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He scrambled up on to a wall, shivering at the memory of the car’s hot breath ruffling his fur. He licked a paw and swiped it round his ears and whiskers, over and over again, trying to wash away the panic, until at last he felt a little calmer. Then he jumped down and set off again, slowly retracing his steps as well as he could.

It was as he turned a corner that he noticed a faint, familiar scent in the air. Something that smelled of home… Harper. He hurried on eagerly, hoping to see her any moment, but the street stretched on ahead of him, empty and strange.

Had he gone wrong? But… there was still that scent.

He was so busy trying to catch it again that he didn’t notice the dog until they were practically nose to nose – and the dog seemed just as surprised as he was. It jumped back, eyes wide and ears pricked, and whined. Then it crouched down, stretching out its front paws, and barked sharply at him. Sammy retreated, terrified. He’d never been so close to a dog and he didn’t know what to do.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_34]

The elderly woman holding the lead pulled the dog back.“What’s that, Petey? No, leave it alone!”

Sammy hissed faintly and turned tail, racing away through a clump of bushes nearby. He wasn’t going to give that huge dog the chance to get any closer.

At last he looked out on to an open stretch of grass, dotted with people. Away over on the other side of the grass, swings were moving through the air and children were calling. Sammy was sure he’d never seen it before. He retreated back under the bushes, feeling so tired. He had no idea where to go next.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_6]

“But where is he?” Ava demanded, staring at Mum and Harper over her bowl of cereal. She’d woken up while Harper and Mum were back at the flat and Gran had told her where they’d gone. Now she just couldn’t seem to understand why they didn’t have Sammy in the carrier.

“We don’t know at the moment,” Mum tried to explain. “We’ll keep on looking, though. Harper’s made posters. We’ll go and put them on all the lamp posts soon. If anyone sees Sammy they’ll know to call us.”

Ava only shook her head.“We have to find him. He’ll be hungry. He’s missed teaand breakfast.”

Harper pushed her cereal round her bowl, blinking back tears. Ava was right, of course. She was too little to know that it didn’t help to say it. “I’ve finished my cereal,” she told Ava. “Let’s go and put the posters up now.”

[Êàðòèíêà: img_35]

“Give me half an hour, Harper, OK?” Mum said. “I’ve got the numbers for all the local vets and the animal shelter. We should call them first, to see if anyone’s found Sammy and taken him in.”

Harper nodded. That made sense.“I’ll make some more posters then. Or can I go and start putting them up?”

“And me!” Ava jumped up from the table.

“No, not on your own. I’ll be as quick as I can, I promise. I know it’s hard to wait, but it’s important to call the vets. Someone might have found Sammy already.”

“I’m going to make posters too,” Ava said, grabbing a piece of paper and starting to draw a kitten, but Harper followed Mum into the living room.

“Mum, can’t I just go down the street and put some of the posters up? It’s not far and I won’t cross the road.”

Mum sighed, looking at her phone and the list of numbers she’d written. “OK. But only as far as the end of the street, all right? Don’t go past the park.”

“I promise.” Harper nodded. She knew Mum was right, and someone might have found Sammy already, but she just couldn’t bear waiting any longer. She kept thinking of her kitten out there, lost and confused, and it made her stomach twist up inside her.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_36]

Harper stopped at the entrance to the park, wondering if she should stick a poster up on the fence. Lots of people would see it there, but she wasn’t sure how well the tape would work. She held the poster up against the wooden slats, frowning. Perhaps there was a noticeboard or something like that at one of the other gates.

“Are you all right, dear?”

Harper turned to see that an elderly couple with a dog had paused on their way out of the park. She nodded shyly.“I was going to put up a poster,” she explained. “Our cat’s missing. He’s a kitten really, a grey tabby kitten.”

“Oh!” The woman glanced out towards the road. “A silvery colour? With spots?”

[Êàðòèíêà: img_37]

“Yes!” Harper nearly dropped the posters. “Yes, he’s spotty! Have you seen him?”

The couple nodded at each other.“We did see a little cat. Petey scared him, I’m afraid,” the man told Harper. “He’s friendly, but the cat didn’t know that of course. We were back up the road that way and then the cat ran off, into one of the gardens, I think.” He pointed up the road towards Gran’s house.

“That was about fifteen, twenty minutes ago?” the woman put in. “I’m sorry we didn’t see exactly where he went.”

“But you saw him!” Harper smiled shakily. “Thank you! I’ll keep looking.”

“Good luck finding him!” the man called back, waving to her as they set off up the street.