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 17: 'Shhhhhhhhhh! Or it will hear us!'

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Lucy-Ann shivered and pulled her dark green winter coat tightly around her.

'I wonder how long Harry will be,' she said, her teeth chattering. 'I'm getting hungry.'

'Here,' said Philip, rummaging in his coat pocket and producing a large slab of milk chocolate. 'I brought this in case we were late for lunch. Let's share it out.'

'We won't be having any lunch at all at this rate,' snapped Dinah, who became irritable when she was hungry. 'It's a good job we had that morning snack at Betty's cafe.'

Philip broke the block of chocolate into four pieces and handed out three of them. The chocolate was thick and creamy, the children crammed it into their mouths gratefully, and everyone felt better.

'Mmmmm delicious... thanks, Philip,' mumbled Lucy-Ann, her mouth full of melting chocolate.

Restored by the chocolate, Jack had an idea.

'I think that Philip and I should follow this trail of footprints before they melt altogether,' he suggested. 'They might have turned to slush before the police arrive.'

'Good idea,' said Philip. 'If we follow them we will be able to tell the police where the intruder went – or at least, in which general direction.'

Dinah's cheeks flushed red, and her eyes flashed.

'If you boys think that you are going to leave Lucy-Ann and I behind, you can think again!' she said indignantly. 'I want to track the thief too!'

'But we can't all go – someone needs to guard the sanctuary in case the intruder comes back,' said Philip.

'All the more reason not to leave two girls on their own!' jumped in Lucy-Ann. 'Judging by the size of those feet, he's a giant – and if he comes back he could be dangerous!'

Jack thought for a moment.

'Ok, I have a better idea,' he said. 'What if Dinah comes with me to track the footsteps – after all, she does have the camera and it might come in handy if we find some clues. Philip, would you stay back with Lucy-Ann?'

'I don't mind staying here if Philip stays too,' said Lucy-Ann, relieved. She had not forgotten the fright they had in the woods on the previous day, and felt much safer at the sanctuary. So Philip agreed to stay behind too.

'What if the intruder comes back?' asked Lucy-Ann, nervously.

'I don't think he will try anything in broad daylight,' Philip reassured her. 'He won't want to risk being seen.'

Then, turning to Jack he asked, 'How far are you going to go – you don't want to risk getting lost.'

'If we can, we'll follow the trail for about half an hour before we turn back.' said Jack. 'I'd like to find out what route he took through the woods, and see if there is any sign of a hideout or something – anything that will help the police.'

And without further delay, he and Dinah set off into the woods.

Jack took the lead, his eyes scanning the ground, following the trail of footprints closely. Dinah followed behind, but she was not thinking about the intruder's footprints at all! For brave Dinah had quite another idea in mind – she was determined to look for evidence of the creature she had seen in the woods the day before! She was a proud girl, and she had not liked the suggestion that she had imagined things... and she also suspected that Philip thought she had been rather hysterical and silly.

'If the boys thought I imagined things, or acted like a weak or feeble girl... oh, I couldn't bear it!' she said to herself, feeling humiliated at the mere thought of it.

She felt inside her coat pocket – yes, the camera was safely tucked away. She buttoned down the flap of the pocket, satisfied that the camera was safe and secure.

The snow lay deep and even upon the ground, so at first the trail was easy to follow. The woods were quiet, the only sounds being their own footsteps, and the drip, drip, drip of the snow melting in the trees and falling to the ground. The intruder had taken long confident strides, as if he had known exactly where he was going.

'He must be a very tall fellow,' said Jack. 'Look, Dinah, I have to take two steps to cover the same distance as just one of his strides.'

After a little while the ground became rocky and uneven, and the footprints were more difficult to see.

'I can hear water flowing,' said Dinah – and sure enough, a little further on they came to a shallow stream with a pebbly bank on either side.

'It's no use,' said Jack, casting about in all directions. 'We've lost the trail. It's impossible to make it out on this stony ground.'

'Let's keep going a little longer,' said Dinah. 'We might pick up the trail again when we get to better ground.'

Seeing that Dinah was so keen not to give up, Jack reluctantly agreed – though he secretly thought it was hopeless.

'Hey Dinah, wait for me!' he cried, seeing Dinah splashing through the stream and over the pebbly bank. He scrambled after her, and soon caught up.

'Hey,' he said, tugging the hood of Dinah's coat playfully. 'Slow down.'

But instead of slowing down, Dinah came to an abrupt stop. Then she gave out an urgent, 'Shhhhh!'

This was immediately followed by a desperate hiss, 'Get down!'

And to Jack's amazement she dived headlong onto the snowy ground!

'What on earth are you doing?' asked Jack, confused.

Dinah reached out her arm, grabbed Jack's sleeve and pulled him firmly down onto the snow.

'What's the matter?' demanded Jack, still speaking in a normal voice.

'Shhhhhhhhhh!' pleaded Dinah in a whisper, her face white. 'Or it will hear us!'

She pointed ahead with a trembling finger. Jack looked hard at where Dinah was pointing.

'There!' hissed Dinah desperately. 'It's just visible through that clump of fir trees.'

Jack blinked and stared harder, trying to pick out whatever was scaring Dinah. He could hear some cracking and rustling, and he thought he saw a flash of something brown – but wasn't it just the wind, swaying the tree branches and rustling the leaves?

Dinah clutched his arm, her knuckles white and taut.

'It's taller than a man... and it's covered all over in light brown fur... and oh, Jack, it's heading this way!'

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