Contents of article "’Beyond the Hedge’ - Chapter 13 Part 2"
’Beyond the Hedge’
Ralph stood outside the Harbour Office in a state of shock. He was severely shaken by Sammy’s news and couldn’t begin to imagine what he was going to say to Tina.
Nothing as yet.
He was sure their daughter hadn’t been abducted and had said as much to SSS. The palace was armed to the teeth and why would anyone, whatever their motives, take the others as well? It simply didn’t add up. The fact the whole shebang had vanished suggested they’d decided to take matters into their own hands and try to rescue Leo. He could well imagine his headstrong daughter adopting that course of action. There was no reason for him to assume they might have run off to avoid coming home.
The harbourmaster headed for ‘Woodburn’ to see what he could do about the scrablings. He was relieved the portal had been sealed off but the critters had to be dealt with. He had less than an hour before Tina was due back.
Trixie rushed towards him, her tail wagging furiously. He gave the boxer a pat and headed upstairs to the spare bedroom. She followed him but stopped when she realised where he was going.
“I don’t blame you, lass. I’d rather stay out here on the landing too, but needs must.” He closed the door behind him and stood listening for a full minute before he heard the high-pitched whine coming from the cupboard. He tiptoed across the room, avoiding the boards that creaked, and put his ear to the door.
The scrablings were whispering to each other. The intensity of the whine indicated the extent of their distress and only stopped when they spoke.
“Ooh, what are we going to do? We can’t go home. The nasty creeps have imprisoned us in this strange, horrid place.”
“It’s our own fault. Balebreath told us not to muck about when he stumbled on that old portal
but we just had to find out where it went, didn’t we?”
“And now we’re stuck.”
“At least it’s dark in here.”
“What if the human comes back again?”
“We’ll just have to scare him off.”
There was a crescendo of keening and whining, interspersed with nervous giggles. Ralph almost felt sorry for the little devils and, from the racket assaulting his ears, he realised there were more scrablings than he’d thought in the cupboard.
He slipped the key into the lock and turned it clockwise. The din stopped instantly. The scrablings were waiting to see what would happen next. The tension was unbearable and some of them started to snigger like naughty children.
Ralph gingerly opened the door and was met by layer upon layer of yellow eyes, interspersed with massive sharp teeth and claws as long as porcupine spines. The scrablings were stacked up on top of each other in a wobbly column. They screeched and howled in an attempt to sound frightening.
One voice rang out above the others. “The light’s hurting me.”
“Don’t say that, silly!”
“It’s too late now, stupid, he’s already said it.”
“I was wondering about that,” Ralph muttered as, with a hefty pang of guilt, he swung the door wide and moved out of the way. The sun streamed in though the tall windows and the scrablings screamed as it touched them. The tottering tower fell apart and they spilled out onto the carpet at his feet. He leapt out of the way to avoid their ferocious weaponry.
They scuttled in all directions in an attempt to escape and Ralph was starting to regret his decision when he noticed they were changing into harmless house mice. What a stroke of luck!
The rodents rushed round the room in a frenzied pack, huddled together for security. They were eeking and squeaking hysterically, having lost the power of speech which was probably just as well.
Ralph decided to let them out onto the landing for want of a better idea. Trixie was waiting for him and was stunned by the sight of a horde of mice charging towards her. They flowed between the dog’s legs in a river of fur and tumbled down the stairs into the hall just as Tina let herself in through the front door. Thirty or more mice galloped past her into the front garden and out onto Bank Street never to be seen again.
She was too surprised to say anything to start with and stood watching her husband who was doubled up with laughter at the top of the stairs with the family dog standing beside him wagging her tail uncertainly.
“If those mice are anything to go by, it’s time Jamie and Leo came home,” she said, heading for the kitchen and a strong cup of tea.
Pigsblanket and Will walked towards the pool while Conchita flew around enjoying her new-found freedom. There was no obvious source of natural light but tropical plants and trees grew in abundance and the parrot was swift to discover delicious berries and fruit.
The boy watched his feathered friend fondly, delighting in her changed circumstances. Conchita was still silent but he was positive she’d soon regain her confidence and start talking again.
“So, Pigsblanket, any thoughts?”
The lad’s eyes followed the parrot as she swooped down and skimmed across the surface of the pool. “Easy, Chita, don’t get too cocky!” She flapped wildly, trying to get herself out of trouble but her concentration was broken and she splashed into the water by the large grating. She struggled out using her beak and claws to haul herself up the spars which formed the drain cover.
Pigsblanket ran over to help the saturated bird. He reached down and prised open her beak. “You’re lucky you didn’t drown. If it hadn’t been for that grating…”
Will pushed a towel into the boy’s hand and he set about drying her off. “As a matter of fact I have had a thought,” he said, finally answering the imp’s question. “I’ve a strong suspicion they’ve gone out through the drain.”
“Bless me,” said Will as a light clicked on in his head. “Talk about not being able to see the wood for the trees. The Royal Raven reckons I’m frightfully intelligent; she’ll change her mind when she hears about this.”
“I’ll go after them. I doubt I can persuade Sandy and her friends to come back but I may be able to help them.”
“You’re supposed to be recuperating. Indigoletta won’t hear of it.”
“Don’t tell her.”
“That’s not how I operate.”
“Make an exception this time, sir.”
“You haven’t called me ‘sir’ since we first met. You’re trying to get round me, aren’t you?” The lad nodded ruefully. “Ach well, why not? It makes more sense than alerting Twitchett and his impfantry. They’re stretched as it is. There’s just one condition: you’re never to call me ‘sir’ again.”
Pigsblanket smiled self-consciously. “Fair enough, but I can’t go in these fancy clothes. I’ll stick out like a punched nose.”
“And you should know. Stay right where you are. I saw a black cloak when I was rooting around for your new gear. You’ll need something to sustain you, so I’ll fling some grub in a bag as well.”
The imp tore off before Pigsblanket had time to respond. He knelt down to remove the drain cover. “Well, Chita, here we go again, unless you’d rather stay behind.” The parrot climbed up his silk breeches and slipped inside his coat. “All right, you’ve talked me into it. But you don’t have to hide anymore.”
Will slammed back through the swing doors, carrying a vast cloak and a bulging knapsack. “I hope you know what you’re taking on, Pigsblanket. We’ve no idea what might be lurking through there.”
“As long as it’s not Pestilence Grimshaw I’ll be just fine. The water doesn’t look very deep. If I play my cards right I’ll only get my boots wet.”
The boy threw off the frock coat and, supporting his meagre weight on his arms, dropped over the edge of the pool and swung his legs into the drain. He landed in the culvert with a splash and whistled for the parrot.
Will’s upside-down face peered at him through the hole. “Get ready to receive the cloak and knapsack.”
“If I find out anything useful I’ll send Conchita back with a message.”
“But she’s mute.”
“We’ll work something out. Bye for now and thanks, Will.”
Peg Leg landed untidily in front of Sandy. “There’s definitely something up ahead but I’m pretty sure it’s moving away from us.”
The child felt around in the dark until she found the gull and stroked his head. “What would we do without you? We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Is that so?”
The kilt swished with irritation causing a draught on Sandy’s legs. “Shut up, you ignorant wee purse, you know she’s right.”
The stars formed themselves into a dim torch beam trained on the ground in front of them. “You can switch to full power again,” said the gull.
“So we can press on then,” said an unenthusiastic lobster.
“Absolutely, Thermidor. You do make an eye-catching backpack; that’s definitely the way to travel. I’ll come back when I’ve more to report.”
Pongo scratched at the ground, raring to go. “Let’s crack on. Leo and Gilbert need us.” He trotted off along the tunnel, tail up. Jamie ran after him, proud to be his friend.
They kept up a good pace for a while and stopped for a breather and a drink from one of the waterfalls flowing from the rock.
Pongo glanced at the lobster. “I don’t suppose anyone thought to bring some nosh.”
The crustacean was quick to notice the dog’s beady eyes on him. “You’re not eating me!”
“Not unless we get really desperate,” said the Siamese drily.
Sandy gave herself a mock punch in the jaw. “I’m rubbish at this sort of thing. I’ve come totally unprepared. Remind me not to lead an expedition again, I’m not up to the job.”
Florin piped up eagerly, “I’ve some sweeties.”
“That’s a start,” she said.
“I don’t suppose you’ve a tin of sardines in there or some potted shrimps.”
“Sorry, pal. No can do.”
“I don’t answer to ‘pal’,” replied the cat haughtily.
“You just did,” said Pongo smugly.
“Thanks for pointing that out, Your Hairiness.”
“Barley sugar or fruit gum, Vince?”
“I never eat sweets,” said the kilt.
“You never eat anything,” quipped the sporran. “That leaves more for everyone else.”
Pongo opted for a barley sugar and Jamie a fruit gum.
“It gives you energy,” said the dog, rattling the boiled sweet against his teeth.
“Yeff, I’ve heard that,” said Jamie, finding speech awkward with a sweet in his mouth.
“What would you like, Lorimer?”
“I’ll have a bash at a barley sugar. I don’t much fancy a fruit gum being a scavenging crustacean with a preference for the smaller invertebrates.”
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