Ghost Dog Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

that’s what I needed to do.
    It’s ironic, I thought. Andrew had been worried that I might be doing something illegal and now he’s the one to suggest that we take a dog who doesn’t belong to us.
    When we got to the greenbelt that adjoins my house, I said, “Do you want to go to the fort for awhile?”
    Instead of answering, Andrew took off running, beating me to the fort by several seconds. Our fort was hidden in the trees, where it didn’t show from the street. We had built it the summer before, scrounging ends of boards, partial sheets of plywood, and other materials from a Dumpster on the site where a construction crew had been building two houses. We used Andrew’s dad’s tools.
    Except for a box of nails and a padlock, to ensure that nobody else entered our hiding place, the fort had cost us nothing.
    We removed the padlock’s key from under a big rock, unlocked the crude door, went in, and sat on the two blue plastic milk crates that served as chairs.
    â€œWe could keep him here,” I said. “He could sleep in the fort at night, and we could take turns coming early in the morning before school to feed him and walk him, and we could both come after school.”
    â€œSpoken like a true co-king,” Andrew said.
    â€œOr a co-nutcase. We could end up in a heap of trouble if we take that dog.”
    â€œHe needs a name,” Andrew said. “If we’re going to rescue him, we can’t keep calling him the dog.”
    â€œHow about Max?”
    Andrew shook his head. “I read the results of a survey online,” he said. “Max is one of the two most common dog names in the United States.”
    â€œWhat’s the other one?”
    â€œBuddy.” Andrew unwrapped a stick of gum, broke it in two, and offered half to me. “This is a special dog,” he said. “He can’t have an ordinary name.”
    I agreed. We both thought for awhile.
    â€œLet’s put our initials together and make up a new name for him,” I suggested.
    â€œM-E?” Andrew asked. “Or E-M?”
    It took me a second to realize he was using the initials from the Mighty Muscles Man and Exalted Exciting Expert names, from our old club.
    â€œNot those initials,” I said.
    Andrew smiled, obviously pleased that I had figured out his joke.
    â€œLet’s name him Ra,” I said. “R for Rusty and A for Andrew.”
    â€œI like it,” Andrew said. “Ra was an Egyptian sun god. He was one of the very first gods ever.”
    Andrew often surprised me by knowing stuff like that. I’d long ago given up asking him HOW he knew the odd facts that spewed from his mouth. I just accepted that he did. Andrew read a lot and seemed to remember everything he read. Also, while I used my computer time to play games, he browsed on lots of different Web sites and read about tsunamis and sea otters and poisonous plants. He wasn’t show-offy with his knowledge and I enjoyed learning what he told me. Once when Mrs. Webster was talking about how the pioneers prized their horses for helping clear the land, Andrew asked if we knew that horses have 205 bones in their bodies. Nobody else I knew had a head full of such interesting facts.
    â€œAn Egyptian sun god?” I said. “Is that a good name for a dog?”
    â€œYou noticed him in the first place because he was standing in the rain and cold,” Andrew said, “so it’s fitting to name him for a sun god. When he starts his new life with his new name, he’ll always be warm, like the sun. A cozy, comfy canine.”
    â€œThe collie’s ghost is cold,” I said. “When she came into my bedroom, I woke up shivering. It felt like an Arctic wind was blowing around my bed.”
    â€œMost ghosts are cold,” Andrew said. “I wonder why the dog ghost is there.”
    â€œMaybe it’s Ra’s mother.”
    â€œI doubt Ra’s mother was a collie.