Paw Prints in the Snow by Sally Grindley Read Free Book Online Page B

awake, protecting him from danger, barking frantically to alert his owners to their son’s whereabouts.
    The dog’s barking grew louder and more insistent. It couldn’t have been more than a few metres away. Joe was petrified. He curled into a ball and held his breath.
    When the dog fell silent briefly, he heard the crunch of footsteps. Footsteps! A voice was issuing orders in Russian. Joe’s heart beat faster. This might be his only chance of rescue.
    ‘Help!’ he cried as loudly as he could. ‘HELP ME!’
    The barking calmed down briefly, only to resume more loudly than ever. Joe wished it would stop so that whoever was with the dog would hear his cries.
    ‘I’m here, behind the building,’ he shouted. ‘HELP ME!’
    At last, he saw a beam of light moving around above him. Before he could call again, a large black dog hurtled down the steps, stopped briefly to sniff at him, then stood at the basement door, barking frantically and trying to find a way underneath it. The beam of light reached the top of the steps and fell on Joe.
    ‘Help me, please,’ he cried weakly. ‘I think I’ve broken my leg.’
    There was a gruff exclamation of surprise and someone came towards him.
    ‘Joe?’ asked a voice. ‘Hurt?’
    It was Artem Klopov. Joe had never been so relieved in all his life. He bit his lip hard, trying not to burst into tears, and nodded, pointing at his leg.
    Artem bent down beside him. ‘Look bad,’ he said. ‘Much pain?’
    Joe nodded again. ‘Were you looking for me?’ he asked.
    ‘I have my dinner and I take Boris for a walk,’ Artem replied. ‘Lucky I find you.’
    Joe felt tearful again. ‘Mum and Dad will be worried. They don’t know where I am.’
    ‘I think so,’ said Artem. ‘I tell them.’
    Boris was still barking and scratching at the basement door. From inside came an aggressive roar, followed by a smaller growl of warning. Artem quickly stood up, listening.
    ‘Tiger!’ Artem said. ‘You find tiger!’
    ‘Tiger?’ Joe couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
    ‘You find tiger. Boris find scent. Boris find you.’
    ‘Tiger?’ Joe said again. He still couldn’t take it in.
    ‘Good dog, Boris,’ said Artem. ‘He learn.’
    ‘Do you mean there’s a tiger behind that door?’ Joe asked, incredulous.
    Artem stood on tiptoe and shone his torch through the glass panel at the top of the door.
    ‘Young male cub, I think,’ he said. ‘Not well. I find help, for you, for him. I tell your mother and father so they not worry.’
    Joe didn’t want Artem to leave. He didn’t want to be left on his own again, especially now he knew that the animal behind the door was a tiger. He had spent so many hours obsessed with the idea of seeing a wild tiger, but now that he was so close to one, he was scared it might get out, even if it was just a cub.
    ‘I am quick,’ Artem promised.
    He clambered back up the steps, taking Boris with him.

Chapter 16
    There’s a tiger behind that door , Joe said to himself repeatedly. I’ve been lying next to a tiger and I didn’t even know .
    He knew he should have realised. There was the same acrid smell of spray that Iona had made him sniff in the reserve. He would have to sharpen up his act if he wanted to become a wildlife expert, or even a wildlife photographer. He shouldn’t have missed such a big clue, broken leg or no broken leg.
    To Joe’s intense relief, Artem returned in no time with two men from the village, who brought with them blankets and a home-made stretcher. They gathered him up as gently as they could.
    ‘Mother, Father, they come,’ Artem assured him. ‘You go hospital. Tiger too.’
    Joe smiled weakly at the idea of the tiger going with him to hospital and lying in a bed alongside. Now that he was safe, he wanted to see the animal before they carried it away.
    ‘Can I see him?’ he asked. ‘Can I see the tiger?’
    Artem shook his head. ‘Dangerous,’ he said. ‘Make him sleep first.’
    The pain grew unbearable