The Contest

Nothing can go wrong this time, Hugh thought. I must become more involved with the dogs, try to get them eating out of my hands with some tempting treats, until they finally trust me. Then I will put my plan into action and this time nothing will stop me. I will take him to the Blue Lake, and dispose of him. Afterwards, I will tell Eemay that he had disappeared while chasing a rabbit and had not returned. How I had frantically called and whistled for him, but despite my desperate search, finally had to give up and face the fact that he was lost. I will remind her of his tendency to stray, particularly as he had wandered into the palace alone. Yes, she will be upset, but she will soon get over it, after all, as far as she’s aware, he’s only a dog.

With his plan in place, his mood lifted. Scott will soon be gone, he thought, with his usual sly smile.

The next morning he went down to the kitchen where the dogs lay curled up together in their basket. Roxie was busy preparing lunch and didn’t see him come in. “Hi Roxie,” he called, breezily.

“Oh Hugh, you gave me a right start. You don’t often come down here. What can I do for you?”

“Nothing really, just came to say hello.”

He went over to the dogs and kneeled down beside them. “Have you got some treats for the dogs, it’s time I got to know them better?”

Roxie scuttled off and came back with some scraps of meat. “Here, they can have these left over from yesterday,” she said, offering him a small plate of tasty morsels.

Both dogs jumped out of their basket pushing up their eager noses to sniff the tempting treats. He put a few morsels on the palm of his hand, which he extended out to Scott. “It’s OK boy, you can take it.”

Scott couldn’t resist the succulent treat and gobbled it up before instantly retreating.

Hugh then put his hand out to stroke him, but again Scott growled at him, baring his fangs.

“Come on boy, want to go for a walk?”

“Where’s Icon’s lead Roxie? I think I’ll take him for a walk, I could do with some exercise.”

“Oh, it’s over there on the hook,” she said, without turning round.

He picked up the lead and approached Scott. “Come on boy, let’s go.”

Scott instinctively knew that Hugh was hatching another devious, deadly plan. Why else would he want to give me treats and take me for a walk without Nettie? What am I going to do?

Hugh was now advancing, a lead firmly gripped in his hand.

Scott began to panic, he knew that once the lead was looped around his neck, it would, in effect, become a hangman’s noose. Nettie began to whimper, Scott knew that she could also sense the evil in Hugh.

Self-preservation kicked in, and just as Hugh lowered his arm ready to loop the lead over his head, Scott jumped up and sunk his fangs deep into the flesh of his forearm.

Hugh shrieked out in pain, clutching his injured arm. In retaliation, he kicked Scott as if he were a football, sending him flying across the room. Pain seared through Scott’s little body, as he lay trembling violently where he had landed in the corner of the kitchen, with Nettie whimpering by his side.

Roxie, who was in total shock, was now screaming for help. Edward the butler soon shuffled in with a first aid kit.

Blood was pouring from deep punctures in Hugh’s forearm. “If you haven’t had a tetanus injection, then I strongly recommend you get one,” Edward advised, as he gently applied antiseptic to the wounds with cotton wool “They are quite deep, but in my opinion as a First Aider, they are not serious and should heal fine in a few days.”

By now the King and Queen had become involved, demanding to know what on earth had happened.

Hugh wasted no time. “That dog is dangerous, it was an unprovoked attack. I was only trying to put his lead on to take him for a walk, when he attacked me viciously.”

“Roxie, did you see what happened?” asked the King.

Roxie was clearly shaken up, visibly trembling. “I can’t understand it, Icon is normally so docile, it’s just so out of character. I didn’t really see what happened because I was busy peeling vegetables and had my back to them. It was only when I heard all the commotion that I turned round.”

“I think we need to tell Eemay what has happened,” the King said. “Zilla, can you please go and find her and tell her to come straight over.”

“Hugh’s quick mind was now secretly planning another ghastly plot. He had been attacked and injured by a dog, so he could now insist that it be destroyed. The perfect opportunity to be rid of him permanently, had miraculously presented itself and he grasped it with evil relish.