that they were probably on someone elseâs territory, and that the owners would defend it fiercely if they spotted intruders. Because of this fear he pushed Lowdown under a parked car when he saw two dogs in the distance running toward them. It wasnât until the animals were quite close that he realized they were Little One and Little Two, and that Little One had something in his mouth, and a very large something at that.
As Little One got closer, Waggit could see that it was a flat board with wheels attached to it. One end was badly broken, as if it had smashed into something with great force.
âLook what we foundâ cried Little Two, when they finally got to where Waggit and Lowdown were standing. âIt may be the answer to Lowdownâs problems.â
âIt may be,â said Lowdown, âif only we knew what it was.â
âWell,â asked Waggit, âwhat is it?â
âDunno,â Little Two replied, âbut itâs very cool. Little One canât put it down because it runs away.â
âHow can it run away?â asked Waggit. âI mean, itâs not like itâs an animal or anything.â
âShow him, Little One,â ordered Little Two.
His friend put the thing down on its wheels and released it from his jaws. Immediately it started rolling down the slope of the road away from them.
âSee,â said Little Two gleefully, and pounced on it before it went too far. This had obviously been the source of several games before the two fun-loving dogs had had the idea that it could be used to transport Lowdown.
âThe only way to stop it,â continued Little Two, Little Oneâs mouth being full again, âis to lay it on its back with its legs in the air. But if you turned it the right way up and put Lowdown on it, we could pull him along and all he would have to do is stand there. Going downhill we wouldnât even have to pull.â
âYou think?â said Waggit, looking suspiciously at the broken skateboard.
âNo,â interrupted Lowdown. âThey donât think. Theyâre nuts, the pair of them. Thereâs no way Iâm getting on that thing, whatever it is.â
âThatâs the trouble with old dogs,â said Little Two. âThey never want to try anything new.â
âWrong,â Lowdown corrected him. âThe trouble with old dogs is they want to become older dogs, and they ainât gonna achieve that by going along with your hopper-brained schemes.â
âBut you know,â said Waggit, âif it worked, it would mean we could keep up with the others, and you wouldnât be in any pain.â
âNo,â Lowdown insisted.
âPlease,â begged Waggit. âJust try it.â
Lowdown sighed.
âI always suspected insanity was catching,â he said resignedly. âIâll try it just once, but I ainât making any promises.â
So with Little One steadying the board in his mouth, Lowdown gingerly climbed onto it. His legs were so short that even this was difficult. He stood on his new perch and looked around.
âI feel ridiculous up here.â
Little One was about to mention that anything that made Lowdown taller was a good thing when he let go of the board. It immediately shot out from under the small dog, throwing Lowdown to the ground with a crash.
âOw! Ow! Ow!â he yelled. âI thought you said Iwasnât going to be in any pain.â
It took several minutes of persuasion, plus a solemn promise from Little One never to let go of the board again, before Lowdown would agree to get back on. Finally the old dog got the hang of staying on it.
âYou see,â said Little Two, âyou just needed to get your balanceâ
âIt ainât me thatâs unbalanced,â growled Lowdown. âItâs you twoâs brains.â
They moved forward at a brisk pace, Little One pulling and Little Two steering from