Bronze Pen (9781439156650) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder Page A

murderer was lying in wait.
    In this new version a large dog, perhaps an Irish wolfhound named…not Beowulf, but something just as brave and impressive sounding, like Hero, perhaps. Yes, Hero was going to come along and chase the cat up on top of a shed. And then the dog and the cat would start talking to each other, and with Heather’s amazing ability to understand what animals were saying, she would learn the truth about the cat’s evil plan and would be able to escape. To just barely escape, right when the murderer was emerging from his hiding place and was reaching out to grab her. It should be a very suspenseful episode.
    It would be fun to write, too. She was good at dialogue, and a dialogue between a dog and a cat should be interesting. So she wouldn’t waste any more time searching for pencils—the pen would have to do. She would simply scratch out any errors and plan on writing the whole thing over later to neaten it up.
    Audrey began by rewriting the chapter title:
    Heather’s Alley Adventure
    Once again, for the first few lines using the pen was a little distracting. The smooth flow of wide, dark lines wassurprising and a bit intimidating. But as she went on writing, the look of the penned lines began to seem more natural.
    Just as Heather started down the dark, sinister alley, she was suddenly aware of something cold and wet touching her elbow. It was a dog’s nose. Not a dog she had ever seen before, but a large shaggy animal with friendly brown eyes.
    â€œHello, dog,” Heather said. “Where did you come from, and who are you?”
    â€œMy name is Hero,” the dog said, “and I’m here because I know that you can talk to animals. I want to talk to you. But please excuse me for a moment. There is something I must do first. Do you see that cat sitting on top of that shed?”
    â€œYes,” Heather said. “That’s the nice, friendly cat who said it would help me find my way home. He said I should follow him.”
    â€œAha,” the dog named Hero said. “That cat is lying to you. He belongs to a very evil man. That treacherous cat is leading you into deadly danger.”
    It turned out to be one of the best writing sessions that Audrey had had for a long time. The ideas just kept coming, and there were some scary parts and a few that were a little bit funny. It was really true that writing fiction was one of the best ways to cheer yourself up. Or, if not to actually make you cheerful, to at least make you forget the things that were worrying you.
    The writing went on until she got to the place where Heather was about to be grabbed by the murderer, but because the dog called out a warning, she was able to escape by using a kick that she had learned from a chimpanzee who had studied karate.
    It was an exciting climax, and Audrey was just finishing the chapter by describing how Heather called for the police to come pick up the unconscious murderer when she happened to glance at her watch and saw that it was after ten o’clock. Her mother would probably be coming in soon to take Beowulf out and say good night before locking up the house. And so, because she needed to be extra organized and responsible in order to reassure her parents about her mental condition, Audrey quickly got ready to be helpful.
    Hurriedly stuffing her secret notebook back into its hiding place, she headed for the door, stopping only long enough to poke Beowulf with her toe to wake him up. He grunted and sighed, and then just as Audrey was turning the doorknob, he said, “What did you do that for?”
    At least a rather gruff voice saying exactly that had come from someplace very nearby, and there was no oneelse in the room. Or maybe from right outside the door, although it didn’t seem to come from that direction. Audrey carefully and quietly opened the door and peeked out into the hall. No one. Nothing in sight. Turning back, she stared at Beowulf, who was