Free Frognapped by Angie Sage Page B

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.”
    â€œIt’s a deal,” I said.
    â€œShake on it,” said Nora. So we did.
    The three of us pushed the safe off thetrapdoor and Old Morris was up the ladder like a rat up a drainpipe. He was not in a good mood.
    â€œRight, 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 hehad made a clever joke—which he had not.
    â€œBut it’s not yours, Dad,” said Nora. “It belongs to a fierce ghost.”
    â€œA 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.
    â€œQuick,” said Nora. “Take the chest before he gets back. And those slimy frogs too, then we won’t have to do those stupid shows anymore.”
    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 heavedthe chest into the back. Aunt Tabby poked her head out the window and asked, “Where did you get that, Araminta?”
    â€œIt 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.”
    â€œBeryl? Who’s Beryl?” I asked.
    â€œBeryl Watkins, dear. She was sitting next to us at the show.”
    â€œ 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 ridiculousthings. 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 probably 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 coming out of one of his sheds with a huge crowbar 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 Wandasaid, “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