Emily's Penny Dreadful (12 page)

 
They were in another
darkened laneway, lit only by pale, flickering lamps that were just
about running out of fuel.

  “
Where to now?” said
Ned.

  “
I don’t know,” said
Miley. “I guess one way is as good as an other.”

 
They ran round a
corner where they were both suddenly brought to a stop by a large
object that gripped them firmly, each by one arm, as if it would
never let them go.

Chapter 20

Miley looked up in horror! Ned closed his
eyes. They were caught before they’d had time to escape
anywhere.

 
Miley could have
kicked herself.

Bacon would not want anyone to find out that
she

was making kidnapped children work for her
in a

match factory. Miley should
have guessed there would be a third person on the prowl. It must
the night watchman who had them caught fast.

 
The man was none
other than the big-waisted man who had bumped so rudely into Miley,
the day she had found her way into the cellar of the Devil’s
Element. Only then, she hadn’t known he was match factory’s night
watchman.

 
As it turned out,
she still didn’t know who he really was.

Chapter 21

“
Miley, is that you?” asked
the big-waisted man.

  “
How do you know my
name?” Miley asked, completely flabbergasted. “And how do you know
the right way to pronounce it?”

  “
I’ve been looking
for you,” he said. “We all have. Your family and me. The
constabulary, too, of course.”

  “
But who are you?”
said Miley.

 
Ned had, by this
time, opened his eyes. He was

looking from Miley to the man, and back
again. Ned

was as mystified as Miley.

  “
I’m your Uncle,”
said the man. “That’s how I know your name and how to pronounce it.
I’ve been staying in your room. I was told you had run away from
home because I was coming. I felt very bad about that. Apparently I
made you cry.”

  “
We’ve never met,”
said Miley, “but you still recognized me.”

  “
Your parents showed
me a photo of you, of course.”

  “
What are you doing
here in the middle of the night,” Miley asked.

  “
I’ll tell you,”
said Miley’s Uncle. “But not right now. It’s obvious that you are
escaping from somewhere, for I can hear the sound of urgent
footsteps approaching and the cries of angry voices. I suspect they
may be voices of people who have been unkind to you.”
 

“
It’ll be the two box-men
and maybe Bacon and Pork Pie as well,” said Miley. “They kidnapped
us! I thought you were another one of them. The night
watchman.”

“
Certainly not,” said
Miley’s Uncle. “Follow me. I’ll

take you home.”

  “
Ned must come as
well,” said Miley.

  “
Of course he must,”
said Miley’s Uncle.

 
As they hurried from
the laneway, the voices of their enemies faded into the
background.

 
Much sooner than
Miley would ever have thought possible, she was home
again.

Chapter 22

Miley’s parents had been sleeping fitfully
for days on end, sick with worry about Miley. When Miley’s Uncle
woke them they nearly fell down the stairs in their haste to
embrace their lost daughter. Miley’s big sister sobbed great, big
tears, hugging and hugging her dear sister so closely that Miley
could barely take a breath.

  “
Tell us everything
that befell you!” they all clamored, so as soon as hot chocolate
and cold meat pies (not pork pies) were brought out Miley told her
story. It took a long time and it was hard to get everything in the
right order but Ned helped in the telling.

  “
But we still don’t
know what brought my brave,

kind-hearted Uncle to the laneway so late at
night,”

said Miley.

  “
I woke up with a
hunch,” Miley’s Uncle explained. “When I first saw your photograph
I thought I recognized the face on the photo. But where had I seen
it before, I asked myself. Then at last I remembered. (I have been
known to be forgetful, that’s why it took me so long to work it
out.) It was in that very laneway when I was making my way to your
home. A child bumped into me without apology. What a rude child, I
thought at the time, catching a glimpse of her face in the rain.
She has no manners.”

  “
But you bumped into
me!” said Miley. “And you didn’t say sorry, either.”

  “
Well, we were both
at fault perhaps,” Miley’s Uncle agreed. “At any rate, the face I
had seen came back into my mind’s eye and suddenly I knew who it
was. I knew it was your face I had seen, Miley. I didn’t want to
unduly raise the hopes of your dear parents and

sister so I slipped from the house this very
night and retraced my steps to the laneway. And lo and behold!

There you came running. You and this lad
called Ned.

And the story ends happily.”

  “
That must be the
police,” said Miley’s Papa, as a

loud hammering sounded at the door. “I sent
for them

immediately.”

  “
Let them in,” said
Miley’s uncle. “They have some work to do, rescuing more unlucky
children from the clutches of Bacon and Pork Pie. Except, now, they
will be lucky children instead, and the Devil’s Element will be
toast.”

  “
We must also let
Ned’s father know that Ned is safe and well,” said
Miley.

  “
Indubitably,” said
Miley’s Uncle.

Chapter Fifteen

The following day, the door to Emily’s room
was open and Uncle Raymond called out to Emily as she went
past.

  “
Did you finish?’”
he asked.

  “
I have some loose
ends to tie up,” said Emily. “But, thanks to you, Miley and Ned
have escaped and the police are on their way to rescue the other
children. The factory is going to be toast, I think.”

  “
Hmm,” said Uncle
Raymond. “Perhaps a rather too drastic solution. I think we’ve had
our share of fires, you and I Emily, don’t you agree? Better that
it just closes down.”

  “
Hmm,” said Emily.
“How are you getting on?” she asked.

  “
I find myself in
the same state as before,” said Uncle Raymond. “An ideas-free zone.
However, with respect to my grumpiness, I have decided to try and
smile a little more by remembering nice times. And, one day soon, a
smile may lead to laughter.”

  “
Well,” said Emily,
“while I’ve been finishing my story, I’ve had two ideas to help
you.”

  “
Indeed,” said Uncle
Raymond. “Do tell.”

  “
Our teacher always
says that we have to polish our stories until they shine,” said
Emily.  “I’m not very good at polishing. It hurts my
arm.”

  “
I understand
completely,” said Uncle Raymond.

“
I though we could polish
The Devil’s Element together,” said Emily. “That way, you could get
used to writing again.”

  “
Do you think two
grumpy, but hopefully not as grumpy as before, people could work
successfully together?” asked Uncle Raymond.

  “
We could try,” said
Emily.

  “
Hmm. Well, without
a doubt, your story will need some polishing. And what is your
second idea.”

“
I’ve had an idea for a
brand new story. You gave me the idea to begin with so it’s only
fair that we write it together. If you want to.”

  “
I don’t write
juveniles,” said Uncle Raymond. “As I explained, I simply don’t
have the necessary competencies.”

  “
This will be a story for all ages,” said Emily. “And you have
to start writing
something
or you’ll forget completely how to do it. My idea
is that we write

about a ghost. A real ghost
this time. Not a metaphorical one. And what if the ghost meets an
Ancient Roman? On another planet? Maybe we could make the story
really dreadful by having another Barber Surgeon in it. Not like
the one in your Penny Dreadful, but a modern sort of hairdresser
with curling tongs and straighteners and all sorts of sprays and
smelly perfumes. Poisonous ones that attack people’s Achilles
Heels. And what if there’s a fox terrier called Bertie in the story
who comes to the rescue . . . ”

  “
You’re getting
rather carried away, I fear,” Uncle Raymond interrupted
her.

  “
It’s just a place to start,” said Emily. “I’m just asking
writerly questions.
What
ifs
?”

  “
Fair enough, I
suppose,” said Uncle Raymond. “What might this book be called?” he
asked, after a few moments further thought.

 
Emily chewed her lip. “I thought we could call it
Emily and Uncle Raymond’s Penny
Dreadful
,” she said.

  “
Hmm. I’m not sure
about the title,” said Uncle Raymond. “Or, rather, the order of the
names in the title. Why don’t we wait and decide on those
details

later on.”

   “
So we’ll
write the story together?”

   “
Well, I
suppose we could give it a try,” said Uncle Raymond at last. “As
you say, it’s a place to start. And all writers have to start
somewhere, don’t they?”

  “
Indubitably!” said
Emily.

The End