The Worst Witch to the Rescue (10 page)

he lantern monitor was busily lighting the corridor lanterns as Mildred set off to look for Maud and Enid. They weren’t in either of their rooms, so Mildred headed for the yard. During the holidays, Enid had been training her cat to jump from the top of the wall on to her broom as it passed below
at speed. Fortunately for Enid, her cat was a rather bold animal, unlike most cats, who don’t usually like fast movement or anything that might be dangerous. For some unknown reason, Stormy really enjoyed this manoeuvre and was happily plummeting off the wall, landing perfectly on the broom, zooming around the yard and leaping back on to the wall, supervised by the proud Enid.

Maud was watching this, hugely impressed.

‘Maud! Enid!’ yelled Mildred, bounding out of the door and clearing the steps in one leap. ‘I’ve got
proof
! I can prove that Ethel stole my spell!’

‘Hang on a minute!’ said Enid, calling her broomstick to heel and commanding it to hover while Stormy got her breath back and lay down for a well-deserved washing session.

‘Can we go through this tomorrow?’ asked Maud, sounding a trifle weary. ‘It’s been a long day and we’ve got to go to bed in twenty minutes.’

‘There’s no time, Maudy,’ said Mildred earnestly. ‘We’ve got less than a day to put things right. It’s Einstein. He was there all along – and he can speak!’

‘Who’s Einstein?’ exclaimed Maud and Enid together.

‘Oh, sorry, I forgot,’ laughed Mildred, sounding slightly hysterical. ‘It’s the
tortoise – he doesn’t want to be called Speedy any more. We have to call him Einstein or he won’t speak to anyone!’

‘What on earth are you on about, Mildred?’ asked Maud.

‘Come with me,’ said Mildred, grabbing Maud’s arm. ‘The best way is for you to hear him speak too,
then
you’ll believe me. I haven’t actually asked him if he heard everything when we were all in the tree, or if he saw what happened. Ethel must have knocked my bag out of the tree, although I
thought
it was an accident, but I’m hoping he heard. I’m sure he
must
have done. I know he was awake in the basket when Ethel landed in the tree, because I’d just checked. Come on, it won’t take a minute. Come back to my room now and let’s ask him together.’

There was no stopping Mildred, who dragged Maud up the steps, followed by Enid, with her broomstick and cat
hovering along behind them.

Mildred had left her room door open in her hurry to tell her friends the news about Einstein and when she looked into the cat basket she saw that Einstein had gone. The three friends turned everything upside down searching for him, but it was soon obvious in the sparsely furnished room that he was not there.

‘He could be
anywhere
,’ said Mildred, standing in the doorway and looking frantically up and down the lantern-lit corridor. ‘Perhaps someone’s taken him.’

‘Let’s wait until morning,’ said Enid, glancing into the dark doorways of the rooms. ‘We’ve no idea which way he’s gone and H.B. will be doing the rounds soon, making sure we’re all in bed.’

‘But he can’t have got far,’ wheedled Mildred. ‘I was only out of the room for five minutes and he could have tucked himself away
anywhere
by morning.’

‘H.B.’s around,’ whispered Maud. ‘I just know it. The air’s gone cold.’

‘Good evening, girls,’ said Miss Hardbroom’s blood-curdling voice as she stepped from the dark area at the top of the stairs.

‘Ah, Mildred.’ She advanced towards the three friends, who instinctively huddled together. ‘I wonder what surprises you’re planning for us all tomorrow.’

Nobody spoke and everyone looked at the floor.

‘I don’t know what you three are up to,’ said Miss Hardbroom, ‘but I want you all in bed within ten minutes and I don’t expect to see you again until assembly tomorrow.’

She vanished silently and the girls stood unmoving for several minutes until the air warmed up.

‘It’s OK,’ said Maud. ‘She’s gone.’

thel,’ whispered Drusilla, tapping on her friend’s door and sneaking in just as Ethel was poised to blow out her candle. ‘Look what
I
just found coming out of Mildred Hubble’s room.’