The Adventures of Chester and Matt (standard:adventure, 4749 words)
Author: Zeke	Added: Feb 10 2001	Views/Reads: 3675/2268	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Although from different backgrounds they team up to solve a mystery.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

yet he still came, his bright white hair in sharp contrast to my short 
black hair. We wrestled across the back yard, jumping and biting in 
play as I did my best to keep him away. 

Patricia nodded to Raphael, "Take the dogs to the park, they need to
burn a little energy." 

"Come on, let’s go to the park. I’ll introduce you to the others in the
neighborhood." I eagerly accepted the leash from Raphael and nudged 
Matt toward him. 

The park was only a short walk from the house and I know the route well.
Over the years the houses have changed with newer two story dwellings 
replacing the older homes sometimes crowding onto the lot. The park 
remained as the one constant unoccupied area although only a few blocks 
further over a small creek ran through a limited wooded area. Pecan 
trees line the street on both sides and provided shade for the 
sidewalk. Depending who was out at that particular time of the day, 
Raphael would stop to chat for a few moments. 

As I watched Matt prance down the street I thought to myself out loud,
"It sure takes you a lot more steps to cover any ground." 

"I’ll keep up just fine." 

As Matt and I approached the park I named the dogs that were already
there. The park was two blocks long and a block wide. It had a shelter 
with swings and a slide for children and one end a baseball diamond for 
the older kids. It was my favorite place in the neighborhood and I 
always looked forward to share some time with our neighbors. As we came 
across the open outfield we overheard the ongoing conversation. 

"Isn’t it terrible what happened to Dorsey?" 

The group of three,  a Golden Retriever named Sara,  a Labrador named
Jake, and a Collie  name Nick stopped in the middle of their 
conversation. 

"Who’s this?" Nick asked as he stepped back a pace. 

"His name is Matt, just got here today." 

The golden retriever then spoke up. "Well it’s good to meet you. You’re
a Westie aren’t you. Haven’t had any round here for quite a while, 
though I think there used to be one over on Third Street or maybe it 
was Fourth Street, of course there have been other Terriers around " 

"Just introduce yourself  Sara without a complete history of the
neighborhood. I’m  Jake and this is Nick. If you come to the park 
everyday you’ll soon learn everything you need to know about the area. 

"Please to meet you all. Who’s Dorsey." 

"Dorsey is the Labrador a block over and the last few nights he’s been
barking through the night. Very unusual, his owner likes quiet or at 
least doesn’t like hearing from the neighbors." Sara stopped 
momentarily when Jake started to speak. 

Nick then added, "I could hear him two blocks away." 

"I’m telling the story here. He didn’t come to the park and his house
isn’t along my owner’s walk, so I haven’t been able to get any 
information from him. Then last night he was barking again and I heard 
his leash break. I saw lights come on all over the neighborhood from 
the commotion. Then this morning I saw Dorsey ride by in the car and he 
wasn’t in the car when they came back. I know Dorsey, he wouldn’t be 
barking at just nothing." 

"Well, let’s find out what it was." Matt seemed intrigued by the
mystery. 

"That’s not that easy. The park’s the only place we can easily run
free." 

"We’ve go to do something. Chester and I will find out what’s going on.
By the way I found a collar behind the house next to ours, I’ll bring 
it tomorrow." 

"I’ve got to go. Good luck and let us know if you find anything." Sara
answered the call of a woman at the edge of the park. The others left 
also. 

For a few moments Matt and I ran about the park and enjoyed the warmth
of the morning sun and forgot about the conversation with the others. 
Raphael then signaled for us to return home so we set out to retrace 
our steps to the house. 

"I noticed that Sara has a new collar, I wouldn’t be surprised if the
one you found is hers, but I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it." 

Matt nodded and then brought up the subject of  Dorsey, "What can you
tell me about Dorsey." 

I turned to Matt. "I’m not sure what you have gotten us into. I don’t
know anything about what’s going on." 

"Well ,that’s what we are going to find out. You want to help Dorsey
don’t you?" 

Arriving at the house, Patricia set out dinner for Matt and I on the
kitchen floor while Raphael placed their dinner on the table just above 
our bowls. Into the evening Matt and I wrestled about the living room 
floor. Matt would jump on top of me and then go flying through the air 
as I turned to ward him off. As we played I gave Matt the lay of the 
backyard and we worked out a plan to later check out what was going on 
at Dorsey’s house. 

"Remember, keep the leash and bring it inside the fence." 

Matt had remembered and  carried the leash out with him. 

"It’s not time for a walk, it’s time to sleep. Okay, you can keep it for
now." Raphael closed the gate and returned inside. 

We waited until we thought the habitants of the house were asleep. 

"I’ll dig under the fence and open the gate. It will only take me a few
minutes." Matt had already begun. 

"So much for your white hair." 

"I prefer brown anyway." 

After furiously digging through the dirt, Matt looked back at me through
the hole. 

"OK, I’m through. Now I’ll go around to the gate." 

Matt jumped up with the leash catching it with the loop end and tugged
while I pushed from inside until the gate swept open. 

"Let’s go." 

It took us only a few minutes to arrive at Dorsey’s house. Everything
was quiet and the house was dark. 

"Look around, check up there over Dorsey’s pen and look over the ground.
You’re good at finding things, see what you can find.  Wait,  look on 
top of the car port, what do you see up there." 

"I don’t know it’s pretty dark and the branches of this tree aren’t
making things any easier." Matt paced across the ground. 

"Why there’s a branch that leads all the way from the garage to the
house. I’ll bet something coming right over Dorsey’s head. I think we 
should just wait here." 

And so we waited as the moon climbed along the breaks in the tree. I had
fallen asleep when Matt bit my leg. 

"I think we’ve got company."  Matt nodded to the tree. 

From the top of the garage we heard a rustling of the leaves and onto
the branch gingerly walked the largest raccoon I had ever seen. 

In a low voice Matt stared at the raccoon.  "Now we know what was
barking at but how do we help Dorsey." 

"They’ll have to see it,  We need to catch it somehow, the pen won’t
hold it .. wait .. the carrier you came in, they left it outside. It 
was there when we went out. I’ll go and get it. Just make sure it 
doesn’t get away." 

When I came back to the Dorsey’s yard, the raccoon had seen Matt below
in the shadows and hissed down through the darkness. I saw Matt keeping 
the raccoon in sight as it climbed down the trunk of the tree coming to 
the ground not far from Matt. He held his ground barking and jumping 
not allowing the raccoon to escape. Quickly I  placed the carrier in 
the raccoon’s path back to the tree. Matt seeing the carrier was in 
place charged at the raccoon and  steered him into the trap as I 
slammed the door behind it and we had caught our prowler. 

By now the noise had awaken the people inside the house and we scurried
back to the darkness and found our way back to the house. We reentered 
the pen under the fence and Matt covered up the hole he had dug. 

The next morning Patricia came out to see us and noticed that Matt was
now decidedly brown. "Your a white dog in name only aren’t you. You’ll 
get clean when we go down to the lake after breakfast." 

"The lake, where’s that?" Matt asked. 

"Don’t worry, most of the dogs from the park will be there. We can tell
them about our adventures last night. We make a pretty good team don’t 
we." 

I always looked forward to Sunday mornings. The drive down to the lake,
splashing in the water, talking with the other dogs, everything about 
Sunday morning was enjoyable. Raphael and Patricia loaded Matt and I 
into the car and off we went. Matt sat in Patricia’s lap and stared out 
at the city streets and the shops passing by. I sat in the back and 
looked for any changes in the store windows that we passed. I wanted to 
know every detail of every street. Soon we arrived and parked the car. 
The road was blocked by construction so there was a short walk to the 
closed boat ramp and served as our beach to the lake. 

"So this is the lake?" Matt excitedly jumped to get a better view. 

"Actually it’s the widest part of the river that cuts through town.
You’ll learn more about your surroundings once you’ve been here a 
while. Hey look! Dorsey’s here." 

We ran down to the group and I introduced Matt to the dogs he didn’t
already know and then I told the story about the raccoon. Everyone 
listened to each detail, commenting as each thought appropriate. As I 
finished with the capture of our foe I paused to comment on the outcome 
but before I had a chance Snapper, a collie,  raced by yapping at the 
group. 

"Come on, let’s get in the water." 

As the other dogs turned away to the boat ramp, Dorsey hesitated for a
moment and then turned back to us. "I’m so grateful for your help, when 
they came for me this morning I couldn’t believe it. Then I overheard 
Jack telling the Vet about the raccoon they found in the carrying case. 
It’s a nice place at the Vet’s but not the same as home.  I’m glad I 
didn’t have to stay very long." 

"Maybe they’ll listen to you the next time." I added as we walked toward
the water. 

Raphael waded out into the water with the other people. The dogs then
took turns chasing down a Frisbee or a tennis ball tossed out into the 
water. I swam a short distance into water as Matt stayed on the shore. 
I chased down the ball a couple of times and then tried to get Matt to 
chase it. One of the people gave him a nudge into the water near to 
where Raphael had tossed a tennis ball. Matt turned away and let the 
ball bob on the surface. I retrieved it and brought it back on to the 
land and dropped it beside Matt where he sat after shaking off the 
water. 

"The water is too cold for me, besides I can’t dig up anything in the
water.", Matt backed off a few feet more laid down in the grass at the 
edge of the pavement. 

Just then Snapper zipped by and nearly ran Matt over. "Raccoon huh!
That’s nothing! Why there’s something really mean living in that 
building over there. If you can face it down then you’ve done 
something." 

I came over to Matt, "Don’t listen to him, Snapper is exaggerating." 

"This is between Matt and I", Snapper chased back a few steps and
returned his attention to Matt,  "So what do you say Matt, are you too 
scared to face it" 

I could tell from the beginning that Matt wouldn’t be able to resist the
challenge and I knew that’s what Snapper was counting on. So as the 
others pretended to turn away so as to not attract the attention of the 
people, Matt scampered over to the fence surrounding the building. I 
followed a short distance behind. When he came within five feet of the 
fence, from around the corner of the building came a German Shepherd 
shouting at Matt while lunging at the fence. 

"Get back! Get back! Don’t come any nearer! 

But instead of running away, Matt held his ground and spoke back to the
German Shepherd. 

"What’s in the building that’s so frightening?" 

Stunned the German Shepherd lowered his voice. "Well ... I’m so
frightening. No one comes near this fence, I make sure of it. Those 
other dogs waste time chasing after toys while I’ve got work to do." 

"Work, what so important about the building." 

"There’s always someone trying to get through the fence or seeing if
they can get by me. I just make sure that they don’t. I work all night 
watching, then finally get some sleep during the day. The last few 
night there has been someone coming late at night to the next building. 
I warn them to leave but I can never really see who it is, until 
recently there’s been a light along this side of the building." 

"Maybe Chester and I can help you. We’ll check around the grounds and
see what we can find." 

"We’ll only have a few minutes before Raphael comes over, so make it
quick. Look over there by the ladder underneath the light post." 

Matt began checking around the space between the fence the and the
nearby light post. After a few minutes he returned with an abandoned 
wasp nest. 

"Don’t worry they are gone." Matt dropped it at our feet. 

"Look’s like this was knocked down recently." 

The three looked over the nest, though none of us spoke. Some of the
other dogs had already gotten in their cars to be taken home and some 
cars were pulling away. 

"We’d better go. We’ll be back next week and maybe then we’ll have more
time to look around. Oh by the way my name is Matt and this is 
Chester." 

"Pleased to me you, my name is Roy." 

Patricia called out to Matt and I and so we both ran back to the group. 

All of the remaining dogs crowded around us. 

"What happened over there? No one has ever gotten that close to the
fence. What did he say?" 

Matt simply brushed aside their questions and headed toward the cars,
"He’s not a bad fellow." 

Then Matt and I got in the car for the ride home. After a while Matt
asked, "If you knew the German Shepherd was over there, why didn’t you 
tell me." 

"You wanted to find out on your own, besides I knew you wouldn’t be
afraid and it was better, especially for Snapper, that you show it in 
front of the others." 

That afternoon Raphael walked us over to the convenience store a couple
of blocks from the house. We waited outside as he went into the store. 
Since there was little else to do I looked around at the people coming 
and going from the store. 

At one of the pumps in front a man was pumping gas. He was a tall man of
medium build with no distinguishing features. He wore faded blue jeans 
and faded green shirt worn inside out. As he was holding the pump I 
noticed that his hand had a strange red blotch just behind the 
knuckles. He scratched at habitually until the pump sounded that the 
tank was full. He went into the store and reemerged still rubbing his 
hand. He got into the truck and drove off. 

Raphael came out with a small grocery bag and we headed back home. Matt
and I  jostled for position at the end of his reach. When we got back 
to the house, Raphael undid the leashes and we tumbled about the back 
yard until dark. 

The week went quickly by though each day we talked about the German
Shepherd and what he had told us. Dorsey stopped by when the carrier 
was returned to our house and again thanked us for our help. In one of  
Raphael’s conversations with the neighbors we learned that word had 
passed about the raccoon and the carrier left behind. When Raphael 
heard the description of the carrier he realized it was the one Matt 
had come in and made arrangements for its return. When he set it back 
behind the house we pretended not to notice. Otherwise the week was 
filled with hot days and warm nights highlighted by walks about the 
neighborhood and through the park, mingling with the other dogs 
whenever we got the chance. 

On Saturday morning at the park all of the dogs already there seemed
quite upset. We could tell even from a distance that there was a somber 
air over the park. 

"What’s happened now." I spoke to the group as Matt sniffed across the
ground. 

"Sara’s not here or anywhere. No one has seen her over the last day." 

"I think she’s just run off. You know how she hated being confined to
the leash. The collar you found, Matt, we all knew it was hers. It’s 
not the first time she has needed a new one." Nick spoke. 

"Wait just a minute, tell me everything you can remember seeing or
hearing since yesterday that seems out of the ordinary. Let’s think 
about this first before jumping to conclusions." I tried to assess the 
situation. 

"There was a noise late last night over by the Simon place, usually
pretty quiet over there, no one is home most of the time, but that’s 
several blocks from Sara’s." 

"How loud?, what kind of noise?" 

"Loud enough to wake me up, I usually sleep soundly. I don’t how to
describe the noise." 

"OK, Anybody else? Anything?" 

Jake hesitated and then spoke. "It wasn’t last night, but I noticed
raccoon tracks over by the Simon place last week. I didn’t say anything 
last Sunday, but I thought it was strange when you described capturing 
the raccoon ... there’s hasn’t been a raccoon around here for a long 
time. Usually the stay down by the river. A day later when I went by 
the tracks were gone, brushed away." 

"Dorsey, did you notice anything unusual about the raccoon." 

"It didn’t move that fast, it seemed like it was looking for some place
protected from the weather, someplace it would be out of the sun during 
the heat of the day." 

"If you think of anything else, let us know next time at the park." 

Raphael was calling to us and as we walked back Matt and I talked about
what to do about the disappearance of Sara. 

"We need more time to figure this one out. What will happen next?" 

When we arrived back at the house a green pickup truck was parked in the
driveway. Patricia was talking to a man. He was a tall man with a dark 
green shirt. He wore wire rim glasses above a mustache. Patricia then 
introduced the man to Raphael who shook his hand as Patricia spoke. 

"Raphael, this is Jack, from the Nature Preserve. He has told me that
the raccoon that was found at the Harding house was from the preserve. 
Bill took it back and now they are trying to figure out how it got 
here. Jack found out that the carrier it was trapped in came from us, 
so he wanted to see if we knew any more about it." 

Remembering what Jake had told us, Matt began barking and running in a
small circle to get their attention. 

"What is it Matt?" Patricia stepped toward the puppy, but Matt then ran
a few steps away from stopped and stepped back. Matt repeated this 
several times and then I taking the cue from Matt I began to do the 
same thing till Raphael and Patricia followed after us. We lead them to 
the backyard of the Simon house. It was an older house sitting on a 
small lot. The windows were dark from curtains drawn inside the window 
frames. Matt squirmed under the wire fence and ran a few steps toward 
the house. A man appeared from the back door and stared back at us. I 
looked at his hand and although the sore had now healed I recognized 
him as the same man I had seen at store the weekend before. I began to 
bark at him and run part of the way up the yard when he turned and ran. 
I could hear a truck start up from the front of the house. 

I ran back to Matt, "Do you remember what you found last week next to
the lake? I think I know where he’s going. Come on let’s get back to 
the house, we’ve got to tell them somehow." 

Raphael and Patricia followed as we ran back to the house. Once there we
looked around the yard to find something to tell our story. Matt ran 
into the car porch and came back with Frisbee. I took it and flung into 
the air, chased after it, and the shook as if I were wet. I looked back 
at the three people. After a moment I did it again and then barked 
toward the Simon house. 

"I think he’s trying to tell us something, where to look  ... where the
man may be going ... it’s as if he were at the river landing at the 
lake!" 

Both Matt and I triumphantly barked. 

"That must be it. Let’s go!" 

All of us piled into the man’s truck, Matt and I rode in the bed and
barked at the traffic as we rode along the wind through our coats. We 
soon arrived at the lake and Matt and I jumped out of the truck bed and 
ran over to the buildings. As we approached we saw Roy pacing back and 
forth inside the fence. 

"Did a man just go into the other building." I asked him almost out of
breath. 

"Yes he did, I don’t know who it is, No one has been in there for
years." 

"Well, I think he is the one coming late at night. He’s been up to
something around our neighborhood as well." 

"Then make sure you get him." 

We came to the door just as the man was leaving. The open door revealed
a small room with a variety of  supplies from the reserve. He carried a 
small bag and stopped with a jolt when he saw us. 

I knocked him down to the ground and Matt made sure he stayed down
barking all about his head. Raphael and Jack came and took him away. We 
looked around but saw no sign of Sara. 

The next morning at the park we arrived with a bit of sadness since we
had not found Sara. The others were quiet as well when we heard Sara’s 
voice from the edge of the park.  "Why so glum, I’m the one placed on 
restrictions." 

What happened? We thought you were gone, taken, or just disappeared." 

"I heard someone last night around back and with the story you told us
about the raccoon I decided it was time to check it out for myself. 
After I got free I saw a man with a flashlight looking under and all 
around the bushes. I don’t know what he was looking for and so I 
stopped a moment to watch him. When he saw me he ran toward me and in 
trying to get away I ran so fast that I ended up in area in which I 
wasn’t too familiar, it took me all night to get back" 

We then recounted our adventures of the previous day to the entire
group. "After we caught the man, we all went to the reserve and they 
showed us the raccoon and now there were baby raccoons as well." 

Matt laid down on the grass while the other continued to talk about all
that had happened in the last two weeks. 

"That’s the first time I seen you tired since you came." 

"Don’t worry I’m just going to rest a few minutes then I‘ll be ready or
should I say we’ll be ready for whatever else comes along." 


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