"Stop her!" screamed Titania.
The man in the elephant jacket grabbed Mrs. Brown's arm just as she reached for the door handle. She quickly stuck the scissors into his thigh with one hand and shoved the chloroform over his mouth333and nose with the other. The big fellow staggered back with a groan, and Mrs. Brown wrenched open the door.
By now, some of the larger members of the audience were close on her heels. Mrs.
Brown bounded out of the chapel and raced down the street. Even in built-up boots she was as swift as a rabbit. Her fast feet had rescued her from many a sticky situation, but too late, she realized that she was running away from Argos Avenue rather than toward it.
All was not lost, however, for Piminy Street curved sharply in the middle, and Mrs.
Brown saw that if she could draw ahead sufficiently, she might be around the bend before her pursuers could see her duck behind a wall or a hedge.
But there were no walls and no hedges. Apart from a few small porches, most of the doors opened directly onto the street. Mrs. Brown could hear shouting. The voices grew
louder. They were angry, deep, murderous voices and their owners were gaining on her.334All at once, before she had time to draw breath, Mrs. Brown was seized around the middle and carried into a darkened house. She screamed.
The door slammed and a quiet female voice said, "Hush, my dear. I'm rescuing you, not murdering you."335CHAPTER 17
TRAVELING WITH THE BOA
Benjamin woke up very early. He could hear Runner Bean barking. Something was wrong. It was still dark and Charlie was sound asleep. Benjamin found his clothes and dressed quickly. He was about to open the door when Charlie woke up.
"Ben, is that you?" Charlie said sleepily.
"I'm going home," Benjamin whispered. "Runner's barking. I want to see if Mom's OK."
Wide awake now, Charlie leaped out of bed and flipped on the light. "Don't go without me, Ben. I want to know what happened."
When Charlie had pulled on his clothes, the boys crept downstairs and left the house.
Filbert Street was deserted and silent. Runner Bean had stopped barking, but there was a light in the hall at number twelve.
In all the excitement of the previous night, Benjamin had forgotten his front door key. He rang336the bell and Runner Bean started barking again. A few moments later, Mr. Brown opened the door with the chain still on. He looked out through a three-inch gap and said,
"Who's there?" in a loud, challenging voice.
"It's only us, Dad." Benjamin shoved his face into the gap. "Let us in, please."
"Who's us?" demanded his father.
"Charlie and me. We want to know if Mom's OK."
"It is me, Mr. Brown." Charlie stood on tiptoe and looked over Benjamin's head.
"I see. All right." Mr. Brown took off the chain and opened the door. "Quick as you can.
Come on. They might be on to us."
"Who?" asked Charlie, as he followed Benjamin and Mr. Brown into the kitchen.
"Them," said Mr. Brown. "I can't say any more than that."
Mrs. Brown was sitting at the kitchen table. She was dressed in her usual skirt and sweater, but337she hadn't removed her makeup very well. Her forehead was covered in gray swirls and one cheek was striped pink and white. "It's only five o'clock," she said with a yawn. "What are you doing over here, boys?"
"Runner woke me up," said Benjamin. "And we wanted to know what happened to you, Mom."
The kettle boiled and Mr. Brown filled the teapot, saying, "It's a long story, boys. Your mom was discovered, Ben. She had to spend half the night with a blacksmith named Mrs.
Kettle."
"Mrs. Kettle?" Charlie exclaimed. "She's a friend."
"She is, indeed, Charlie," said Mrs. Brown. "I wouldn't be here now if she hadn't rescued me."
Mr. Brown handed everyone a mug of tea, and while she sipped and stirred, Mrs. Brown began to talk about her terrifying adventure. At last, Charlie learned where the painting had gone and how, dressed in Mrs. Kettle's coveralls and cloth cap, Mrs. Brown had eventually managed to evade the gruesome sympathizers and reach her husband waiting, in an agony of suspense, for her return.338"I don't know who those people were," said Mrs. Brown, draining her cup, "but I can tell you they were a mighty sinister bunch.-
Mrs. Kettle believes they have been lying low on Piminy Street for years. Biding their time, waiting for someone like Mrs. Tilpin to stir them into action."
"They are certainly stirred up now," said Mr. Brown.
"So the painting is in the Old Chapel," Charlie said thoughtfully.
"Charlie, you can't go there," Mrs. Brown declared. "It isn't safe."
"But I have to," argued Charlie. "I've got to rescue Billy from the painting."
Mrs. Brown threw up her hands and looked at her husband.
"We'll think of another way, Charlie," said Mr. Brown. "We'll talk it through and come up with a solution for you. We always find a solution when we put our minds to things, don't we, Trish?"
"Of course we do." Mrs. Brown beamed at Charlie.
338339"The best thing you can do, Charlie, is to go back home and get some more sleep.
You can come and see us later, when we've all had a bit more time to think." She closed her eyes and gave a long yawn.
Charlie took the hint. "OK." He stood up and Benjamin saw him to the front door.
"Don't do anything without me, will you, Charlie?" Benjamin begged.
"Not if I can help it," Charlie said.
Number nine was still in darkness. Charlie let himself in and tiptoed up to his room. He lay on his bed, fully dressed, knowing he wouldn't get to sleep again until the following night. His mind was made up. He had to go into the painting before it was moved again.
But how could he walk up Piminy Street without all those menacing sympathizers seeing him? And that was the least of his problems. The Old Chapel would be locked, no doubt, and even if Charlie managed to break in through a window, there was no certainty of his actually getting into the painting again.340"But I know that I can," Charlie whispered into the darkness. "Because you're going to help me, Claerwen."
A soft light moved through the air above him and landed on his arm. Was she merely answering to her name, or was she telling Charlie that she could help?
"I've got an idea," Charlie told the moth. He slid off the bed and, turning on his light, wrote a short note to Maisie. The note said:
Me and Benjamin havegoneto the bookstore.
See youlater.Love, Charlie.
Charlie didn't like lying to Maisie, but she would only worry if she thought he was alone.
He just hoped that Benjamin wouldn't come looking for him after breakfast.341Charlie left the note on the kitchen table where Maisie was bound to see it. She was always up before Grandma Bone.
Dawn was slowly approaching. There was a thin light on the horizon, but the streets were still dark and the air was bitterly cold. Charlie began to run. Before he reached the bookstore, he would have to pass the end of Piminy Street and he dreaded it. He was nearing the turn to Cathedral Close when he sensed that something was following him.
He stopped and turned, very slowly. And there they were - Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius -
their big paws pounding the cobblestones, their heads up and their tails erect, their fiery colors brightening the morning.
"Hi there, Flames!" Charlie called softly. "Thanks for the escort." He passed the turn to Piminy Street with confidence and pressed on to the bookstore.
The cathedral clock chimed seven just as Charlie emerged into the square. Ingledew's didn't open until nine o'clock. Charlie began to feel foolish. But342when he peered into the darkened store, he was sure he could hear voices. He rang the bell.
The Flames padded across the cobblestone square and looked back at Charlie from a distance. Miss Ingledew, wearing a red bathrobe, came into the store and stood behind the counter. She stared at Charlie through the window, not recognizing him.