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 32: '...a little bit of snow and mud won't hurt.'

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And what about Lucy-Ann? Was she still under the oak tree waiting patiently for the boys to return? No, she was not – for at that moment Lucy-Ann was heading directly, but unwittingly, into danger!

After Jack and Philip disappeared over to the other side of the blackthorn, Lucy-Ann waited under the oak tree hoping that would return quickly – she didn't like being alone in that vast woodland. She brushed the snow off a large fallen tree branch and sat down. The little robin suddenly appeared again, flitting from branch to branch in the oak tree. Every now and again it alighted on the holly bushy close to Lucy-Ann and then retreated back into the depths of the tree. She was absorbed in watching the robin going to and fro when she heard the crunch of footsteps – were Jack and Philip coming back already? She opened her mouth to call out to them but some instinct prevented her. Then she realised that the footsteps were coming from the opposite direction – someone was coming towards her through the woods!

For a moment Lucy-Ann was frozen to the spot, but some instinct told her not to be seen by this stranger. She looked about wildly – where could she hide? The footsteps were louder now, heavy ponderous steps... in a moment the walker would emerge from the trees and she would be instantly visible to him. If she could crouch behind the holly bush there was a chance of remaining hidden; her dark green coat might render her inconspicuous. It was her only hope.

Quick as a flash she dived towards the holly bush and tucked herself close to its base, putting her green hood over her head and curling up to make herself as small as possible. She had moved just in time. The heavy footsteps came ever nearer; she hardly dared to take a breath. Through a gap in the holly branches Lucy-Ann could see the back of what appeared to her a gigantic figure covered in brown fur, and even from a distance she could smell a putrid stench. For a split second she was stricken with horror thinking it was some kind of monster or bear – then it dawned on her – it must be the Midnight Man!

'What's all this!' he muttered to himself. 'Why is my ladder undone – I never leave it like that! Hang on a minute, look at all these footprints... they're not mine... far too small... children!'

Then the voice grew angry.

'If some pesky children have climbed my ladder... if they've been near my shed... why, I'll... I'll...'

Lucy-Ann heard the scuffle of his feet – he was climbing the rope ladder! He was going to catch Jack and Philip investigating his hut! Lucy-Ann had no idea what to do for the best. Should she yell out and try to warn the boys, and then tear off into the forest? No, for they would be unlikely to hear, and the man might chase after her – the thought of that was quite terrifying. She decided to wait until the man was on the other side of the blackthorn and then quietly sneak off and run for help.

As soon as she thought it was safe, Lucy-Ann peeped out from her hiding place and checked that the coast was clear. The man was gone, presumably over to the other side of the blackthorn. Now was her chance. She darted out from the cover of the holly bush, and ran full pelt towards the trees. The children's snowy footprints made the path easy to find, and Lucy-Ann ran as fast as she could. She didn't stop for breath until she emerged from the wood and could see the village lane. Only now did she it feel safe to stop, and she leant against the trunk of a tree to catch her breath, panting painfully, her heart pounding.

Lucy-Ann noticed the white walls of a cottage in the distance – she realised with relief that it was Drear Cottage. She would go there for help, and felt sure that Mrs Grouch would allow her to telephone Bill. Bill would know exactly what to do. Feeling heartened, Lucy-Ann hurried on, and soon she was striding confidently up the garden path to the door of Drear Cottage. At last she was safe, and she hugged herself with glee – she would get help for Philip and Jack – she, Lucy-Ann, would save the day. She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

After a few moments Mrs Grouch appeared in the doorway.

'Oh, it's you again,' she said, looking down her nose at Lucy-Ann. 'What do you want?'

'I need your help Mrs Grouch,' said Lucy-Ann boldy. 'You see, my brother and his friend might be in danger, and I need to speak to Bill urgently. May I use your telephone?'

'What kind of danger?' asked Mrs Grouch, keeping Lucy-Ann standing on the doorstep. 'Is this some kind of prank?'

'Oh no, Mrs Grouch, not at all,' said Lucy-Ann. 'You see, there's a man dressed up in fur from head to toe and we think he's stealing birds from the sanctuary. He has a secret hut in the woods. Jack and Philip have gone to explore it, only they don't know the hut belongs to him and I'm afraid he's going to catch them.'

As she spoke these words, Lucy-Ann realised how foolish they sounded to Mrs Grouch's ears. But to her relief, Mrs Grouch stood back and ushered Lucy-Ann into the house, closing the door firmly behind her.

'What did this man in fur look like?' demanded Mrs Grouch with a curious expression on her face.

'I only saw him from behind,' explained Lucy-Ann. 'He had on a long brown fur coat, with a tall hood pulled right up over his head. And he was very tall, and had a rough, common sort of voice. Oh, and he gave off the most disgusting smell ever!'

Mrs Grouch winced at these words.

'Ok, that's enough,' she said abruptly. 'So you want to use my telephone, do you?'

'Yes please, Mrs Grouch,' responded Lucy-Ann, looking around to see if she could see a telephone. She was starting to wish she had gone straight back to Bill's cottage, and not come to Drear Cottage at all, but it was too late now.

'The telephone is in the kitchen,' said Mrs Grouch in a slow, strange voice. 'You'd better come through. No, don't bother to take your boots off, a little bit of snow and mud won't hurt. Hurry up now, come along.'

This sounded very unlike Mrs Grouch, and Lucy-Ann got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. But it was too late to make her excuses and leave – she had to go on with her plan.

Lucy-Ann walked tentatively into the kitchen leaving a trail of dirty wet footprints on the polished wooden floor. Mrs Grouch didn't seem to care at all!

'Err, where's the telephone?' asked Lucy-Ann, for there seemed to be none in sight.

'Why, it's just over here my dear,' said Mrs Grouch, beckoning to Lucy-Ann.

And then all of a sudden, Mrs Grouch gave Lucy-Ann an enormous shove and sent her flailing into the coal cellar! She landed heavily on her back on a pile of coal and was momentarily winded. Mrs Grouch stood at the cellar door glaring at Lucy-Ann.

'Just you stay in there while I find out what's going on,' she said sternly.

'What?' cried an astonished Lucy-Ann.

'You don't fool me for a minute!' snapped Mrs Grouch. 'It's obvious that you are only pretending to be dim-witted. You're here to cause trouble and I won't let you. So you can stay in the cellar until I've got to the bottom of things. Don't bother to shout for help, because no one will hear you.'

And with that, she slammed the heavy cellar door and turned the key in the lock. Lucy-Ann was a prisoner!

Lucy-Ann was too shocked even to cry. She simply couldn't believe what had just happened. One minute she had been going for help, and the next she was a prisoner in a cellar! Why had Mrs Grouch behaved in such a bizarre way? She simply couldn't understand it.

The cellar was very dark and dingy and Lucy-Ann was glad that she couldn't see her surroundings very clearly. She tried not the think about the cobwebs and spiders – not to mention the rats – that might be lurking in the depths of the cellar. There was just one tiny chink of light coming from one corner of the door, but otherwise all was darkness, and she couldn't hear a sound. Eventually, silent tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she blinked them back as best she could.

Just at that moment, Lucy-Ann heard a tiny squeak. She listened intently. Then, she heard another squeak, and then another. Next, she felt something wriggle in the right hand pocket of her coat! She stared at her pocket in astonishment, straining her eyes in the dim light. Out popped a little white mouse – Woffly! He must have crept into her coat pocket when it was hanging up in the cottage, probably when he was looking for a cosy place for a nap. Lucy-Ann had never been so glad to see him! But Woffly didn't like it in the cold, dark cellar, and his tiny bright eyes spotted the little shaft of light coming through the corner of the cellar door. He sniffed the air – it was stale and dank. If he could just squeeze through that little gap in the door, he might find all sorts of delicious things to eat...

Woffly scampered across Lucy-Ann's lap, ran down her leg and headed straight for the door. He was good at squeezing through small gaps and wriggled through the corner of the door without much difficulty. Suddenly he was in a bright, warm kitchen, and there were tempting smells coming from all directions. Excited, Woffly ran round the kitchen three times, found a large crumb of chocolate cake behind the table leg, and settled down to eat it.

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