He thought he looked older. Older than the day before. His eyes weren’t quite so staring. His hair wasn’t quite as tousled.
‘I’ve been in the Underworld,’ he said to the mirror. ‘I’ve defeated the Caviar Man.’
Then he rushed off to Gertrud’s house. As he raced over the bridge like a railway engine, the Black Panther didn’t dare to roar. Who dares to roar at a man who has defeated the Caviar Man?
He paused to get his breath back when he came to Gertrud’s gate.
Now he would tell her everything. The whole story from start to finish. And he wasn’t frightened in the least. Gertrud would understand. She’d be bound to have a good laugh once she understood what it was all about. But she would be impressed by what he had done at the Telegraph Office.
Joel didn’t doubt for a moment. Gertrud was like that.
He looked up at the sky. Stars were twinkling like thousands of cats’ eyes. He almost felt dizzy at the thought of how many stars there were.
Could it really be true? That there are more stars than there are ants in an anthill?
It felt very special, almost solemn, that cold September night. The month would soon be over. It would never come back. Then it would be October, and the first heavy snow would start to fall.
Before it melted he would be twelve. Twelve years old. He had lived a whole clock face of years.
It felt strange. Solemn. As if he had almost caught up with the future...
He could hear Simon Windstorm’s lorry in the distance.
Then he went through the gate, through the door and told the whole story to Gertrud...