The Missing Mitt Read Online Free PDF Page B

toward the deep woods.

    â€œFollow that dog!” Joe shouted.
    â€œBe careful, boys! Good luck!” called Mr. Mack, as Joe, Frank, and Jason all chased after Lucy.
    Lucy was fast! First she ran straight toward the crowd of people watching the game on their picnic blankets. She leaped right over two little kids and nearly knocked over a giant bottle of soda. The boys had no choice but to run right after her, apologizing the whole way.
    â€œExcuse me! Sorry!” said Frank.
    â€œComing through!” said Joe.
    Jason took one look at the mess made by Lucy, Frank, and Joe and decided to jump over the entire picnic blanket. He took one big leap and landed safely on the other side.
    Lucy’s tail was wagging now. She was enjoying the chase. She stopped for a second, then turned around and looked at the boys. She crouched downon her front legs, the mitt still in her mouth. It looked like she was smiling at them. She waited until the boys got just close enough to grab her. Joe reached out—and Lucy hopped out of his way.
    Joe stumbled and fell.
    â€œYou all right?” asked Frank.
    Joe nodded. Lucy was sitting there, just a few feet away. Frank and Jason both jumped at her at the same time. But again, Lucy dodged out of the way.
    THUD!
    Frank and Jason slammed right into each other. They landed in a big heap on the ground. Joe had to help them both up. Lucy barked once, almost dropping the mitt, and then bounded away.
    She ran straight for the trees. The boys triedto keep up, but their two legs were no match for Lucy’s four.
    â€œWe have to keep up!” shouted Jason. He put on a burst of speed and managed to pass Frank and Joe.
    When she got to the edge of the woods, Lucy paused. It was almost as though she was waiting for the boys to reach her. Jason made it first, with Frank and Joe close behind. Lucy slipped in among the trees.
    Now running was harder. There were roots and rocks everywhere. The boys had to dodge around trees and bushes. Lucy disappeared and reappeared. The boys kept as close to her as they could. But finally Lucy disappeared for good.
    â€œWhere did she go?” asked Joe.
    The boys all stood still and looked around. They couldn’t see the dog anywhere.
    â€œOh no!” said Jason.
    â€œShhh . . .” Frank held his finger up to his lips. The boys got quiet. In the distance they could hear the sound of digging.
    â€œThis way!” Frank took off running deeper into the woods. He could hear Lucy in front of him, though he couldn’t see her yet. Suddenly the ground disappeared beneath him!
    â€œWhoa!” he shouted. He had reached the edge of a drop in the woods. There was a five-foot-deep hole in front of him. He threw his arms out to try to keep his balance. But it was no use. He started to fall!
    â€œCareful!”
    Jason grabbed the back of Frank’s shirt and pulled him away from the edge of the hole.
    â€œThanks,” said Frank.
    â€œLook!” Joe pointed down into the hole. Atthe bottom was Lucy, digging the hole deeper. All around her was stuff—balls and sticks and toys and Frisbees . . . and Jason’s mitt!
    â€œWe found it!” Jason shouted.

10
Secret File #2: A Home Run!
    Lucy wasn’t happy when the boys took both of the mitts back, but she didn’t try to stop them either.
    â€œTime to go back to Mr. Mack, girl?” said Joe.
    Lucy barked twice. Then she picked up a stick and ran back toward the field.
    â€œGood girl!” called Jason. Now that he had his lucky mitt back, he was happy again—and ready to go play!
    â€œDo you think the game is still going on?”asked Jason. “Will we make it back in time?”
    â€œHmmm,” said Frank. “The average batter takes two minutes. There are usually five batters on each side for every inning. I would say there should be two innings left!”
    â€œAwesome!” yelled Joe. “Let’s go.”
    The boys ran out of the woods as