Hugo and the Bird

by Jeff Mills

  “I’m sorry but I will have to leave you,” said Puchy. “I have a lot of calls to make tonight and I need to get some rest before I go. If I can be of any help, then you know how to contact me.”

  Bird and Hugo smiled and said their most grateful thanks to her. With a soft buzzing she flew off and out of sight. Bird also said that he had to disappear as the people coming up the path might see him.

  “Can you make it back to my room?” asked Hugo. “If you can then I will try and get you some food so that you can become invisible again and we can go back and help Barguff.”

  “I must admit that I could do with something to eat,” said Bird, “but there is no ‘we’ when it comes to going back. I’ve already put you and Emma into far too much danger as it is. From now on, you stay as far away from that cave and Morgana as possible.”

  Emma nodded but Hugo looked very non-committal. “See you back in your room,” Bird said and then disappeared, well, almost disappeared, for Hugo could still see his shape shimmering as it moved along the path away from them.

  “I hope that nobody sees him,” Emma said, and then they slowly moved on towards the dark silhouette of the house.

  Chapter 11

  The Talisman

  “You’re just in time for tea,” Julia Bennett said cheerfully as Emma and Hugo walked into the kitchen. Hugo sighed with relief when he saw Jake quietly curled up in his basket. Mrs Bennett turned around from the sink, where she had been washing some dishes and suddenly stopped.

  “What in the world have you been doing? You’re both filthy. You look as if you’ve fallen down a chimney. You’re covered in what looks like, soot.”

  Emma and Hugo looked at each other and sure enough they really did look like they had fallen down a chimney, with thick black streaks down their clothes and across their faces.

  “Oh!” said Hugo very sheepishly, trying to think up a credible excuse as fast as he could. “We went back along the coast path to see if I could retrieve my rucksack that fell between the rocks and we must have got dirty while we were trying to get it out.”

  “So where is it?” enquired his mother, obviously not fully believing him.

  “We couldn’t reach it,” lied Hugo, trying his best not to turn red. “What’s for tea?” he asked, changing the subject as quickly as he could.

  “Before you get anything, both of you go upstairs and get showered and change your clothes. I will put some clean ones of Stephanie’s out for you while you’re cleaning yourself up,” Mrs Bennett said, looking at Emma.

  “Oh, thanks very much,” Emma replied politely but trying her best not to make eye contact.

  “And make sure that you empty your pockets Hugo. The last time I washed your trousers I had to get the plumber in to fix the washing machine because you had left some bits of toys in the pockets and they came out in the machine and blocked the filters.”

  “Okay Mum. Anything to nibble before we go up?”

  “You can have a fairy cake each,” she said with a sigh. Both children looked at each other and blushed but without facing Mrs Bennett. They each grabbed a cake and rushed out of the kitchen, pounding up the stairs. At the top, Hugo veered off into his room while Emma went into the room which she had occupied the last time she had stayed at the Bennetts. Both doors banged shut, but then Hugo rushed back out of his room and banged on Emma’s door. She opened it slowly, but couldn’t speak properly as she had a mouthful of fairy cake.

  “Stop eating!” he said angrily. “We need those for Bird so that he can become invisible again.”

  Emma stopped chewing mid-munch and looked very embarrassed.

  “Sorry, I forgot,” she spluttered, sending a spray of crumbs over Hugo. He sighed in disgust, grabbed what was left of the cake and returned to his room, slamming the door. He looked at the half-eaten cake and then at his own and his stomach gave a gurgle. He took a small pinch of Emma’s cake and put it into his mouth. It tasted so good, but then his conscience kicked in and he reluctantly put them down on his bedroom table. He heard the bathroom door slam and the noise of the shower start. He began to take his dirty clothes off. He was himself surprised how black they were, especially the backs of his shirt and trousers where he had been tied to the wall of Morgana’s cave. ‘The soot from the wall must have rubbed off,’ he thought.

  When he removed his trousers, he did as he was told and dug into his pockets to empty them. He pulled out some scrunched up tissues, his trusty penknife, the two two-pound coins that his mother had given him, so that he and Emma could buy some snacks and a couple of old rubber bands. He was about to throw his trousers on the floor and kick them under the bed when his hand felt something else, deep in one of the pockets. It felt sharp and scratched the back of his hand. He turned the pocket inside out and from it, fell the small dirty roundish object that he had picked up from the floor of the cavern where he had seen the three coffins. This time he really did throw his trousers on the floor and, in one movement, kicked them under the bed.

  He picked up the object from between the folds of his duvet where it had fallen, and rotated it in his fingers. It had obviously been lying on the floor of the cave for some time as it was almost completely encased in concretions and sand. There was one small area, however, where the dirt had been knocked away, and from this spot came the glint of what Hugo imagined could be gold. He was about to pick up his penknife to use to try to clean up the object, when there was a bang on his door and Emma announced that she had finished in the shower.

  Hugo’s stomach gave another loud gurgle and he looked jealously at the one and a half fairy cakes sitting temptingly on his bedside table. ‘No! They’re for Bird,’ he thought, and putting the object and his penknife in his table drawer, he put on his dressing gown and went to shower.

  Both Hugo and Emma were very quiet at the tea table, not only because they did not want to get involved in any conversation where their activities of the day might be uncovered, but also because Stephanie had invited Martin, and between the two of them it was difficult to get a word in edgeways.

  ‘I thought that Stephie had finished with that slime ball,’ Hugo thought.

  Stephanie was in raptures over how professionally Martin had played in the game of football that he had been in that afternoon. She raved about the way he had scored two goals, one of which clinched victory. Martin, on the other hand, was feigning embarrassment and trying to downplay his involvement, but it was obvious, at least to Hugo, that he was trying to milk it for all he was worth. Mr Bennett was trying to sound enthusiastic about Martin’s achievements but Hugo knew that his dad was only being polite, because he hated football.

  The cooked part of the meal was over and Hugo eyed up the large plate of fairy cakes that Mrs Bennett had just picked up from the kitchen counter and was bringing over to the table. He could feel the whipping of Jake’s tail against his leg under the table where his pet normally sat during meal times, in case some tasty morsel fell from the table and he could snap it up before anyone had the chance to retrieve it. Also, he knew that if there was something in the meal that Hugo did not particularly like, then he would surreptitiously slide it off his plate onto the floor for the animal to devour.

  Suddenly Hugo had a brainwave; he gave his pet a big kick from under the table, making the dog jump out and right into Mrs Bennett. The dog collided with her legs and she threw the cakes, plate and all, high into the air so that they flew off and landed, scattered across the room.

  “Stupid dog!” scolded Mr Bennett. “I’m sure that he isn’t right in the head. He’s been acting very strangely recently. Are you all right Jules?”

  His wife just stood in silence for a moment looking around at the devastation that was to be their dessert, before cursing as loudly but as politely, remembering she had guests, as she could.

  Hugo beamed. His idea had worked. “Don’t worry, Mum,” he announced. “I’ll go and get
the dustpan and brush.”

  Pushing away his chair from the table with a scraping sound, he rushed out of the dining room and into the kitchen, where he knew the dustpan and brush were kept. His mother was quite taken aback at this offer of help, as it was unheard of for her son to voluntarily do anything useful.

  Hugo rushed back into the dining room where everyone still seemed stunned. He bent down and, on his hands and knees, gathered up the fallen cakes and even brushed up the crumbs. Jake tried to get in on the act and grab a few morsels for himself but Hugo scolded him, very unconvincingly, pushing him away saying,

  “Go away, you naughty dog. You’ve made enough trouble for one day.” But as he pushed the dog away he gave its head a good rub and said under his breath, “Thanks Jake.” The dog wagged its tail and slouched off to its basket.

  When Hugo had finished picking up the pieces he looked at everyone and asked,

  “Anybody want one?”

  Without exception they all waggled their heads to say no. ‘Great!’ thought Hugo and he turned and took the overflowing dustpan into the kitchen. However, he did not put the debris into the waste bin; instead he found an old plastic bag and shook the remains into it.

  Hiding the bag against his chest he rushed upstairs and hid it under his bed. Returning down the stairs, he went back into the dining room where his mother was serving some tinned peaches and ice cream as a substitute dessert.

  * * *

  When the meal was over, Mr Bennett settled down in his easy chair, unfolded his newspaper and started to read. Mrs Bennett busied herself in the kitchen, tidying up from the meal. When he was sure that everything was almost done, Hugo’s dad lowered his paper and shouted into the kitchen.

  “Do you need a hand, dear?” Nothing was heard except a big sigh of exasperation.

  Hugo and Emma excused themselves, Hugo deliberately kicking his sister’s chair as she drooled into the eyes of Martin, who seemed to be more interested in the football match that was showing on the TV than her. She raised her arm as if to strike Hugo but then thought better of it, as her father was looking directly at her. The two younger children ran out of the room and upstairs into Hugo’s room.

  “What was that about?” questioned Emma. “You deliberately made Jake jump into your Mum and make her spill the cakes. I saw you.”

  “Ah ha!” chuckled Hugo and he dragged the plastic bag of fallen cakes from under his bed, leaving a line of crumbs on the floor. Facing his end wall he said in a low voice, “Bird, Bird, Bird.” Nothing happened for several minutes and he was about to call again when the wall shimmered and Bird appeared but with some difficulty.

  “Sorry about the delay,” Bird said apologetically. “I haven’t eaten for a long time and it makes it very difficult for me to make myself merge through walls.”

  “I thought that might be the case,” replied Hugo, “so I managed to get you these.” He handed the plastic bag of cakes to Bird. The animal’s eyes lit up. He even flapped his large ears. Emma suddenly gave a large grin of understanding.

  It took only a minute for Bird to swallow the cakes. Large lumps protruded from his long neck as the delicacies trickled down into his stomach. He gave a shuddering ruffle of his feathers and preened under his wings. Finally, he sat back on his haunches and gave a big sigh of satisfaction.

  Hugo and Emma were keen to ask him how and when they were going back to rescue Barguff and the other gnomes.

  Bird must have sensed this and with another flutter of his wing he announced,

  “Right that feels better. Just what I needed.” He bent his head down and pecked at the few remaining crumbs on the floor and then said seriously, “I’m going back to the cave to see what I can do. Under no circumstances whatsoever are you two to go back into that cave. I’ve got enough to do to free Barguff and his chums; I don’t want to spend half my time checking up on you two.”

  He turned to Emma and Hugo, looked them both squarely in the face and made them promise that, whatever happened, they were not to go back into the cave or do anything to try to help in the rescue bid. Both children protested vehemently but eventually gave their word. It was a good job that Bird did not notice that Hugo had his fingers crossed behind his back.

  With his energy renewed, Bird disappeared through the wall leaving the two in silence, sitting on the bed. Emma asked if there was anything they could do to pass the time.

  “I’ll see if Mum will allow us to watch a DVD downstairs,” responded Hugo and they bounced off the bed and went downstairs.

  Stephanie and Martin were just leaving as they entered the lounge. Hugo quipped, “Ah! The ugly sisters,” at which his sister and Martin gave him a look of utter contempt. With an emphasised turn, they left the room and out on their date.

  It was nine thirty when the film about pirates that they had been watching, finished and they were ushered up into their respective bedrooms. Hugo waited until he heard the sound of Emma finishing in the bathroom and closing her door. He put on his dressing gown and went into the bathroom to wash and clean his teeth.

  When he opened the door, the smell of deodorant hit him. ‘Will she never learn?’ he thought, as his memory jogged back to where he and Emma had been captured by Kadavera, all because of the overpowering smell of the deodorant Emma had used. As he left the bathroom, he shouted a good-night to his parents downstairs, then to Emma, and went into his room and closed the door. He half expected to see Bird there but the room was empty.

  He had just jumped into bed and was about to put the bedside light out, when he caught sight of the dirty coin-like piece that he had retrieved from his trouser pocket. He carefully twisted it in his fingers, trying to flick off the dirt with his fingernail, but time had welded it on. He looked around to find something that he could use to clean up the object and was pleased when he spied his trusty penknife. Opening the blade, he scraped at the dirt. Bit by bit the pieces of debris were prised off.

  It took about twenty minutes before the object was clean enough to make out what it was. As he held it in his hand he was amazed to see that it appeared to give off a golden glow. It even seemed strangely warm as he passed it from hand to hand. The object appeared to be in the shape of a cross with a circle going around it. He remembered that one of his teachers at school had shown them a picture of something that looked very similar in shape a few days before they had broken up for the holidays. The teacher had called it a Celtic cross. Hugo felt quite proud that he had even remembered about it as, for the rest of the lesson, he had been playing noughts and crosses with Joseph Tregellis, the boy who sat next to him.

  On the one side there appeared to be a picture of the head of a lion but its mane was made up of snakes. Around the ring was some strange foreign writing; which Hugo could not make out in any shape or form. On the other side was the engraving of a hand holding a sword. At the top and bottom, above and below the lion’s head, was a small hole which, Hugo thought, might mean that it was part of a brooch or pendant. He gazed at it for several minutes, wondering if this could be part of a treasure that had been hidden in the cave. He passed it from hand to hand until he yawned and decided that it really was bed time. Carefully wrapping the brooch, for that is what it seemed to be, in a clean sock, he put it into his drawer and decided to make further investigations the next day.

  Chapter 12

  Cornish Goblins

  “Ere, what d’you make of this?” the big man in a light-blue coverall shouted to the older man, similarly attired, who was stretching, having just raised himself from a kneeling position, where he had been studying some odd marks left in the soft mud.

  “I’m getting too old for all this bending down,” he said to no one in particular and went over to where his colleague from the police forensics team was on his hands and knees studying the earth around him.

  “What you got there, Bill?”

  “Look sir, there are these marks
in the mud here. I can see one set looks like a dog and another looks like a cat but it must be massive ’cos the paw prints are much larger than anything that I’ve seen from any domestic moggy. The main thing that I can’t seem to make out is, these very tiny marks. They look like footprints but very small, as if made by a doll or something.”

  “Better take a cast, then we can get the experts to have a look when we get back to the lab and better be quick ’cos it looks like it’s going to rain soon and we don’t want everything washed away.”

  Quickly, the kneeling officer searched through the case he had by his side and drew out some cardboard tape, which he formed into a circle around the prints. He then took a plastic bag containing a white powder and squeezed some water from a small bottle into it. Mulching the mixture between his fingers until it was thoroughly mixed, he poured the liquid plaster into the mould.

  Sure enough, he had just finished when it started to rain, so he covered the area with a piece of plastic sheet and, with his partner, rushed to the reception area of the Gnome Reserve for cover. It was not a moment too soon, as the heavens opened and the rain could be heard beating down on the roof of the small building.

  “Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?” the owner of the premises asked the two men who were in the process of taking off their protective suits.

  “Oh, coffee please, with one sugar in Mike’s here and none in mine. I’m supposed to be on a diet,” the younger of the two men said, looking very regretful.

  “D’you find anything?” the gardener asked, eager to learn the latest news and the two assistants also looked on with eager anticipation.

  “Do any of you own a dog or a very big cat?”

  “Why do you ask?” enquired the owner as she passed the coffees over to the two men.

  “We noticed a lot of footprints in the mud that look like that of a dog, about the size of a Labrador or Retriever and also that of what looks to be a cat but much bigger than a domestic cat; more like a cheetah or leopard.”