Free Noodle by Ellen Miles Page B

could look for a new one. Lizzie followed behind, stooping to pick up each one he dropped. Soon she had an armload, almost enough for a fire.
    Buddy was still pulling her along the lakeshore. But now Lizzie noticed that his head was raised, his nose was twitching, and his ears were all perked up. Lizzie knew what
that
meant: Her puppy had seen or heard something interesting.
    “What is it, Buddy?” Lizzie asked. She followed his gaze, out toward the lake. Lizzie saw a dark circle, way out in the middle of the flat, grayish ice. Open water! And — was there something
swimming
in it?
    Lizzie dropped her armload of sticks. “Come on!” She pulled on Buddy’s leash. “Come on, Buddy!” She ran as fast as she could, back toward her family. Charles and the Bean were down by the lakeshore. Mom and Dad were still unpacking all the picnic stuff.
    “Mom — Dad — quick — I need binoculars — something —” Lizzie was out of breath by the time she reached them.
    “What’s up, Miss Lizzie?” Dad asked.
    “Binoculars, binoculars,” Mom murmured, poking through one of the bags. “Here they are! Did you see an interesting bird?”
    “Maybe.” Mom handed Lizzie the binoculars. By now she had caught her breath. “I don’t know. It might be a bird, or an otter, or some other kind of animal. But whatever it is, I think it’s stuck out there in a circle of open water!”
    She pointed, and Mom and Dad peered out onto the lake. “That dark spot?” Dad asked. “Is that the open place?”
    “Mmm-hmm.” Now Lizzie was looking through the binoculars. Everything was all blurry at first, until she turned the focus knob. She couldn’t find the dark spot on the lake, but then, suddenly, she could see everything.
    “Oh, no!” Lizzie felt her body go hot all over, then cold again.
    “What is it?” Mom asked. “Lizzie? Honey?”
    Lizzie could hardly get the words out. “It’s . . . it’s a puppy!”

CHAPTER TWO
    “A puppy!” Mom took the binoculars and held them to her eyes. “Oh, my! I think you’re right!” She handed the binoculars to Dad. “Poor thing! He must have run out onto the frozen lake. Think how surprised he must have been when the ice broke underneath him!”
    Dad took one look, gave the binoculars back to Mom, and pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket. “Uh-oh,” he said, looking at the screen. “Hardly any battery power left. I have
got
to find my charger.” He punched in some numbers. “Oh, good. It’s dialing. Hello, Bill?” he said. “Paul Peterson here. We need the cold-water rescue team
now,
down at Loon Lake Park.” He listened for a moment. “No, it’s not a person,”he said. “It’s a dog. A puppy, in big trouble.” After another second, he snapped his cell phone shut. “They’ll be here as soon as they can,” he told Lizzie and Mom.
    Charles came running over with the Bean trotting after him. “What’s going on?”
    “There’s a puppy out there.” Lizzie pointed toward the lake. “See that dark place? That’s open water. And there’s a little puppy swimming around and around in it. I saw him trying to claw his way out, but the ice on the edge of the circle just breaks. He can’t get out! He could drown!”
    “But he won’t,” Mom said quickly. “Dad called down to the fire station and alerted the cold-water rescue team. They’ll be here any second.”
    “Uppy?” asked the Bean, looking worried. He didn’t quite get what was going on, but he understood that there was a puppy involved and that people were upset.
    “Yes, a puppy,” Lizzie said. She bent down tohug the Bean. Buddy jumped up to lick the Bean’s cheek. “But the puppy will be okay.” To herself, Lizzie added,
I hope.
    The Bean was distracted by Buddy’s licking. He laughed his googly laugh and squeezed Buddy tight with both arms. Buddy gave a little
whuff.
    Charles wasn’t so easily distracted. “But
how
will they save him?” he asked. Mom had helped him focus the binoculars