The Christmas of Adventure

©2015 June E.

Philip, Dinah, Jack and Lucy-Ann are excited at the prospect of spending their first Christmas together, but by Christmas Eve all their plans lie in ruins. Things get even worse when a severe snowstorm brings the country to a standstill and leaves Bill snowbound, hundreds of miles away. Forced to fend for themselves in Bill's remote moorland cottage, rumours abound of a strange and terrifying creature lurking in the woods nearby... and with a ruthless thief on the loose, striking at night and stealing birds from the local Sanctuary, the scene is set for a frightening and perilous adventure. Can they stop the thief before it's too late? Or will Kiki be the robber's next victim?

Chapter 16: 'Oh no, the footprints are melting!'

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The children were completely unaware of Mrs Grouch's plight back at the cottage. On hearing Jack's shouts, Dinah, Philip, Lucy-Ann and Harry bounded over the lawn towards him, their boots crunching and squelching through the wet snow.

'Careful!' warned Jack, sternly. 'Don't trample on the footprints. Look, see how someone has cut the wire to make a hole in the fence.'

He pointed to the sharp edges of the cut wires; the cuts looked fresh and new, and created a slit-like opening in the fence about 6 feet high. The snow directly beneath the hole was messy and compacted, as if someone had tramped through the hole and then later tramped back again.

'Well done, lad!' said Harry, his face a curious mixture of pleased and angry. 'The sly devil, he knew just where to cut the fence – here, behind the trees where no one is likely to notice.' Harry clenched his fists, the stretched skin over his knuckles showing white.

'Now I know how the villain has been getting into the sanctuary – the miserable, thieving wretch! If I ever get my hands on him, why I'll... I'll...' Harry paused, noticing the alarmed expressions on the children's faces.

'Well, never mind what I'll do, that's not for children's ears,' he said hastily, unclenching his fists and making an effort to calm down. 'I need to telephone the police station right away. Then I'd better mend this fence before nightfall or the villain will sneak in again tonight and who knows what he might do. Will you children stand guard while I go and fetch my tools? And I need to nip back to the village to fetch some new wire.'

The children readily agreed, and they watched as Harry trudged off over the lawn, clambered into his battered old Ford and drove off.

When the roar of Harry's engine had faded away, the children stood in silence. For a while the only sound was the drip, drip, drip of snow as it melted and fell slowly off the tree branches. It was cold, and though there was some weak winter sunlight, it did little to warm them.

'I think we should find the clearest footprint so we can show the police', said Jack at last. 'It might give them a clue about the person who broke into the grounds.'

'Good idea,' agreed Philip, looking about. 'None of the ones around the fence are very clear though... the ones tracking towards the woods look clearer – I think we should go and have a look.'

Everyone agreed – they would climb through the gap in the fence and take a look on the other side.

'The cut ends of the wire fence look awfully sharp,' said Lucy-Ann doubtfully.

'I've got the thickest gloves on, I'll pull the gap open so that you can all slip through,' said Jack decisively.

One by one the children slipped carefully through the opening that Jack created, and then Jack himself managed to clamber through.

'Look, the tracks are very clear over here,' said Dinah 'and they're heading directly into Moorland Woods.'

But Jack looked concerned.

'The footprints are melting in the thaw! In a little while they will have lost their shape altogether. By the time the police get here, the footprints will be gone!'

And he was right, for the huge footprints were fast turning into pools of meltwater, and some of them had already started to lose their shape.

Jack looked utterly crestfallen – these valuable clues were vanishing before their eyes, and there was nothing they could do about it!

Then Dinah surprised everyone.

'You remember how I vowed to photograph the footprints of that... that thing I saw?' she said with a shudder.

'Oh Dinah, do give up on that idea,' Philip interrupted impatiently.

'Be quiet Philip, you don't understand!' said Dinah sharply. 'What I was about to say was – I brought Lucy-Ann's new camera with me, just in case. We could use it to photograph the bird thief's footprints before they melt away altogether.'

And sure enough, Dinah rummaged in her coat pocket and drew out the little camera she had bought Lucy-Ann for Christmas.

'Oh well done, Dinah!' exclaimed Jack, instantly feeling heartened.

The evidence would not be lost after all!

After some exploration the children found a footprint that was still clear and well defined, and Dinah took a photograph of it.

'Now Lucy-Ann, put your foot right next to it... careful, don't step on the actual footprint itself!' instructed Jack.

'Whatever for?' asked Lucy-Ann, looking puzzled.

Jack winked at Dinah, and she snapped away with the camera, photographing Lucy-Ann's foot beside the giant footprint.

'Well, if we simply took a picture of the intruder's footprint, that wouldn't be evidence of its size – all it would show is a footprint in the snow.' Jack began. 'We need a way to prove how big the footprint is. So if we take a picture showing your foot next to the giant footprint, the police can compare the two feet and work out how big the intruder's feet are.'

'Goodness, Jack – what a good idea!' said Lucy-Ann. 'How ever did you think of it.'

'I saw it in a film,' said Jack.

'Really? What film?' persisted Lucy-Ann.

Jack looked simultaneously pleased and embarrassed.

'Let's just say that my afternoon in the cinema watching that gangster film wasn't a complete waste of time,' he said.

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