“You caught them?” Emma asked, surprised at how quickly they had moved.
“Yes,” Sherlock explained. “When Steven told us everything about the tent, I dashed off with the police as fast I could. We arrived at the tent, soon after your departure, and arrested the goons who helped the bomber. Next, we continued pursuing the airship and saw the mad bomber parachute out of the gondola. We apprehended him when he landed.”
“But who was he, Mr. Holmes?” Jimmy asked.
“He was none other than Sheldon Howe, a former member of British Intelligence, working on a flying device for the British government,” came the answer from the heavy stranger. “Allow me to introduce myself,” the man continued. “I am Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock’s older brother, and I work for the British government.”
“Caw! I can’t believe both Holmes brothers are here,” Mr. MacDougall stated in awe.
“But if Mr. Howe was working for you, then why did he attack London?” Emma asked Mycroft.
“Because he was angry at me. Sheldon wanted us to develop a fleet of his airships. He was working alongside a man by the name of Charles Davis. While Sheldon was working on airships, Charles was creating something he calls an aerial plane. In the end, we were afraid that the airships were too dangerous because of their flammable gas,” Mycroft noted, pointing to what was left of the windmill’s flames. “We cancelled the airship project and funded the aerial plane one instead. Sheldon was furious, and he started upon his course for revenge.”
“Wait a minute!” Jimmy’s eyes lit up. “The S.H. on the side of the red carriage..that stood for Sheldon Howe, not Sherlock Holmes!”
Everyone burst out laughing. “When have I ever owned a two horse carriage?” Sherlock asked the boy.
“Sorry, sir, I didn’t know if the whole thing was a kind of test for us,” Jimmy admitted.
“It did end up being a test, in a sense,” Mycroft explained, and he took, from his coat, two shiny gold medals. “Jimmy and Emma, because of your bravery, London is safe from the mad bomber. I hereby make you honorary members of British Intelligence, and you two will henceforth be known as The Baker Street Youth Detectives.”
Mycroft paused to pin the medals on the twins. “Whenever a youth is in trouble, my brother Sherlock Holmes needs an extra hand, or the Queen herself needs your assistance, you shall answer the call of duty..with your parents’ permission, of course.”
Jimmy and Emma winced at the last part but were surprised to see both of their parents beaming with pride. “If the Queen needs their assistance,” Mrs. MacDougall assured Mycroft, “then the twins will be there.”
Dr. Watson suddenly shouted, “Three cheers for the Baker Street Youth Detectives!”
While everyone cheered and applauded, Jimmy turned to Emma. “We did it, sis,” he said proudly.
“We sure did,” she agreed. “Now, I wonder what’s next in store for The Baker Street Youth Detectives…”
The End
The first image above shows a hansom cab, and the second an omnibus.
These images show two different styles of pince-nez glasses.
The images above show two different styles of monocles, and a man wearing a monocle.
Special Sneak Peek
of
The Attack of the Violet Vampire
The MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes
Book #2
Chapter 1: Sherlock Holmes’s Special Guests
“This is so exciting,” said Mrs. MacDougall. “I’ve never ridden in a landau[1] carriage before.” The MacDougall family was riding in a luxury carriage to go to the theatre. Tonight was the first performance of a play based on a Sherlock Holmes case.
“I just hope the play isn’t boring,” said Mr. MacDougall. “Dressing in a suit! Riding in a gold plated coach! This ain’t to my liking,” he complained. Mr. MacDougall was a chimney sweep. He preferred wearing dirty jeans to dressing in a fancy suit.
“No need to worry, Father,” said Emma MacDougall. “This is a play about Sherlock Holmes, the world’s greatest detective.”
“And,” Jimmy, Emma’s twin brother added, “it deals with a giant, killer snake!”
“Aww, that sounds good,” Mr. MacDougall chuckled, “but does it have a Violet Vampire?!?”
“Oh Dad, not that again!” said the twins together. Jimmy and Emma MacDougall were ten year old twin detectives. They had solved the case of the Mysterious Airship. Now, all the children of London came to them for help. Since the airship mystery, Jimmy and Emma had been working nonstop. They helped their friend, Nolan the Newsboy, find his stolen stack of papers. They helped the pet store solve the case of the kidnapped kitten. They even helped Scotland Yard track down a missing little boy, who was really a foreign prince.
“Dad, everyone knows that there is no such thing as a vampire,” Emma scolded.
Mr. MacDougall smiled at his fiery, red haired daughter. “How do you know? It’s in all the papers.”
Emma shook her head. There had been strange reports in East London of a bat winged monster attacking people. At first, it was one or two reports. Now, it seemed like every other day, people were reporting seeing a strange, violet colored creature with sharp teeth, and glowing red eyes.
“We’ll see if someone brings us the case,” laughed Jimmy. “Tonight, let’s just enjoy the show.”
With all of the excitement in their lives, Jimmy and Emma were looking forward to a night at the theatre. Sherlock Holmes had invited the MacDougall family as his special guests. He knew the family, especially Mrs. MacDougall, would love a grand night out.
Mrs. MacDougall jumped for joy when they received the invitation. She wore her best dress that evening, a blue silk dress. She also wore the MacDougall diamond ring. This ring had been in the MacDougall family for over 1,000 years. At one time, it was worn by the Queen of Scotland! Mrs. MacDougall rarely wore the ring. She was afraid it might get lost or stolen.
The landau carriage pulled up in front of the Adelphi theatre. The four horses whinnied, and the driver got down to open the door. Mrs. MacDougall and Emma were the first ones out of the carriage, followed by Mr. MacDougall, and then Jimmy.
“Oww,” yelped Jimmy. He had bonked his head on the top of the carriage door. Jimmy was very tall for his age. He often went in disguise as an adult.
“Are you all right?” asked Mrs. MacDougall.
“Of course,” answered Jimmy, rubbing the back of his head. “Now, let’s go see Sherlock Holmes. I’m looking forward to a fun night.”
Little did Jimmy know that far above him, on the theatre roof, a dark form, with glowing red eyes, watched the MacDougall family. The shadowy figure smiled, revealing its sharp fangs. It chuckled in a deep, scary tone. The creature unfolded its massive wings, and prepared to attack.
1 Fun Fact: A landau is a type of carriage that was convertible, which means that the top could be removed, just like a convertible car today. The landau was driven by four horses. It was very expensive to own a landau, or even to ride in one. That is why it is such a treat for the Macdougall family.
Special Thanks
Derrick Belanger would like to thank all of the people who offered feedback and advice while he wrote this exceptional story: Harrison and Chris Cramer; Jennifer Viers; Leigh Meinig; Karen Cohn, your advice was invaluable; Neely and Juliana Hanski; Tina and Maxine Gosselin; Beth Mason and her family; Griffon Garcon; Mike Hogan; Mark Wayne McGinnis; Stephen Seitz; Steve Emecz; Lynn Gale; Dr. Watson’s Neglected Patients; The Undershaw Preservation Trust; Stepping Stones School; Century Middle School and the Adams 12 Five Star School District; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; and, of course, the world’s two biggest kids, Chuck and Claudia Davis. Without your valuable insights, I don’t think I could have made this delightful adventure.
The author would also like to thank
his parents, Dennis and Ellen Belanger, and grandmother, Barbara Rousseau, for their support; Brian Belanger, the best big brother he could ask for; Traci Belanger, for letting Brian out to play; Abigail Gosselin, his wife, for not minding too much the time the writing took away from family and chores; and Phoebe Belanger for patiently waiting for the second book to be dedicated to her.
Brian Belanger would like to thank: my brother Derrick for writing this book and collaborating with me on all the other stories I hope we get to tell; my wife Traci for providing a sounding board and understanding that sometimes I’ve just got to draw; Steve Emecz for being a publisher extraordinaire; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for creating Sherlock Holmes and his supporting cast, and Godzilla, for proving that monsters can be heroes, too.
Author Derrick Belanger is the editor of the bestselling two volume anthology, A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural, which may be too scary for readers of this book. He is a middle school Language Arts teacher, and he loves young adult literature as well as anything and everything to do with Sherlock Holmes. Derrick lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his wife, Abigail Gosselin, and their two daughters, Rhea and Phoebe.
Illustrator Brian Belanger is the cover artist and a contributor to the bestselling two volume anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. He has always loved to draw, laugh, dance and sing, but not always when other people are around. Brian lives in Manchester, New Hampshire with his wife Traci.
You can learn more about Derrick and Brian Belanger by visiting their web site, Belanger Books, at: www.belangerbooks.com.
Illustrator Dedication
To Mom ---
Who gave me my lifelong love of books. See what happened?
Save Undershaw
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to The Undershaw Preservation Trust. Undershaw is a former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. It now houses the Stepping Stones School, a school for special needs students. The money raised from the sale of this book will help preserve the building, so you can go see the place where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, The Hound of the Baskervilles, the most famous Sherlock Holmes story of all time.
To learn more about Undershaw, please visit the web site at www.saveundershaw.com.
To learn more about the Stepping Stone Schools, please visit the web site at www.steppingstones.org.uk.
The Amazing Airship Adventure Page 4