pale narrow streak of daylight.
âStart swimming!â snapped the fox critter. âAny fool can swim if he has to!â
âThen I reckon I ainât a foolâand I sure ainât a fish. Iâm a tin dawg, and Iâd sink like a stone.â
âThatâs too bad,â said the fox critter, quite without feeling. âBut this is a hard world, and itâs either sink or swim for all of us. Frankly, Iâve found you very undesirable company, and Iâm glad to leave you to the bats.â
With that, the fox critter plunged into the pool, swam toward the streak of daylight, and soon vanished in the distance.
Bolts had never felt so hopeless. Then he thought of Bingo, and very carefully eased backward until he could safely raise his tail and turn on his radio.
âOh, Bingo! Bingo!â he called forlornly. âCan you hear me?â
âI hear you!â came Bingoâs happy voice. âWhere are you now?â
âAt the end of the line. I can see daylight ahead, but itâs all water between here and there. And since I ainât a fish or a fox critterââ
âDid you say fox?â Bingo interrupted.
âYup. I been traveling with a sharptongued sourpuss of a fox critter, and heâs swum out.â
âWow!â cried Bingo. âThereâs a fox just crawling from the water here. Bolts, youâre closer than I thought! Water wonât hurt you. Shut your mouth, hop in, and start walking.â
âB-but suppose I wet my circuits? Wonât it ruin me?â
âNot if you keep your mouth closed tight. Youâre waterproof. Come on!â
Bolts closed his mouth and plunged in. The pool seemed a mile deep, but presently he was pushing his way along the bottom, half walking, half swimming. A startled trout, marooned here, stared at him goggle-eyed, then flashed away in fright. Bolts struggled on as fast as he could move. Naturally, when he was so anxious to meet Bingo, time did more stretching than ever, and he was sure he had been in the water for hours before he reached a shallow spot. Actually it was only a few minutes later when his head came to the surface in the outer cave where Bingo waited, and his sniffer caught the most wonderful boy scent in the world.
âBingo!â he cried, and leaped out with joyful yips and sprang upon Bingo with his tail wagging. Then, suddenly worried, he said, âBingo, they shortchanged me at the factory, and I know I ainât exactly what you wanted. B-but dâyou reckon you can sort of put up with me anyway?â
âAw, Bolts,â Bingo said happily, âI couldnât ask for a better dog, and it doesnât matter if your brain is trimmed. Boy, oh, boy, I never dreamed youâd be able to talk to animals! Why, it might even be of help on our space trip.â
Bolts wanted to ask where they were going in space, but all at once there was a buzzing in his head. âBingo,â he said quickly, âwe gotta scram. My built-in instinct says this is a bad place, and my sniffer tells me it belongs to Major Mangler.â
âMajor Mangler!â Bingo stared at the equipment piled in the cave. âWhy, this must be his emergency hideout. But, Bolts, he was captured. He wonât come here now.â
âMebbe not, but somethingâs wrong. We sure better move.â
âBut we canât leave till we find Claws. Heâs our cat.â Bingo explained what had happened.
âIâll sniff him out,â Bolts said. âYou hurry on and watch for the Space Jumper.â
Bolts raced across the cave, following his sniffer to a dark opening in one corner. Peering upward, he saw Clawsâs round green eyes peering down. âHey, Claws!â he called. âThis is Bolts. Come out quick!â
âMeow,â said Claws, in a small purry voice. âItâs nice to meet you, but I see no reason for leaving. Anyway, Iâm looking for