Free The Secret of Zanzibar by Frances Watts Page B

exploring there.’
    â€˜I promise never to go exploring there,’ Alex muttered.
    With a renewed sense of purpose they strode out of the swamp and into a grassy field, and from there onto a dry road. The heat from the road warmed Alice’s feet and the sun dried her fur. And it seemed her gloom, too, was dissolving as her mood brightened, buoyed by the cloudless blue sky and the smell of cut hay.
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    They had been walking in companionable silence for several hours, the river at their right gurgling a restful song with the occasional bird singing along. To Alice’s relief, they’d had no encounters with Queen’s Guards – no encounters with anyone, in fact, though they had sometimes glimpsed a farmer in a distant field. It seemed that they might keep on in this pleasant manner all the way to Cornoliana, so Alice was startled to hear Solomon Honker say, ‘Hold on a minute, Alice.’
    He had stopped by a milestone at a fork in the road and was studying it intently. Then, as Alicewatched, he reached out and rubbed at a smudge on the pale stone.
    â€˜This is where we part ways, kids.’ He pointed to the road they had been travelling along. ‘If you keep heading north, you’ll reach the gates of the city by late afternoon.’
    â€˜Wait,’ said Alice, ‘I don’t understand. Aren’t you coming with us?’
    â€˜No,’ said Solomon. ‘I’ve got other business to take care of.’ And just like that, he raised a hand in farewell and strode off along the road winding away to the west.
    Alice and Alex stood in stunned silence, watching him go. Within a few minutes he was just a speck in the distance.
    â€˜That was strange,’ Alex commented. ‘Was there something written on the milestone, do you think?’ He turned to examine the stone.
    Alice shook her head. ‘I don’t know. If there was, he rubbed it off. I wonder what he meant by “other business”?’ She was reminded again how little they really knew about the mysterious double agent.
    â€˜Secret spy stuff, I suppose,’ said Alex.
    Alice was still staring down the road Solomon had taken, her hands on her hips. Now that her initial surprise at Solomon’s sudden departure was wearing off, she was growing more and more uneasy. ‘I thought he was taking us all the way to Cornoliana, though. I’m sure that’s what Slippers said. What should we do now?’
    â€˜We do what Solomon said and follow the road north to Cornoliana.’ Alex sounded impatient. ‘Come on, sis, let’s get moving – we’re on a mission, remember.’
    Alice fell into step beside her brother, still pensive. ‘Alex, you do realise our mission has just got a whole lot harder, don’t you?’
    â€˜Huh?’
    â€˜For example, we don’t even have a plan for getting into the city. How are we going to get through the gates? Last time we had that forged letter saying we were Sourian orphans. This time we don’t have anything. The Queen’s Guards will never let us in.’
    Now Alex had stopped walking. ‘Yeah,’ he said, nodding slowly. ‘That’s a problem.’
    â€˜And let’s say we do make it through the gates,’ Alice continued, ‘where are we going to stay? I just assumed Solomon would take care of everything.’
    Alex was still nodding.
    Alice felt all the anxieties from the night before welling up in her. ‘So what do you think we should do?’ she prompted, trying not to let her growing panic show.
    Alex slipped his rucksack from his shoulders. ‘It’s obvious,’ he said.
    â€˜Really? You’ve got a plan already? That’s great, Alex.’
    â€˜Yep,’ said Alex, unbuckling the straps of his pack.
    â€˜So what is it?’ Alice was so relieved she felt like throwing her arms around her brother – though she refrained, knowing he wouldn’t appreciate