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The front door slammed shut. Ellie gulped. He wasn’t going to stop her. She supposed it made sense. He didn’t want her in his house any more than she wanted to be there. Ellie wagged her tail at him gratefully, and sneaked out from behind the bush and on to the pavement.
She needed to get away from Gran’s house fast, before Gran realized what had happened and came to find her. Ellie looked around, her tail wagging very slightly. She couldn’t help[90] but be excited. She was heading back to Megan! She was going to find her, all by herself!
She was going home.
Ellie skittered quickly across the road, making for a little lane with high hedges that led down between some of the houses. She’d be out of sight from Gran’s house quickly here, she was sure.
Once she was in the lane she raced as fast as she could. They had gone down here on the walk yesterday; it was brambly and overgrown[91], with lots of hiding places.
Finally she ran out of breath[92] and collapsed, panting, underneath a tangle of brambles. She lay in the leafy dimness, breathing fast, and loving the feeling of being out on her own. Walks with Megan were the best thing, of course, but it was fun not to have a lead on and to be able to go where she liked. The bramble bush smelled nice. Earthy, but sweet at the same time.
Ellie tried to work out[93] which way she should go next. Where was Megan? Which way?
She rested her nose on her paws. It wasn’t that she was going to sniff Megan out exactly, that would be silly, she was much too far away for that. This was different from finding Megan’s scent. It was more of a feel. Megan – and home – was that way.
Ellie wriggled eagerly out from under the brambles and set off down the lane. She knew it was going to be a long way – longer than any walk she’d done before[94] – but she wasn’t scared. She was Megan’s dog, not Gran’s, and she was meant to be with Megan.
Back at the house, Gran was searching anxiously for Ellie. She hadn’t missed her until a few minutes ago, when she had put out Ellie’s lunch, and she was hoping that the puppy was hiding in the house somewhere.[95]
‘Ellie! Ellie! Here, girl! Where are you?’
Gran crouched down to check behind the sofa, in case Sid had frightened her again. The cat was still curled up on the back of the sofa.
‘Where can she be, Sid?’ Gran muttered worriedly. ‘Oh, she can’t have got[96] out when the postman came? I would have seen[97] her, surely. And that’s the only time I’ve opened the door. But then where is she? I’ve looked everywhere.’
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90
Устойчивое выражение can’t help (doing) something переводится «не мочь не», «не мочь удержаться от».
91
Приставка over- означает «слишком»: заросший.
92
Выражение be out of breath означает «задыхаться, сбить дыхание». Глагол run (ran, run) вместо be указывает на причину этого состояния.
93
Фразовый глагол work out означает «вычислять».
94
’d – это сокращение от had. Время Past Perfect описывает действия, происходившие ДО основных действий в прошлом, здесь – до того момента, как Элли убежала от бабушки.
95
Времена в этом предложении чётко определяют последовательность действий. Бабушка хватилась Элли всего пару минут назад, когда принесла ей еду. Она уже обнаружила пропажу, но ещё надеется, что щенок где-то в доме.
96
Have got (out) после can’t означает, что это предположение относится к прошлому: не могла же она выбраться…
97
Have seen после would описывает предполагаемые события в прошлом: я бы заметила.