Book Read Free

Thea Stilton and the Mystery on the Orient Express (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 13)

Page 3

by Thea Stilton


  CHALLENGE

  The mouselets were hanging on Paulina’s

  every word.

  “See if you can guess the

  name

  of the

  inspector who devoted his whole life to

  catching

  the thief Rattamouche and

  recovering the stolen gown,” she continued

  in a

  mysterious

  tone. “Just

  guess! That’s right, it was none

  other than Malik Ratt!”

  “What?” gasped Colette.

  “Malik Ratt the First, that is!”

  Paulina explained. “He

  was the grandfather

  of the inspector who

  found the Veil of Light.

  The same inspector

  41

  who is now traveling on this very train

  with us . . . right now — Malik Ratt III!”

  “Holey cheese!” Nicky cried.

  “That can’t be a coincidence,” Violet said.

  “It sounds like the plot of a movie,” Colette

  commented. “The grandson returns the

  precious artifact that was stolen from right

  under his own

  grandfather’s

  snout!”

  “He has not necessarily succeeded in

  returning it, though. . . . ,” Paulina pointed

  out.

  “This

  Cat Burglar

  must be very

  cunning, if even Inspector Ratt is nervous!”

  Pam observed.

  Paulina tapped on her keyboard. “Oh, he’s

  more cunning than a cat, all right!” she

  said as she scrolled through another website.

  “And more agile. That’s how he got his name.

  Most rodents believe the Cat Burglar is the

  one who stole the

  crown right off

  the snout of the

  king of Belgium . . .

  during his coronation

  ceremony!”

  “I heard about

  that!” Violet recalled.

  “The

  Cat Burglar

  is the same thief who

  stole the great violinist

  Yo-Yo Mouse’s Stradivarius* —

  right in the middle of a concert!”

  “And he stole the hands off the face of Big

  Ben in London!” Paulina added.

  “So he’s an acrobat, and a

  specialist

  in impossible thefts!” Pam concluded.

  Paulina nodded. “And now he’s set his

  sights on the Veil of Light. Just watch!”

  * A Stradivarius is a violin made by the renowned

  craftsman Antonio Stradivari.

  43

  “‘The Cat Burglar sent an open letter to all

  the major newspapers in Europe declaring a

  challenge,’” Nicky read over Paulina’s

  shoulder. “‘He wants to become more

  famouse than Rattamouche, and

  will prove his skill by stealing the Veil of

  Light from on board a moving train’!”

  The

  mouselets

  drew closer to

  Paulina to read the letter.

  “What if the Cat Burglar is already hidden

  on the train?” Violet wondered.

  “Sizzling spark plugs!” Pam burst

  out. “Don’t you realize, sisters? We’re in the

  driver’s seat on this one! The Cat Burglar

  could

  strike

  at any moment!”

  “Let’s keep our eyes peeled,” Paulina

  recommended. “It says here that the Cat

  Burglar is a master of

  disguise

  , so he

  could be any of the passengers.”

  44

  Colette clutched her purse, straightened

  her hair, and grabbed the doorknob, ready to

  head out.

  “Well, let’s get going, mouselets!” she

  exclaimed. “We have an entire train

  to search, dozens of rodents to meet, valuable

  information to learn, and, let’s not forget . . .”

  Her squeak trailed off.

  Her friends STARED curiously at her.

  “Forget what, Colette?” Nicky asked at last.

  “We’ve got gorgeous clothes to show off!”

  she finished with a wink.

  The Thea Sisters burst out laughing:

  Colette was truly hopeless!

  45

  TO CATCH A THIEF

  The Thea Sisters decided to begin their

  search with the staff. They put their snouts

  together and divided up their assignments.

  Pam slipped into the kitchen, where the

  world-renowned chef Charles Fromage was

  the undisputed king of appetizers and

  soufflés. As she

  crept

  between the steaming

  pots and pans, Pam couldn’t resist sneaking

  a taste of a delicious batch of cheese puffs.

  Colette got to know Roxanne, who worked

  in the boutique on the train. While

  chatting, the two mouselets discovered that

  they both collected tiny bottles of perfume.

  They became fast

  friends

  in no time!

  Meanwhile, Paulina and Nicky did some

  reconnaissance in the café car.

  There they got to know Flora, a very lively

  46

  Italian mouselet, and a real professional

  when it came to making mozzarella

  smoothies.

  As for Violet, she was dying to get a closer

  look at the piano in the café’s balcony. She

  walked up to the instrument nervously.

  She’d just sat down when Klaus, the pianist,

  surprised her by inviting her to play a

  duet!

  47

  The Thea Sisters met FRIENDLY rodents

  everywhere. The staff seemed ready to grant

  every wish and answer every nosy

  question — until the mouselets got to the last

  train car, where they came snout-to-snout

  with a

  burly

  mouse.

  According to the name tag on his jacket,

  his name was Yusuf. He EYED the five

  mouselets suspiciously. “You can’t go through

  48

  here!” he said sternly.

  “This car is for staff only.”

  The

  mouselets

  couldn’t think of a way

  around him, so they had to

  retrace their steps.

  “What a mean mouse,” Pam

  spluttered with annoyance.

  “Who knew this train came

  with its own guard

  rodent!”

  Pam is right: Yusuf seems to be guarding something! But

  what?

  49

  That evening, the Thea Sisters sat down to

  an unforgettable first dinner aboard the

  Orient Express. Chef Fromage cooked his

  finest recipes, and the elegance of the

  passengers was worthy of the red carpet

  in Mouseywood!

  The Thea Sisters settled into their seats

  and took advantage of the occasion to

  observe their fellow travelers.

  In spite of — or perhaps because of — her

  snooty, standoffish manner, Zelda Mitoff

  was the most fascinating. Violet couldn’t take

  her eyes off her. “She’s truly a grande dame!”

  Colette was more interested in

  Jack

  Nickm
ouse

  and Raty Perry. “How

  romantic! They seem so in love. . . .”

  A HOT MESS

  50

  Meanwhile, the journalists were trying to

  worm their way

  CLOSER

  to the famouse

  guests. They were determined to get good

  quotes to put in their columns. They weren’t

  on the hunt for the thief — they were on the

  hunt for a scoop!

  After dinner, everyone moved on to the

  café car. Everyone, that is, except Zelda, who

  preferred to retire to her cabin. A few minutes

  later, her assistant, Dimitri, returned to

  order a cup of hot tea for the ballerina.

  Violet hesitated. She desperately wanted to

  interview Zelda, but she didn’t have the

  courage

  to ask her assistant for an

  appointment.

  Colette knew her friend well, and she could

  see that she was struggling. Unlike Violet,

  Colette didn’t have a shy bone in her

  body, so she didn’t waste a second. She

  scurried up to the bar to squeak with Dimitri

  when . . .

  BAM!

  The two collided, and they both

  went flying. Madame Mitoff’s cup fell and

  shattered. Boiling tea spilled all over

  Dimitri, soaking his shirt and

  BURNING

  the back of his right paw. Dimitri frowned

  and rubbed his paw, which was red and

  swollen.

  Colette apologized immediately. “I’m so

  52

  sorry!” she cried. “Let’s find a

  doctor for that.”

  “It’s nothing,” Dimitri said

  hastily. Then he

  hurried from the room.

  The accident ruined the

  evening for poor Colette, who couldn’t help

  feeling guilty. She certainly hadn’t done it on

  purpose, but what a cat-astrophe!

  Not only had she injured an innocent rodent,

  but she’d also ruined Violet’s chances of an

  interview with the famouse ballerina.

  “Well, that brings new meaning to the

  phrase ‘

  HOT MESS

  ,’” she said with a

  sigh to Nicky when she returned to their

  table.

  Nicky just laughed. “You get an A for effort,

  Colette! Don’t get your tail in a twist. It was

  an

  accident

  .”

  53

  The next morning, the Orient Express

  reached Budapest. The train stopped so its

  passengers could make a quick visit to

  the city.

  The first to get off the train were

  Jack Nickmouse and Raty

  Perry. A flaming-

  red sports car was

  waiting for them at the

  station.

  “Crusty carburetors,

  what a gorgeous car!”

  Pam sighed. She loved all

  AUTOMOBILES, especially

  race cars.

  Raty and Jack didn’t

  SO MANY

  SUSPECTS . . .

  54

  seem to share her enthusiasm. The

  singer

  whispered

  something to her

  companion. The expression on her snout was

  unreadable. She pointed to the train

  as if she wanted to go back on board, but

  Jack shook his snout nervously.

  When Inspector Ratt glanced out his

  window, the two instantly fell silent. They

  got into the car and took off at full speed,

  disappearing from view.

  The Thea Sisters exchanged looks: what

  strange behavior!

  Violet waited a long time for Zelda to

  appear on the platform, but with no luck.

  “Waiting for Zelda? Oh, my dear, you’re as

  naive as a newborn mouseling,” a voice

  sang out behind her.

  It was Rhonda Ratwell, a well-known

  gossip columnist. She stroked her

  55

  whiskers and continued, “The

  great Madame Mitoff hasn’t

  let

  anyone

  get close to

  her since she retired from

  the stage.”

  “That’s because she

  doesn’t want anyone to

  see her wrinkles!

  Ha,

  ha, ha!

  ” snickered

  Priscilla Pawson, who had

  joined the little group.

  Violet blushed. She was about to

  squeak up in defense of her favorite ballerina

  when an older journalist beat her to it.

  “Don’t mind those busymice!” he

  said, looking sideways at Rhonda and

  Priscilla. “Zelda isn’t here because she never

  misses her morning workout, no

  matter where she is. Why, she’s in such great

  56

  shape, she could return to the stage

  tonight if she chose to.”

  “So why doesn’t she?” Violet asked eagerly.

  “It would be amazing to see her dance!”

  The journalist sighed with regret. “Zelda

  would still be a great ballerina, but she

  would just be a

  shadow

  of the

  Zelda of long ago! She can’t

  help comparing herself to

  what she used to be.”

  Violet and the journalist

  chatted during the trip

  to Budapest. The mouselet

  was very surprised

  to learn that she was

  squeaking with none other

  than Eliot Albamouse, the

  eminent critic from the

  Mouseford Courier.

  57

  At dusk, the Thea Sisters returned to the

  train and discovered that two more

  VIRs had joined the party. They were the

  wealthy

  heiress

  Peggy Rattfeller

  and the Spanish painter Pablo Picamouse.

  They were a truly

  strange-looking

  couple: She was

  quite large, and

  he was quite

  skinny

  . But

  these were the least

  of the differences

  between them.

  Peggy was very shy

  and seemed to shun

  PABLO AND PEGGY

  58

  the spotlight, which was exactly the opposite

  of the arrogant,

  ornery

  Pablo! The two

  were rumored to be just friends, but many

  suspected that their feelings ran deeper . . .

  or at least that was what the Orient Express’s

  gossip columnists, Rhonda Ratwell and

  Priscilla Pawson, believed.

  The Thea Sisters found the famouse

  painter

  squeaking heatedly with

  the police inspector. “My painting is a

  masterpiece! It must arrive

  at the Topkapi Palace Museum without a

  scratch,” Pablo barked. “I demand to know

  what kind of security measures you are

  using!”

  “On the Orient Express, there is a very

  secure safe,” Ratt replied in a tone that was

  cooler than cottage cheese. “Why don’t

  you paw your painting over to the conductor?

  He’ll take care of you. There’s no
reason to

  worry.”

  “A simple safe won’t be enough to stop the

  Cat Burglar!” Pablo scoffed. “I know all

  about his threat to steal the Veil of Light!”

  “That won’t happen,” Chief Inspector Ratt

  replied, his expression darkening. “If the

  Cat Burglar

  dares climb on board this

  train, he’ll be getting off in pawcuffs!”

  60

  The Thea Sisters weren’t the only ones to

  witness this angry exchange between

  the painter and the police inspector. A small

  crowd of journalists and staff had gathered

  to watch the fireworks.

  Colette noticed Dimitri and quickly

  checked to see how his right paw was

  faring. The burn was very bright. Colette’s

  ears drooped with embarrassment. She felt

  guiltier

  than a gopher in a gerbil

  burrow.

  Meanwhile, the conductor had intervened

  in the discussion between Inspector Ratt and

  the famouse painter. “Come with me. I’ll

  show you our safe,” he suggested to Pablo.

  “You’ll see that it’s very secure. Your

  painting will not be at risk, I promise!”

  61

  A SQUEAK

  IN THE NIGHT

  The train sped through the night, rushing

  through the Romanian MOUNTAINS.

  The Thea Sisters were exhausted from

  their busy day. They climbed into bed and

  fell asleep as soon as their snouts hit their

  pillows.

  A little past midnight, they heard a shout

  in the corridor.

  “You cheddarface!”

  The Thea Sisters leaped

  up. They immediately

  recognized the screech

  of Pablo Picamouse.

  “What was that?”

  Pam asked.

  62

  The mouselets peeked out into the corridor.

  The painter was right outside their door, and

  he was extremely angry at Dimitri. The

  young rodent seemed to be apologizing

  for something, but Pablo’s shouts drowned

  out his squeaks of protest.

  The doors to other cabins had opened, and

  the passengers were trying to shush the

  furious painter.

  “What’s all the fuss about? We’re trying to

  sleep!” Rhonda protested.

  “This rude rodent pushed me!”

 

‹ Prev