The Wooden Skull (2 page)

 

The howling grew louder. It seemed to be coming from Mary's room. He knocked at the door, but the howling carried on.

Mr Blood came out from his room and the landlord and landlady of the inn came to see what all the noise was about. They unlocked Mary's door.

They found Mary curled up on the floor next to her bed.

Mary was holding something in her hand and howling. Her eyes rolled. Her face was white and her hair damp. She seemed to have a bad fever.

They lifted Mary back onto her bed. The landlady washed Mary's face with warm water. After a while, Mary stopped howling and went to sleep.

There was a tall mirror in the corner of the room. As Edgar turned to leave he looked in the mirror and got a shock. He saw that Mary was staring straight at him.

He gave a cry and turned back to the bed. But Mary's eyes were closed and she was asleep.

“She just opened her eyes,” Edgar said.

“I don't think so,” said the landlady. “Don't worry, people do funny things when they have a fever.”

The landlady offered to stay up and watch Mary for the night. Mr Blood thanked her, and told Edgar to go back to bed.

Edgar went back to his room but he couldn't sleep. There were too many strange thoughts in his head. Mary's sudden fever. The way she had seemed to stare at him. The wooden skull. The jumping men…

 

Chapter 3

The Search

It was almost dawn before Edgar fell asleep. But he didn't rest for long. Again he was woken by the sound of someone crying out. He ran to Mary's room.

Mr Blood was there. The landlady was sitting on the floor, holding a hand to her head.

“She's gone,” the woman gasped, pointing at the open window. “She hit me and climbed out.”

 

 

Mr Blood dashed across the room and leaned out of the window. “We must find her,” he shouted to Edgar. They raced down the stairs and out into the street. There was no sign of Mary.

Edgar looked back up at her window.

“Look!” he shouted. Mr Blood looked up just in time. They both saw Mary climbing back in through the window.

They ran back upstairs and into Mary's room. She was sitting up in bed, smiling. She looked well and happy.

“Mary!” cried Mr Blood. “What were you thinking? That woman was helping you and you hit her.”

“Did I?” Mary asked. “I didn't mean to. I feel so tired. Let me sleep a little longer.” She lay back down in the bed and closed her eyes.

“Something's not right,” Edgar said to Mr Blood, as they left the room and went down the stairs.

“You'll have to find somewhere else to stay, sir,” said the landlord. “That girl hurt my wife.”

“Mary is sick,” Mr Blood snapped. Then he turned to the landlady. “Tell me what happened. Mary does not hurt people without good reason.”

 

 

“She was holding something in her hand,” said the woman. “It looked like a wooden charm. She was squeezing it so tight I thought she would hurt her hand.”

“What happened next?” asked Mr Blood.

“I reached out to take the charm and just then she woke up,” said the landlady. “Mary sat up in bed. She had a big smile on her face. And then she hit me over the head and climbed out of the window.”

“What sort of wooden charm?” asked Mr Blood.

Edgar knew the answer. He told them about what had happened the day before. When he got to the part about the wooden skull Mr Blood turned pale.

“The double skull!” he shouted. “Follow me. Mary is in very great danger!”

 

Chapter 4

The Double

Edgar ran upstairs after Mr Blood. Mary's room was empty once more.

“What is the danger of the double skull?” asked Edgar.

“The double skull is evil,” said Mr Blood. “If you take hold of it, then it takes hold of you. First it controls your actions. Next it creates your double – an evil version of yourself. Then it destroys you.”

“I think that Mary is being controlled by the double skull. Or we may even have seen her double.”

“Do you think the two men who jumped from the bridge were a man and his double?” asked Edgar, “and the double made the man jump?”

Mr Blood nodded grimly.

Edgar felt sick. “How do we stop it?” he said, “we have to help Mary!”

“Destroy the skull and we destroy the double,” said Mr Blood. “Hurry, we have to get to the bridge.”

They ran out of the inn and towards the river, shouting Mary's name. People stopped and stared at them as they raced along the road. Up ahead they could see the bridge.

And then they saw Mary. She was walking onto the bridge.

 

 

“Mary!” cried Edgar. “Don't do it!”

She turned and smiled at him. He saw another Mary standing on the bridge. This Mary looked very tired and sad.

“That's the real Mary!” Mr Blood shouted. “The girl nearer us is the double. I'll deal with her. You get to the real Mary. Get that skull away from her and destroy it.” Mr Blood took a knife from his belt and raced towards the double.

The double gave an evil smile. Mr Blood sprang at her but she stepped to one side and kicked him. He flew through the air and crashed through a shop window. Mr Blood got up and went for her again.