Full Speed Ahead: My Journey with Kit

Kit and I freeze, watching for Buddy, but he doesn’t appear. Kit takes a breath and says we’ll get off at the next stop and find him.

I admire how calm Kit stays. The trolley stops a few blocks on, and we run back to where Buddy jumped from my arms. He’s gone without a trace.

I moan that we’ll never find him, but Kit insists we will, even if we have to walk all over Cincinnati. We trudge uphill and down, calling Buddy’s name and asking everyone we pass if they’ve seen a golden retriever puppy. Finally our feet give out, and we collapse on a bench in a fountain plaza.

Kit wipes her forehead and says we’re not giving up, but we should get the visit to Uncle Hendrick’s over with first, then keep searching for Buddy.

That sounds fine, though I’m hot, tired, and discouraged, fighting back tears and wondering how I lost Buddy. Now I understand what Mom means about a pet being a big responsibility. This is the worst thing I’ve faced.

With heavy hearts, we trudge to Uncle Hendrick’s house. My courage fails on his front walk. He’s sure to know I’m not his grandniece, and even his door knocker looks unwelcoming, a dragon’s head with its mouth open and a tongue of fire.

I tell Kit I want to leave, but she says it won’t be so bad, and knocks using the dragon’s nose. Nobody answers.

I say we can just come back later for the suitcase, but Kit shakes her head. That wastes the trolley fare, we still need to find Buddy, and Mother needs her home for chores. She knows where they hide an extra key instead, so nobody has to face Uncle Hendrick.

Kit stands on tiptoe, pulls a key from behind a porch lamp, and opens the door. Books line the walls floor to ceiling; Kit says she thinks Uncle Hendrick owns every book in the world, but we don’t have time to look.

Kit finds the suitcase in the front hall. I’m surprised, but it makes sense. There’s a real Cousin Lucille somewhere, so if Uncle Hendrick’s letter is real, the suitcase must be, too. But what happens when the real Lucille shows up?

Kit suggests we take turns carrying it. I feel odd about taking someone else’s belongings, and it has no wheels. Will the trolley even let us bring it on?

Just then, an angry voice shouts from behind us that we’re thieves.