate it," Astro pleaded. He wriggled to get free, but the acrobats held him even tighter.

"It means, oh, wonderful audience, that he might catch on fire!" Gozo roared with laughter. "Now, let the show begin!"

"What! Catch on fire! Are you out of your somersaultin' minds?" Astro screamed.

There was nothing he could do. The acrobats tied a long chain around his neck and pulled him hard towards the flames. Astro tried to run away, but with one hard yank he was pulled back so sharply he landed on his bottom. The crowd cheered.

One of the acrobats lifted Astro up onto his back legs. Then he kicked Astro's bottom so hard he stumbled forwards. The audience gasped in horror. Astro managed to steady himself but it was no use. The acrobat kicked him again and this time he had no choice. He did a full somersault through the burning ring. Astro tumbled and then staggered back onto his feet.

The acrobats ran around clapping and cheering at the audience. The audience roared with joy and shouted for more.

"Again," the acrobat jeered, and pushed Astro back through the flames.

The crowd applauded. Astro did it over. Each time he got a little bit better at landing on his feet.

The crowd egged him on. "More! More! More!"

"So far, so good," he mumbled under his breath. "I could get quite good at this."

Furball gasped and pointed towards Astro. "His butt is on fire!" she bellowed.

Speed Bump Charlie elbowed her. "Shhh! Do you want to spoil the fun?"

CHAPTER 13

While this was happening, two dwarfs carried Stella in to the circus ring. She had been put into a tiny bathing suit and she was wearing swimming goggles. They held her up to the crowd. They cheered and applauded.

"Awww, she's so cute!" a voice cried.

"Now, we all know that dogs can swim, don't we audience?" Gozo's voice boomed. "But can they dive?"

The audience cheered and clapped.

One of the dwarfs began to climb a very tall ladder using only one hand. He used the other hand to hold Stella. The other dwarf ran backstage and brought back a bucket of water. He placed the bucket under the ladder and danced and somersaulted around it.

The audience shouted for more!

At the top of the ladder the dwarf put Stella on to the diving platform. It was hundreds of feet in the air. People in the crowd squinted and leaned forward to get a better look.

"Now, ladies and gentlemugs, you are about to see a very special trick indeed. It's a first in circus history. Not because you are about to witness a dog dive into a bucket of water, but Ladies and Gentle-what's-its, a blind dog! Yes, right here; right now, you are going to see a small, frail blind dog leap from the diving platform hundreds of feet in the air and dive head first into a small bucket of water!"

The crowd went quiet. Not one of them could take their eyes away from Stella. She was swaying backwards and forwards. The tips of her paws were gripping the edge of the board. No one dared breathe.

A single drum roll sounded through the tent. A single spotlight shone on the curtain. The drum beat changed to a steady bom, bom, bom.

The audience held their breath.

Then the spotlight shifted to the centre of the ring and in walked Horace the Strongman. Behind him the dwarfs ran up and bounced on the trampolines. In unison, they flew into the air and did somersaults with both of them landing on Horace's shoulders. The crowd cheered.

Horace was holding a thick chain in his hands. He held it up high then he pulled on it hard. He strained and struggled and from behind the curtain the cannon slowly appeared. It was white and had blue and white stripes painted on it. Wrapped around the barrel of the cannon was Karen the giant snake. She lifted up her head and flicked out her tongue. The audience gasped and cried out in awe. They had already forgotten about poor Stella.

Furball grabbed Speed Bump Charlie's arm. "Save me," she whimpered.

Speed Bump Charlie shook the kitten free. "Don't be daft, you ninny. It's probably fake," he bawled at her.

Carol the Snake Charmer strode confidently into the ring. She cracked a whip and the snake unwound herself and her heavy body thumped to the ground. She slithered towards the two cats. Speed Bump Charlie pushed Digger forward.

"If you're hungry, eat this," he cried.

Digger struggled and managed to remove himself from the whip. He spun around and pointed a finger at the snake.

"Listen, you over sized worm! I have had just about enough of being treated like a bean bag and I can tell you right now, there is no way you are going to eat me!"

The snake lifted up her head and hissed at Digger.

"Hiss all you like!" Digger protested, pulling his beret down firmly on his head. "I am not going to be eaten! And anyway, didn't your mother teach you that it was rude to stick out your tongue?!"

The crowd laughed and jeered.

The trumpet sounded again and the lights dimmed.

A drumroll echoed around the tent and then a single spotlight lit up the back of the ring. Behind the scenes, Gozo hit play and the sound of a ferocious lion roared. The audience gasped.

Then much to everyone's surprise nothing happened. There were mumbling sounds and someone was yelling backstage. The curtains moved then stopped. The performers in the centre of the ring looked around at each other. Preston shrugged his shoulders in answer to his dad's quizzical look.

"Where is the lion and the panther?" whispered Carol to Horace.

"Dunno, they should be here by now," he muttered.

CHAPTER 14

Backstage, Gozo and the other clowns were running around pushing and shoving each other.

"Where are the guards?" Gozo boomed. He was furious.

"They're gone!" Dripoh replied, "And it looks like the animals are too!"

"What?!" Gozo screamed.

Pillgoh blurted out, "What are we going to do? This is the best part of the show. The lion chases the dogs around the ring and then the panther eats one of them."

"Get me the other dogs. The ones we found yesterday!" Gozo ordered.

"Umm, they're gone too," Pillgoh cried. "Someone must have let them all out!"

"We'll have to go out instead. We'll skip the Big Cat show and move straight onto the cannon," Gozo said.

"Get the big dog now! We'll pretend it's part of the act."

Waggoh ran into the back room and grabbed Alfie. He had been ordered to wear special overalls and they had put a gag in his mouth to stop him calling out and complaining. Actually, they didn't mind him calling out because no one could hear him over the noise of the crowd, but his constant whining for food was driving them bonkers.

"Come with me, mutt!" Waggoh ordered and he dragged him out into the ring.

The other clowns were there waiting. They clapped and cheered when Waggoh brought Alfie out. They encouraged the audience to do the same.

Speed Bump Charlie and Furball joined in and cracked their whips. Sterros got struck on his bottom by the tip of Furball's whip and he leapt about screaming in pain. She quickly hid behind Speed Bump Charlie.

The crowd cheered and clapped. They thought it was all part of the act.

"Ladies and gentle-worms! Next for your enjoyment we are going to shoot one of the dogs out of the cannon!"

Speed Bump Charlie was very pleased. "Now, that's what I call entertainment!"

"Now, as you can see we have our victim... I mean, volunteer!" Gozo cried and the audience cheered.

Two clowns rushed and grabbed Alfie. They dragged him over to the cannon. The clowns tried to lift him, but he was very heavy. Waggoh put his head under Alfie's arms, but the smell coming from Alfie's armpits was so bad he staggered backwards and fainted.

Pillgoh and Dripoh put their shoulders under Alfie's bottom and tried to push him up that way. Sterros climbed onto the barrel and reached down and grabbed Alfie's ears.

"Ouch!" Alfie cried and he shook his head violently. He was so strong that both Pillgoh and Dripoh fell backwards. Sterros was knocked off the cannon by the wind caused by Alfie's flapping ears.

"Here! Give him to me," Horace the Strongman yelled. He lifted Alfie up and tried to put him into the cannon feet first.

Digger was watching. He tried to run over and help his friend, but the snake wouldn't let him pass. He dodged to the left then to the right, but the huge snake hissed and struck out at him.

Digger jumped up and down waving his arms above his head. "Keep your back paws on the edge of the hole!" Digger yelled, "And, bend your knees!"

Over the ruckus of the clowns and the cheering of the crowd Alfie managed to hear him. He placed both paws on the edge of the hole and bent his knees. Horace pushed and shoved. He grimaced and made funny faces as he strained to get Alfie into the barrel.

Alfie just laughed and laughed and kept bending his knees. He put his hands behind his head and smiled to the audience. Then he waved. They cheered and waved back.

From under the benches, Commander Rocky watched what was happening. He had seen poor Digger being tossed around like a rag and Stella being carried up to the diving platform. Astro was still leaping through the flames and now, he could see Alfie being pushed and bullied by the wicked clowns and Horace.

"Everyone's out there, but where's Indy?" he said. "Wherever could she be? I hope nothing terrible has happened to her yet."

~~~

High above the circus performance, Indy struggled to get free. She was sure she could wiggle out of the ropes that were tied around her legs, but if she did she would fall.

The acrobats ran out into the ring and were jumping around and doing cartwheels. They bounced up and down on the trampolines.

'Here's my chance,' Indy thought.

She wiggled and managed to free one arm. She reached out to steady herself, but she burnt her paw on the hot lights. "Ouch!"

Indy wound the rope around her arm and pushed herself out of the ties. Then she kicked her legs free. She dangled by one arm and watched the performers below her.

The acrobats had already started to jump onto each other's shoulders. Indy watched as the human tower grew. The audience gasped and cheered as the performers rocked backwards and forward.

"One haunted circus; two haunted circus; three haunted circus; four..." Indy counted. "That should do it."

And with that she let go and fell through the air. Indy kept her body straight and her arms tucked by her side. She landed feet first onto the head of the top-most acrobat. He let out a scream and nearly toppled off the tower.

"Get off me!" he screamed waving his hands at Indy.

She dug her claws in tight then, seeing an opportunity, she bent her knees and kicked herself off his head. Then she did seven somersaults before landing front paws first onto one of the trampolines. She had fallen at such a great distance that she bounced right up into the air again.

Just in time, she pulled her hunting bone from her belt and took a swipe at the acrobat closest to her. It was one of the acrobats in the third layer of the human tower. She grabbed her foot and began to scream. The performer standing on her shoulders rocked and cursed and then came tumbling down.

After that it was just one acrobat after another crashing to the ground. In the end, all that was left was a pile of red satin costumes and arms and legs flaying everywhere. The crowd went wild with excitement.

CHAPTER 15

What's going on?!" Gozo screamed. "Get up! That's not part of the show!"

The trapeze artists dropped out of the sky and tried to help the acrobats. John grabbed two of them by the arm and hoisted them onto their feet. They staggered, but weren't able to stand.

One stumbled onto Sylvia and Preston. They all fell backwards onto the pile of people. The other one staggered backwards and forwards and couldn't find his balance.

At the Ring of Flames, the two acrobats left Astro and went to help. They rushed towards their friends, but stumbled and fell backwards crashing into the Ring of Flames. It was knocked over and the flames began to spread immediately.

Astro screamed and ran towards Digger. They held each other tightly.

"This is a mad place, Diggies!" Astro cried. "We've got to get out of here!"

"I know," Digger moaned back. "But what's that smell?" he asked Astro.

They both looked around and Astro screamed. "My bum is on fire!"

"Roll in the sand! Roll in the sand!" Digger squealed.

Astro plopped down in the sand.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He dragged his bottom along quickly. The audience clapped and cheered. They thought he looked hilarious.

Furball pointed to Astro. "Look, he's dragging his butt along the ground. Dogs are so gross," she tossed her head back and laughed.

"Gross, definitely," Speed Bump Charlie agreed with her. "But, I think things are about to turn," he muttered.

"Might be best if we make a speedy departure," he said, nodding towards the exit.

Furball was disappointed. "But they haven't finished with the other dogs yet," she complained. "I want to see the blind dog dive into the bucket of water."

Speed Bump Charlie looked around. "No point now. One of those ugly clowns is using it to put out the fire," he said.

They watched Dripoh grab the bucket and run towards the fire. He threw the water onto the flames, but nothing came out.

"It's empty!" he cried. "You forgot to fill the bucket, you dopey dwarfs! What a pair of idiots!" He threw the bucket into the flames.

The dwarfs turned around and scowled at the clown. They puffed out their chests and lowered their heads. Then they rammed right into Dripoh's stomach. Dripoh fell backwards and the dwarfs jumped on top of him. They started punching him in the chest and tummy.

"Get off me!" he yelled. He pushed and shoved but the dwarfs were determined and very angry.

"Come on," Speed Bump Charlie whispered. "Let's get out of here."

The two cats made their way through the curtain disappearing into the darkness. Speed Bump Charlie lowered himself down and crawled under the stands. Furball copied him.

They crawled along while the audience above them cheered and clapped. One child was so excited he jumped into the air sending his soda everywhere. Most of it landed on the old cat's head.

"Curse those ridiculous humans!" he scowled shaking his head. He stroked his head with his paw and licked it. "Hmmm, orange flavour, my favourite. Still, I would prefer it from a glass rather than my noggin!" he said.

Furball dodged a falling ice cream but a moment later she was showered with popcorn.

"What a mess these humans are making!" she scowled.

By the time the two cats had crawled half way to the exit they were both covered in all sorts of treats and goodies.

"We're nearly there," Speedie whispered. "We'll soon be free."

"I don't think so," a deep voice growled from the darkness.

"What?!" Speed Bump Charlie shrieked.

"Who's that?" Furball cried.

Rocky rushed forward bearing his sharp teeth.

"You two are coming with me!" he barked, and grabbed both cats by the scruff of the neck.

"Let us go, you big mutt!" Speed Bump Charlie cried. He wriggled and waved his paws around trying to scratch Rocky with his sharp claws.

Furball was doing the same. "Yeah! Let us go!"

Commander Rocky dragged the cats from under the benches and was heading outside when Indy ran up and greeted him.

"Can I help, Commander?" she asked.

"Indy, thank goodness you're okay. Where have you been?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, just hanging around," she winked at him.

He looked at her and shook his head.

"Well, whatever you've been doing you'll have to tell me about it later. We need to make sure these two don't escape. Take them and lock them in the lion's cage. I'm going back to help save the others," he ordered.

Indy grabbed Furball and tucked her under her arm. Then she threw Speed Bump Charlie over her shoulder and squeezed them both tight.

"Don't take us to the lion cage!" Furball protested.

"Yeah! That's not fair. He'll eat us!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled.

"Stop wriggling you two or I'll be forced to remind you of the horror that is my stink bomb!"

"Nooo!!" the two cats screamed. "Anything but that! We'll take our chances with the lion!"

"Well, lucky for you he's not there. So be quiet and stop wiggling or I WILL use my stink bomb on you too again!" Indy laughed, and trotted out of the tent quickly.

Rocky turned to go back to the ring when there were shocking screams from the audience.

"The flames are getting out of control!"

"Oh my goodness! We'll all be burned!"

"Let's get out of here!"

There was a terrible stampede as people rushed to the exits. Rocky was pinned to the side of the tent but he managed to dodge the rushing crowd. When they were gone he made his way back to the ring.

CHAPTER 16

The flames had spread were out of control. The clowns were rushing about trying to beat the flames back with anything they could find. Pillgoh had ripped down the curtains and was flapping them at the flames. Sterros was bouncing up and down with his huge clown shoes. They weren't having much luck.

Horace and the trapeze family looked at each other. They remembered what happened to the other performers in the last fire.

"I'm getting out of here," Horace yelled, and he let Alfie go and disappeared backstage.

John looked at his wife and son. "He's right. We don't want to get burned. Let's go," and they disappeared too.

The acrobats were still staggering around but they soon realised the danger they were in. They looked at each other in panic. Then they all came to the same conclusion as Horace. Without a word they leapt, cartwheeled and somersaulted through the flames and over Waggoh's body and rushed to the exit.

Rocky ran up behind Astro and Digger. "Where's Stella?" he barked at them.

They both jumped out of their skin.

"Commander! Where did you come from?" Digger cried.

"It's madness here! You've got to help us!" Astro pleaded.

"Where's Stella?" Rocky repeated.

Astro and Digger looked at each other. Their bottom lips trembled and they began to cry. A single tear ran down Astro's face.

"She's up there," Digger sniffed pointing to the top of the ladder.

Hundreds of feet above them they could just make out the tiny figure of the little golden dog. She was standing up straight with her paws jutting over the edge of the diving board. Rocky waved the smoke away to get a better look.

"What is she doing up there?" he yelled.

"She's supposed to jump into a bucket of water, but one of the clowns tried to put out the fire with it," Astro explained.

"It didn't work," Digger added.

"I can see that!" Commander Rocky shook his head.

The flames were growing larger and it was getting hotter and hotter inside the tent.

When Horace ran away Alfie thought it was his chance to escape. However, Carol the Snake Charmer had other ideas. She tapped Karen on the head and whispered something into her ear. The snake nodded and smiled. She shot out her long forked tongue and zoomed over to the cannon.

Alfie was lowering himself down gently when he felt something under his feet.

"Is that you Astro? Have you come to save me? Is that your head I can feel under my back paws?" he asked.

He looked down and cried out in shock.

"Ahhh! You're not Astro!" he screamed.

Under his feet was the tail of Karen. He looked around to see where the rest of her was. Then he felt something tickle his ear.

"Oh, Astro! Are you tickling me? What a relief. That creepy snake is underneath me," he smiled and looked up, but the smile soon left his face.

Leaning down and tickling his ear was a long red forked tongue. Karen had her long body wrapped around the barrel of the cannon. Her tail was holding Alfie up off the ground and her fangs were only inches from his head.

"Oh boy! I'm trapped!" Alfie moaned. "I'm a goner!"

Just then Indy appeared above him. She was hanging upside down from the trapeze swing and she was holding her hunting bone. Alfie watched as she swung backwards and forwards. Each time she was getting closer to the snake's head. He looked at the snake. She hissed and showed him her fangs.

"Oh, I kind of feel sorry for you," Alfie grimaced.

The snake bent her head back. She was getting ready to strike. Indy let out a shrill cry and walloped the snake so hard that her fangs dislodged and fell to the ground. Alfie watched them fall into the flames.

The snake gasped and squealed. She sucked in her bottom lip. "I got no teef!" she whimpered.

She spun her head up to see what had hit her, but Indy swept past and bopped her again. This time, she passed out. Her huge body slipped off the cannon and fell into the flames.

Carol the Snake Charmer saw what happened.

"Nooooo," she cried and rushed to save her snake. She grabbed Karen's limp body and dragged her out of the flames. The snake was coming around. She shook her wide head and the ripples travelled down her long body.

"Let's get out of here," Carol yelled. She was running backwards dragging the snake's body towards the entrance. Karen was still groggy, but she struggled to pull her coils up and use them to push herself along.

The smoke got thicker and thicker and Alfie wasn't able to see what happened to them. He let go of the cannon and landed on the sand next to Astro and Digger. Indy let go of the swing and did ten somersaults. She landed next to them all.

"Where's Rocky?" she asked.

Astro and Digger looked at her and pointed up into the sky. Through the smoke they could see their Commander climbing a huge ladder. He was trying to save Stella. They didn't see another dark shape climbing the ladder too. It was about twenty feet under Rocky and moving much faster.

"The flames are getting worse," Indy said. "I think that we should get out of here."

"We can't leave Commander Rocky!" Digger cried.

"He might need our help!" Alfie said.

Indy looked around. Through the flames she could see the dwarfs fighting with Dripoh. She could make out Pillgoh and Sterros still trying to put out the flames. She had already seen Waggoh's body lying in the sand, but she couldn't see Gozo anywhere.

"Where's the head clown?" she asked. "The one they call Gozo?"

The others shook their heads. They couldn't look away from Rocky. He was still climbing the ladder, but he kept stopping and coughing. The smoke was choking him.

"I've got you meddling mutts!" a voice cried and a huge net fell on top of the dogs. "Did you think you were going to ruin my circus? Did you think you were going to burn us again?" Gozo let out a piercing howl.

The smoke had begun to choke the dwarfs and they decided not to hang around. Together they jumped up and rushed out of the tent.

Gozo was soon joined by the other clowns. They all stood around the net poking and jeering the dogs.

"Who's going to save you now?" Pillgoh laughed.

"Yeah! You're going to burn just like we did all those years ago!" Dripoh sneered.

Waggoh had come to and he staggered up behind them. "What's going on? What's happened?" he asked rubbing his head.

"We've just caught ourselves a new act," Gozo said stabbing his finger into Indy. "Once the flames have taken these stupid dogs they'll be dead like we are. Then we can enslave them and they'll play a never-ending role in the Haunted Circus!" He let out a long, evil laugh.

Sterros laughed too. "Sounds like a good idea to me, boss," he said.

"Yeah," Waggoh agreed rubbing his head. "Then we can throw knives at them, shoot them out of cannons and let the lion eat them over and over again; night after night. And they won't get hurt because they'll already be dead!"

CHAPTER 17

The dogs didn't like that idea at all. They struggled to get free, but the net was heavy.

Alfie lost balance and stumble into Astro.

"Watch what you're doing!" Astro barked at him but it was no good. He tripped and landed right on top of Digger.

"Ouch! Get off me you oversized bath mat!" Digger squealed.

Indy and Alfie tried to pull Astro up, but the weight of the net was too much. They rocked and staggered about.

Then Digger had an idea.

"Fall on top of me again," he whispered from under Astro. "Then all of you, drop down on top of Astro – make it look like an accident."

"What?" they said. "Why?"

"Just do as I say," hissed the little dog. "I have a plan."

Alfie shrugged his shoulders and dropped right on top of Astro.

"Not so hard!" Astro complained.

Then Indy did the same. She lay on her back on top of Alfie and looked very relaxed indeed! The clowns stopped and looked at them. They saw Indy getting lower and lower. It was like she and the other dogs were sinking into the ground.

"What's going on?" Gozo yelled. He ran around the net. He poked and kicked at Indy but she just kept smiling and sinking.

Then a horrible scream grabbed their attention. They turned around and looked up. Far above them they could see three black shapes. One was sitting crossed legged at the end of the diving board. The other two were wresting and wrangling each other at the top of the ladder.

"What's going on up there?" Gozo cried.

"Looks like Grumpy and the black dog," Dripoh said.

They shielded their eyes from the flames and squinted to see through the smoke.

Sure enough, Grumpy the Monkey had followed Rocky up the ladder. The monkey hated fire so there was no way he was going to stay on the ground. He also thought he might have a chance of throwing both dogs off the diving board.

Rocky had nearly been taken by surprise, but Stella had sensed what was about to happen and had warned him.

"Watch out behind you, Commander," she had whispered into his mind.

And it was just in time too. Commander Rocky looked down just as Grumpy Monkey reached up to grab his foot.

"No you don't," he said, and holding onto the rungs with his front paws, he stamped on Grumpy's paws with his back ones.

The monkey squealed in pain and lost his grip. He let go of the ladder and Rocky thought he'd fallen off, but Grumpy used his tail to hook onto one of the rungs. He swung from it for a few seconds before he was able to turn himself up the right way.

"Blast!" Commander Rocky cursed.

He didn't want to waste time so he began to climb the ladder again only this time faster. It took Grumpy a few seconds to get back on the ladder and in that time Commander Rocky had reached the platform.

"Stella," he whispered. He didn't want to startle her because she couldn't see. "I'm right behind you," he reassured her.

"I know that," Stella tutted and rolled her eyes. "And the monkey's right behind you!" she yelled over her shoulder.

Rocky felt something grip his ankle. Rocky shook his leg, but the monkey was determined and strong. Then another paw grabbed his other ankle. He dropped down and hung onto the board with his front paws. He kicked and shook his back legs to try and get Grumpy to let go. It wasn't working.

The monkey swung Rocky's legs from side to side. He laughed as Rocky hung on to save himself. The diving board was made of thin wood and it bounced higher and faster.

Before either Rocky or Grumpy realised what was happening Stella was bounced right off the end of the board.

"Noooooo!" Rocky cried and he gave one final kick and released himself from the monkey's grip. He scrambled to the end of the platform and laid down. He watched as Stella dropped hundreds of feet towards the ground. There was nothing to break her fall.

The monkey was also watching. He thought it looked funny. A small golden dog falling to the ground while she remained in a sitting position. Then he turned and smiled at Rocky.

"You're next," he sneered, and shoved Rocky from the side of the board.

Rocky scrambled to save himself. He leaned over the edge and had to flap his arms to stop himself falling. He managed to hold onto the edge with his back paws. Grumpy just smiled.

"This is too easy," he said, and opened his mouth wide. "You're a strong dog, but I don't think even you can withstand the pain of a monkey's bite!"

He leaned forward and was about to chomp down hard on Rocky's paw when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?...!" Grumpy spun around and there behind him was the little golden dog.

"What are you doing here?" he cried. "I just saw you fall to your doom!"

Stella smiled at him. "Yoga," she simply said. "It's all in the mind." And with that she struck out a paw punching Grumpy square in the nose. He yelped and staggered backwards. Thinking quickly, Rocky grabbed his back legs and tossed him off the diving board. They both watched as he plummeted to the ground.

"Yoga and a good dose of Karate," Stella added. "Are you able to climb up yourself?" she asked Rocky.

"I think so," he said, scrambling back onto the diving board.

"Let's go," he said. "I think it's time we got out of here."

"Agreed," said Stella.

"Do you want me to carry you down or are you going to float down again?" Rocky smiled.

"No, you can carry me," Stella said thoughtfully. "I might land on one of those terrible clowns!"

Grumpy fell faster and faster. Gozo looked up and screamed.

"I'll save you!" he hollered.

The other clowns turned and saw what was happening. They ran over to help,but they were tired and clumsy. They tripped and bumped into each other. Dripoh ended up falling into Gozo knocking him to the ground. Then Waggoh fell on top of him while Sterros and Pillgoh tried to right themselves but it was no use. They all landed on each other.

Then, boom, crunch! Grumpy landed on the clowns. He bounced twice then jumped up onto his feet.

"You stupid clowns!" he yelled at them. "How hard is it to capture six dogs? How hard? You're useless!"

The clowns were still trying to stand up. "Listen, Grumpy," Waggoh said. "They're not ordinary dogs, you know. They have special powers. Did you see that golden one floating in the air?"

"And the big smelly one? Did you see how strong he was?" Dripoh added, brushing sand from his costume.

"Speaking of dogs," Gozo said. "Where have they gone?"

The clowns rushed over to where the net lay on the ground. There were no dogs under it. Just a hole.

"The mongrels have tunnelled out!" Gozo cried.

"I should have known! That little one with the hat had very long nails!" Sterros added.

"What are we going to do now, boss?" Pillgoh asked. "It's just that it looks like the whole circus is about to be burnt to the ground."

"I know that!" Gozo screamed at him.

"You Hoooo!" a voice carried through the roar of the fire. "Over here...eeerrr!"

The clowns turned around and saw the giant cannon pointing towards them. At the back was Grumpy the Monkey. He was holding the wick in one paw and his tail in the other.

"What's he up to?" Waggoh asked.

"His tail is on fire," Dripoh noted. "Why doesn't he put it out?"

Then at the same time it dawned on them all.

"Because he's going to use it to light the cannon!"

CHAPTER 18

Outside the sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze. There was also a pile of dirt, the exit of a long tunnel, and six exhausted dogs lying on the grass. Stella was sitting cross legged, but the others were all lying on their backs panting heavily.

"Oh, boy! That was fun," laughed Alfie standing up and brushing dirt from his legs and arms. "You did a good job digging that tunnel, Digger. Now, what's for lunch?"

"Not so quick, Alfie," Commander Rocky said, "First we have to make sure the caged animals are set free and help the other dogs find their way home."

"Shall we let them out of the cages?" Astro asked.

"No need. I managed to get the keys from the guard and they should be in the woods waiting to be picked up," Commander Rocky explained.

Just then they saw a van drive off down the road.

"That's probably one of them now," Rocky said.

They all turned towards the white van.

"Oh, I can see an elephant's trunk waving 'good-bye' from the window!" exclaimed Astro.

"I can't see anything!" Alfie squinted.

"Don't worry, Alfie, I'm sure she's saying 'thank you'", Digger said. "I have always found elephants to have the very best manners," he added thoughtfully.

"Really?" Alfie looked down at his little friend. "How do you know that, Diggs?"

He didn't get an answer.

Stella turned her head towards the circus tent. There was smoke and flames roaring from the top.

"We should make a move, Commander. I don't think it is safe here," she said.

Commander Rocky agreed and directed his team into the woods.

There, Alfie stopped and listened. He could make out voices.

"There's someone arguing over there," he pointed and trotted towards the sounds.

The others followed him and they arrived at the place where the circus animals had gotten into the vans and been taken home. All except one. Behind the last van the lion was arguing with the other dogs. When Spruce saw Commander Rocky and the team approach he threw his paws into the air.

"Thank goodness you're here!" he exclaimed. "Can you please explain to this dumb lion that he has to go in the van and that he'll be safe?"

The lion growled at Spruce and looked around at Rocky.

"Can you tell this dumb snack that I am not going back into another cage!" the lion roared.

"All the other animals are gone," Hutch explained. "No problems at all, but he's being a right pain!"

Rocky looked at the lion.

"We had a deal," he said. "You agreed."

"I know but I don't want to go in the van. It'll bring back too many bad memories," the lion lowered his head.

He turned and looked back into the van. Buster from The Organisation was standing beside the van. He glanced at Commander Rocky and shrugged his shoulders.

"I promised him he could go anywhere he wanted, but he thinks I'm going to take him to the zoo or worse, another circus."

Commander Rocky looked at the lion and then at the other dogs. He walked over and sat beside the lion. He crossed his legs and drew in a deep breath. Then he let it out again. The lion watched him then laid down beside him.

"Close your eyes," Commander Rocky said. "Now, imagine you could be anywhere in the world. Where would that be?"

The lion took a deep breath.

"Anywhere?" he mumbled.

Rocky nodded. The others watched on.

"What if the lion eats him?" Alfie whispered to Astro.

Astro shrugged. "I dunno. I don't think Commander Rocky would sit next to him if he thought he was dangerous."

Alfie nodded.

The lion looked up through the trees and stared at the blue sky.

"If I could live anywhere in the world I would like to live with my cousin, Ralph," the lion nodded thoughtfully.

Commander Rocky's eyes shot open.

"Ralph? Your cousin?" he blurted out. "You don't want to return to the grass plains of Africa?"

The lion shook his head.

"What about the jungle?" Digger offered.

"Or the desert?" Astro added.

The lion was still shaking his head.

Stella smiled. She knew what the lion was thinking.

"Ralph and I grew up together. I haven't seen him for years. I just want to see my family now," the lion explained. "And, you promised if I didn't eat anyone I could go anywhere I liked."

Rocky nodded. It was true and he always kept his promises, especially to big hungry lions.

"So, does he live in Africa?" Astro asked.

"Oh, no," the lion said. "Where's that?"

The dogs all looked at each other.

"That's where lions come from," Alfie said. "Even I know that!"

"Never heard of the place," the lion looked puzzled.

"You've never heard of Africa? The place of great open lands, zebras to chase and long days sleeping on the savannah?" Astro was very surprised.

"Ralph and I were raised at a big open plains zoo. We were born there. It's not like old fashioned zoos. Open plains zoos are great. We had acres of land to run about in. There was also lots of food and a big pool that we could swim in every day," the lion smiled as he remembered.

"So, how did you end up at the circus?" Indy asked.

"I was stolen when I was a young cub. Those stupid clowns were doing a show at the zoo. Well, that's what everyone thought. When no one was looking, one of them slipped into the lion enclosure and grabbed me. Ralph tried to raise the alarm, but it was no use. Next thing I knew I woke up in one of those stinking cages," he said nodding back towards the circus.

Digger sniffed. "That's the saddest story I've ever heard."

Alfie pulled out a hanky and handed it to Digger, "Never mind, Diggs." He patted his little friend on the back. Like a trumpet, Digger blew his nose into Alfie's handkerchief.

"Well, if you want to be with Ralph then you'll be with Ralph, we'll make sure of it. But I'm afraid the only way is to get in there," Rocky said pointing to the van.

"I don't want to go on my own," the lion moaned. "I'm scared."

The dogs all looked at each other.

Alfie whispered to Digger. "Look at the size of him! Who'd have thought he could be scared of anything?"

"Just goes to show you, though. Even the biggest, toughest creatures can still be afraid of something," Astro noted.

Indy cleared her throat.

Alfie, Digger and Astro looked at her and then at each other.

"Except Indy," Digger noted. "She's not frightened of anything!"

They all nodded because it was true.

CHAPTER 19

Commander Rocky looked at his team and the other dogs they had freed from the circus.

"Well, I am not going to make anyone go, but I am going to ask for a volunteer," he said.

"Sure, what for?" Astro asked.

"Someone needs to go with the lion or we will be stuck here all day," Commander Rocky explained.

There was silence. No one moved.

"Well?" Rocky said.

Still silence.

"Aren't any of you willing to do this poor creature a favour and ride with him?"

More silence.

"Come on!" Rocky pleaded. "Digger? Astro? Alfie? Indy?"

The dogs shook their heads slowly.

"I'd rather not," Digger explained. "I have a delicate stomach and a long journey could make me sick."

"And I've been away from home too long. My owner will miss me if I don't get back soon," Astro smiled.

Alfie looked at them both. He knew they were both lying.

"That's not fair! I can't think of an excuse!" he yelled.

"You needn't bother," a voice said.

They all turned around. Indy stepped forward.

"I'm a cattle dog and I'm used to travelling long distances in trucks and if the lion tries anything I'll shove a stink bomb down his throat!" she narrowed her eyes and glared at the big cat.

The lion leaned back in fright.

"Are you sure I'll be safe?" the lion asked.

Rocky smiled. "Well, I hope so but I'm not sure we have much choice. It seems that Indy is the only dog willing to go with you," he said.

"Well, that settles it," Indy smiled at the lion. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Bendigo," the lion said.

The dogs all stopped and looked at him.

"Where?"

"Bendigo," he repeated. "It's a nice place. Lots of gold and historical buildings. There's a Chinese museum and there's the open-plains zoo, too," he smiled.

Buster pulled out his phone and checked the map. "Shouldn't take more than two hours to get there, boss," he said.

Commander Rocky turned to Indy. "Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Of course! It'll be great fun," then she turned to the lion and glared at him. She patted her stink bomb.

"Won't it?"

"Yep, suppose so," he gulped.

"What about us?" Sparky asked.

"Yeah, it's hot and I don't want to walk home," Lemon moaned. "I'm not even sure which way to go."

"Me either and I'm so tired," Hutch muttered.

"Why not hop in the van and Buster can drop you off?" Alfie suggested.

The other dogs gasped in horror.

"Are you out of your sausage chompin' mind?" Spruce screamed.

"Well, you could ride up front with me," Buster offered. And without delay Spruce, Lemon, Sparky and Hutch scrambled to the front of the van and clambered in.

Then Indy hopped in the back of the van. "Well, come on, Puss!" she yelled. "We're not going to get to Bendigo if you don't move yourself."

The lion frowned and shrugged. "To think, I woke up this morning with six delicious snacks in my cage and now I'm actually free and going on a ride with one of them."

He slowly climbed into the back of the van and laid down.

Alfie and Astro began to shut the doors. All of a sudden there was a loud bang. The ground rumbled beneath them and the leaves shook above. Birds screeched and flew away.

"What's that?" Digger said.

They didn't have to wait long to find out.

Over the top of the trees blew the remnants of a circus tent. It shot through the sky leaving a trail of smoke behind it.

"Well, that sorts that out," Astro said, locking the doors of the van.

"Not quite," Stella said. "There's still an old alley cat and a kitten that need to be dealt with," she reminded them.

"Oh, I forgot all about them," Astro said.

"Where are they?" Alfie asked.

"Indy locked them in the lion's cage," Rocky explained.

"We should leave them in there," Alfie said. "They were very naughty!"

"Maybe they got blown up with the circus tent and the clowns?" Digger said.

The dogs all looked at each other.

"What an awful way to go!" Astro muttered.

"Yes, Speed Bump Charlie was certainly a wicked cat, but I wouldn't want anything like that to happen to him," Stella said.

"He didn't whip you!" Digger said, rubbing his bottom. "It hurt!"

Just then they heard voices.

"What's that?" Astro asked.

"There, look!" Alfie said pointing towards the trees.

There running along were Speed Bump Charlie and Furball. They were yelling at each other and smoke was coming from both of them.

"It's your fault!" Speed Bump Charlie yelled.

"No, it's not!" Furball retaliated. "How did I know that that stupid black dog would catch us? And besides, it was your idea to go to the circus in the first place!"

The dogs watched the cats run past them. They decided to follow them to see where they were going.

"My bottom is on fire, you stupid kitten!" Speed Bump Charlie cried. "I thought you said there was water around here!"

"The crows said there was! And my tail is on fire, too. It's no picnic for me either, you know!"

Astro looked up and saw three crows following the cats. They couldn't fly straight because they were laughing so much.

"How cruel," he remarked.

"Go left," one of the crows cried out to the cats.

Furball swerved left, but Speed Bump Charlie stopped.

"I've had enough of this," and he ran to the right.

Furball dashed forward for a few more metres when she realised she was alone. The dogs had stopped and were watching the cats running in opposite directions from each other.

"Where are you going?" she cried. Not waiting for an answer, she turned around and ran back after Speed Bump Charlie.

She zoomed past the dogs and hissed over her shoulder, "I suppose you lot think this is funny?"

The dogs nodded.

"We sure do!" Alfie sniggered.

Furball didn't hear him. She was gaining quickly on Speed Bump Charlie when she saw him disappear over an embankment. She heard a loud splash and saw water shooting up into the air.

"Wait for me!" she yelled, and the dogs saw her leap into the air and vanish. Then there was another splash and they saw a second shower of water spray.

"Watch where you land!" Speed Bump Charlie screamed.

The three crows caught up with the cats and began to dive at them.

The dogs all looked at each other.

"Those birds are actually laughing!" Astro said.

"I think they've been punished enough," Stella said. "We certainly don't need to add to their plight."

"Agreed," added Rocky. "Let's go home."

"Could we ask Dotty to send another van?" Astro asked. "My feet are soooo sore."

"Yeah, that would be great. I'm bushed!" Digger said taking his beret from his head and wiping his forehead with the back of his paw.

Even Stella looked tired.

"Oh, okay," Commander Rocky agreed. "Just this once, mind you!"

They all let out a cheer.

Together they made their way to the road and sat down and waited. It didn't take long before Alfie, Astro and Digger were curled up together sound asleep.

Astro was snoring and Digger's little legs were fidgeting. Alfie was also snoring, but when he let out air he was mumbling something. Commander Rocky leaned forward and listened.

"Yes, is that Mick's Takeaway? It's Alfie. Can I have three hamburgers, twelve pizzas, four bottles of juice and..."

"He's ordering his lunch," Rocky said.

Stella nodded. 'I know' she thought to herself, 'I'm so hungry I might order something for myself.'

She sent a message to Alfie and made herself comfortable.

"And one small vegetarian pizza for Stella," Alfie muttered in his sleep.

Rocky smiled.

CHAPTER 20 – DOG-A-LOGUE

Back at headquarters the dogs were enjoying a well-earned rest. Digger was soaking in the Jacuzzi and Astro was at the groomers having all the knots brushed out of his fur.

Alfie and Stella were devouring lunch and Rocky was writing a report about their latest adventure.

Hans, his assistant, was helping him. "You are kidding!" the little dog barked. "Ghosts! All of them?"

"Yeah, it was really strange," Rocky nodded.

"Dead ghosts?" Hans exclaimed.

"They're the only kind," Rocky sighed. He continued to type his report on his computer talking out loud as he went.

"Then I ordered Indy to go into the Big Top on her own," he muttered under his breath.

"Really?" Hans asked then he stopped. "Where is Indy?"

"She should be back soon," Commander Rocky checked the clock on the wall. "She's making sure that the lion gets back to his family."

Dotty snuck in quietly. She didn't want to disturb the Commander because she knew he was busy.

She cleared her throat. "Umm, Commander Rocky. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we've just had the strangest message," she whispered.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I think you should hear it for yourself," she looked down at the floor.

"Whatever could it be?" Rocky frowned following Dotty to the Communications Room. Hans went too.

Standing in front of a computer, Dotty began to explain.

"Well, it seems that Buster and Indy dropped the lion off and were heading back when, well, listen for yourself. It came through five minutes ago. This is a recording, but I'm afraid it's not very clear."

Alfie and Stella came into the room. "I sensed there was something wrong," Stella said.

"We're not sure yet," Hans whispered to her. "We're just about to listen to a message."

Dotty tapped 'play' on the screen just as Digger and Astro came into the room.

"What's going on?" Digger asked.

"The boys in the grooming room said there was an urgent message from Indy," Astro added.

The video had white streaks running across it and the images jumped about. They could just make out Buster trying to drive the van. Indy looked confused and frightened.

"It's Ind... There's a dragon... Giant... Eyes wide, staring... Its body is... and gold and at least one hundred feet long... we're trapped... Sun Looooong!" Indy's voice screamed then the recording stopped.

"The message ends there," Dotty said.

"The sun's long?" Astro looked puzzled. "What does she mean?"

"I don't know. Everyone knows the sun is round. It's not long!" Alfie rolled his eyes. "After our adventure in space, I would have thought Indy would have known that!"

"I'm not sure, Commander, but it sounds like she needs help," Stella said.

"Yes, of course, but a dragon?" Rocky scratched his chin. "A real dragon?"

Commander Rocky turned and looked at Hans. He nodded and understood.

Rocky ordered. "It looks like we are going to have to save Indy and Buster from being attacked by a dragon, team!"

"A dragon!" Digger exclaimed. "That sounds scary!"

"I don't think my nerves can handle a dragon!" Astro moaned.

"I wonder what a dragon is doing in Bendigo," Stella said thoughtfully.

"I hope it's not eating all that yummy Chinese food!" Alfie cried. "They'll be none left for me!"

They all left the room and went straight to the Meeting Room to plan Indy and Buster's rescue.

The end.... For now!

Find out what happens next in...  Waking the Dragon!

###

Astro's Adventures series:

 The Great Escape

 Golden Treasure

 Rampaging Rats

 Major Dakota's Ghost

 The Gypsy Curse

 A Christmas Calamity

 Neptune's Trident

 Dogs in Space

 The Haunted Circus

 Waking the Dragon

 Astro's Indian Odyssey

 The Lucky Leprechaun

More from Astro -

 Astro is Down in the Dumps

 Astro's Horrible Howlers or the Worse Dog Jokes Ever!

Learn how to get these books delivered to your door every month at

Astro's Adventures Book Club

Other titles written by Susan Day:

 Understanding Your Dog

 Clarence the Snake from Dunolly

 Dog Trick Training & Obedience Book (non-fiction)

FROM THE AUTHOR

Thank you for reading this fun book in the Astro's Adventures series. The dogs and cats in this book are based on real ones. The goal of these books is to raise awareness for the need for dogs and other pets.

I share my house with Rocky, Digger, Stella and Alfie, and Speed Bump Charlie (yes, that's his real name). The other dogs are owned by family members and friends. All the dogs play together on a regular basis. If you'd like to read more please visit our website: Astro's Adventures

If you feel moved by this story, and you love animals why not leave a review? Your review will help others choose great books to read and share. Astro, Rocky and I read all reviews, and we would love to know what you think.

Please pop over to Astro's Adventures Book Club to learn how you can get all 12 print books in the Astro's Adventures series sent directly to your door each month.

Yours in Paws,

Susan Day
