Stay:The Last Dog in Antarctica Read Online Free PDF

‘Part of the great brotherhood of sailors who have crossed sixty degrees south.’
    Chills grinned ruefully and tried to wipe the slime from his head and shoulders. Stay realised he was laughing. They were all laughing, even the ones who were going to face the same fate. Suddenly she didn’t feel so bad. It was a game, that was all.
    ‘Wait!’ It was the captain’s voice and Stay felt a shiver of fear. He came pushing through the crowd and stopped in front of Neptune.
    ‘This dog is a stowaway,’ he said. ‘She doesn’t belong to Chills. She belongs to the Royal Guide Dogs. She can’t go to Antarctica. I’m taking her into custody.’

Chapter 8
    Chills grabbed Stay and held her hard against his chest. He smelt of fish guts, vegetable scraps and Vegemite: an utterly delicious aroma that made Stay want to stay there forever.
    ‘Stay is here on official business, Boss,’ Chills said in a loud voice. ‘She’s fundraising.’
    ‘How much money has she raised?’ the Boss asked. He reached down and grabbed her. Chills’s arms were so slimy that Stay slid out of them easily. The captain held her up high and shook her. The single coin in her insides rattled loudly.
    ‘One coin!’ the captain said. ‘The Royal Guide Dogs won’t be happy about that. Do you know how much money she’d be making if she was sitting outside a supermarket?’
    Chills got to his feet. ‘That’s because we haven’t started fundraising yet. Everyone who’s getting Neptune’sblessing today has to make a donation. Get your money out! Put your coins in Stay’s head before you kneel!’
    The captain put Stay back down. There was a lot of shuffling and scuffling in the room and Stay could see people reaching into their pockets. As each small group came up to receive Neptune’s blessing, they put money into the slot in Stay’s head. Then they knelt down in front of Neptune and were thoroughly slimed, to the raucous cheers of their shipmates. By the time everyone had finished, the whole Mess was covered in slime and Stay was heavy with coins.
    ‘See?’ Chills said to the captain with a smile. ‘She’s hard at work as an official Davis Station expeditioner. She’ll raise far more money on this trip than she’d get at an ordinary old supermarket.’
    A big cheer rose up around the room. ‘Let her stay! Let her stay!’ everyone chanted. Stay looked around in surprise. It sounded as though people liked having her around.
    Then someone at the back called out: ‘We can pay the dog for Neptune’s revenge!’
    An even bigger cheer rose up and Stay wondered what they were talking about.
    ‘Ten dollars!’ someone called, and there was a round of clapping. A man pushed forwards out of the crowd and put some folded-up notes into Stay’s head. ‘Twenty-fivedollars!’ a woman called, and followed suit. When someone yelled, ‘Fifty dollars!’ the cheering rose to a new level. Finally a big bearded man stamped forwards. ‘One hundred dollars for the chance to slime Neptune!’ he boomed. ‘You’ll have to take it on trust. It’s up in my cabin.’
    The cheering dropped to a whisper as the bearded man stood in front of Neptune. ‘Now it’s your turn,’ he said.
    ‘Don’t hold back, Horse!’ came a yell from the crowd. Someone brought a chair and King Neptune sat down heavily. Horse picked up the bucket of slops and raised it high. He slowly turned it and emptied the contents over Neptune’s head, and the whole room went wild. Horse put the bucket down and rubbed the slime into Neptune’s hair and beard, almost skidding over on the slippery floor.
    People are very strange, thought Stay. But she didn’t care. She was thrilled about how much money she’d raised for the Guide Dogs. She was nearly half full of coins, and there were lots of notes in there too. All those puppies waiting to be trained wouldn’t have to wait so long.
    Finally Horse was finished. Neptune got to his feet, bowed to everyone and limped out of the Mess,