by Terry Nation
“To the dungeon,” shrieked Mister Glister, dripping with jelly trifle.
“Kerpow!!…Zammie!!…Whammo!!”
The door opened to reveal Captain ‘K’, and behind him, Kovak and Grisby.
“Charge!” shouted Grisby, then looked down at his feet. “You heard what I said,” he told them. “Charge.” Obediently, the feet started to move slowly forward.
Kovak was wearing the mask of a Japanese Samurai warrior and looked very fierce indeed. Of course, everybody knew it was only Kovak, so nobody was frightened.
Captain ‘K’ pulled Rebecca free from Cringer’s grasp and hurried her out into the hallway. Kovak, Cringer, Grisby, Lurk and Mister Glister followed them.
Captain ‘K’ was crossing the hall in the same zig-zag manner as Rebecca had entered, avoiding all the burglar alarms.
“Why are we doing this?” shouted Rebecca to Captain ‘K’.
“We have to or we’ll set off the alarms,” he answered.
“It’s too late now,” said Rebecca. “What does it matter?”
Captain ‘K’ pondered for a moment and then nodded. “You’re right,” he said, and instantly made a bee-line for the front door.
The others followed. Bells, sirens, hooters, horns and buzzers exploded into sound. The noise was deafening.
“Switch it off,” shrieked Mister Glister. Lurk and Cringer dashed to the cupboard where the alarms were housed and threw the switch. Silence returned.
The only noise now was the hissing fury of Mister Glister’s anger. With his two servants he stalked to the front door and peered out. They stared left and right, but there was no sign of the fugitives.
Mister Glister grabbed Lurk and Cringer’s heads and banged them together very hard.
“Thank you, Sir,” said Cringer humbly.
“I am very, very angry,” said Mister Glister, almost spitting the words. “I will never rest until I have my revenge. Prepare an expedition at once. That child Rebecca will pay for this!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
After their escape from Glister Palace the adventurers ran and ran and ran. Spurred on by panic and fear, they raced out of the Glass City and into the country beyond.
After three or four miles of their headlong helter-skelter flight, steam began to spurt from the sides of Grisby’s boots. Rebecca was afraid they might burst into flames at any moment.
Without a pause, Captain ‘K’ and Kovak took up positions on either side of Grisby. They each cupped a hand under his elbows and lifted him so that his feet no longer touched the ground. His legs continued as though they were running, but the puffs of steam from his boots began to subside.
They ran on until the road they were following became a rough, overgrown track, winding its way through clumps of thorny bushes and huge boulders. Rebecca glanced quickly over her shoulder. There was no sign of anyone pursuing them. She called to the others. “It’s alright. We can stop now.”
They all sank to the ground, gasping and wheezing.
Rebecca recovered first. She gave a grin and took the camera strap from around her neck.
“Well,” she said, “I managed it. I took some photographs of the map.” She handed the camera to Kovak. “Can you develop the pictures?” she asked.
Kovak looked distinctly shifty. Captain ‘K’ looked away and stared vaguely into space, whistling tunelessly.
“Well, can you develop the film or do we have to take it to the chemists?” demanded Rebecca.
“Tell her,” said Captain ‘K’.
Kovak cleared his throat. His voice was a whisper.
“What did you say?” asked Rebecca, straining to hear.
“A little oversight,” Kovak said. “Could happen to anyone.”
Captain ‘K’ interjected. “What he’s trying to tell you is that he forgot to put the film in the camera.”
The news hit Rebecca like a bucket of icy water. All that trouble, all that danger for nothing. She was both angry and sad at the same time.
“Well, that’s that,” she thought. “We’ll never get another chance to see the map. We’ll never find the GHOST tree now.”
Throughout all this Grisby had stayed silent. Finally he said: “I’ve got something for you.”
He dug deep into the pocket of his green fur coat and handed Rebecca a piece of folded paper.
She opened it quickly, and gave a gasp of pleasure. It was the map.
“How did you get it?” Rebecca demanded excitedly.
“I saw it lying amongst all the broken glass in Glister Palace,” he said simply. “I thought it might come in handy.”
Captain ‘K’ and Kovak were just as excited as Rebecca. They took it in turns to shake hands with Grisby and pat him on the back. And though Grisby kept muttering, “It was nothing,” he was obviously highly flattered.
When they could find no more words of praise, they spread the map out on the ground and stared at it. Disappointment began to drift over them like a thickening sea fog. It wasn’t like a real map at all. Just some verses and little drawings. They all looked at one another.
“I don’t understand it,” said Rebecca.
“Neither do we,” said the other three in one voice.
“Then we’re no better off than when we started,” Rebecca said dismally.
* * *
At Glister Palace, Lurk was gathering the equipment for the expedition. Cringer was clearing up the mess in the dining room under the angry, watchful eyes of Mister Glister. Suddenly, as he swept the broken glass into a dustpan, he realized that the map was missing. He mentioned it to Mister Glister.
Mister Glister’s body went rigid with horror. The colour drained from his face and the precious stones on his suit seemed to lose their lustre. He began to tremble. His teeth chattered.
“T…t…they mmmust have t…taken it,” he gabbled. “If they e…e…ever d…d…decipher its secret I’m r…ruined!”
He took a tiny jewelled box from his pocket and from it selected two pills. He gulped them down. His colour began to return and his terror turned slowly into rage. He snatched up a sweeping brush and swiped Cringer over the head with it.
“Thank you, Sir,” winced Cringer.
“Ready or not, we’re going,” screamed Mister Glister. “The hunt for Rebecca starts now!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I think,” said Rebecca, “that this is one of those treasure maps that you have to solve a bit at a time.”
The others looked at her blankly.
“What I mean,” she explained, “is that you solve the first clue and go to the place it tells you. When you get there, you’ll see or find something that will help you solve the next clue.”
They all gathered around the map again with renewed interest. Rebecca read the first clue aloud:
“GO TO THE NEST OF THE SPLINTER BIRD,
CLIMB TO ITS EYRIE ON HIGH.
LOOK THROUGH THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE,
FIND THE FEATHER WELL HIDDEN CLOSE BY.”
“What’s a Splinter Bird?” asked Rebecca.
“What was a Splinter Bird,” said Kovak. “They’re extinct. Died out completely when the forests were cut down. There’s a drawing of them somewhere in my bird book.” He started to search through his pockets.
“Lovely little birds they were,” said Grisby. “Sort of purple colour. They had beaks shaped like tweezers. If you ever got a splinter in your finger, all you’d do was shout ‘Splinter Bird’, and one of them would fly down and pull the splinter out.”
Kovak found his tattered bird book and thumbed through the pages until he found a colour picture. Rebecca thought it was the prettiest bird she had ever seen. Alongside the picture it said: ‘The Splinter Bird nests on high rocks to the north of our city, in the mountainous region of the Forbidden Lands.’
At the mention of ‘Forbidden Lands’, Captain ‘K’s’ eyes rolled in terror. Grisby seemed to freeze, and Kovak’s imitation teeth fell out.
Rebecca stared at her friends. “What
’s the matter?”
“The Forbidden Lands,” murmured Captain ‘K’. “It’s a terribly dangerous place. Full of fears and terrors. Nobody ever goes there.”
“Well,” said Rebecca, getting to her feet, “we’re going there. It’s the only way to find the last GHOST tree.” She sounded very determined.
All three men started to talk at once, making excuses as to why they couldn’t or shouldn’t go. Rebecca stamped her foot and told them to be quiet.
“I’m ashamed of you all,” she said. “Captain ‘K’, you’re supposed to be a hero, and heroes aren’t afraid of anything!”
“Well, I’m a different sort of hero,” he said meekly. “I’m afraid of practically everything.”
Kovak muttered that he was sure somebody would need a spy soon, so he had to stay close to town. Grisby was convinced that even if he wanted to go, his feet wouldn’t let him.
“In that case, I’ll go on my own,” said Rebecca. “Which way are the Forbidden Lands?”
Kovak pointed a shaking finger towards the mountains.
Rebecca gave them a curt nod. “Goodbye,” she said, and set off.
The three men stood silently watching her go, seeing her grow smaller and smaller, until she finally vanished over the brow of a hill.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
One by one, the four suns of Rebecca’s World lowered themselves out of sight behind the mountains. The green shadows of night grew longer. In the fading light the rocks took on menacing shapes. A cold wind had begun to stir the bushes and they seemed to mutter and whisper as Rebecca walked past.
The ground was rising steeply now as she drew nearer the mountains, and the track was so overgrown that it was hard to follow. Sharp, spiteful brambles snatched at her frock.
She looked back, hoping that her three friends might have changed their minds and followed her. The trail was empty.
Rebecca felt very small, very frightened, and very alone.
She pushed forward through a clump of thick brambles and found her path blocked by a large stone. There were letters carved on it. She rubbed some moss away and read:
HALT! STOP! DESIST! CEASE!
A few yards further on was a second carved stone. On this one it said:
KEEP OUT! DANGER! PERIL!
PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!
THE ‘FORBIDDEN LANDS’ START HERE!
Rebecca moved on to be confronted by a third stone. This one read:
WELL—DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU!
She sat down and rested her back against the stone, suddenly feeling very tired.
“Whatever happens,” she thought, “I mustn’t close my eyes. I must stay awake and…” Before she could finish the thought she was asleep.
A pebble clattered. A dry bramble crackled. Rebecca wakened as if she had been jabbed with a pin. Her eyes wide, she stared around not daring to move. For a moment there was silence. Then came another sound.
A footstep!
Rebecca crouched still deeper into the shadows, trying to make herself invisible.
Another footstep!
Closer this time. The bushes nearby rustled and shivered as something moved through them, coming towards her. And then she saw it.
A vague outline in the green darkness. Something huge with three heads. It seemed to tower above her and then, to her astonishment, split into three separate parts. The scream Rebecca was about to give changed into a great, gasping giggle of relief. It was Grisby, Kovak and Captain ‘K’.
They shuffled uncomfortably, looking very sheepish and ashamed of themselves. Grisby gave an awkward smile.
“We…er…we had a little talk,” he said.
Kovak took over. “We decided we were being a bit…”
“Cowardly,” said Captain ‘K’, finishing the speech.
They talked for a little while, and then Grisby yawned. In a moment they were all yawning. Rebecca mentioned it was rather cold. At once, Grisby peeled off his shaggy, green fur coat. She was amazed to see that he was wearing another fur coat underneath it.
“Never know when you’ll need an extra fur coat,” said Grisby, handing her the top one. “I’ve got two more under this.”
Rebecca snuggled into the huge coat until only the tip of her nose was showing. “Don’t you get hot wearing all those coats?” she asked.
“Very,” said Grisby.
They shuffled and shifted until they were comfortable, and in a very few minutes they were all fast asleep.
* * *
A few miles back down the trail, Mister Glister had set up camp for the night. Lurk and Cringer had covered the ground with soft, silken rugs, and on them had erected a tent woven from gold thread. Inside, Mister Glister slept on a billowing, cloud-soft bed, covered by an electric blanket.
The blanket was linked by a cable to a strange contraption outside, which looked rather like a bicycle without wheels. This was the thing that made the electricity. In the saddle sat Cringer, pedalling so fast his legs were a blur. He puffed and gasped, but dared not rest. Mister Glister became very angry if the temperature of his blanket varied, even by only one degree.
Nearby, Lurk worked at an ironing board, pressing Mister Glister’s clothes. At the same time, he ran back and forth to stoke the fire that heated the water for Mister Glister’s morning bath. He was also preparing a seven course breakfast and cleaning the shoes.
Mister Glister slipped further under his warm blanket, muttering in his sleep.
“Rebecca’s to blame,” he mumbled. “It’s her fault I’m having to rough it. The hardship. The privation. The suffering. I’ll make her regret the misery she’s brought me.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Morning. The moon, exhausted by its long journey across the sky, lowered itself gratefully behind one horizon. From the opposite horizon the four suns rose swiftly like happy balloons. But long before their bright light had chased all the shadows back into hiding, the four adventurers were on the march.
They moved quickly along the trail that led to the Forbidden Lands. Ahead of them was the towering wall of mountains, dark and menacing. Kovak screwed up his eyes and stared.
“There’s an opening,” he said. “Over to the right a bit. A sort of canyon.” They changed direction and went towards it.
Grisby seemed quite cheerful as they marched along. He explained that he liked getting up early, because if he woke up before his feet and moved very quietly, they would stay asleep for a few more hours and cause him no pain.
Captain ‘K’ strode proudly at the head of the party. His tiny shoulders thrown back, his puny chest thrust forward, his eyes darting this way and that for any hint of danger. Like a swordsman, he slashed at the bushes with his GHOST stick. “Kerplatt!…Shazzam!…Splatt and triple splatt!”
“He really does look like a hero now,” thought Rebecca. “He’s like a sort of savage butterfly.”
They had almost reached the entrance to the canyon when Captain ‘K’ halted sharply. He stared ahead, listening intently. Then, turning around so quickly and nervously that he fell over, he whispered, “Cunder gover! I mean under cover! Quickly!”
They all dived into the shelter of a dense bush. A moment later a group of GHOSTS came slithering and sliding down the trail. They passed so close that Rebecca felt their ice-cold clamminess sweep over her. She heard their hissing whispers.
Then they were gone. Captain ‘K’ made them stay in hiding for a few more minutes until he was certain it was safe, then they moved back onto the trail.
* * *
Unknown to the travellers, Lurk and Cringer watched their progress through powerful binoculars. They had only one pair between them, so they lay with their heads close together and looked down one lens each, the strap draped about both their necks.
Mister Glister, wearing a simple safari kaftan studded with blue white diamonds, stepped out of the tent. He moved up behind his servants. “Can you see them?” he asked.
“They’re just entering the canyon,” Lurk
answered.
Mister Glister moved languidly to where Lurk and Cringer lay. He reached down and took the glasses from them. As he raised them, the cord around the necks of the two men tightened and brought their heads together with a stunning thump. Both suppressed their cries of pain, knowing that their master was not fond of sudden noises in the morning.
Mister Glister stared through the binoculars.
“Yes, I see them,” he said. “I’ll change into something more suitable and we’ll strike camp immediately.”
He dropped the binoculars. They landed with a loud crash on the heads of his servants.
“Much obliged,” said Cringer.
“Most grateful,” said Lurk.
Two hours later they were ready to move. Mister Glister now wore an emerald embroidered hunting-jacket, with white riding breeches and boots stitched in gold. The camp had been packed into a number of huge bags. Lurk and Cringer were bent nearly double under the enormous load. Apart from the camping equipment, there was Mister Glister’s ‘expedition wardrobe’ of some twenty different outfits.
Mister Glister looked around with satisfaction. “Always best to travel light on a mission like this,” he said.
He turned and strode off towards the mountains. Cringer and Lurk, groaning beneath their colossal loads, followed at the trot.
Rebecca and her friends had already progressed far into the canyon. Captain ‘K’ stared nervously at the towering walls that seemed to press in on either side of them. He didn’t like it here. When anyone spoke their voices echoed back at them. Even the silence seemed to have an echo.
The nervous mood had affected Kovak and Grisby too. Kovak had not changed his disguise for a good half hour, and Grisby had not once mentioned his feet.
“Do you think it’s much further?” asked the Captain, trying to conceal the tremble in his voice.
“How should I know? I don’t even know where we’re going,” Rebecca answered rather rattily.
