And now the dreaded day came when Con and Ellen were due to leave Farley Towers. They had put it off as long as possible, but though Mr. Bellamy had written brave and cheerful letters, he had not been able to hide how much he missed them.
Although the helicopter that was to take them to the airport was not expected till midday, the yetis had already put in several hours’ hard crying time by breakfast.
“It’s not good for people to lose their friends,” wailed Ambrose. “It makes them all lumpy in the stomach.”
“We’ll be back, Ambrose,” said Ellen. “You know we will.” But she soaked three whole handkerchiefs herself before the drone of the helicopter was heard above the roofs of Farley Towers.
The helicopter landed neatly on the lawns. The pilot opened the door of the cockpit and jumped out. Then he walked round to open the other door. And the yetis stared in disbelief as a tall, strong, marvelously furry figure stepped majestically down onto the grass.
“Father!” they cried, surging forward. “It’s Father come back to us! It’s our very own Father.”
The joy of having him back was so great that they could hardly speak. Uncle Otto had been marvelous, but Father — well, Father was Father, and they knew now that they need never be afraid again.
Father’s first words, however, were grave and sad.
“From the fact that I am here,” he said solemnly, “you will know that our beloved Lady Agatha has died. Her end was peaceful and she lies where she wished to lie in the cool earth of our—”
“No, she doesn’t,” squeaked Ambrose, while Father frowned at him reprovingly. “She doesn’t lie, she …”
But Father had stopped taking any notice of Ambrose. He was staring at the steps of the terrace that led down to the lawn.
Aggie had been inside the house when the helicopter arrived, preparing the yetis’ lunch. Now she came down the steps slowly, carrying a tray of drinks. Her long white cooking apron came to her ankles, her fair hair blew in the breeze, her gray eyes were intent on the brimming mugs.
Father had taken a few steps and then stopped. There was amazement in his wise old eyes, and a deep and shining joy.
“That’s how she looked when I carried her away from her tent,” he said. “Exactly like that!”
Almost unbearably moved, the dignified old yeti walked over to Aggie.
“You’ve come back to us, Lady Agatha,” he said, and bent his head and took the tray from her hands.
And Con and Ellen saw that the story that had begun a hundred years ago in the mountains of Tibet had ended, and that their work was done, and they got into the helicopter and flew away.
About the Author
VA IBBOTSON was an Austrian-born British novelist whose work has received great admiration and acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her novels include The Secret of Platform 13, Which Witch? The Great Ghost Rescue, Island of the Aunts, Dial-a-Ghost, and Journey to the River Sea, which won the Smarties Prize, was runner-up for the Guardian Prize, and appeared on the Carnegie, Whitbread, and Blue Peter shortlists. She died in 2010, in her home in Newcastle, England.
IONA ROBINSON is the author-illustrator of The 3-2-3 Detective Agency, The Useful Moose, Whale Shines, and What Animals Really Like, which received the 2012 Irma Black Award and was named by Bank Street as one of 2012’s Best Children’s Books of the Year. Her work has been honored by the Royal Academy of Arts and has been featured in many gallery shows. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
