Jasper and the Old Boots - Chapter 5

'In the shed, under the chair,' he called out in a loud voice.  'You can keep it!'

'Keep what?' asked Jasper who kept jumping up in a desperate attempt to hear Lewis more clearly.  But it was to no avail.  Lewis and his grandpa's boots could no longer be seen as the hot air balloon disappeared through the thick clouds in the blue sky above.

Jasper stood still with his eyes fixed on the bright clouds.  Then, realising he would not be seeing Lewis and the boots again, he turned round and made his way back into the old shed.

He immediately spotted the only chair, which stood in the corner of the room.  Jasper rushed straight over to it and looked underneath.

'That's strange,' he said to himself.  'There's nothing there!'

He was right, there was nothing on the floor beneath the chair but then, on closer inspection, Jasper found a small envelope stuck to the underside of the chair.  He carefully removed it with his front teeth and placed it on the floor ready to open with his snout and paws.  But just as he was about to begin tearing into it, a booming noise came from the loudspeaker system which ran through the town.

'Calling all passengers!  Calling all passengers!  The last ship from Great Hootsville will be leaving in 5 minutes!'

'Oh no! Only 5 minutes!' barked Jasper in surprise.  'I have to get back!'

Jasper picked up the envelope and ran at top speed, back through the colourful town, past the welcome sign and down the boardwalk till he came to the great paddle steamer.

'Phew!  Just in time!' he puffed as he landed back on the deck of the magnificent ship.

It was not long before Jasper was back in familiar surroundings.  He carefully carried the envelope in his mouth as he made his way up the hill towards the great oak tree.  It was there that he decided to finally open it up.  As he did so he discovered inside there was a small photograph of a younger looking Lewis being held by a smiley grey-haired man who was wearing a pair of old black boots.  They were stood in front of a magnificent looking green and blue hot air balloon.

Jasper remembered the final words Lewis spoke to him: ‘In the shed, under the chair!  You can keep it!’

 

Jasper looked at the photograph, from under the chair, and thought to himself, ‘I can and I most certainly will keep it indeed!’