by Duncan Ball
‘And the girl?’ he asked, curling his lip as he said the words.
‘I’m Emily,’ Emily said. ‘Emily Eyefinger.’
‘I thought she might come in handy,’ the professor said.
The general looked Emily up and down and then his curled lip turned into a smile.
‘Emily Eyefinger? Did you say Eyefinger?’ he laughed. ‘Does she have an eye on her finger? Ho ho ho ho ho! That’s funny. An eye on her finger! Can you imagine that?’
The general laughed another big general’s laugh.
Without saying a word, Emily held up her eyefinger and stared the general straight in his face. Then she blinked her eyefinger eye.
‘Great bombs and bullets!’ the general cried. ‘It’s a real eye! On your finger! I thought your name was a joke. I’m terribly sorry. I’m so embarrassed. And generals aren’t ever supposed to be sorry or embarrassed.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Emily said, ‘and I promise not to say anything about your name.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Slimantrim?’ Emily said. ‘Your name is Slimantrim and you’re slim and you’re trim.’
The general look down at himself.
‘So I am. I’ve never noticed that before,’ he said. ‘What a hoot!’
Suddenly the general turned serious, the way generals do.
‘Follow me,’ he ordered.
He opened a door to a huge room. The room was filled with metal boxes with flashing lights and switches on them. Wires ran around the floor like spaghetti. At the front of the room was a row of desks with keyboards and screens.
‘This is one big computer,’ the general explained. ‘We’ve added so many bits and bobs that it now almost fills the whole room. I can’t tell you what it does because it’s top secret but let me just say that the whole world depends on it. And now mice have got into it and it’s doing funny things. Yesterday it almost started a wa – ooops, I almost gave away a secret. Anyway, the mice are chewing the wires.’
‘Are you sure of that?’ asked Professor Mousefinder.
‘They must be because things are going wonky. We’ve put out poison and tried to squish them in mousetraps. We’ve done everything to try to kill them.’
‘K-k-k-kill them!’ the professor cried. ‘You tried to kill mice!’
‘Yes, of course. You are a mouse exterminator, aren’t you?’
‘No, I’m not a mouse exterminator! I’m a mouseologist! I’m a scientist who studies mice. I love mice! And so should you! So should everybody! Mice are man’s – and woman’s – best friends. How do you even know there are mice in there? Have you seen them?’
‘We’ve seen mouse droppings. If there are mouse droppings there must be mice dropping them. If they were rabbits there would be rabbit droppings. And if they were horses there would be horse droppings. These are mouse droppings.’
‘What kind of mouse droppings?’ Professor Mousefinder asked.
‘I don’t know. Mouse mouse droppings.’
‘Mouse mouse droppings? There is no such thing as a mouse mouse. There are lots of different kinds of mice. May I see the droppings?’
‘I threw them away.’
‘You what?! You could never be a mouseologist. Turn off the computer and I’ll have a look inside.’
‘We can’t turn off the computer because if we do the whole world might … Oh, goodness, I almost told you another top secret secret. Anyway, we can’t turn this computer off till the new one is built and that won’t be for months.’
‘Okay,’ the professor said, ‘open a panel and I’ll go in to see if they’re doing any damage.’
‘Go in?’ the general said, opening a panel. ‘No person could fit between the cables and gizmos. Besides, it’s much too dangerous. You’d be electrocuted if you touched anything. I thought you would have a way of getting the mice out. Okay, guys, get the poison gas. Everybody out!’
‘Poison gas?! What are you thinking?! That would kill them all! That’s murder! That’s mousicide!’
‘Excuse me,’ Emily interrupted, ‘maybe I could go into the computer and have a look.’
The professor, the general, Malcolm and all the soldiers stared at Emily.
‘I can’t let you do that,’ the general said. ‘You would be killed and then I’d have to write a report and send it to your parents. And I hate writing reports.’
‘You said that it is very important.’
‘Yes, more important than you can ever know. If we don’t kill – I mean, get rid of – those mice then lots and lots of people might d – ooops, there I go again.’
‘I’m quite small,’ Emily explained, ‘and I’ll be very careful. I’ll use my eyefinger to see places that I can’t get my head into. I won’t touch anything.’
‘Oh, very well then,’ the general said. ‘In you go.’
Emily stepped into the computer, moving as slowly as a cold snail. Everywhere around her she could hear the hum of electricity and she could feel her hair stand up straight. She crept forward, squeezing between wires and panels without touching them. One minute she was stepping over clusters of cables and the next she was flat against the floor, wriggling along like a snake. It was like climbing through bushes without touching a single leaf. She poked her finger here and there to see where no other person could. And everywhere there was the snap! and a zap! that could mean sudden death.
‘Can you see the mouse damage, Emily?’ the general called out.
‘Not yet,’ Emily said.
‘Can you see any mice?’ the professor asked.
Emily bent her finger around a corner. There in the distance she caught a glimpse of a tiny nose. In a flash it was gone.
‘I think I just saw one,’ she said.
‘Did it have long whiskers or short ones?’
‘Sort of medium. And there was a bit of white on the tip of its nose.’
Slowly Emily made her way through every part of the huge computer. Finally she was out again.
‘I didn’t see any damage to wires or anything,’ she said.
‘But there must be,’ said the general.
Professor Mousefinder picked a tiny mouse dropping off Emily’s shirt. He looked at it with a magnifying glass and then sniffed it.
‘Ah-hah!’ he cried. ‘Medium whiskers. White on its nose. And this dropping proves that we have our culprit. Mus smartipensis! That’s the mouseology name for what are commonly known as Smart Mice. That’s why you can’t catch them, these are the smartest mice in the world. They’re too smart to eat poison or get caught in mousetraps and they’re too smart to chew on wires.’
‘Then what are they doing to the computer?’ the general asked.
‘They’re using it.’
‘They’re what? Are you saying that they know how to use a computer?’
‘Not exactly. I think you’ll find they come out at night and push the keys on the keyboards.’
‘Why would they do that?’
‘To see lights flash and things change on the screen. They’re only playing but they’re learning too. They’re very smart but they don’t know how to use computers yet. When they do you could have real problems.’
‘What?!’ screamed the general. ‘Poison gas! Now!’
‘No!’ cried Professor Mousefinder.
‘Yes!’ cried General Slimantrim.
‘Wait!’ cried Emily. ‘I have an idea. Malcolm, did you bring your laptop?’
‘Yes.’
‘We don’t have time to waste, Emily,’ the general said.
‘Give us an hour,’ Emily said. ‘I think we can solve your problem.’
The general frowned and pressed his lips together.
‘You’ve got thirty minutes starting right now,’ he said, pressing a button on his watch.
Emily had Professor Mousefinder, General Slimantrim and the soldiers leave the room. She then turned off the lights and she and Malcolm started playing a new game of Mouse Rage. As they played, Emily used her eyefinger to look all arou
nd for signs of mice.
‘They’re not going to come out,’ Malcolm said. ‘They’re too smart.’
‘Let’s wait and see,’ Emily said.
Ten minutes went by and then ten more minutes. Then, when the half hour was almost up, Emily saw something out of the corner of her eyefinger eye. It was a little furry shape creeping out from the computer. This furry shape was soon followed by another and then another.
‘They’re here,’ Emily whispered. ‘Don’t look, just keep playing.’
Soon there were six, then eight, then ten and then twelve. They moved closer and closer, looking at the running and jumping mice on the laptop screen.
‘They’re right behind us,’ Emily said. ‘Are you ready?’
‘I think so,’ Malcolm said nervously.
Emily and Malcolm spun around in their chairs, throwing their mouse nets over the mice.
‘We got them!’ Emily cried, turning on the lights. ‘Hey, I think we got them all!’
Professor Mousefinder shot through the doorway and gathered up the mice.
‘That was fantastic!’ cried the general, giving Emily a snappy salute. ‘You have just saved the whole worl – ooops, I almost said it again. Anyway, what you did was truly wonderful. How did you know the mice would come out?’
‘Because Professor Mousefinder said so.’
‘I did?’ the professor said.
‘Yes. You said that mice are very curious, and you know everything about mice.’
‘No one can ever know everything about mice. But I do know quite a lot,’ the professor said. ‘And thank you, Emily, for finding some excellent students for The Mousefinder Mouse Academy.’
‘It isn’t me you should thank,’ Emily said, holding up her eyefinger. ‘It’s my little mouse-finding friend.’
And everyone laughed a long and friendly laugh.
6.
Emily and the Secret from the Sea
‘The island of the Sea People sank into the ocean hundreds of years ago,’ Emily’s great aunt Olympia said. ‘An earthquake opened up a crack in the earth and the island was gobbled up.’
‘That’s terrible,’ Emily said.
‘The Sea People got away in boats,’ Aunt Olympia said, ‘but their city was gone.’
Emily was at her great aunt’s house. The walls and bookcases were filled with old things that Aunt Olympia had collected. Mr Fusspot, Aunt Olympia’s pet monkey, looked down from a bookcase while Emily took pictures with her new camera.
‘What are all those scratches on this shell?’ Emily asked.
‘Writing, my dear. Sea People writing. Stories mostly.’
Emily picked up another shell.
‘This one has a picture of a lady with long hair. Who was she?’
‘She was their Sea Goddess. They worshipped her. Had a statue of her made of the purest marble. Travellers from around the world said it was the most beautiful statue they’d ever seen. Before cameras, of course. And no drawings. I’d give anything to see it.’
‘Why don’t you go looking for it?’
‘Deep under the ground. Under the sea, Emily. Impossible. Besides, I’ve had enough. No more digging. No more chopping through jungles, riding camels across deserts. No more fighting wild pigs, deadly snakes.’
‘But, Aunt Olympia, you love digging up old cities. You can’t stop now.’
‘Nonsense, child. Can’t do it anymore. Too old.’
Mr Fusspot jumped onto a chair next to Emily.
‘Fussy! What are you doing?’ Emily said. ‘You’re up to no good, aren’t you?’
The monkey gave her a sad look and put his hands over his face.
‘Oh, Fussy, did I hurt your feelings?’
Emily stretched out her arms to give him a cuddle. But as she did, Fussy reached into her pocket and then shot up a bookcase.
‘Hey! Give me back my camera! Fussy, come down here!’
‘Leave him alone, dear,’ Aunt Olympia said. ‘He won’t do anything to it. Just likes a bit of a play. Did that with my watch the other day. Hmm, wonder where he hid it.’
‘Where exactly was this island of the Sea People?’
Aunt Olympia swung around to a map of the world that was hanging on the wall. She stabbed it with a finger.
‘Right there,’ she said. ‘Middle of the ocean. Called Doughnut Island now.’
‘Doughnut Island?’ Emily said.
‘Round with a hole in the middle. The Sea People’s city went down the hole.’
‘Isn’t Doughnut Island where that big earthquake was?’
‘Earthquake? What earthquake? Who told you this?’
‘It’s been on TV for the past couple of days.’
Aunt Olympia jumped to her feet.
‘TV? Must get one of those. What are we waiting for, girl?! Start packing. Don’t just stand there like an old boot, get a wriggle on!’
‘I thought you said you weren’t going to dig anymore, Aunt Olympia.’
‘Dig? Of course I’m not going to dig! Earthquakes are the greatest gift to people like me. They do the digging for us. You are coming, aren’t you?’
‘I’d better check with my parents to see if I can go,’ Emily said.
‘Of course it’ll be okay. Fussy! Come down! You’re coming too. Time’s a-wasting. Into the car!’
Aunt Olympia was not the greatest driver in the world but she may have been the fastest. Within minutes they were at the airport piling things into the back of Aunt Olympia’s little plane. Soon they were flying high above the clouds towards Doughnut Island.
‘ARE YOU SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING?!’ Emily yelled over the engine noise. ‘WHERE’S THE MAP?!’
‘MAP? DON’T NEED A MAP! BEEN THERE BEFORE! YEARS AGO.’
Emily took photos of the great blue ocean and the puffy white clouds dotted all around. Aunt Olympia flew the old plane for hours and hours. All the while, Fussy slept in Emily’s lap with his arms around her.
Finally Emily saw something on the horizon.
‘LOOK!’ she called. ‘SMOKE!’
‘NOT SMOKE, STEAM!’ Aunt Olympia called back. ‘STEAM FROM THE FAULT! THE EARTH IS OPENING UP. THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA IS BEING PUSHED UP! THIS IS WONDERFUL!’
Sure enough, there below was Doughnut Island, making a perfect circle around the mountain that had come up from under the sea.
‘IT’S THE SEA PEOPLE’S MOUNTAIN!’ Aunt Olympia cried.
‘WHERE ARE WE GOING TO LAND?’ Emily asked.
‘LAND?’ Aunt Olympia replied. ‘OH, YES. I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD LAND. LOOK FOR A NICE FLAT PLACE! NO ROCKS, NO TREES.’
Aunt Olympia flew her plane around and around Doughnut Island.
‘THERE’S NOWHERE TO LAND,’ Emily yelled. ‘THERE ARE TOO MANY PALMS. BEACHES ARE NO GOOD. WHERE DID YOU LAND WHEN YOU CAME HERE BEFORE?’
‘CAN’T REMEMBER, OH, YES. CAME BY SHIP.’
‘OH, NO! THERE’S NOWHERE TO LAND, AUNT OLYMPIA!’
‘NOW I REMEMBER, THAT’S WHY I CAME BY SHIP!’
Aunt Olympia flew around the island once again.
‘LET’S GO HOME!’ Emily yelled.
‘GO HOME? BUT WE’VE COME ALL THIS WAY. CAN’T JUST LEAVE NOW, GIRL … NEED PONTOONS.’
‘WHAT ARE PONTOONS?’
‘FLOATY THINGS FOR LANDING ON WATER.’
‘BUT WE DON’T HAVE PONTOONS,’ Emily said. ‘AUNT OLYMPIA, WE HAVE TO GO!’
Emily looked down at the new mountain. There were huge cracks in it and at the bottom of one Emily could see the shapes of old buildings.
‘CAN’T GO NOW,’ shouted Aunt Olympia. ‘THE SEA PEOPLE’S CITY IS BACK FROM UNDER THE SEA! THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE! WAITED ALL MY LIFE FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS! DON’T JUST SIT THERE, GIRL! FIND A PLACE TO LAND!’
There was no place to land so Emily thought and thought and then she thought some more. Then, while she was untangling Fussy’s arms from around her waist, she saw behind her seat with her eyefinger. Everything was stored there, including two big bag
s with ‘Inflatable Kayak’ written on them.
Emily undid her seat belt and climbed into the back of the plane. She pulled the kayaks across to her seat. Then she stepped onto the lower wing and crawled down onto one of the wheels. She tied a kayak under the wheel and started blowing it up.
‘WHAT’S THAT?’ her great aunt cried out from above.
‘A PONTOON!’ Emily shouted back.
‘A PONTOON? DIDN’T KNOW I HAD A PONTOON! WELL, FANCY THAT!’
After Emily had blown up one kayak, she tied the other one under the other wheel and blew that up too. She made it to her seat as Aunt Olympia brought the plane down on the water next to the new mountain.
‘Good work, Emily,’ her great aunt said. ‘I knew I’d brought you along for a reason. Now, how will we get ashore? There are a couple of kayaks in the back of the plane.’
‘Not anymore,’ Emily said. ‘Here, grab a paddle.’
Emily and Aunt Olympia paddled the plane to the edge of the mountain.
‘What do we do now?’ Emily asked. ‘The city is way up there.’
‘Then let’s go way up there,’ Aunt Olympia said. ‘Come along, girl. Don’t just stand there like a chunk of cheese.’
As they started to make their way up, the earth shook.
‘Ooops,’ Aunt Olympia said, ‘I suppose the mountain is still coming up. This is so exciting!’
Suddenly the earth shook again and this time there was a loud rumbling. Rocks rolled down to one side. Mr Fusspot screeched and Emily picked him up.
‘It’s okay, Fussy,’ she said. ‘Everything’s okay.’
But she wondered if it was.
For the next hour, Aunt Olympia marched up the mountain with Emily just behind. Every time the earth shook Fussy clung more tightly to Emily.
As they neared the top Emily saw it.
‘It’s here!’ she called out. ‘The city of the Sea People!’
There in front of them were the broken buildings of the ancient city. Aunt Olympia threw down her backpack.
‘Get to work, girl!’ she cried. ‘Take some photos! Collect things! Yiiippppeeee! This is the happiest day of my life!’
Emily took pictures as her great-aunt searched among the ruins.
‘And don’t forget to look for the statue of the Sea Goddess,’ Aunt Olympia said.
