Charlie Bone and the Castle of Jenny Nimmo

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."Secrecy maybe.But it's his.I know it.Borlath was the only one of the king's children with the initial 'B’." He opened the casket."Aaaaah!" Eustacia stepped away from the table, for inside the casket lay a small heart-shaped leather pouch that did indeed appear to contain something."See? A heart," said Ezekiel triumphantly "Now, let's get on with it." Scooping the pouch from its casket, he placed it on the suit of armor, just left of center, where he judged a heart might lie.Then he uncoiled a wire from his electric box and wrapped the end once, twice, three times around the pouch.An expectant hush descended on the room as the old man began to turn the handle of the silver box.Faster and faster.His crooked hand became a flying blur, his black eyes burned with excitement.A spark leaped between the steel prongs and traveled down the wire to Borlath's heart.Ezekiel emitted a croak of triumph and his hand became still.The three sisters were tempted to exclaim with rapture, but they knew that silence was essential at such a moment.The bones of Hamaran were beginning to move.Ezekiel and the Yewbeams were watching the table so intently they failed to notice Manfred pull out a handkerchief and press it to his nose.His face turned bright pink as he struggled to suppress a sneeze.It was no use.“Achoo!"Ezekiel recoiled as if from a blow.He covered his ears and rasped, "No," as Manfred tried to hold back yet another sneeze.The sisters watched in horror as the young man screwed up his face and, Achoo!"The bones stopped moving.Vile, black vapor rose from the fur, and the chain mail writhed under the smoldering pouch.“Achoo!"There was a thunderous bang, and a reeking pall of smoke filled the room.As the onlookers choked and sputtered, a huge form lifted from the table and vanished into the billowing black clouds.Hidden under one of the tables at the far end of the room, a short, fat dog trembled and closed his eyes.A second violent bang shook the whole room, and Lucretia cried, "What happened?""That bumbling idiot sneezed," shrieked Ezekiel."Sorry sorry Couldn't help it," whined Manfred."It was the dust.""Not good enough," scolded Venetia."You should have taken your wretched nose outside.The whole thing's ruined.A waste of time.""Maybe not," Eustacia broke in."Look at the table.The bones have gone."The smoke was clearing rapidly due to a sudden rush of cold air, and they all saw that the bones of Hamaran had indeed vanished.But Borlath's armor, helmet, cape, and gold pin still lay where they were, rather worse from the spell they had been subjected to."Darn!" cried Ezekiel.He thumped the table with his fist, and the scorched garments shuddered."It didn't work.""My part did," said Manfred."The horse is out there." He pointed to a gaping hole in the wall."Doggone it!" yelled Ezekiel."My laboratory's wrecked, and there's a warhorse on the loose."“A warhorse with a tyrant's heart," said Venetia."See, it's gone!"Where the heart had lain, there was now only a scorched black hole in the smoldering armor.“What does it mean?" asked Manfred in a hushed voice.Ezekiel stroked his long nose."It means that all's not lost.But I'll need help.I think I'll call on a friend of mine, someone with a score to settle."Everyone looked at him, waiting for a name, but the old man was not ready to enlighten them.A warhorse could be very useful," said Venetia thoughtfully "providing one could ride it."They all stared at the empty space left by the bones, as though willing it to speak, and then Manfred said, "Billy Raven's good with animals."************************************In a long dormitory three floors beneath Ezekiel's attic, Billy Raven woke up, suddenly afraid.He turned to the window for a reassuring glimpse of the moon — and saw a white horse sail through ragged clouds, then disappear.THE PHANTOM HORSEOn the first day of fall semester, Charlie Bone dashed down to breakfast with a comb sticking out of his hair."What do you think you look like?" said Grandma Bone from her seat beside the stove.“A dinosaur?" Charlie suggested."I pulled and pulled, but my comb wouldn't come out.""Hair like a hedge," grunted his bony grandmother."Smarten yourself up, boy They don't like untidiness at Bloor's Academy""Come here, pet." Charlie's more tenderhearted grandmother put down her cup of tea and tugged at the comb.Out it came with a clump of Charlie's hair."Maisie! Ouch!" cried Charlie."Sorry pet," said Maisie."But it had to be done.""OK." Charlie rubbed his sore head.He sat at the kitchen table and poured himself a bowl of cereal.“You're late.You'll miss the school bus," said Grandma Bone."Dr.Bloor's a stickler for punctuality"Charlie put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth and said, "So what?""Don't speak with your mouth full," said Grandma Bone."Leave him alone, Grizelda," said Maisie."He's got to have a good breakfast.He probably won't have a decent meal for another five days."Grandma Bone snorted and bit into a banana.She hadn't smiled for three months, not since her sister Venetia's house had burned down [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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