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alone, watching other people. Like him.
     

    ‘It’s just I need the money my uncle gives me for lunch. For something else.’
    Yvonne didn’t say anything. She just continued looking at the baby blackbird. Josh was pleased she wasn’t pressing him to say something.
    Did he really want to share his big secret? She might laugh, or even worse, tell. But if he didn’t take a risk now, he might never have the chance to talk to her again.
    Josh made a decision. He bent down and opened his school bag. ‘I buy this with it,’ he said quietly, holding up two tins.
    ‘You have a dog?’ Yvonne said in a hushed voice. ‘A secret dog?’

 
    Chapter 9
    The valley that Josh had chosen for training Reggae was as secret as Josh could find. It was surrounded by steep hills and it was off the usual walking routes on the commons.
    As Josh led Reggae up the hill towards it, he remembered the envelope in his school jacket. He shook his head. He didn’t need to think about his school report until later. He had more important things to deal with.
    He was going to start to work with Reggae in the open.
    It had taken ten days to teach Reggae everything he could in the pen. It had been a real struggle rebuilding it over the winter. But it had been worth it to give Reggae a good first experience of working with sheep.
    The fencing of the pen was like a safety net for a trapeze artist. Now they’d have to do without it. Many young dogs found working with sheep in the open just too exciting. They raced around, scaring ewes and lambs. If he and Reggae didn’t work well together, the sheep would run away or even worse, hurt themselves on the uneven ground of the commons. If a single lamb was hurt, he, and more importantly, Reggae, would be in serious trouble.
    But there was no help for it. The Gathering was less than two months away. Usually it took more than a year of working a dog to prepare for it. They had no time to waste.
     
    * * *
    As they came over the hill, Josh saw that there was a group of eight sheep grazing near the bottom of the valley. Perfect.
    ‘Stop,’ Josh said firmly. Reggae stopped, though her eyes were focused on the sheep below. Josh attached a long lead, which would trail after Reggae as she ran. Josh knew sheep are much more relaxed about a dog on a lead than one running free.
    Josh led Reggae down the hill.
    ‘Heel.’
    He walked closer to the sheep. Then, about ten metres away, he stopped. Still looking towards the sheep, he commanded, ‘Away.’
    He’d taught Reggae this command in the pen. Would she remember what it meant?
    Reggae started off to her right, then circled behind the sheep. She was keeping a good distance, Josh observed. The sheep weren’t spooked. Josh moved to his left, keeping the same distance from the sheep. Reggae moved so that she was opposite him.
    The biggest ewe suddenly noticed Reggae. She started to move towards her. Reggae retreated and barked once. But the big sheep kept going, picking up speed as she went. Reggae went low and growled loudly. But the ewe didn’t stop. The rest of the group was following. Oh no! Why did they have to get such an aggressive sheep on their first run? Reggae would be trampled if she wasn’t careful!
     

    Reggae backed off again and barked several times. But the big ewe wasn’t going to stop for this noisy small dog. Reggae’s ears and tail went up. Josh knew that meant she was about to do something. But what?
    She leapt into the air and towards the fast-approaching ewe. And then, in mid-air, Reggae twisted her body and fastened her mouth onto the sheep’s nose. Josh held his breath.
What
was she doing?
    The ewe shook the dog from side to side. But Reggae wouldn’t let go. The big ewe stopped. Immediately, Reggae released her grip and backed off about five metres. She just stood there with her eyes fixed on the ewe. Josh realised that she had only held on a couple of seconds, even though it had
seemed
like much longer.
    The now wary ewe stood