Free Edie Amelia and the Runcible River Fever by Sophie Lee

in on a stretcher, Edie had seen Doctor Arabella Stuart and Doctor Dogwatch eating packets of crisps they had bought from one of the vending machines in the foyer. The Blank Marauder, now fully recovered frombeing sprayed with woodworm repellent, was hovering by the entrance, biting his nails. Mister Pants was hiding behind the triage nurse with his tongue hanging out.
    The ambulance officers had brought Edie through some flapping plastic doors, and had parked her stretcher in a quiet corner. She had blacked out for a few minutes and had a deep cut which needed stitches. Cheesy had been luckier, sustaining only minor contusions (which is just a medical way of saying bruises). The police, though sympathetic, were concerned about a motorised pram being driven at high speed on a public road.
    Hogmanay had not fared so well. His Fever symptoms were so alarming that he had been placed in an isolation ward and attached to a breathing apparatus. It seemed his collapse in the basket amounted to Symptom 8: falling over and not being able to get back up.
    Edie closed her eyes and felt someone touch her hand.
    â€˜Child. Thank heavens you’re alright.’
    She looked up and saw Michaelmas and Cinnamon sitting by her bed. ‘Mum, Dad . . . I’m sorry,’ she began. ‘We never meant to get out of control on the hill in the pram or go up in the balloon . . .’
    â€˜The paths of scientific enquiry never did run smooth,’ said Michaelmas.
    â€˜At least you had your woolly knickers on,’ said Cinnamon.
    â€˜Where is Mister? Is he okay?’ said Edie.
    â€˜Apart from the three teeth that came out when the balloon hit the ground, yes,he’s fine,’ said Cinnamon, ‘but has there ever been an unluckier animal?’

    â€˜Dad,’ said Edie drowsily, ‘I think I’ve solved the mystery of the Runcible River Fever. I don’t think it was a virus at all.’
    Michaelmas’s eyes lit up behind his glasses. ‘Go on,’ he said.
    â€˜I think . . . I think we’re all
allergic to pleather
,’ said Edie. ‘The idea came to me as soon as I took off my own pleather jumpsuit and stopped coughing.’
    â€˜I see,’ said Michaelmas inscrutably (which is just a clever way of saying that he knew something important but was not giving it away just yet).
    â€˜You see,’ said Edie, ‘I used my jumpsuit to patch the balloon.’
    â€˜Good heavens, it’s a wonder you’re not—’ said Cinnamon.
    â€˜Go on, Edie,’ Michaelmas interrupted.
    â€˜Well,’ Edie began, ‘we tailed the Blank Marauder, who led us to Hogmanay. Hogmanay has been behaving very mysteriously of late . . .’
    â€˜Indeed,’ said Michaelmas. ‘I suspectthat he had his sights set on my scientific theories. He’s been pestering me about them for days.’
    â€˜I think Hogmanay
took
your theories on the cure for Runcible River Fever, but I have to admit, all I could see him holding up were the sketches of the doggy-lifter.’ She felt gingerly for the bump on her skull. ‘I know I’ve just fallen on my head,’ she said, ‘but I’m a little confused.’
    â€˜No, you’ve done remarkably well. An allergy to pleather. In a nutshell! That’s exactly the conclusion I drew myself, dear girl,’ said Michaelmas. ‘Hogmanay didn’t stop to
analyse
my notes and saw the dumb-waiter doggy-lifter diagram upon which I’d scribbled something about elevating a Fever Dog, a
discounted
theory that unfortunately Hogmanay decided, quite literally, to run with. I suppose, to him, it tied in all too neatly with his burning desire to fly.’
    â€˜How he was able to stitch all those jumpsuits into his balloon in such a short period of time is beyond me,’ said Edie.‘Although he did get the Emergency Sewing Repairs people to help.’
    â€˜One of the less reported