The Secret of the Ginger Mice (31 page)

So he was right, Alistair thought. The Winns was in Gerander. And it ran right through the center of the country, just like the blue stripe on his scarf ran right down the center. What was it Timmy had said?
It is the spine that knits our head to our feet
. Had the midnight blue
mouse been looking at Alistair's scarf when he described the river as knitting the country together? Now that he thought about it, it seemed to Alistair that he had. As his uncle took the scarf and headed to the laundry, Alistair remembered what Slippers had said about the secret paths of Gerander.
They have never been recorded in writing
, she had told them,
but are passed down through families in other ways; they are sung or painted or danced
. Was it possible that instead of painting the paths, Emmeline had
knitted
them into his scarf? And that the scarf and the song went together? This was important news for Slippers Pink and Feast Thompson!

Alistair was trying to catch the eye of Tibby Rose, who was helping Aunt Beezer and Alex gather together the empty plates, when his uncle came back into the room and his aunt said, “Now let's talk of happier things and try to have a pleasant evening. We don't know what kinds of dangers and discomforts we might have ahead of us.”

“I don't think anything could be more uncomfortable than rolling down a mountain in a barrel,” said Alice.

“Or more dangerous than jumping off that cliff near Shambles,” said Alex. “Did we tell you how high it was, Uncle? I bet the cliff you jumped from with the cheddar wasn't nearly so high.”

“Well, it does sound like you were very brave,”
said their uncle. “But of course you forget that when I jumped off the cliff I was holding your father by the tail.” Ebenezer indicated the couch. “Now imagine that the top of the couch is the cliff. . . .”

“Alistair?” called Alice a little while later. “Come over here and let me hold your tail.”

Alistair looked over. His sister was standing on top of the couch next to Tibby Rose. Uncle Ebenezer was standing beside Tibby Rose, explaining something to her that involved lots of hand gestures and wiggles of the mustache. Tibby was straining slightly to bear the weight of Alex, who she was holding by the tail.

“Alistair,” said Alice impatiently. “Hurry up!”

With a happy sigh, Alistair slipped off his chair and went over to join them. He was not going to let Alice hold him by the tail, but from now on he would join in any other adventure she and his brother had in mind.

“Coming,” he said.

For insight, encouragement, and inspiration, I would like to thank David Francis, Belinda Bolliger, Barbara Mobbs, Helen Glad, and Lydia Papandrea.

 

Look out for the next book in the exciting
The Song of the Winns series in 2013,
The Spies of Gerander
!

A
listair, come back!” called his uncle as Alistair stood in the middle of the road.

A giant owl swooped towards the ground, its talons outstretched. Alistair could just make out the shape of a mouse grasped in each talon.

“Oswald!” said Alistair, waving. “Over here.”

The owl hovered inches above the ground, then carefully released its two passengers, who stumbled a moment before regaining their balance. In the twilight Alistair saw a tall lean mouse and a small slim one in shiny black boots. It was Feast Thompson and Slippers Pink.

“We'll walk from here,” the slim mouse was telling the owl, “and meet up again later.”

“Hi, Feast!” Alistair said as the owl soared into the darkening sky. “Hello, Slippers.”

Feast Thompson and Slippers Pink turned at the sound of his voice. Slippers, Alistair noticed, was looking distinctly queasy; she hated flying.

“Alistair! Tibby Rose!” Slippers rushed over and hugged first Alistair and then Tibby Rose, who had joined him.

By this time, the others had left the shelter of the bushes, and Alistair introduced Slippers Pink and Feast Thompson to his family.

“A pleasure to meet two of FIG's highest operatives,” said Ebenezer.

“People only call us that because we spend so much time in the air,” said Slippers, laughing.

The group continued up the road together. Slippers Pink, walking with Beezer, led the way, followed by Ebenezer and Feast Thompson.

“It's just around the next bend,” Slippers was saying. “FIG has taken over the Stetson school for our headquarters while everyone's away for the summer. The principal is a supporter.”

“And when summer's over?” Beezer asked. “Where will the headquarters be then?”

Slippers shrugged her slim shoulders. “On the move again, I suppose. Setting up camp in a cave in a remote valley for a month or two, if we're lucky. More often it's just a week or so in a forest clearing or in the scrub along a deserted stretch of coast. It's been wonderful having a real base for a while: proper beds and running water and a cafeteria. Of course, we're keeping a low profile; I doubt anyone in the village even suspects that there's anyone staying at the school.”

Alex, who was walking with Alice in front of Alistair
and Tibby Rose, groaned. “We're going to be hanging out at a school? Eating in the cafeteria?” Then he let out an
ooph
as Alice nudged him sharply in the ribs. “Hey, what did you do that for?” he demanded.

Alice hissed, “Because Feast Thompson and Slippers Pink have more important things to worry about than what the food is—”

But before she could finish her sentence they heard Feast Thompson say loudly, “I hope Tobias has found a good chef. Slippers and I have been traveling nonstop for the last couple of weeks, and I'd give anything to sit down to a big, hearty meal.”

Alex didn't say anything, but Alistair saw him shoot a self-righteous look at Alice.

“Here's the turnoff,” Slippers said, and at a fork in the road they turned left onto a narrow road winding up through an avenue of pine trees. “The school isn't actually in Stetson itself; it's on a hill above the town. It's great for security, because there's only one road in.”

“Except if you arrive by owl,” Feast pointed out.

After about ten minutes' walking, Alistair saw that up ahead the narrow road opened out onto a large flat plateau partially enclosed by a wall of rock. He could just make out clusters of dark shapes, which must be the school buildings. As they drew close two mice stepped out onto the road to block their way.

Slippers Pink and Feast Thompson moved forward. “Hi, Flora,” said Slippers to the tall blonde mouse. She turned to the tall brown one. “Is that you, Maxwell? It's been ages.”

“I've been undercover the last few months,” the brown mouse said briefly. Alistair noticed that Slippers and Feast nodded but didn't ask any questions about where Maxwell had been or why.

“Who else have you got there?” Flora wanted to know, peering past Slippers and Feast to where Alistair and the others were standing a few feet away.

“We've got Ebenezer and Beezer from Smiggins, and their niece and nephews and a friend.”

Max consulted a list, then said, “So that's Alex, Alice, Alistair, and Tibby Rose, right?” He checked off their names and said, “We've been expecting you.”

Flora told Beezer and Ebenezer, “You can have adjoining rooms in the dormitory building for the next couple of nights. After that . . .” She shrugged. “We've just had word from one of our patrols that they've found a group of refugee families from Gerander hiding near the border. They'll be here within forty-eight hours, and it sounds like they might have been injured in the escape. We'll probably have to move you so they can have your rooms. You can bed down in the hall after that; plenty are.”

“Of course,” Ebenezer murmured. His expression had grown concerned at the mention of injured mice.

Flora continued, “You're in room 17. The dorm is in block 1, on the other side of the oval. I'd suggest you drop off your bags and then go straight to the hall, which is the building beside it. Tobias is going to say a few words before dinner.” She indicated a building close by; its high windows were lit up. “That's the cafeteria there.”

“Thank you,” said Beezer. “Come on, everyone.” She and Ebenezer began to lead the way across the grassy oval.

“What about Slippers and Feast?” Alistair said, hesitating. He couldn't wait to tell Slippers Pink and Feast Thompson the secret he'd discovered about his scarf, but he knew he had to wait until they were alone. When Slippers Pink had told them about the hidden paths through Gerander, she had made Alistair and Tibby Rose promise that they would never reveal the secret to anyone.

The tall dark brown mouse and smaller almond mouse exchanged a wry look. “If I know Tobias,” said Slippers, “we probably won't be staying long.”

F
RANCES
W
ATTS
worked as an editor for ten years before writing her bestselling picture book
Kisses for Daddy
, illustrated by David Legge. Other books include the award-winning
Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books, Captain Crabclaw's Crew
(both illustrated by David Legge), and
A Rat in a Stripy Sock
, illustrated by David Francis. As well as continuing to write picture books, Frances has written a series of chapter books about two unlikely superheroes, Extraordinary Ernie and Marvellous Maud, illustrated by Judy Watson.
The Secret of the Ginger Mice
is the first book in The Song of the Winns series. Frances lives in Sydney and divides her time between writing and editing.