Fennymore and the Brumella (7 page)

CHAPTER 16

In which Fennymore and Beardy take a bus and get a few strange looks

The bus stop was a rusty pole with a battered yellow sign on top. It was just there on the side of the road, and Fennymore and Beardy stood beside it. Beardy rubbed the pole and piously examined the rust that came away on his fingers.

‘Stop that,' said Fennymore and pulled him away from the pole. He was jumpy. When on earth was this bus going to come? He hadn't a clue about the timetable. And how was Fizzy doing? Fennymore poked a few coins out of his little purse. Hopefully it would be enough.

It rained. Then it stopped. Then it rained again. And then the bus came.

Fennymore heard it coming a long way off. It sounded different from the cars, which zoomed quietly past him and his father and didn't stop.

Oh well
, thought Fennymore.
Would I have stopped?

Beardy was jumping up and down all the time in a puddle that had formed near the bus stop, his hair streaming in the wind. That made the mud splatter, and he laughed loudly and joyfully the whole time.

The engine droned and there was a rumbling sound as the bus lurched to a halt in front of Fennymore and his father. The doors hissed open. Beardy was taken aback. He stared open-mouthed at the big yellow vehicle. Fennymore turned the coins over in his hand and hesitated.

‘Will you be ready any time soon?' asked the driver impatiently. ‘Are you coming or aren't you?'

He was wearing a blue hat with the logo of the bus company on it. His face looked out from under it, not friendly, but not unfriendly either.

Fennymore took Beardy by the hand. As soon as they had climbed on board, the driver pressed a button and the doors snapped shut. Beardy was astonished into silence and stared at the driver. The bus driver glared back, appalled. For the first time Fennymore realised how mad Beardy looked, with his mud-streaked wet clothes and his long hair.

He quickly pressed Herr Muckenthaler's piece of paper and the coins into the driver's hand.

‘What's all this about?' said the driver crossly. ‘Number six, Lerchenweg. I'm not a taxi. I can take you as far as Taubengasse. It's five minutes from there. And make sure this fellow doesn't create any trouble,' he added, looking at Beardy.

‘Er, yes, of course, thank you,' said Fennymore softly.

The bus was half-full and the passengers craned their necks curiously. Fennymore dragged his father, who could hardly take his eyes off the driver, down the bus. One man who was sitting by the window moved pointedly onto the aisle seat. Fennymore pushed his father onto a free seat further back, and the driver pulled off.

Beardy was enthralled. He gave little cries of delight as the world flew past and banged on the window with his fist.

‘Now, now,' called the driver and gave Fennymore warning looks in the rear-view mirror.

The two ladies who were sitting in front of them were whispering excitedly. Fennymore could make out an ‘impossible', an ‘irresponsible' and a hissed ‘And as for that brat'.

The lady by the window was wearing a hat with a little yellow feather in it. Oh no, thought Fennymore, but it was too late. His father had also seen the feather and had just given it a hefty yank.

‘Hee-hee,' he said and tickled the other lady on the neck with it.

Fennymore blushed to the very tip of his left ear.

‘So sorry,' he said quietly.

But the ladies sat there stonily and didn't even turn around. Could they be afraid?

Fennymore had to laugh. He took the feather carefully out of his father's hand and stuck it back in the hat.

‘No,' he explained to Beardy, ‘that is not your feather.'

Then he pointed at the trees and clouds that were going past outside.

Beardy listened with interest. Then he said ‘Ah. Gah.'

Wonderful. He'd planned to think about Dr Hourgood and Fizzy's kidnapping on the journey and also about how he was going to explain the whole thing to Herr Muckenthaler. And instead he was having to report the names of trees and to search for clouds that looked like animals.

But Beardy liked it. He hung on Fennymore's words and looked with interest out of the window.

Soon the first houses of the town came into view. A neon sign for the Tristesse Ice-cream Parlour flew by. Then the bus stopped and the driver called out behind impatiently, ‘So, what's the story? Taubengasse.' Fennymore stuck the vinegar-chocolate tin under his arm, pulled Beardy hastily and stumbled, under the disapproving eye of the driver, out into the drizzle.

‘Layabouts. Corner-boys. Scoundrels.'

He could hear the voices of the two ladies ranting and raving.

Then the doors of the bus closed again with a hiss.

CHAPTER 17

In which Fennymore finally opens the vinegar-chocolate tin and Herr Muckenthaler has an idea

Herr Muckenthaler lived in a little flat-roofed house whose front garden was scented with mint and basil. He had looked a little surprised to find Fennymore and Beardy outside his house. His hair was a bit messy and he looked as if he'd just been having a little snooze.

‘Fennymore,' he said. ‘How are you? Come in.'

‘Em, hello,' said Fennymore. ‘This is probably my father.' He pointed at Beardy.

Herr Muckenthaler looked at Beardy.

‘But he has been brain-modified,' Fennymore added. ‘That means he's a bit odd.'

Beardy looked back seriously at Herr Muckenthaler.

‘Hm,' he said. ‘Take off your shoes and come on in.'

Beardy's shoes were caked with mud. Fennymore opened his laces and helped him out of the shoes. Woollen socks striped in red and white came into view. Or rather what was left of what had once been red-and-white-striped socks. They consisted mostly of holes and they gave off an absolutely indescribable stench. Fennymore's stomach heaved. He held his breath and gave an apologetic look in Herr Muckenthaler's direction, but he'd already disappeared.

When Fennymore, holding his father's hand, entered his teacher's sitting-room, Herr Muckenthaler came into the room from a little kitchen nook carrying two large cups of coffee and a dish. He put everything on a low table.

‘That's all I could find quickly,' he said, looking apologetically at Fennymore's father. ‘A few old bits of peanut brittle.'

But Fennymore's father was totally engrossed in the shelves that were piled up to the ceiling with books and records.

‘Ah,' he said. ‘Gah.'

Fennymore didn't feel the least bit hungry. He was far too agitated for that. But he sat down all the same beside his teacher on one of the cushions that were scattered around the table. He wanted to show him the note from Dr Hourgood right there and then, but he suddenly got another terrible twinge of conscience about missing school. And anyway, he really didn't know where to begin.

So he tried some of the weird little things in the dish, which looked like dried-out larvae. They crunched softly and had a kind of musty flavour. The coffee didn't taste all that great either. Frau Plüsch's honey cookies had been decidedly better.

After they'd chewed a bit on the peanut brittle and had half emptied the coffee mugs, Fennymore was starting to feel a bit fidgety.

Using all kinds of roundabout phrases, which came out of his mouth all twisted up, he thought, he tried to explain to Herr Muckenthaler what had happened. Beardy was standing there the whole time gaping in astonishment at the bookcase.

‘And here is Dr Hourgood's message,' Fennymore finished, handing Herr Muckenthaler the piece of paper that he had partially deciphered.

‘This is Dr Hourgood's message?' Herr Muckenthaler repeated dully, staring incredulously at the paper. ‘Fennymore, you know, what you've just told me is completely unbelievable.'

Fennymore shrugged his shoulders.

‘It's not – logical,' added Herr Muckenthaler. He sighed, took a long slug of coffee and stared off into the distance.

‘Please read it. Fizzy has been kidnapped and …'

‘All right,' said Herr Muckenthaler and held the paper up to his face.

‘This is certainly Dr Hourgood's handwriting,' he said, staring at the paper.

Then he gazed seriously at Fennymore. ‘Fennymore, if this is a joke, please tell me now. It's really not funny.'

Fennymore looked at the floor. He could feel tears building up behind his eyes. Funny? No, it was not particularly funny that his father had lost his reason and Fizzy had been kidnapped, Monbijou had disappeared again and Hubert had obviously done a bunk. It definitely wasn't funny.

He cleared his throat but said nothing.

Then Herr Muckenthaler read:

I've got Fizzy. If you want to rescue her, bring the tin. This evening. Uhrengasse.

Dr R. U.

If you want to rescue her. This evening. Uhrengasse.
How come he hadn't been able to work that out for himself? Fennymore's heart beat faster.

‘Herr Muckenthaler, we have to go. We have to …'

The teacher gestured towards Beardy, who was standing at the window now, muttering to himself.

‘Hourgood. In a hood,' he was saying softly to himself, looking seriously into the garden. ‘Seldom good, seldom good,' he muttered on, almost inaudibly, and Fennymore could see a tear glistening on his cheek.

* * *

It took a while to convince Herr Muckenthaler that they had to do something. He was fascinated by Hubert and the way he would materialise. He kept asking Fennymore to repeat details about how that happened.

‘Interesting, most interesting,' he kept murmuring and then he would stand up to look something up in one of the books on the bookshelves. Then he'd give a little nod and stare into the distance. Beardy had that effect on him too. He kept trying to get him to talk. A few times, Beardy had let out something in rhyme, and Herr Muckenthaler had seemed very impressed and had made notes.

‘Very interesting, Fennymore. A very special case. He is very intelligent. You can tell from his utterances. Was your father very mathematical?'

Fennymore did eventually manage to get his teacher to concern himself first and foremost with Fizzy and the letter.

‘Right then,' Herr Muckenthaler said, slamming his book shut. ‘So what's in this tin, then?'

The tin! Fennymore had almost forgotten about the tin. Reluctantly, he handed it over to Herr Muckenthaler. Herr Muckenthaler weighed it in his hand and looked curiously at Fennymore.

‘I don't really know,' Fennymore said. ‘It all happened so quickly, I didn't have time to open it. I think it's Aunt Elsie's valuables.'

Herr Muckenthaler clicked his tongue and held the tin out to Fennymore. ‘You're the one who should open it,' he said. ‘After all, it's yours now.'

Fennymore took the tin in both hands. Most of the dust had been rubbed off it by now. Carefully, he placed his thumbs under the lid and pushed it up. In the tin, neatly arranged in rows, were about two dozen vinegar chocolates wrapped in silver foil. So these were Aunt Elsie's valuables? Ancient confectionery?

Fennymore unwrapped one of the sweets. The chocolate had gone mouldy and it smelt of feet. Though that might have been coming from Beardy's socks.

‘Urgh,' went Fennymore.

Herr Muckenthaler said nothing.

At least he's not laughing his head off at me
, thought Fennymore.
First salt-baked dachshund and now mummified vinegar chocolates.

Irritated, he let the tin fall onto the carpet. The dusty spheres went rolling off in every direction, but now Fennymore could see something else. Fennymore reached out quickly for it. Flat and heavy, the thing lay on his palm. A large silver key.

‘Excellent,' said Herr Muckenthaler. ‘Do you know what it's to?'

Fennymore said nothing. He'd been expecting jewellery, gold coins, gemstones – although, or perhaps because, he had never seen Aunt Elsie with such things – or at the very least an envelope full of money. But a key?

Then he suddenly remembered. His father, with short hair, making his way through the currant and gooseberry bushes and past the compost heap right to the very end of the garden. To the Invention Capsule. He was taking a large key out of his pocket and opening the padlock. Then he gave Fennymore a friendly slap on the back and told him to go and play in the sunshine. But Fennymore wanted to go in and watch his father. To invent something himself.

And then, a few weeks after the day his parents had disappeared, Aunt Elsie making that same journey, running through the fruit bushes, ignoring the thorns. Twigs were smacking Fennymore in the face. She stopped at the door of the Invention Capsule, breathing hard. Then she drew the key out of the padlock and held it up in the sunlight.

‘You're never to go in here again, Fennymore,' she said. ‘You must promise me that. And I'll get rid of the key to this horrible hut. All this invention nonsense has brought nothing but trouble.'

‘I remember now,' said Fennymore, and then he told Herr Muckenthaler the whole story.

After that they sat for a while, saying nothing and looking at Beardy, who was taking a little snooze on the carpet, using a pile of books as a pillow.

Then Herr Muckenthaler suddenly said, ‘I have an idea.'