TREASURE
Nosy Nora had got there before us. We found her trying to push the safe off the trapdoor. She looked up when we came in and said, "Oh, it's you, Wanda Wizzard, and your weirdo friend. I see you fell in, ha-ha. What have you done with my dad?" "We haven't done anything with him, " said Wanda. Nosy Nora snorted.
"Well, he didn't get down there all on his own, " she said. "Yes he did, " I told her. "And then we put the safe there. It is for his own good. In fact it is probably better if he stays there forever. " "Why?" asked Nora suspiciously. "There's a very angry ghost who is after him. You dad has stolen his treasure and he wants it back. " "Oh, ha-ha. " Nora snorted again. It was not a nice snort. Wanda's snorts sound like quite a sweet little pig, but Nora's was more like an evil-minded camel. "Yes, ghost. The one that was in the haunted shark suit. Remember?" Nora did not reply. "He's really, really mad, " said Wanda. "In fact he will be here in a few minutes and if your dad doesn't give him back his treasure chest he will be even more angry. He has a very sharp sword, you know. "
Nora looked pale. "Does he?" she said. "Yes. And he is really good at using it, " I told her. I could see that Nora did not like the sound of this. I was right. "If Dad gave him back his treasure, would he go away?" she asked. "Probably. You can never tell with ghosts, but I expect he would. I mean, why would he want to stay in this dump?" Nora nodded. I could tell that she thought Water Wonderland was a bit of a dump too. "Okay, " she said. "You help me get Dad out and we'll give the treasure back. " "It's a deal, " I said. "Shake on it, " said Nora. So we did.
The three of us pushed the safe off the trapdoor and Old Morris was up the ladder like a rat up a drainpipe. He was not in a good mood. "Right, you pesky, kids, " he snarled. "You can make yourself useful and help me up with this chest. Then you can scram--got that?" Wanda and I nodded. We were humoring him. Sometimes detectives have to do that. Also we needed his help to get the chest up. Old Morris shoved the chest through the trapdoor and then sat on it, looking puffed. "Right," he said. "You two with the ridiculous hats can get lost. And don't come back. " Then he stood up and groaned while he held his back and said to Nosy Nora, "You wait here. I shall go and get a crowbar. We'll have this thing open in no time. Who knows, it may make our fortune. "
He chuckled as though he had made a clever joke--which he had not. "But it's not yours, Dad, " said Nora. "It belongs to a fierce ghost. " "A really horrible ghost, " put in Wanda, which I did not think was very fair to Sir Horace. Old Morris snorted like a whole flock of evil-minded camels and said, "You kids heard what I said--scram, " and then stomped off to get his crowbar. "uick, " said Nora. "Take the chest before he gets back. And those slimy frogs too, then we won't have to do those stupid shows any- more. " The three of us managed to carry the chest outside, and just as we got out the door Aunt Tabby, Brenda, and Uncle Drac turned up in Barry's van. It was perfect timing. We heaved the chest into the back.
Aunt Tabby poked her head out the window and asked, "Where did you get that, Araminta?" "It belongs to Sir Horace, " I said. "We are rescuing it for him. And we have Barry's frogs. " Aunt Tabby did not look as thrilled as I thought she might. "Hmm, " she said. "Beryl says that they should probably stay here for a while. " "Beryl? Who's Beryl?" I asked. "Beryl Watkins, dear. She was sitting next to us at the show. " "Nurse Watkins? But she stole them in the first place. Of course she thinks they should stay here. " Aunt Tabby tutted impatiently. "Really, Araminta, you do say the most ridiculous things.
Beryl didn't steal the frogs. They jumped into her bag when she wasn't looking. She had a terrible shock when she arrived on her emergency call to Old Morris's turtle bite and she opened her bag. Beryl doesn't like frogs. Anyway, they all jumped out and headed straight for the pond. She says they were prob- ably tadpoles in that pond and wanted to come back to spawn. " I would have liked to question Nurse Watkins myself, since I was not sure that Aunt Tabby was a reliable witness. But there was no time for that--I could see Old Morris com- ing out of one of his sheds with a huge crow- bar in his hand. It was time to go. I pushed Wanda and the frog bucket into the back of the van and slammed the door, but as we drove out of Water Wonderland Wanda said, "What about Sir Horace?" Wanda has a knack of reminding you of things when it is just a bit too late.
I was about to bang on the little driver's window that looks into the back of the van and get Aunt Tabby to stop when I saw the weirdest thing. Sir Horace--the suit of armor Sir Horace-- was hitchhiking with his foot! Lying beside the ditch was the empty shark suit. The van screeched to a halt and Aunt Tabby got out. A moment later the back doors opened and Aunt Tabby helped Sir Horace climb in. He looked really grumpy--you could tell by the way he plonked himself down right on top of his treasure chest and didn't say anything at all. Aunt Tabby dropped Sir Horace's arms into the van with a clang and said, "Araminta, -181- I don't know how Sir Horace got into the ditch, or how his arms fell off, and I don't think I want to know either. But why do I think it has something to do with you? And as for how the shark suit got here. . . . " Aunt Tabby shook her head and slammed the doors shut. I felt like saying that I didn't know why she thought it had anything to do with me either. But I didn't. Sometimes it is better not to argue with Aunt Tabby about things like that. Especially when she is almost right. Sir Horace stayed grumpy all the way home. He sat on the treasure chest without even noticing it and did nothing but complain.
He grumbled about his arms being on the wrong way, even though we put them back really carefully; he moaned about the mud and the leaves inside him; and he went on and on about rust. But at last I got my chance. "Sir Horace, " I said. "What are you sitting on?" "Something rusty, I expect, " he said gloomily. "Just my luck. Rust is catching, you know. " "We know, " said Wanda grumpily. And then Sir Horace's head drooped and he started snoring. And when Sir Horace snores, there is no way you can wake him up. You just have to stuff your fingers in your ears and sing very loudly to drown out the noise. Which is what Wanda and I did. All the way home.