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 27: 'Don't ever ask me to visit Mrs Grouch again!'

Back | Index | Next

At breakfast later that morning everyone was tired and pale. No one had had much sleep, and whilst they were very grateful that Kiki was safe, everyone felt dissatisfied.

'I don't believe we are any closer to catching the Midnight Man,' said Philip, slicing the top off a boiled egg.

'Or any nearer to understanding why he is stealing birds,' added Jack, giving Kiki a little stroke. She was perched on his shoulder, and hadn't left his sight since he had arrived back that morning.

'And we don't know why he dresses up the way he does,' said Dinah with a shudder. 'He's a jolly frightening sight, I can tell you.'

'Maybe that's why he does it,' suggested Lucy-Ann, her mouth full of toast and marmalade. 'Maybe he is trying to scare people away from the woods.'

'That's a very good point, Lucy-Ann,' said Bill. 'But why would he want to do that? What is he trying to hide?'

Before anyone could answer, there was a sudden frenzy of barking outside the cottage.

'That'll be Maisie,' said Philip. 'I wonder why she's barking. Perhaps there's a new postman coming up the path or something – she only barks at strangers.'

'Oh, I forgot to tell you – Harry is joining us for breakfast,' said Bill, getting up from the table and heading towards the door. 'That'll be him now. He wants to meet Kiki, and also sit down and talk things through with me.'

Moments later, Harry entered the room. Everyone said good morning – well, everyone except Dinah. Instead, she just sat there silently, her mouth open and her spoon suspended in mid air.

'Hey, Dinah,' said Philip. 'Why are you looking like you've seen a ghost? Do you know that spoonful of porridge has dripped all over the cloth? Whatever's the matter with you?'

'I've just realised something,' said Dinah, a satisfied smile beginning to appear on her face. 'I've realised what it was that didn't make sense.'

'Speak English, Dinah, do,' said Philip. 'What didn't make sense?'

'Maisie always barks at strangers, right?' said Dinah.

'You know very well she does,' answered Philip.

'But she didn't bark the other night when I saw the Midnight Man on the lawn – there wasn't a peep out of her. And when we arrived home last night she wasn't barking either.'

'So?' said Philip.

'So, idiot, that means that the Midnight Man isn't a stranger. He's somebody Maisie already knows!'

Dinah's revelation caused quite a stir around the breakfast table.

'At last we're a step closer to finding out the identity of the Midnight Man!' said Jack.

'You don't think...' began Lucy-Ann. 'You don't think the Midnight Man could be Fred himself, do you? That would explain why Maisie didn't bark.'

'I don't know...' said Dinah, thoughtfully. 'I don't think so – the Midnight Man is taller, I think.'

'Do you think Fred could move as quickly as the Midnight Man seems to be able to?' asked Jack.

'Well he pops up at the garden gate pretty quickly, that's for sure!' said Philip. 'He seems to appear out of nowhere!'

'How about his son, Frank?' suggested Lucy-Ann.

'I think we should be careful about seeming to accuse the neighbours,' said Bill. 'And in future I don't think we should leave Kiki alone in the cottage.'

'That's a very wise precaution,' said Harry. 'If only I could keep my birds under 24 hour surveillance too. Really, this can't go on much longer, it's too bad!'

When breakfast was over and Harry had returned to his beloved birds at the sanctuary, Bill suggested the children pay a visit to see Mrs Grouch.

'I know you didn't intend for her to have the shock of her life the other day,' said Bill. 'But between Woffly and Kiki, she was nearly frightened into fits. The least you can do is to pay her a visit to ask how she is.'

'But we can't leave Kiki on her own,' said Jack quickly.

'I'll stay with Kiki, she'll be quite safe,' reassured Bill. 'And you needn't stay out long. Her cottage is only half a mile down the lane; it's called Drear Cottage.'

'Well, if you ask me it's going to be a very dreary visit,' grumbled Dinah.

'I didn't ask you,' replied Bill smartly. 'Now off you go, and please behave like the well brought up children that you are.'

No one was looking forward to visiting Mrs Grouch. They made slow progress down the snowy lane, stopping every few minutes to throw a snowball or make a trail of footprints on any patch of smooth, untrodden snow. But even at a snail's pace, they reached the cottage eventually.

Drear Cottage stood alone on this part of the lane, with no other cottages in sight. A small wooden gate bore a sign with the cottage name in faded grey letters, and beyond this was a small front garden. Behind the cottage, the large expanse of Moorland Woods could be seen.

'The back garden must lead directly into the woods,' said Jack. 'I'd love to have a house like that, with woodland right at the garden gate. I'd disappear off for hours, bird watching and exploring!'

They could put it off no longer, so Jack knocked politely on the cottage door, took a deep breath, and prepared to be uncomfortable.

Mrs Grouch opened the door with a faint look of disgust on her face. Four children, no doubt grubby and dirty, with snowy boots – and she had to let them into her nice clean house! Jack held out his hand in a friendly gesture.

'Good afternoon Mrs Grouch,' he said, in his most grown up and polite voice. We're Bill's visitors, Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann, and we've come to apologise for the fright you got the other day when you met our pets. We're awfully sorry they gave you such a shock, and we hope you've recovered now?'

Mrs Grouch sniffed slightly, then said hesitantly, 'Oh, I see, well you'd better come in then, I suppose. But please take your boots off at the door.'

Obediently, the children did as they were asked. Mrs Grouch then ushered them into the spotless sitting room.

'I'd rather have a trip to the dentist than go through with this,' Dinah whispered wickedly in Lucy-Ann's ear.

Lucy-Ann snorted with laughter, but quickly disguised it as a fit of sneezing. Mrs Grouch looked at her with barely disguised horror.

'Why must children always be coughing and sneezing!' she said to herself, throwing open a window as if to let out the contaminated air. 'That wretched girl is spreading nasty germs all over the place!'

Seated uncomfortably on an elegant pale blue sofa in Mrs Grouch's smart sitting room, the children wondered how long they would have to make conversation before they could excuse themselves and leave.

'I had the shock of my life when I saw that parrot of yours,' complained Mrs Grouch. 'Flew right at me, it did. I told my Burt all about it, most interested he was. Wanted to know if it could talk, and what it said! Really, Burt, I said, is that all you can think about? Fancy a grown man caring about something like that.'

'I'm sure Kiki didn't mean any harm, Mrs Grouch' said Jack hastily, his cheeks reddening. 'She's very tame and well-mannered really'.

'My Burt wanted to know if she was an African Grey, or a Macaw, or a White Cockatoo...' continued Mrs Grouch. 'Burt, I said – do you really think I care what kind of parrot it is – it's a nasty, attacking kind, that's all I know.'

'Really,' thought Jack, his cheeks now scarlet, 'this is almost too much to bear.'

Somehow Jack managed to hold his tongue. Desperate to change the subject, he looked around the room for inspiration. Spying a little table full of delicate china cups and saucers, along with some kind of ornate metal urn, he guessed wildly.

'I say, Mrs Grouch, that's an unusual... err... teapot.'

'That's not a tea pot,' sniffed Mrs Grouch, 'it's a samovar – a tea urn. My Burt brought it back from Russia. He travelled the world, he did, when he was a sailor. That was before we were married, of course. He brought back all sorts of souvenirs.'

'Well, it's very unusual and I'm sure you must really treasure it,' said Philip in a brisk tone of voice. 'But now I'm afraid we really must go,' he continued hurriedly. 'We have to be back in time for our own tea.'

The children muttered further apologies and goodbyes and hurried towards the door, where they pulled on boots and coats as quickly as they could. They really couldn't bear to stay a moment longer.

'Well!' exclaimed Dinah as soon as they were out of earshot. 'That was just awful! Don't ever ask me to visit Mrs Grouch again!'

Back | Index | Next