The Worst Witch to the Rescue (17 page)

‘There it is!’ exclaimed Mildred, diving into a pile of incinerated toast. ‘I can see it! It’s my handwriting, look!’

Mildred held up her project, tea-stained and damp, but still recognizable as her treasured work.

Miss Hardbroom took it from her with one finger and thumb and looked at it sideways. ‘Well, well,’ she said coolly to Ethel. ‘
I
never thought that I would take the word of a tortoise above yours, Ethel, but it would seem that he is the more honest of the two of you. Now then, Ethel, before you try and wriggle out of this, let me ask you, did you steal Mildred’s project, did you turn Mildred’s pot into a snake and did you ask Drusilla to imprison this poor creature at the top of the hollow pine? Take your time, Ethel. I want a truthful answer from you.’

Ethel knew that she was cornered and in the worst trouble she’d ever been, with no way out.

‘I did everything, Miss Hardbroom,’ she muttered. ‘The snake pot, the project, and I got Drusilla to hide the tortoise because he knew too much. I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry about everything.’

Maud and Enid were in the middle of breakfast when Mildred dashed in to join them. She was glowing from head to foot and smiling so broadly that it looked as if her head might fall off.

‘What’s happened, Millie?’ asked Maud, passing her the two slices of
toast that they’d kept for her. ‘You look as if you might go into orbit.’

‘Oh, it’s wonderful, Maud,’ said Mildred. ‘Ethel’s actually confessed to H.B. and Miss Cackle that she stole my project. She’d thrown it into the kitchen bin and H.B. made her look through all the slimy rubbish till she found it. Then she confessed that she’d turned my pot into rattlesnakes
and
she admitted that she’d got Drusilla to hide Einstein up the tree last night –’

‘Up what tree?’ asked Enid.

‘Oh, I forgot,’ said Mildred. ‘All that happened while you were asleep. I’ll tell you about it later. I’ll just stuff down this toast or I’ll be starving at assembly.’

iss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom stood on the platform with the other teachers, looking down on the girls as they ploughed through their daily rendition of the school song.

As the last notes faded away, Miss Cackle stepped forward and smiled at her flock. ‘Good morning, girls,’ she said fondly, ‘and what a good morning it is indeed for Mildred Hubble. Step up here, Mildred – and Ethel Hallow. I think Ethel has something important to say to you, Mildred.’

Mildred and Ethel both looked at the floor as they made their way up the steps to stand under the steely gaze of Miss Hardbroom, Ethel wishing the ground would swallow her up, caught out in such a torrent of lies; Mildred self-conscious as she felt hundreds of pairs of eyes watching her curiously.

‘Various unpleasant events have happened since the beginning of this term,’ announced Miss Hardbroom, ‘and the evidence unfortunately pointed to Mildred Hubble as the culprit. I have to tell you all that Mildred was entirely innocent of any blame whatsoever. Not only has she written the best holiday project that I have ever seen, she also carried out the heroic rescue of a poor dumb animal – well, not so dumb actually – in the middle of a virtual hurricane.

‘Ethel Hallow took Mildred’s spell and passed it off as her own. I’m not
surprised that you wanted it, Ethel, but you can’t just take something that doesn’t belong to you, nor must you use spell-making to wreck the work of someone who is better than you in that subject. I think an apology is in order, Ethel.’

‘Sorry, Mildred,’ mumbled Ethel, staring at her shoes.

‘Louder please, Ethel,’ said Miss Hardbroom. ‘So that the whole school can hear.’

‘Sorry, Mildred,’ said Ethel in a strangled voice. ‘It was a brilliant spell – the best idea ever. I wish it really had been mine.’

‘Thanks, Ethel,’ said Mildred shyly, pleased that Ethel had admitted everything, however grudgingly. ‘I’m sure you’ll think up one of your own in no time.’

After assembly, there was a double broomstick lesson in the yard for Form Three, which took them right up to lunchtime.

‘You must be
so
pleased, Millie,’ said Maud, flinging an arm around Mildred’s shoulder as the lunch-bell rang out. ‘Everything’s turned out
so
well and the one thing H.B. can’t stand is dishonesty, so Ethel’s
really
got to watch out now or
she’ll
be for the chop.’

‘I know,’ said Mildred, smiling, ‘and Miss Cackle felt so sorry for me about the snake-pot incident after I’d done so well that she’s going to let us have a proper craft room with a kiln and everything. But the best thing of all is that I get to keep Einstein as an extra pet – Einstein!’ She dropped her broomstick with a clatter and raced for the door into school.

‘What’s the matter, Mil?’ yelled Enid.

‘It’s twelve o’clock!’ Mildred called back. ‘I won’t have time to have a last chat with him before the spell breaks!’

Mildred leapt up the front steps, dashed along the corridor and up the spiral staircase two steps at a time. She whirled into her room and lay down fat on the floor so she could see Einstein, who was sitting happily in the open doorway of the cat basket under her bed.