Adam nodded nervously. He’d never made an emergency call before – but this was definitely an emergency.
Chapter Seven
Georgia watched as Adam raced off down the path, leaving her all alone on the cliff top, with only the seagulls shrieking around her. Then she leaned over the edge again, digging her toes into the sandy earth so that she felt safer wriggling out a couple of centimetres further over the edge. She felt quite sick staring down at the water, which seemed to be crashing against the cliffs harder and harder every time she looked.
Lucky was curled up in a little ball now, with his nose tucked in next to his tail. He looked so tiny that Georgia wanted to cry.
“Lucky!” she called down to him.
Lucky glanced up and barked delightedly. He’d thought that Georgia and Adam had both gone and left him here. He had no idea how he was ever going to get back up the cliff. He’d looked down at the water on the rocks just below, and wondered if he should jump in and swim till he found the beach, but the water looked very different to the sea he’d swum in before. His little ledge was just above the waves, which kept rolling in and sending cold spray up at him. And the rocks looked slippery and frightening. His paw hurt too, and he wasn’t sure he’d even be able to swim. He’d pressed himself back against the cliff wall instead and curled into a ball, whimpering sadly to himself, wishing someone was there to help him. And then he’d heard Georgia!
Perhaps he could climb back up to her? The ledge was very narrow, and it trailed away into a tiny little path that went winding up the cliff. Georgia wasn’t really all that far away, Lucky thought, staring up at her white and anxious face. He limped along to where the ledge narrowed, and looked thoughtfully up at the path. It was very narrow. He started off up it, squeezing himself as close as he could to the side of the cliff and feeling the sand trickle down into his fur.
“Lucky, stay!” Georgia was calling to him. She sounded worried – cross, almost. He was only trying to reach her, why was she cross? But he knew what “stay” meant from his obedience classes. He had to do as he was told, even though he really didn’t want to. He sat down on the path, his ears drooping, feeling confused.
“It’s OK, Lucky, sorry. I’m sorry…” Up on the cliff, Georgia took a deep breath, and tried not to feel frightened. It just felt as though Adam had been gone for ages and ages. Every time she looked down, Lucky’s little ledge seemed to have grown even narrower, and the sea wilder. And if the tide came up much more, the ledge would be underwater! She tried to remember when high tide had been the day before, but her mind felt foggy.
“Good boy, Lucky. Stay! What a good boy! Lots of biscuits soon. Stay! That’s it.” Just don’t move, Lucky, please! she added silently to herself.
“Georgia! Georgia!”
Lucky looked up, his tail wagging. Adam had come back too! He tried to bark happily to show Adam he was pleased to see him, but jumping about hurt his paw and his balance seemed all wrong. He slid backwards, scrabbling and yelping, and Georgia and Adam’s faces appeared over the edge of the cliff, both looking horrified.
“Lucky, keep still!” Adam yelled. His voice was sharp and fierce, and it made Lucky scared. He skittered about on the ledge anxiously.
“Down, Lucky! Down! Stay!” That was Georgia again. She didn’t sound scared like Adam, but she sounded very firm. Not cross, but he could tell he had to do as she said or she would be. Lucky lay down flat on the ledge, feeling the cold water splash over his back. He wanted to get away. He hated it down here! He howled, and howled. But he kept still.
Up above Lucky on the cliff, Adam explained to Georgia what was happening. “I got to the phone box and called the coastguard. But I didn’t know exactly where we were on the cliffs; I hope I told them the right place. I said it was just up from Cliff Cottage.”
“Are they sending someone?” Georgia asked anxiously.
“Yes, they said the boat will come out from Woolbridge harbour, and it won’t take long at all. The lady on the phone said it might even get here before I did.”
“Did she say to do anything else?”
Adam shook his head. “Just to come back and try to keep Lucky calm, and you’re doing that brilliantly. And we should watch out for the boat and wave, in case they can’t see Lucky.” He propped himself up on his elbows, staring out to sea. “That’s not a coastguard boat, is it?” he asked, pointing to a small boat, far out on the waves.
Georgia shook her head. “No, I think that’s the trip boat from Woolbridge. Anyway, the coastguard boat won’t be that far out, I bet. It’ll come round the edge of the bay.” She frowned down at Lucky on his ledge, and the nasty-looking rocks below him. “How are they going to get to him, Adam? They won’t be able to get a boat close up to those rocks, will they?”
“If it’s the inflatable they will. I saw it in the boat shed when I went to Woolbridge Beach yesterday. It’s made for going in and out of the rocks round the coast. Look, there are people on the cliffs – maybe they saw it being launched. Josh and Liam said people always go up there to watch when the coastguard boat goes out.”
Georgia nodded, watching the little crowd of people gathering further along the cliffs above the beach. She could see they were chatting and pointing at Lucky. If it had been another dog, she would have been interested too. Now it only made her feel sick.
“Georgie, look! I can see it coming!”
The coastguard boat was roaring around the far edge of the cliffs in a cloud of spray, and bouncing over the water towards them. It was quite small, and there were only three crew, but it was very, very fast.
“I wish Mum and Dad were here,” Georgia said worriedly, as the little grey boat shot towards them. “Maybe they saw the boat being launched from Woolbridge when they were shopping. Do you think they’d come back to see what was going on?”
“Maybe. They might even be in that crowd over there.” Adam hugged her.
The boat was getting closer now, and they could see the coastguard men waving to them. They waved back and pointed down to Lucky.
Lucky could see the boat coming too. It was very loud, and he didn’t like it at all. He barked at it, wishing it’d go away.
“Shhh, Lucky, it’s OK!” Georgia called down. “I think he’s scared of the boat. Lucky, stay!”
The coastguard boat had stopped by the rocks, and one of the men was climbing out. Georgia held her breath anxiously. It looked so slippery.
“Hello up there!” the man called to Adam and Georgia. “He looks pretty frightened. Can you get him to stay? I don’t want to scare him into jumping.”
Georgia nodded. “Lucky, stay there! Stay!”
Lucky stared wide-eyed at the man in the bright orange suit, with his huge life jacket and white helmet. He looked like some sort of strange creature, and he’d arrived in that great noisy thing that was still grumbling and snorting below him. Lucky gave a loud series of barks, trying to sound big and scary. But the man didn’t go away. He climbed slowly closer instead. Lucky looked around, desperate for a way to escape. There was only the little narrow path where he’d already slipped. But he didn’t have a choice. He started to back away up it, still barking at the strange man.
“Lucky, no!” It was Georgia, calling him from up above. “Stay! Lucky, stay!”