Secret Signs Read Online Free PDF Page A

dog. Do you want us to get our heads busted open?”
    The alarm in the hobo’s voice alerted Henry to the seriousness of the situation. “We’re not talking about cattle, are we?”
    Clickety Clack shook his head. “No, fool! I’m talking about the meanest, toughest, worst kind of two-legged critter that ever walked the earth—railway police. Why, those guards would as soon crack your skull as give you the time of day. If theycatch us, we’re dead meat. We’ve got to hide.”
    Henry glanced around. “Hide? Where?”
    Clickety Clack spat out a messy glob of greenish brown ooze. “Over there, in that water tank. The dog can’t track our scent once we’re in the water. Come on!” Clickety Clack made a dash for the tall wooden tower.
    Henry followed reluctantly, fear making his feet drag. Did the old man really expect him to climb inside this huge vat and hang there like a rat in a water bucket?
    â€œCome on, I’ll give you a leg up onto the ladder.” Clickety Clack made a cradle out of his hands and lowered himself so Henry could get a boost.
    â€œI—I don’t want to,” Henry stammered, taking a step backward.
    The hobo frowned, then rubbed his whiskers. “Oh, I get it. You can’t swim. Don’t worry, boy. I can’t swim a stroke either, but we won’t be in for long and we can hang on to the top.”
    Henry clenched his teeth. “No. I won’t do it.”
    The hobo clambered onto the ladder that ran up the side of the water tank. “I’m telling you, it ain’t safe out here. Now come on before you get us both beat up.” He scrambled up the rungs with surprising speed and disappeared over the edge.
    Henry looked behind him. The guards were almost at the end of the boxcar nearest him. He had to hide, but not in that water-filled casket!
    He sprinted for a tall stack of crates at the end of the narrow alley between the rows of cars. Darting behind the wooden boxes, he ducked as two burly railway policemen rounded the end of the freight car. With them was a huge dog with a hungry gleam in its beady black eyes.
    Henry’s breath caught when he saw the vicious-looking beast. As the guards passed the crate where Henry and Clickety Clack had been hiding seconds before, the big dog stopped.
    Its nose dropped to the ground. It sniffed a couple of times, then lifted its huge head to stare at where Henry was hiding.
    Henry edged farther away as the dog padded toward him. He increased his speed as the two guards followed the dog.
    Ducking under a boxcar, Henry ran to the next set of tracks and squeezed between two more cars. He snatched a look over his shoulder. Having caught his scent, the animal was now loping after him, foam-flecked drool sliding in slimy trails out of its massive jaws.
    Henry sprinted to the edge of the train yard and came up against the high fence that he and Clickety Clack had found their way through earlier. Turning, he saw the animal closing on him. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide! Frantically, he dug through his book bag. His fingers closed around the remains of his food.
    He tore off a piece of cheese and tossed it on the ground. The dog halted its headlong attack, sniffed the tidbit and then slopped it up. Henry held out the rest of his food. The dog stopped, lifted one paw off the ground and whiffled the air.

    â€œNice doggy,” Henry murmured. “Good boy, you want a tasty treat?”
    The dog stepped closer. Henry waved the snack invitingly. “Then go get it!” He threw the food as far as he could, then sprinted in the opposite direction. As he crawled under a boxcar, he heard the dog scramble after his lunch. He also saw the two policemen running to where he’d been only seconds before.
    Henry raced to the water tower. “Clickety Clack!” he called in a loud whisper. The old hobo’s head peered over the edge of the tank. “Come on!