At last it was evening, and the contest the Best of Show, the best dog at the First Annual Greenfield Dog Show, was about to begin. In their ringside seats, the Aldens and Mrs. Teague leaned forward eagerly.
One by one the seven dogs were led into the center of the arena. As each dog walked in, the crowd cheered wildly. Every dog was a champion, even if it didn’t win Best of Show.
Lawrence Burger walked into the ring with Plum at his side. He had a confident, superior little smile on his face. Beside him, Plum looked every inch a winner.
The Aldens applauded with the rest of the crowd, not for Lawrence Burger, but for his dog.
Mr. Burger took up his place in the ring and turned to face the center.
There was a pause. Then Caryn, dressed in a long glittery skirt and a silky blouse, led Sunny into the ring.
The crowd cheered. The Aldens cheered loudest of all.
Then Violet touched Jessie’s arm to get her attention. “Look at Mr. Burger!”
Lawrence Burger wasn’t cheering. His face was turning red. He looked like he was about to explode.
“It can’t be,” he cried. “That dog can’t be here. I know because I left her at — ”
Suddenly he stopped, his mouth open, his face even redder.
“What did you say?” asked the judge. She walked over and stood in front of Lawrence Burger.
“Nothing … I mean …”
The judge held up her hand. Several officials and other judges hurried into the ring. They took Caryn and Sunny, and Lawrence Burger and Plum off to one side while the crowd buzzed with astonished talk.
The Aldens quickly went to join Caryn and Sunny. Dr. Scott left her seat across the arena and came down into the ring, too.
“I would like an explanation of what is going on at once,” said the judge sternly.
Lawrence Burger opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for air.
“We can explain,” said Jessie, stepping forward.
“You? What do you know about this?” asked an official.
“A great deal,” said Caryn. “They’re the ones who found Sunny — and solved the mystery of why everything seemed to be going wrong at this dog show.”
“Very well,” said the judge. “Go ahead.”
The Aldens took turns explaining all of the things that had gone wrong at the dog show. Then Dr. Scott identified Lawrence Burger as the man who had brought Sunny into her office to board her that morning, signing his name as Mr. Smith. When they had finished, the judge turned to face Lawrence Burger. “Did you do all those things?” she asked.
The proud, unpleasant look had left Lawrence Burger’s face. Now he just looked miserable. “Yes,” he confessed. “It was me. I shaved Curly so he wouldn’t be able to compete for Best of Show. I knew that the dog favored to win the terrier group hated cats, so I — borrowed — that cat and turned it loose in the show. I even let out the air in the tires on Mrs. DeCicco’s assistant’s car. I hoped it would upset her and her dogs so much that they wouldn’t do well. And I — borrowed — Sunny and took her to this veterinarian’s office. I was going to go get her tomorrow morning and bring her back, honestly.”
The judge shook her head. “This is bad, very bad.” She and the other judges and officials stepped to one side and talked among themselves for a few minutes. Then the judge came back. “You are officially disqualified from this show. And you may be barred from showing dogs for a long time to come. You have disgraced the world of dog shows. And you have disgraced a fine dog. Your dog might well have won, fair and square. Now he may never get the chance to win again. You are dismissed.”
His head hanging, Lawrence Burger walked miserably out of the ring. As they left, Plum licked his hand as if to try and comfort him. Mr. Burger looked down at Plum, stroked his head, then covered his eyes and hurried out of sight.
A few minutes later, the Reserve Champion was led into the arena to take Plum’s place. The contest for Best in Show began.
It seemed to take the judge forever to look at each dog.
“I wish the judge would hurry up and decide,” whispered Violet.
Mrs. Teague pressed her hand to her chest. “So do I!”
Henry leaned forward. “She must see that Caryn and Sunny are the best.”
“Oh, I hope so!” said Jessie.
“Go, go, go, Sunny,” said Benny.
At last the judge signaled for the seven dogs to circle the arena once more. And once again, the crowd cheered and cheered for the seven champions. Then the cheers rose to a thunder pitch as the judge pointed, 1, 2, 3, 4 for the dogs that won first, second, third, and fourth.
“She won! She won!” cried Henry, jumping up.
“HOORAY FOR SUNNY!” shouted Benny.
All of the Aldens began to hug each other and Mrs. Teague, who was dabbing at her eyes with her sleeve. “Oh, I am so proud of Caryn and of Sunny,” she kept saying. “So proud of them both!”
“They’re real champions,” Jessie said. “Even after everything that happened, they went out and won.”
“Yes,” agreed Mrs. Teague. “Oh, yes.”
“Oh, good!” said Violet. “I was so excited that I almost didn’t realize it, but Mrs. DeCicco’s beagle Gloria came in second!”
“I’m so glad,” said Jessie wholeheartedly.
“Let’s go see everyone,” said Benny, bouncing out of his seat.
“Okay, Benny,” said Grandfather Alden. Together the Aldens and Mrs. Teague made their way through the excited crowd toward Sunny and Caryn.
“Congratulations!” called Violet as they passed Mrs. DeCicco, who was posing with Gloria for the photographers.
“Thank you!” answered Mrs. DeCicco, beaming. She kissed the top of Gloria’s head and Gloria licked Mrs. DeCicco’s face.
“Great shot,” said one of the photographers, and everyone laughed. A moment later, they joined the Teagues and Sunny.
Just then, a familiar couple went by. “Come on, Zonker,” said the polka-dot woman to the dalmatian at her side. “Time to go home.”
The man beside her said, “You know, after this show, I think you’re right. Maybe we all need a vacation.”
The woman smiled.
“Oh, good,” said Violet softly.
“Henry, Jessica, Violet, Benny — come have your photograph taken with us. After all, if it hadn’t been for you, Sunny wouldn’t have been in the show at all!” Caryn said.
“Wait a minute!” cried Benny. “We forgot! We forgot the surprise!” He ran back to their seats.
“What surprise?” Caryn asked.
“You’ll see,” promised Henry as Benny came running back with the banner under his arm. Quickly, the Aldens unfurled the banner and held it up.
Caryn laughed with delight. “It’s wonderful. Come on, let’s all have our picture taken with it!”
As the Aldens joined the Teagues and Sunny, a young man came up to them. “It’s a real scoop,” he said. “What a story! How about an exclusive interview?”
“Well,” said Jessie. Then she stopped. Her eyes widened. “I don’t believe it!” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m a reporter,” said the man.
The Aldens all stared. It was the same man they had seen at the basset hound’s cage, and lurking in the background when Curly had been shaved, and near the entrance where the cat had first been seen at the show.
“A reporter,” repeated Violet. “But what were you doing at the basset hound’s cage? And when Curly got shaved — you were right there!”
“Yes,” said Jessie. “And you were right there when the cat got in, too!”
The reporter shrugged. “That’s what reporters do. We go where the action is! Besides, I wanted to be anonymous so I could get a real scoop. And I have!”
The Aldens burst out laughing at their mistake. “Great, great,” said the reporter. He turned to the photographer. “Did you get that shot, Mac?”
“You were great, Caryn,” said Henry.
Caryn gave Henry an excited little hug and he blushed as shyly as Violet. “Sunny was great,” she said, “thanks to you and your brother and sisters.”
“And Watch!” said Benny. He let go of his end of the banner, and flung his arms around Caryn and then around Sunny. “Watch is the one who really solved the mystery. He proved it was Sunny at Dr. Scott’s. Watch is a champion, too.”
“He certainly is,” said Caryn. She smiled down at Benny. “Hooray for Watch!”
“Hooray for Sunny and for Watch!” cried Benny. |