Free Ghoul Trip by Peter Bently Page B

.”
    Just then Billy grabbed Bella’s arm. They were high above the crowds now and Billy was terrified.
    â€œOh, dear,” he quavered, shutting his eyes tight. “I can’t bear to look!”

    â€œWhy don’t you turn into a bat?” said Bella kindly. “You’re not scared of heights when you’re a bat.”
    â€œBut Miss Gargoyle said we shouldn’t!” said Billy.
    Suddenly Lee sat up.
    â€œOnly in front of Fangless folk,” he said brightly. “But when we get to the top, no one will see us.”
    â€œ Us ?” said Bella. “What do you mean, us ?”

    â€œI’ve just had an idea,” grinned Lee. “Listen …”

Chapter 3
    Bat Trick
    Ten minutes later, car number seven came to a halt at the bottom of the Ferris wheel. The man with the thin mustache unlocked the door and a Fangless boy and girl got out. The wheel moved on and car number eight swung down.
    â€œHur-hur,” sneered the man. “Here come those three weird-looking kids I cheated.” He unlocked the car. It was empty. “What? Hang on a minute,” he gasped. “Where’d they go?”
    He looked in, under, and on top of the car. Nothing. He was baffled. Those kids had definitely got into car number eight, he was sure of it.

    Or had they?
    Maybe he’d got the number wrong. He waited while all the other cars came down and checked inside every one. But there was no sign of the children. He scratched his mustache, puzzled.

    Finally, car number eight came back down again. The man couldn’t understand it. Those children had gone up, so they must have come down. But where were they? All he could see were three little bats fluttering high above his head.

    There was a long line of people waiting to get on the Ferris wheel. The man thought hard.
    â€œI’ll just take one last look in car number eight,” he muttered. “Maybe those pesky kids are hiding under the seat.” He crawled into the car on his hands and knees for a closer look. And then three things happened very quickly.
    First, the three little bats turned— POP! POP! POP! —into three giggling vampires.
    Next, Lee quickly locked the door of the car with a SLAM! Then, Billy pressed the green button that said START.

    â€œHey!” yelled the man. “What’s going on? Let me out!”
    But the three vampires just smiled and waved.
    â€œHave a nice trip,” called Lee, as car number eight swung into the air. The man was shouting some very rude words, but they grew fainter and fainter as he rose higher and higher.
    When car number eight reached the top of the Ferris wheel, Bella pressed the red STOP button.

    â€œGood,” said Lee. “That’ll serve him right for cheating people. We’ll let him out in half an hour!”
    As they left the Ferris wheel, Lee hung a sign on the entrance. It said CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
    â€œSorry,” Lee said to the waiting Fangless people. “Come back later!”

Chapter 4
    Mirror Malarkey
    The three vampires wandered around the fair. They bought cotton candy and ice cream, rode on the roller coaster, and guessed the weight of a large pig. They also bumped into Lee’s werewolf friend Ollie Talbot and his big brother Claude. Ollie and Claude went to Chaney Street Elementary School.
    â€œHow come there’s no school tonight?” asked Lee.

    â€œIt’s a blue moon,” said Ollie. “We get a night’s holiday.”
    Ollie and Claude were both in human form so as not to terrify Fangless folk. Apart from their hairy hands they looked just like normal children.
    â€œWe’re going for a raw burger,” said Ollie. “Coming?”
    â€œNo thanks,” said Lee. “We just had ice cream. We’re heading for the hall of mirrors.”
    â€œOkay,” said Ollie. “Been on the ghost train yet?”
    â€œNo,” said Lee. “Maybe we’ll see you