“Here goes,” he said. A small latch held the hinged top closed. Wiliken undid the latch and raised the lid. He gingerly removed the ship from its case.
In Wiliken’s hands, the ship was the size of a large loaf of bread. If Wiliken had been his normal size when they had found it, Beezel guessed it would have looked more like a matchstick in the palm of his hand.
Wiliken placed the little ship on the table, holding it upright with his hands. “Let’s see if I can spot anything inside the captain’s cabin.” He leaned down close to the small wooden ship and peered inside. “There’s lots of stuff in there.” He turned and stared at them in awe. “I think I see the captain’s chest.” Wiliken stood up. “It is our ship, I’m sure of it.”
He positioned the ship back on the wooden stand inside the glass box. “She’s a real beauty,” Wiliken said. “You know, I’ll have to talk to Hoogaboom about donating her to a museum.” He closed and locked the glass case that held the little ship.
The loud boom of what sounded like a model being completely toppled startled the threesome. Beezel and Mimi clutched Wiliken’s arms in fright.
“Okay, I don’t know about you two,” Wiliken said, “but I’ve had it with those guys. I say we ka-poof those two creeps before they rattle this model and damage our treasure ship and us. Then we’ll find Hector.” He looked at the bag on the floor. “I’ll leave the coin here. That thing weighs a ton.”
They ran down the stairs to Uncle Hoogaboom’s front door. “Oh,” Wiliken said, blocking the door. “Wait. I forgot to tell you something. Edwin has a trash can and Slear has a bucket. They want to catch us and start their very own miniature person zoo. So, you know …” He waved his hand in the air.
“Ka-poof first, ask questions later?” Mimi guessed.
“Exactly.” Wiliken pointed at her.
As the twins followed Wiliken out of the shop, Beezel had only one thought in her head. She sure hoped both Slear and Edwin had bad aim.
Wiliken and the twins slinked along the edges of the models, toward the noise Edwin and Slear were making.
“Let’s sneak back to the market square,” Wiliken said. “You two can hide in one of the shops. Then I’ll go out in the square and call Slear and Edwin. When they come to get me, you two can ka-poof them.”
As they ran to the square, Beezel couldn’t see Edwin or Slear anywhere, which made her very nervous indeed. She kept expecting to see a giant trash can or a bucket descend on her head at any moment. They dashed to the corner where the Westerstraat met the Prinsengracht.
They could see the market square, and the shell of the beautiful church Hoogaboom was building.
“In here,” Wiliken said as he opened the door to the model of the small corner bookstore the girls had been to earlier with Hector. He hurried them inside. He pulled back the curtains and opened the front windows. “A perfect view! You two hide in here, and I’ll get them to come out there.” He pointed to the center of the square. “That will give you a clean shot at them.”
“Be careful,” Beezel said. Her heart was beating hard.
Wiliken turned to them. “Listen, if they get me, you two stay put. I’m sure they’ll want to go right out and announce their big scoop to the world. Then you two, quick as you can, find Hector and free Hoogaboom.” He smiled and opened the door. “Okay, here goes nothing!”
The twins watched as Wiliken strolled out into the open.
“Slear!” Wiliken yelled at the top of his lungs. “Edwin!” Beezel and Mimi peeked up over the edge of the windowsill.
They could hear Slear yelling for Edwin to follow him as he trudged in their direction.
“He sounds like Godzilla,” Mimi said. The twins watched Wiliken’s face through the window. He was staring at the top of the building they were hiding in.
“Slear’s getting closer,” Beezel whispered. “I think he’s in back of us.”
Beezel and Mimi pointed out the window, ready to ka-poof the first person who set foot inside the square near Wiliken. But as they did, the walls and floor of the little bookstore began to shake violently. The front of the store lifted up.
“It’s an earthquake!” Mimi shrieked as the shaking caused her to roll across the room and crash against the pine counter. The front door of the shop flew open and then slammed shut with a bang.
Beezel felt like she was in a storm at sea. The store tilted to the left and sent them tumbling. Then it tilted to the right, sending them sailing in the opposite direction. Beezel crawled to the window and peered out. They were off the ground! Beezel looked out into the square and saw that Slear had grabbed Wiliken. As she raised her hand to point at him, the store lurched to the right.
“Slear has Wiliken!” Beezel yelled as she tried to hold on to the windowsill. “And Edwin’s picked up the bookstore! He’s carrying us around!”
Books, magazines and the twins washed around inside the model as Edwin struggled to carry it.
“I’ve got the girls!” they heard Edwin yell at Slear. “I saw them! They’re inside here. What should I do with them?”
Slear yelled back, “You’d better just lock the whole thing, kids and all, inside a closet! We’ll figure out what to do with them later. And for Pete’s sake, keep your hands away from the windows! You don’t want those two pointing at you!”
The building settled into a rocking motion as Edwin edged his way across the studio, carrying the bookstore in his arms.
“Mimi!” Beezel called to her sister. “We’d better ka-poof Edwin soon, or we’ll end up locked in Uncle Hoogaboom’s closet!”
The girls grasped each other as they stumbled across the swaying room to the front window.
“Hold on to me!” Beezel said. Mimi grabbed Beezel around the waist and braced her feet against the wall under the window. Beezel leaned out onto a much higher panorama of Hoogaboom’s models. It was as if they were in an Edwin-powered helicopter flying along at roof level.
“Oh, Beezel, I don’t like this,” Mimi whined.
“Listen,” Beezel said. “Just hang on tight! I’m going to lean out a little farther and see if I can ka-poof him.”
“Into what, Beez?” Mimi yelled at her. “If you change him into something little, the model might land on him and kill him and us! I know he’s a bad guy and all, but that’s pretty gross!”
“Great ogres and omelettes!” Beezel said. “You’re right. And we’ll need something that can hold the model.” Think … think … think, she told herself. “Got it!” she said to her sister. “Here goes!”
Beezel leaned out the window as far as she could without falling out of the bookstore. She saw Edwin’s knee and pointed. “Don’t let go!” Ka-poof.
“Aaaah!” Beezel heard a terrified Slear scream. “Holy cow, Edwin! They’ve turned you into a gorilla!”
She could see Edwin’s now hairy knee and one of his equally hairy feet. Beezel assumed he was still holding the model, since they hadn’t crashed to the floor. That was a relief. And he was standing very still for the moment. But what would Edwin do next?
She turned to Mimi. “We’d better try to talk to him before he gets mad and smashes the bookstore, or gets scared and drops us.”
The girls ran to the side of the bookstore, where they thought they might catch sight of Edwin the gorilla’s arm or chest, and he would be better able to hear them.
A low grunting noise came from the top of the building. Beezel had a picture in her mind of Edwin’s big gorilla head looming over the bookstore’s rooftop.
She opened up a side window and yelled up, “Edwin! Set the bookstore down, right now! If you do, we promise we’ll change you back! So set it down now, gently!”
Another series of deep grunts came from above them. Beezel thought he sounded like he was getting angrier. The bookstore suddenly tilted sharply to one side, sending the girls rolling across the floor, as Edwin began to walk.
“He’s not listening, Beez,” Mimi said as she helped Beezel up. The girls ran back to the window o
n the side of the building.
“Listen, Edwin!” Beezel yelled as loudly as she could. “If you don’t put this bookstore down right now, we’ll leave you like this forever!”
“That’s right!” Mimi shouted as she leaned out the window next to Beezel. “And if you do anything to us, there won’t be anyone left on the whole planet who can change you back into a person!”
Edwin stopped.
Beezel heard Slear yell, “Get out of my way, Edwin! I’m getting out of here!”
The twins ran back to the front of the store and looked out the window. Edwin was turning around. They could see the Noordermarkt square as it came into view. Then they saw Slear, almost at eye level, standing in front of them with Wiliken in his hand.
“Let’s get him, Beezel,” Mimi said quietly.
“Don’t hurt me!” Slear spotted the twins glaring at him from the front window of the bookstore. “Listen, little girls …” His voice trembled as he held Wiliken out like some sort of talisman. “Just calm down now. Be good girls. Listen to reason. I’ve got your little friend here. We can work something out, right?” He laughed nervously and patted a kicking Wiliken on top of his head with a trembling hand. “After all, think of the headlines we could have with this one, right? We could all come out ahead with this story, am I right?”
Beezel cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled to Wiliken. “Wiliken! Hold on to Slear’s hand! Hold on tight!”
Wiliken nodded.
“No!” screamed Slear. “Please, please, no more magic!”
Beezel pointed at Slear. Ka-poof. Slear was a Capuchin monkey.
Slear, now a twenty-inch-tall monkey, seemed genuinely surprised to see what appeared to him to be a much larger Wiliken in his hand. Wiliken pried the monkey’s fingers off his waist and dropped to the floor. Then he took a few steps back, carefully watching Edwin the gorilla as he did so.
Noticing the fur covering his own hands and arms for the first time, Slear screeched in terror and headed for the shelter of the models.
Mimi tracked him with her finger as he ran. Ka-poof. Slear was a clam.
“Good one, Mimi,” Beezel said. The sisters exchanged a high five. “And remember!” Mimi shouted down at Slear. “You’re a clam, not a rock!”
“Are you guys okay?” Wiliken yelled up to them.
“We’re fine!” Beezel shouted.
Edwin the gorilla began to slowly lower the bookstore to the floor. As soon as the model was deposited in the middle of the square, the girls darted out the front door. Beezel kept a wary eye on Edwin as she followed her sister over to where Wiliken stood.
“I can’t believe you’re both okay!” Wiliken said as he gave them both a big hug.
“We’re fine,” Beezel told him. This was nice, getting hugged by Wiliken twice in one day. Beezel could smell his shampoo. It was a spicy smell, and very pleasant. But then she remembered Hector was missing. And poor Uncle Hoogaboom was taped to his chair with a gag in his mouth.
“Now what?” Wiliken motioned with his head toward Edwin the gorilla, who was standing very still behind the bookstore.
“He looks like King Kong,” Mimi said.
Pulling back from their group hug, Beezel said, “I told Edwin we would change him back.”
“Well…” Wiliken eyed the gorilla. “I think you might want to wait a little while. And I think you need to make him something a little bit smaller, just for our own safety.”
“Make him a clam, too,” Mimi suggested. “That way he won’t wander off.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Beezel pointed at the gorilla.
Edwin the gorilla covered his face with his hands.
Ka-poof. Edwin was a clam. In the girls’ shrunken state, Edwin the clam appeared to be about the size of two large mixing bowls stuck together.
“Stay there!” Mimi commanded. “We’ll be right back.” She turned to Wiliken. “What should we do now?”
“Let’s go help Hoogaboom first,” Wiliken said. “And on the way we’ll keep an eye out for Hector, okay?”
Beezel was beginning to worry. Where was Hector? She looked down the Prinsengracht. So many of Uncle Hoogaboom’s models had been destroyed. And it was too quiet.
But then a small sound broke the silence. It was a little sound. A metallic tinkle, coming from the direction of the church.
“Now what?” Wiliken said.
Beezel’s throat closed. She couldn’t answer him. She knew exactly what that sound was. She had heard it the first time she had come to Uncle Hoogaboom’s shop.
Mew.
Mimi looked at Beezel and her eyes widened in fear.
“Yep,” Beezel said. “It’s her.” When Edwin and Slear had come inside the studio, they had let Fieffie the cat in.
“Not Fieffie!” Wiliken pushed them inside the nearest house and closed the door, leaving just a crack to peek through. “Let’s stay in here for a minute. I don’t want her sneaking up on us—and I don’t want to end up as cat chow.”
“But what about Hector?” Beezel said.
“Shh, wait, listen,” Wiliken interrupted. “Do you hear something?”
“I don’t hear anything,” Mimi said.
“Listen carefully,” Wiliken said. “It’s coming from the same direction as Fieffie’s bell. It’s a high-pitched sound … like … like …”
“Like someone is screaming!” Beezel opened the door and raced toward the sound of Fieffie’s bell. As she ran, it occurred to her that the first time she had met the cat, it had been chasing her. Now she was chasing it.
She heard someone yelling. It was coming from the church! Beezel dashed across the market square to the unfinished model and through the opened front doors.
“Hector?” she yelled. “Are you in here?”
“I’m up here above the scaffolding!” Hector answered. “This cat has me trapped in the choir loft!”
Wiliken and Mimi ran in after Beezel. “Where is he?” Mimi said.
They looked up. The inside of the building was under construction. It was an intricate framework consisting mainly of exposed wooden beams and columns. But there was one area of the choir loft that was semifinished. A ladder led straight up to an opening in the platform. Every now and then, Beezel caught sight of a large cat’s paw swiping across it.
“Hector!” Wiliken called up to him. “I’ll climb up the scaffolding and draw her out!”
“Don’t do it, Wiliken!” Hector said. “She’s a fast one. She almost took my shirt off when she chased me up here!”
“We’ll come up and ka-poof her!” Beezel yelled up.
“No!” Hector yelled. “She’s waiting right by the entrance there. If you climb up, you’re done for!”
“Where are you, Hector?” Mimi yelled. “Are you safe?”
“I crawled behind a stack of lumber,” he shouted down. “She can’t get her claws in here. I’ll be fine. Just leave me and go help my uncle. Then he can come get his blasted cat out of here!”
“I think he’s right,” Wiliken said to the twins. “It’s the safest thing to do.”
“Hurry, Beez!” Mimi said as she tugged Beezel’s sleeve. “Let’s go get Uncle Hoogaboom.”
But Beezel knew exactly what it felt like to be trapped by Fieffie. She remembered the terror she had felt, and didn’t want to leave Hector there a second longer. Besides, what if Fieffie found a way to get to him? She shuddered at the thought.
“No, Mimi,” Beezel said. “I’m going to climb up and ka-poof that cat.” She started toward the scaffolding.
Mimi grabbed Beezel’s arm. “Hey, wait! I have a great idea!” She slipped off her backpack and took out the small plastic container. She opened it up and carefully spilled the ladybug into her hand.
“Gumdrop?” Beezel said. “But what if Gumdrop un-ka-poofs to the same scale as us? She would look like a little worm to Fieffie. That won’t scare her.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course she won’t look like a worm,” Mimi said smugly. “Sh
e’ll change back to her original form. That’s how the magic works. She’ll be five feet long when Fieffie sees her.”
“You know what?” Beezel said slowly. “I think you’re right!” She looked at Mimi with admiration. “Good thinking.”
“Uh, guys, what exactly is Gumdrop, originally?” Wiliken asked.
“A boa constrictor,” Mimi said.
“A boa constrictor?” Wiliken ran his hands through his hair. “Well, I’ve got to give you girls credit, you aren’t boring.”
“I think we’d better find a hiding place,” Beezel said. “Because if Mimi’s right, Gumdrop is going to be one big boa constrictor.”
“Gumdrop,” Mimi told the bug, “you know how much you love to tease cats.” She held her up. “There’s one right up there, sweetie. See her? Go give her a good scare.”
Mimi set the ladybug down on the floor and pointed at it. Ka-poof. The gigantic boa constrictor that writhed across the floor in front of them looked to Beezel like an undulating oil pipeline.
Wiliken, Mimi and Beezel quickly hid behind a half-built wall.
“Hector!” Mimi cried out. “Don’t worry! Gumdrop is coming to save you!”
“GUMDROP?” Hector yelled back. “Oh, that’s just fine! That’s just peachy!”
The big snake spotted the motion at the top of the platform. She wound herself around the scaffolding and started her slow circular climb toward Hector and Fieffie.
Beezel winced as the big snake’s head got near the opening. The end of Fieffie’s tail flicked in and out, in and out.
“Oh dear,” Mimi said. “Gumdrop really doesn’t like anything waved in front of her face.”
The snake nipped the cat’s tail. The cat yowled and turned to face her attacker, teeth and claws bared. But at the sight of Gumdrop, it was as if a bolt of electricity shot through the cat’s body. She leaped over the snake’s head and flew all the way down to the floor. Fieffie was out of the church before Gumdrop could turn her head to watch her.
“Um, Mimi,” Beezel said, pointing up, “Gumdrop is going into the opening where Hector is.”
“I’d better ka-poof her,” Mimi said nervously. “But I don’t want her to fall, or fly away, or eat any of us …” She twirled her hair.
The Trimoni Twins and the Shrunken Treasure Page 11
