Which reminded me: "Were you able to talk to Admiral Sopcoate last night?"
"No, I'm afraid not. He was at dinner with a delegation from Abyssinia, but your grandmother said she'd send a personal note to him first thing this morning." She gave me a tired smile that I thought was supposed to give me fortitude, but instead left me feeling vague and uncertain.
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Just then, there was an urgent rap on the front door. An unusually grim and determined look came over Mother's face. "If that is Inspector Turnbull again, I shall make him rue the day he ever set foot in our museum."
She sounded frighteningly like Father. I followed after her as a second knock reverberated down the hall. Mother jerked the door open and nearly missed being beaned with Grandmother Throckmorton's cane, which she was raising for a third knock. "About time," she sniffed, pulling her cane back to her side.
Before Mum could retort, Grandmother sailed in. "Where is that granddaughter of mine? There you are," she said. "What on earth have you done to Miss Sharpe?"
I swallowed nervously. "I-I don't know what you mean. Mum said she sent a note around that she was ill ..."
"No. Not just ill. She sent me a letter resigning. She will not be returning, even when she regains her health. And after all the trouble I went to! You will tell me the meaning of this, young lady."
"Really, madam," Mother said. "With everything else going on right now, it seems to me that Miss Sharpe is not our most pressing concern."
Grandmother drew herself up to her full height, but instead of blasting Mother for her impertinence, she simply said, "Have you news of my son?" And then it hit me. Her
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outrage about Miss Sharpe was just an excuse! She'd really come over to see what was happening with Father. Honestly. Why couldn't she just say so?
Mum shook her head. "The inspector isn't exactly being forthcoming. Have you word from Admiral Sopcoate yet?"
"Yes. He sent a note around this morning. He'll be tied up escorting a delegation from Abyssinia on a tour of the Dreadnought, but once he's finished up there, he said he'll come right along and help us sort out this mess."
Admiral Sopcoate would be onboard the Dreadnought, and Chaos was planning to kidnap it! My stomach dipped at the full impact of this. I had grown quite attached to the jolly admiral. Besides, if something happened to Admiral Sopcoate, Grandmother would turn back into her horrid, grumpy self.
Taking a huge risk by speaking without being spoken to, I said, "Excuse me, Grandmother. But what time will that be? Did he say?"
She peered down her nose at me. "I suppose the strain of having your father arrested has chased away what few manners you had." But her words didn't have the normal sting to them.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I am rather worried."
"As are we all, child," she said with a sigh, looking old and tired. It was shocking, really, seeing her this way. "The time?" I gently reminded her.
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"Their tour is scheduled for eleven o'clock. He said he'd be done by two this afternoon."
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Admiral Sopcoate wouldn't be in danger after all. What I really needed to do was find out what time high tide was.
"Excuse me." I bobbed a quick curtsy, then left the room, anxious to find Stilton.
He was in his office, just sitting down to his desk. "Did you find out?" I asked as I burst in.
He glanced up at my interruption. "Oh, good morning, Theo. Yes, I did. High tide is at twelve forty-seven p.m. today."
Right in the middle of the admiral's tour! He would be in horrible danger! "Thank you," I said, then dashed toward the west entrance, hoping Will would be there early. Surely he'd realize we'd have much to discuss this morning, after our wild adventures of the night before.
However, Will was nowhere in sight at the west entrance. Instead, I found Snuffles hiding in the bushes. I would have missed him but for the loud sneeze that exploded from the shrubbery just as I was closing the door.
"Snuffles?" I whispered.
And up he popped. "Miss?" he said as he wiped his nose along his sleeve.
I winced, then spotted the clean linen handkerchief I'd
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given to him sitting crisp and white in his coat pocket. "You're supposed to use your handkerchief for that," I said.
"Oh, no, miss! It's much too nice for that."
I blinked, then shook my head. "Where is Will this morning?"
Snuffles's face fell. "That's wot I was hopin' you could tell me. He didn't come home last night. He and Ratsy went out--"
"Ratsy?"
"Me next oldest brother, miss."
"Just how many of you are there, anyway?"
"Seven. There's Will, then Ratsy, next comes Sparky, then me, an' Pincher, Soggers, and the Gob."
"The Gob?" I repeated faintly.
"Aye. On account of 'im putting everything in his gob."
I hardly knew what to say to that. Luckily, Snuffles brought us back to the subject at hand.
"Anyway, 'e and Will went out last night after we got back but then never came 'ome this mornin'."
"Maybe he just went to give Wigmere the message?"
"Mebbe. But not Ratsy. Ratsy had a job this mornin', but we couldn't find a sign o' him anywhere."
My stomach dropped all the way to my knees. This was not good. Not good at all. Did they get too close to Chaos's
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plans? Or did this have something to do with the Grim Nipper?
And how was I going to get word to Wigmere now? "Don't worry, Snuffles. We'll find him." Somehow.
"You wait here. I have to collect a few things, and then we'll go find your brothers."
Supplies. I needed supplies. The last time I'd faced the Serpents of Chaos, I'd been in a tomb with Egyptian artifacts loaded with ancient magic at hand. I would have no such help on the Dreadnought.
But what to bring, exactly? What would be the most effective weapons?
I dashed to my small carrel in the reading room and pulled my curse-removal kit from behind a bookshelf. I turned it upside down and dumped all the contents onto the floor. I sorted through them for a moment, wondering if there was anything there I could use. The problem was, Chaos was given to wielding modern weapons, such as guns, and I didn't have anything to counteract them.
I snagged the atropaic wand that I'd used to undemonize Isis, which I had been meaning to return to its display case for ages. It was shaped like a throw stick and might have some potential. That was all I found. Stuffing it into my bag,
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I hurried into the reading room. One of Miss Sharpe's books lay open on one of the tables. Miss Sharpe! The rope! That could be an effective weapon.
Wishing I had a second pair of gloves to put over my first pair, I gingerly pulled the rope from the hiding place where I'd stashed it. I hesitated a moment, then quickly undid two of the knots, releasing even more of the malignant spirit's power, ensuring it would be a most formidable weapon, then I dropped it into my bag.
Hmmm. I wondered where Father kept his shotgun. That would be a comfort, no doubt. But that was silly. Where on earth would I hide it?
My next destination was the Egyptian exhibit. Chaos had the staff, and although I had a Blood of Isis amulet to protect me, no one else did. I wanted to collect the amulets from the mummies so at least a few others would have some protection. Grateful that the bodies had the power to move only at night, I plucked off the amulets and stuffed them into my bag. I paused again, searching the room for anything else that might prove useful. I spied a small collection of execration figures. Those had come in most handy back in the Valley of the Kings. I stuffed one into my carpetbag. And then I was out of time.
Except, once again, I had no money for cab fare. Bother! I was going to have to get a job if I was going to keep this
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up. Or ask Wigmere to cover some of my expenses, like the board of directors covered some of Father's. For now, there was really only one source to tap for the
funds. I would rather have not brought him into this--I still hadn't forgiven him for the night before--but I felt that I had no choice.
I burst into Stilton's office. "Hullo again," he said.
"Hullo again, Stilt--I mean, Tefen."
He beamed at the use of his code name, which was exactly what I had been hoping for. "What can I do for you now?"
"Actually, it's funny you should ask. I need a ride, and I'm afraid I haven't any money for a cab. May I"--the next word stuck in my throat--"borrow cab fare? I'll pay it back, I promise!" I rushed to add.
Just as I had feared, Stilton was immediately on alert. "But of course. Although if you're going somewhere, Mestafet and I should accompany you."
"I really don't think that will be necessary, Stil--Tefen. It's not like last night when I was out so late. It's morning and I'll be out and about in broad daylight. I'll be perfectly safe, I'm sure."
He began shaking his head no before I had even finished speaking. "I don't think so, Miss Theo. Trouble does seem to follow you around, and that's why you have us. To look after you."
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Oh, bother. I'd so hoped because Stilton was a Black Sunner that he wouldn't be hindered by the same sort of hang-ups about safety that other grownups had. Clearly, I'd been wrong. "Wouldn't that get you into trouble with Weems?"
Stilton's face clouded a moment. "Yes. Most likely. But I can handle him."
"Actually," I said, thinking fast, "I have something else, something even more important, I need you to do."
His eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yes. I need you to get to Inspector Turnbull and tell him that he will be able to find Nigel Bollingsworth at the Royal Albert Docks later on this morning."
"Bollingsworth! Really? Is he involved in all this?"
"Yes. But I haven't got time to explain it all now. Can you do it?"
"Yes, miss." Stilton lifted his hand to his forehead, saluting me.
Was that a Black Sun thing? Or was he just overeager?
He stood up and began fishing cab fare out of his pocket.
"Then," I continued, "go directly to Somerset House to the Antiquarian Society on the third floor. Ask to see Lord Wigmere. A wretched little beast of a secretary named Boythorpe will try to stop you, but ignore him and speak only to Wigmere."
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Stilton nodded, absorbing every detail. "Then, when you see Wigmere, tell him ... Chaos is rising. Have you got that?"
"Chaos is rising," he repeated.
"Excellent. Then tell him I've gone to the Dreadnought at the Royal Albert Docks, and he'll know what to do from there. Oh, and let him know about Bollingsworth, too."
"Is that all?"
"Yes. Now repeat it back to me."
When he had, I took the cab fare he held out to me. "I will pay it back," I promised, then hurried from the room.
I ran smack into Clive Fagenbush.
"You were eavesdropping!" I hissed at him.
"No, I wasn't. I do work with the man. As I told you before, he owes me a report."
I had meant to ask Stilton about Fagenbush's prowling, but all the tumult of the past two mornings had chased it out of my head. However, I didn't have time to deal with that now--I had to get down to the docks.
Fagenbush eyed my carpetbag. "And where are you going in such a hurry?"
"None of your business," I shot back at him. "Now, excuse me." And off I went to the west entrance to meet Snuffles.
***
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"Wot took you so long?" Snuffles asked, nearly hopping from foot to foot.
"Sorry. I had to collect some things. Now, let's go find a cab."
I hoisted my bag and marched across the street toward the corner. It was late enough in the morning that most everyone was at work, so it didn't take too long to get a cab to stop.
The driver squinted at me suspiciously and made me pay him up-front. With a sigh I did, then got into the cab and settled myself onto the seat.
Snuffles climbed in after me, but instead of getting on the seat opposite, he sat right up next to me so that our arms were nearly touching.
I remembered him wiping his nose on his sleeve earlier and scooted over a bit.
He scooted closer again, but before I could reposition myself, there was a slap of the reins. As the cab lurched forward, the door opened and a tall, thin man stepped from the running board into the cab.
He lifted the tattered top hat from his head and we came face to face with the Grim Nipper.
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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE A GRIM TASK
***
"You AND YOUR BROTHERS are hard men to find," the Grim Nipper told Snuffles, who shrank next to me.
"What have you done with Will?" I demanded, as if I had been the one who had accosted him.
"Nothing. I was hoping you might be able to tell me where he's gone."
"I don't know." I tried to keep my face from showing the panic I was feeling.
The Grim Nipper turned his watery blue eyes to Snuffles. "And you?"
Snuffles shook his head.
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"Ah, now, that is too bad. You see, if I can't find your brother and convince 'im to come back to work for me, I'm afraid I'll 'ave to take you as compensation. I'm owed something for all me training of your brother, aren't I?" He reached into his coat pocket and began jiggling some coins he had in there.
Something tight inside my chest relaxed at the Nipper's words. He was still trying to convince Will to come back to work for him, which meant that Will hadn't returned to his old life. It also meant that he wasn't missing due to any shenanigans on the Grim Nipper's part, which left ... Chaos. My chest tightened again.
The Nipper grinned, displaying a mouth full of brown and rotting teeth. "Besides, I got so much work now, what wi' all the gold people are saving to ward off mummies, that I could use two or three new apprentices."
Snuffles shook like a leaf in a stiff breeze, his eyes huge in his pale face. "Snuffles is much too young to work for you," I said, coming to his defense.
"Not really. Will was younger 'n that when I taught 'im everything I know. Besides, I've seen this young'un following Will around for a few weeks. I know Will's a-training 'im for 'is future career."
The Nipper pulled his hand out of his pocket. He was
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wearing fingerless gloves, and on his palm sat a shiny gold sovereign. He held it out to Snuffles. '"Ere, now. Wouldn't you want one of these for your very own?"
As Snuffles watched, the Nipper began to walk the coin across his fingers in some kind of trick. Snuffles looked hypnotized, but whether from fear or the enticement of so much gold, I couldn't tell.
"Snuffles is not interested," I informed the Grim Nipper in my best Grandmother Throckmorton voice. "So you can take your leave of this carriage."
A look of annoyance flashed across the Nipper's face. "And just who exactly are you?"
"A family friend. Now please, take your leave, as we have an errand we must run."
"Take my leave? After I've just confessed to you me entire operation? I don't think so, me dear. Besides, while you're too old to train for nippery, you'd likely fetch a pretty penny if'n I sold you."
Sold me! I think not. As I watched the gold coin wind its way between his fingers, I got an idea. "Look," I said. "I have a very valuable artifact in my bag. If I give it to you, will you let us go? I'm sure you'll get more for it that you would me."
The Grim Nipper's eyes lit up as they fell onto the satchel I clasped on my lap. "In there, you say?"
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Quick as a snake, he reached out and snagged the bag from my grasp.
Just as I'd hoped he would.
Keeping one eye on me to see if I would try to stop him, he pocketed his coin and opened the satchel. "You ain't near as clever as you look, thinking you can bargain with something I can just take." He lifted the knotted rope, studied it a moment, then laid it across his lap as he reached back into the carpetbag.
&n
bsp; He groped around inside, then pulled out an execration figure. "What kind of toy is this?" He scowled, then tossed it onto the seat. Next he pulled out a handful of amulets. He stared at them for a long moment, appraising their value. With an exclamation of disgust, he finally tossed them onto the seat as well, his eyes flat and angry. "Thought you'd trick me, did you? Thought you could outsmart the Grim Nipper, did you? Well, I'll show you how they came to put the Grim in Nipper, you little cow."
He reached for the knotted rope on his lap, then raised his hands to strike me with it.
I gasped and stared in horror at the flesh of his fingers, which had begun to puff up and turn green, with the nails darkening to nearly black.
The Grim Nipper followed my gaze to his hands. "What--"
He flung the rope to the floor of the hansom and ripped
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off his fingerless gloves as the effects worked toward his palms. He looked up at me with fury and horror in his eyes. "You've cursed me! You've gone and given me a mummy's curse!"
I didn't say a word, just shook my head. It wasn't true-- not exactly, anyway.
"The gold!" he said, then shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin. He began rubbing it all over his cursed palms like a bar of soap. The boils and blisters continued to work their way up his wrists, disappearing into his coat sleeves.
"It's not working!" His voice was high and tinged with desperation.
The carriage lurched to a stop, and the cabby called out, "Royal Albert Docks! Out wi' ye!"
The Grim Nipper wrenched open the cab door and stumbled out onto the dock. I quickly grabbed the cursed rope from the floor--grateful for my gloves and four amulets-- and stuffed it back into my bag.
"Wot did you do to 'im?" Snuffles asked, his eyes wide and full of awe.
"The rope was cursed."
"Blimey, miss. That was one neat trick!"
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