Chapter 14

S-”Poppy!!" Betsy screamed, for after all Poppy is her best friend in the world. Excepting Sarah of course. They all ran off in the direction from whence the howl had come from. "No no no no!" cried Betsy. Tears were streaming down both hers and Sarah's cheeks as they imagined the worst. Half eaten by a pack of rabid wolves, stomped on by a moose, or even dog-napped! Everyone was yelling Poppy's name by then, but then it occurred to Sarah that how on earth would they hear her if she replied, or if her attacker snuck off! "Everybody stop yelling!" cried Sarah, "I have a plan. We yell Poppy's in unison and then listen very closely. If you hear anything at all, a whine, a twig breaking, anything alert the group! Ok, ready, set, 'POPPY!!'" They all listened their very hardest, and then out of the silence, the faintest little whimper was heard. The whimper of a poor, scared, hurt little bloodhound.
B-The girls ran through a clearing and into some underbrush. There, in a nest of thistles, was Poppy. She was tangled up and her little legs just weren't strong enough to pull free. The girls untangled her as carefully as they could. She was scratched up a little bit and very frightened. After the girls had comforted her for a bit though she was better and wanted to be put down. Once on the ground she got a very determined look on her little puppy face and set off into the woods. "Poppy! Come back. We've only just found you." Betsy said in exasperation The girls took off after her to be sure not to lose her again.
S-So they ran off into the woods. Euphemania was lagging behind a bit and mumbled something about going back and sitting in the rose garden. Little Poppy trotted on ahead sniffing all the while. "Do you think she found a clue?" Betsy whispered to Sarah. "I definitely think she's on to something." So they put their trust in a little bloodhound and go deeper and deeper into the woods. Suddenly Betsy looks around her and says "Either I'm having deja vous, or I've been here before." "Yes!" exclaimed Sarah, "Look! There's the hollow tree we jumped over on our walk with Poppy and right over there... Is the creepy abandoned house." And just as Sarah said this Poppy with her determined puppy face ran right inside. "Oh no, I don't like that house at all!" Betsy muttered, who is not afraid to admit that she can be a pansy at times. "It's so creepy and ominous." But putting her fears aside, she followed Sarah and Simon in to the dilapidated house, not knowing what awaited them.
S-The door creaked open--the hinges sticking a bit from disuse. Dust was already starting to cover up their foot prints from their visit. Poppy was running to a corner and scratching at the floor. "Thats our smart pup!" declared Sarah, "She really has found a clue." The girls walked over and saw a hole in the floorboard, a hole that was just the right size for a finger. Sarah reached down and stuck her finger in and pulled up. "A trapdoor!" exclaimed Betsy in surprise! "Oh Poppy, you are such a clever hound!" The girls made their way down the ladder carefully to investigate. Suddenly, it felt as if all the happiness had gone from the world. The room was suddenly dark, the girls breath became frosty. "DEMENTORS!" wept in a heart wrenching cry Betsy, "THEY'VE FOUND US AND NOW THEY ARE GOING TO SUCK OUT OUR SOULS!!!!!" "Don't be silly Betsy, they trapdoor must have just accidentally shut." said Sarah diplomatically, "Excuse me, Simon, would you mind opening the door?"



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