Gargoylz Get Up to Mischief

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by Jan Burchett


  “Cool!” exclaimed Ben, watching all the worms wriggle to the surface. “It’s working. Let’s put some more water down and see if we can break the World Record for Worms in a Square.” He turned to pick up the bucket, but it wasn’t there.

  “Someone’s taken our water!” he declared indignantly.

  The boys looked round. Max could just make out something red and plastic hidden in the hedge. “It’s over there.”

  They hurried over. Sure enough, the bucket was hidden amongst the thickest leaves.

  “How did it get in here?” Ben wondered.

  “Afternoon,” said a gurgly voice and a grumpy stone face appeared from behind the bucket.

  “It’s Bart!” cried Ben in delight as the round-bellied gargoyle waddled out.

  “Have you come to join Science Club?” asked Max. “It’s great. It’s all about worms.”

  “Certainly not!” declared Bart grouchily. “Trying to get rid of Science Club.”

  Theo’s cat-like head appeared from the other side of the bucket. “We want to get our pawz on the sports things,” he explained, pointing a claw at the equipment at the other end of the field.

  “Been looking at it all day from the church tower,” grumbled Bart. “Thought now school’s finished we’d get our chance. Then Science Club came out.”

  “I can’t wait to play with the balls,” said Theo.

  POP! Zack appeared out of thin air. “Beanbagz and bats! Beanbagz and bats!” he chanted, jumping up and down and shaking the whole hedge.

  “I wanted to explore those tubez” said a shy voice.

  Max peered deeper into the hedge. Barney was hiding there, the spikes on his back quivering with excitement.

  “But why did you take our bucket?” asked Ben.

  “If we collect all the buckets,” said Bart, “Science Club won’t be able to do any more science. Everyone will go away and leave us alone.”

  “Toby’s doing it,” added Barney. “It should have been Zack because he can make himself invisible but he kept reappearing by accident. He was nearly seen by the humanz.”

  There was a wheezy panting noise behind them and the boys turned to see Toby trying to haul a heavy bucket across the grass, water slopping everywhere. He wasn’t getting very far. Suddenly he spotted the boys. He let go and flew back to the hedge.

  “Greetingz.” He grinned. “You’re here just at the right time. I need you to collect all the buckets.”

  “It won’t work,” Max told him. “Everyone will just come looking for them like we did. You’ll be keeping them here, not driving them away.”

  Toby scratched his stone chin. “Hmm,” he said. “You may be right.” He turned to his friends. “Listen, gargoylz, Trick One isn’t working. We need Trick Two.”

  “What’s Trick Two?” asked Max. “Can we help? Finding worms was fun but counting them will be boring.”

  “Max and Ben,” came their teacher’s voice. “What are you doing?”

  Mr Widget was staring at them suspiciously.

  “Er . . . some buckets rolled away, sir,” called Ben. “We’re just getting them back.”

  “Got to go,” Max whispered to the gargoylz. “We don’t want Mr Widget coming over here and finding you.”

  The boys grabbed the buckets and ran back to their square of ground. Suddenly a terrible stink filled the air and a wheezy laugh could be heard from the hedge.

  “I think we’ve found out what Trick Two was.” Ben grinned as the kids yelled in horror and dashed for the gate.

  “Barney’s made one of his special pongs! I hope the gargoylz have a good time on the sports stuff.”

  The boys held their noses and slowly walked after the rest of the fleeing Science Club. But the terrible smell didn’t last long. Mr Widget headed the kids off at the gate and herded them all back to their task.

  “Can’t be put off by a silly little smell!” he exclaimed, picking up his pot. “Now start counting. And I’ll come and collect your chosen worms.”

  “He’s too busy to notice us for a moment,” whispered Max. “And counting’s boring. Let’s go and find out if there’s a Trick Three.”

  The two boys crept back to the hedge where the gargoylz were gathered in a circle, muttering to each other. Just then a stone head emerged from the leaves. It was a gargoyle that the boys hadn’t seen before. It had plump cheeks and a wide grinning mouth, but instead of hair, stone snakes wriggled all round its head. The snakes writhed as if they were fighting.

  “Wow!” breathed Max. “Who are you?”

  “This is Eli,” explained Toby. “Say hello to Max and Ben, Eli.”

  Eli looked horrified – and his snakes stood on end in shock. “Humansssssss!” he hissed.

  “These are our friends,” said Toby patiently. “They play tricks like us.” Eli’s look of horror turned to a slow smile and the snakes on his head bobbed merrily at the boys.

  “Eli is Trick Three,” Toby went on. “He’s going to use his special power to scare everyone off the field. Ready, Eli?”

  To the boys’ surprise, the snaky gargoyle suddenly vanished.

  “Where’s he gone?” asked Max, puzzled. “Can he make himself invisible like Zack?”

  “Not exactly invisible . . .” said Toby mysteriously.

  The next minute there was a yell from one of the kids counting worms.

  “I’ve found a snake, sir!”

  Toby grinned. “That’s Eli,” he said proudly. “He can turn into a snake.”

  They watched as Mr Widget rushed over to take a look, with the rest of Science Club following curiously behind him. Even Lucinda and Tiffany were edging cautiously forwards.

  Toby gave a growly chuckle. “This is going to be more fun than the time I put earwigz in the vicar’s wellies. Any minute now all those humanz will be screaming and running for their lives and we can have the sports things to ourselves!”

  There was a muffled “Hurray!” from the hedge, and several pairs of eager stone eyes peeped through the leaves.

  Mr Widget was now peering down at Eli. He still clutched his pot of worms. “A grass snake!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “How interesting – and quite harmless. Look at its black spots and yellow collar.” The children all jostled to look.

  “No one’s run away yet,” commented Barney.

  “I knew that idea wouldn’t work,” said Bart gloomily. “Kids aren’t scared of snakes. At least not grass snakes, and that’s all Eli can do.”

  “What about Trick Four?” asked Theo, swishing his tail.

  “Haven’t got a Trick Four,” said Toby with a frown.

  The gargoylz all looked despondent.

  “I have!” exclaimed Max. “Lucinda and Tiffany are getting very twitchy about the worms and the snake has nearly finished them off. What if Zack makes himself invisible so no one will see him? Then he creeps up behind Mr Widget and knocks the worm pot out of his hand. Ben and I can make sure the worms land on Lucinda and Tiffany. People will hear their screams all the way to the moon!”

  “Good one, Agent Black,” said Ben. “Mr Widget will have to take them back to school and that will be the end of Science Club for today.”

  “Brilliant!” cried Zack, racing round in excited circles. Max noticed with relief that everyone in Science Club was still staring at Eli, so nobody spotted Zack. “Let’s go!”

  “Not yet, Zack,” called Ben. “We’ve got to get everyone in position.”

  But it was too late. POP! Zack had vanished.

  “Run!” Max told Ben urgently. “We’ve got to be there when the worms are spilled.”

  Max and Ben charged over to Mr Widget and stood just behind him, pretending to be keen to see the snake.

  “He does look real,” Max whispered as they watched Eli slither about the grass, his forked tongue darting in and out.

  “Grass snakes should not be confused with adders,” Mr Widget was telling his audience. “Adders are poisonous and— Ooof!”

  He stumbled forward
as if he had been given a hard push. Max caught a glimpse of Zack’s dragony tail as it became visible for a second.

  “Let me help you, sir,” shouted Ben, making a grab for the pot. He gave it a quick upward jolt and the worms were flung in the air – falling all over Lucinda and Tiffany.

  “Hurra— I mean, oh dear!” exclaimed Max, trying to hide his glee as the two terrified girls shrieked and jumped in shock, knocking buckets of soapy water over everyone’s feet. Groans and complaints filled the air.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Ben, putting on his wide-eyed innocent look. “Let me help.” Trying not to laugh, he started to pick worms out of Lucinda’s hair. “Ooops! So sorry. That one went down your back.”

  “AAAARRRGGHH!” Lucinda screamed and sprinted for the gates, Tiffany close behind her.

  “Wait!” blustered Mr Widget. “Or rather – yes, right, let’s go in, everybody. Quickly now. All together. We’ll collect worms another day.”

  Max and Ben followed the others out of the field, then Mr Widget locked the gates. Max and Ben peered back through the bars.

  The gargoylz were having the time of their lives. Zack was darting about throwing beanbags to Theo, Barney’s spikes were just disappearing down one of the tubes and Bart was playing in the sandpit. Eli was back to his normal self, bouncing on the trampoline, his snaky hair jiggling.

  “Where’s Toby?” whispered Max.

  “Here I am,” came a growly purr and Toby flew up to perch on the gates. He was grinning broadly. “Thanks, Max and Ben,” he said. “Now we’re going to have the best gargoyle sports day ever!”

  Gargoylz Fact File

  Full name: Tobias the Third

  Known as: Toby

  Special Power: Flying

  Likes: All kinds of pranks and mischief – especially playing jokes on the vicar

  Dislikes: Mrs Hogsbottom, garden gnomes

  Full name: Barnabas

  Known as: Barney

  Special Power: Making big stinks!

  Likes: Cookiez

  Dislikes: Being surprised by humanz

  Full name: Eli

  Special Power: Turning into a grass snake

  Likes: Sssports Day, ssslithering

  Dislikes: Birds of prey

  Full name: Bartholomew

  Known as: Bart

  Special Power: Burping spiders

  Likes: Being grumpy

  Dislikes: Being told to cheer up

  Full name: Theophilus

  Known as: Theo

  Special Power: Turning into a ferocious tiger (well, tabby kitten!)

  Likes: Sunny spots and cosy places

  Dislikes: Rain

  Full name: Zackary

  Known as: Zack

  Special Power: Making himself invisible to humanz

  Likes: Bouncing around, eating bramblz, thistlz, and anything with pricklz!

  Dislikes: Keeping still

  Read all the Gargoylz Adventures!

  Gargoylz on the Loose!

  Gargoylz Get Up to Mischief

  Gargoylz at a Midnight Feast

  Gargoylz Take a Trip

  Gargoylz Put on a Show

  Gargoylz Have Fun at the Fair

  Gargoylz Go to a Party

  Gargoylz: Magic at the Museum

  Gargoylz Make a Splash!

  Gargoylz Ride to the Rescue

  Gargoylz Make a Movie

  Gargoylz Summer Fun

  Gargoylz on the Go!

  Gargoylz Save Christmas

  Gargoylz: Mess at the Mill

  Also available:

  Gargoylz Make Some Noise

  GARGOYLZ GET UP TO MISCHIEF

  AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 407 04883 3

  Published in Great Britain by RHCP Digital,

  an imprint of Random House Children’s Publishers UK

  A Random House Group Company

  This ebook edition published 2014

  Copyright © Burchett & Vogler 2012

  First Published in Great Britain

  Red Fox 9781862308367 2012

  The right of Burchett & Vogler to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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