Trapped! by Peg Kehret Read Free Book Online

won’t see the news broadcast,” Alex said.
    “Maybe,” Mary agreed, “although the stations usually broadcast stories like that several times. You can watch the news on Sunday morning and see exactly the same thing you saw Saturday night.”
    Alex knew she was right. He also knew that if the man learned where Piccolo was, it could mean problems ahead.
    Pete was the first to hear the rumbling engine of the old pickup truck as it drove slowly down the street.
    Alex heard it next.
    “Listen,” Alex said, holding up one finger to shush the other kids. “That sounds like the truck Piccolo fell out of.”
    “Hogman’s looking for Piccolo,” Benjie whispered. “I knew it! He’s driving all around trying to find her.”
    “He doesn’t know she’s here,” Mary said. “If he did, he’d come down the driveway.”
    Alex went to the corner of Mrs. Sunburg’s house and peered around it, looking toward the street.
    “Don’t let him see you,” Mary said. “He might recognize you from yesterday, when you yelled at him to stop.”
    Alex was glad they had built the pen in a part of the yard that didn’t show from the street. All of the lots in Valley View Estates were at least two acres, with many trees. He saw Hogman’s truck go toward the cul-de-sac at the end of the street, and then a few minutes later, it cruised back the way it had come.
    The kids were silent, listening until the rattle of the truck faded away.
    “He must have seen that news story,” Rocky said.
    “Maybe not,” Mary said. “Our houses aren’t far from where Piccolo fell off the truck. Hogman might be driving aimlessly around, hoping to see a lost pig. He’ll probably quit looking for her in a day or two. He’ll think she got hurt when she fell, and went into the woods and died.”
    Alex hoped Mary was right. Although he’d never met the driver of that truck, he didn’t like the man and didn’t want a confrontation with him, no matter who had official custody of Piccolo.
    •  •  •
    By morning, the pig’s tranquilizer had worn off. Alex hurried over right after breakfast and found Mary already in the pen. Rocky arrived a few minutes later.
    “She likes to be scratched behind her ears,” Mary said. “She seems happy and friendly today.”
    “She knows we saved her,” Alex said.
    Pete, who had climbed out of Alex’s bedroom window andthen down the maple tree, sat in his hiding place under the bush and watched as Alex entered the pigpen and began petting the pig
.
    “She’s really clean,” Mary said. “She uses that far corner of the pen for her bathroom, and she goes there every time.”
    “Good Piccolo,” said Rocky. “What a smart pig.”
    Big whoop-de-do, thought Pete. Cats do the same thing, and nobody ever makes a big fuss over us. Even Lizzy, who can’t read, write, or understand humans, knows enough to use the litter pan
.
    “After her wounds heal, maybe we can give her a bath,” Alex said. “She may be smart, but she smells like a full garbage can.”
    Ha! thought Pete. Finally someone speaks the truth
.
    “I read about pigs on the Internet last night,” Rocky said. “They’re supposed to smell the way they do because pigs leave many smells on everything they pass. It’s their way of showing who they are.”
    “You’re saying even if we bathe her, she’ll still smell?” Mary asked.
    “That’s right.”
    Pete decided to do some research of his own when he had a chance. Maybe he could find a reason why his family should not keep a pig
.
    “There’s a lot of information about pigs,” Rocky said.“When I have time, I’m going to find out when piggy banks were invented and what it means when someone goes hog wild.”
    “What about living high on the hog?” Mary asked. “What is a pig in a poke?”
    Alex began rubbing the pig’s head, behind her ears. Piccolo responded by grunting. Alex rubbed the pig’s neck. Piccolo leaned against him, with her eyes closed.
    Piccolo sat down. Alex kept