The Mystery of the Lake Monster

by Paula Harrison

  “I think we should collect as many clues about this lake creature as we can,” began Millie. “There’s so much to find out…”

  “Like where did it come from?” put in Jess. “And if it doesn’t like chicken pie then what does it want to eat?”

  “Exactly!” Millie’s cheeks turned pink with excitement. “I want to know everything!”

  “It won’t be easy to get close to the bridge with the guards there,” added Jess, “but the creature must have slithered into the lake from somewhere. Maybe there are more tracks in the garden.”

  “I’ve sewn paper together to make us notebooks. Now we can write everything down!” Millie proudly handed Jess a little book and a pencil. “I think we should carry them all the time and write down clues as soon as we find them.”

  Jess beamed. “Mystery-solving notebooks! That’s brilliant, Millie.”

  “Thanks!” Millie grinned.

  There was a knock on the door. “Amelia,” called Queen Belinda. “Mr Larum’s waiting for you in the schoolroom. Don’t be too long, dear.”

  “Bother!” whispered Millie. “Now I’ll be stuck inside for ages and I really wanted to start looking for clues.”

  “I can start searching,” Jess told her. “If I wear one of your dresses then Mr Steen won’t stop me and give me lots of chores.”

  “Good idea!” Millie dashed over to her wardrobe and took out a pale blue dress.

  Jess changed quickly and hid her maid uniform in the bottom of the cupboard.

  “Now you just need a tiara.” Millie took off her sparkling silver crown and put it on Jess’s head.

  “Thanks, Double Trouble!” Jess grinned and the girls linked their little fingers. “I just hope no one notices that you’re wearing two different dresses all at the same time!”

  Jess slipped out through the courtyard without anyone stopping her. She’d hidden the little notebook and pencil inside her sleeve – it was best no one saw it and started asking questions. Grey clouds had drifted across the sky, cutting out the sunshine.

  She went to the rose garden first but there was nothing out of place. Moving on, she looked around the croquet lawn before checking every passageway of the maze. This part of the palace garden was a long way from the lake, but Jess had decided she must look everywhere. Her mother and father, who owned a dressmaking shop in Plumchester, had always told her that if a task was important she should do it carefully.

  Sitting down on the croquet lawn to catch her breath, she started writing in her mystery-solving notebook.

  Lake creature, she wrote and underlined it carefully. Then she added underneath, Is it Spikey from the famous legend?

  Then she tried to draw the monster’s head. It was hard to get the picture just right. It had been so misty yesterday and the creature hadn’t stayed still for very long.

  Lastly she wrote: It didn’t eat the chicken pie.

  Tucking the notebook away, she walked through the orchard and stopped by the vegetable patch where Mr Polly was raking the earth in a fierce manner. He didn’t even look up as she came along.

  “Hello, Mr Polly,” called Jess. “Is everything all right?”

  Mr Polly stopped and leaned on his rake. “No, I’m afraid it’s not, Princess Amelia! Some scoundrel has ruined my turnips – ripped them right out of the ground! They’ve spoiled my potato plants too. It’s an absolute disgrace!”

  Jess suddenly realized that where Mr Polly was standing there used to be a row of purple-topped turnips. Now it was just bare earth. Was this something to do with the lake monster?

  She stepped closer. Mr Polly had raked most of the soil but in one corner there were deep scrape marks. Jess caught her breath. Those looked just like the slithery tracks that Millie had spotted on the lake shore. Her heart raced. “When were the turnips stolen?”

  Mr Polly shook his head. “Sometime last night. I found the place in a mess when I got up this morning.” He started raking again. “It’ll take weeks to grow new plants. What a shame!”

  “Why don’t I fetch you a cup of hot chocolate from the kitchen,” said Jess, hurrying away. She felt sorry for poor Mr Polly but at least she finally had a proper clue!

  Now she understood why the creature from the lake hadn’t eaten the chicken pie. It was already full after eating all those vegetables!

  Chapter Six

  Collecting the Clues

  Millie stared out of the schoolroom window, wondering whether Jess had found any clues.

  Mr Larum was reading to her from a book about Peveril Palace in the olden days. At last he broke off and straightened his dark-rimmed glasses. “Shall we stop for today, Princess Amelia? I can see you’re far too excited about the festival to think about anything else.”

  “Yes, please.” Millie smiled. She didn’t tell him she was more excited about the lake monster than the festival. Mr Larum might think it wasn’t the sort of thing a princess should be excited about. She helped him wipe the chalkboard clean before rushing downstairs.

  Hurrying out of the back door, Millie scanned the stable yard. She knew Jess must be out here somewhere. They were sure to run into each other and then they could compare clues. She tucked the mystery-solving notebook and pencil inside her sleeve. There was no time to lose!

  Crossing the stable yard, she stopped at the top of the slope. The wind blew strongly, rippling the surface of the lake. Two guards were standing to attention on opposite ends of the bridge. Millie knew she needed a reason to get past them. She needed an excuse for going to the lake shore. But what could it be?

  An idea popped into her head. Two weeks ago she’d lost a white handkerchief while taking Jax for a walk. She could search for that and at the same time look for clues! Skipping down the slope, she explained to the guards all about her missing hanky.

  “I wish I could help you look, Princess Amelia,” said the chief guard, a man with red cheeks and a bushy moustache. “But my orders are very clear. I must stay here on the bridge unless the water monster appears.”

  “Oh, don’t worry! I can search for it by myself,” said Millie, hurrying on.

  “Be careful, Your Highness,” called the guard. “Don’t go too near the shore.”

  Millie waved to show she’d heard him. She knew she should be sensible, but at the same time looking for the monster made her stomach flip over with excitement. Imagine if it suddenly popped up from below! Anyway the creature hadn’t hurt anyone and seemed to want to hide most of the time, so she felt quite safe.

  Hurrying round the shore, Millie looked for muddy tracks and other monster signs. When she reached the squashed brambles, she spotted water weed stretched along the bank as if it had fallen off the creature’s body when it came out of the water.

  Perching on a rock, she took out her notebook and pencil and scribbled down what she’d found. Then she tried to draw the monster – his black eyes and blotchy face. It was harder than she expected. She frowned. Maybe Jess could remember the monster’s face a bit better.

  Feeling hungry, she hurried back towards the kitchen hoping Cook might give her a freshly baked roll. The sun came out again and the Duke and Duchess of Sherborne were crossing the stable yard, arm in arm.

  “Morning, my dear,” said the duke. “Have you seen the lake creature today?”

  “I can’t see it anywhere,” said Millie. “Maybe it likes to hide.”

  “Maybe.” The duchess studied her with wise grey eyes. “But I’d advise you to be careful. Sometimes when you search for things you can end up finding more than you expected.”

  Millie was about to ask what she meant, but just then Jess burst out of the back door wearing Millie’s pale blue dress.

  “Um, well, I must go,” gabbled Millie, hoping that the duke and duchess wouldn’t turn round and see another princess who looked like her twin.

  Jess spun round and dashed back inside. Millie said goodbye to the duke and duchess before going after her friend. She caught up with Jess in the kitchen where Cook Walsh was tak
ing a large cake out of the oven.

  “That was close!” gasped Jess. “It was lucky they didn’t see me.”

  “Goodness me, you’re princess twins!” chuckled Cook Walsh, setting the cake on the table. “One of you had better put a maid’s dress on before Mr Steen walks in.”

  “I will!” said Millie eagerly. “Then can I help you decorate that cake?”

  Cook smiled. “Of course you can. I’m making raspberry icing for this one.”

  Millie changed her clothes in Jess’s chamber and returned in her friend’s spare maid uniform and mob cap. Then, while Cook was mixing the icing, she and Jess swapped notebooks and studied each other’s clues.

  “The lake monster likes vegetables? I can’t believe it!” cried Millie, when she read Jess’s notes.

  “The vegetable garden was in such a mess,” Jess told her. “Most of the turnips were gone and quite a few potatoes too. Mr Polly was really upset.”

  “But at least we know the creature’s not hungry,” said Millie.

  Jess held her picture of the monster next to Millie’s drawing. “You made its head a different shape and you’ve drawn its eyes bigger too.”

  “I know!” Millie stared at the two pictures. “It was hard to remember how it looked. We only saw the creature for a minute and it was very misty.” She wrinkled her forehead. “It does make me wonder…”

  “About what?”

  “My mother said the monster’s body was long and slimy and that made me think of a serpent. But its head didn’t look like a serpent’s at all!”

  “Maybe he’s a mixed-up monster with the head of one thing and the body of another.” Jess shrugged.

  “Poor Spikey!” Millie shook her head. “He must be the strangest-looking monster that’s ever come to Plumchester.”

  Millie had to change back into her royal clothes and swap tiaras with Jess before hurrying down to dinner that evening. The table in the banquet hall was laid out ready, with every spoon polished and every crystal glass gleaming. Mr Steen was circling the table and handing out snowy-white napkins.

  Millie glanced nervously at Lady Snood. She hoped her ladyship wouldn’t start giving her instructions on how to sit this time. King James was telling Lord Dellwort all about the musicians that would play at the festival but the talk soon turned back to the lake monster once again.

  “Seeing that creature moving in the water gave me quite a scare.” Queen Belinda smoothed her velvet gown. She was wearing the Sky Sapphire necklace and the pretty blue gem glowed in the candlelight.

  “At least the creature’s done no harm,” said the Duchess of Sherborne. “The beast in the Spikey legend ate all the palace chickens!”

  “How terrible!” cried Lady Snood. “That behaviour is not respectable, even for a monster.”

  “No one knows if it really happened,” replied the duchess. “That’s just how the story goes.”

  “I think the creature likes vegetables not chickens,” Millie told them. “It’s stolen some vegetables from the garden.”

  No one took any notice of this and Millie wriggled crossly. She and Jess had spent ages collecting clues. Well, she wasn’t going to share anything else if the grownups wouldn’t listen!

  “Perhaps it would be a good idea to raise the alarm if the creature is spotted again. All you need to do is give the guards something that makes a noise – a bell maybe.” Lord Dellwort smoothed his moustache. “Then all the palace guards can join the ones on the bridge to fight danger.”

  “I think that would work well,” said Queen Belinda.

  “Indeed!” King James looked thoughtful. “In fact, if they use a horn and a drum the noise will be even louder. I shall organize it immediately.”

  Everyone joined in, saying what a good idea it was. Only Lady Snood stayed quiet. Millie noticed that she kept shooting glances at the queen’s sapphire necklace.

  “That’s settled then,” said King James. “The guards will sound a warning as soon as they see the creature.”

  “And I think it would be best if no one went near the lake unless they’re with a guard,” added Queen Belinda. “Safety is the most important thing.”

  Millie’s heart sank. That meant that she and Jess wouldn’t be able to get close to the water. So how could they ever find out more about the lake creature?

  Chapter Seven

  The Shadow on

  the Wall

  “I think we should go outside tonight and look for Spikey.” Jess hugged her knees. She was sitting on the window seat in Millie’s chamber in her dressing gown. Cook Walsh had let her bring two mugs of hot chocolate upstairs and some cookies that were left over from lunch.

  Outside the window, a cluster of stars winked in the night sky.

  “Do you think we really should?” Millie sipped her hot chocolate. “We’ll be in trouble if the guards see us. My mother said no one should go down to the lake by themselves.”

  “Staying hidden will be easier in the dark,” Jess pointed out. “And now we know how much the monster loves vegetables we can take it some.”

  “But won’t it be harder to see it in the dark?” said Millie, doubtfully.

  “We have to try!” said Jess. “What if the guards see the monster first and strike it with their swords like Lord Dellwort said? They could hurt the poor thing!” She gazed at her friend pleadingly. Millie sometimes took longer to decide about things but she loved animals so Jess was sure she’d agree.

  “You’re right!” said Millie at last. “Spikey may need our help.”

  “Let’s go now!” said Jess, eagerly. “Cook will be in her chamber and the servants’ corridor will be empty. No one will see us.”

  Jax, who had gone to sleep on the end of Millie’s bed, woke up and wagged his tail.

  “I’m sorry, Jax.” Millie went over and stroked him. “We can’t take you with us this time.”

  Jax barked softly and closed his eyes again.

  The girls swapped their dressing gowns for black cloaks that would help them stay hidden in the dark. Tiptoeing down the back stairs, they lit a lantern in the kitchen before gathering turnips, potatoes and carrots from the pantry.

  “This will be enough.” Millie loaded the vegetables into a basket. “Let’s go!”

  When they stepped out into the stable yard, Jess lifted the lantern shakily. Her heart was thumping. She knew she had to be ready to blow out the lantern if anyone came along. The wind whistled round the palace towers and a soft hooting came from somewhere in the dark sky.

  “It’s spooky out here,” whispered Millie.

  “You won’t go back, will you?” said Jess. “I’m not sure I want to do this on my own.”

  Millie took Jess’s hand. “Course I won’t!”

  They ran across the yard and hid behind the stable wall on the other side. Jess took some deep breaths, hoping her stomach would stop tumbling over and over. At least here they were out of sight of the palace windows.

  She scanned the darkness. The lake was a patch of deep black at the bottom of the hill. Two little dots of light moved on the bridge in the middle.

  “Those lights must be the guards and if we can see their lanterns, they might see ours!” hissed Millie.

  Jess blew out the lantern, leaving them in darkness. Luckily, as they went gingerly down the slope, a full moon drifted out from behind a cloud and lit the way.

  “I think we should go back to where we found those tracks,” whispered Jess. “Then, if we throw the vegetables into the water, Spikey might come to eat them.”

  They crept along the lake shore, searching for the place with the creature’s tracks. The moon dipped behind a cloud, plunging them back into darkness. Jess tripped over a tree root and Millie tore her cloak on a bramble, but at last they found the large scrape marks in the mud.

  Jess took a turnip from the basket, her hand shaking with excitement. She flung the vegetable at the water. It landed with a splash before bobbing up and down.

  “I didn’t know it would
float,” said Millie.

  “I didn’t know that either. I wonder if this will too.” Jess threw a potato in but it sank instantly.

  “Let’s stick to the turnips,” said Millie, throwing a second one at the water. “Then the lake monster will come to the surface to eat them. I wonder if it’ll nibble them or just swallow them with one big gulp!”

  “I bet it gulps them! I wonder—” Jess broke off. What was that rustling in the bushes?

  A shape burst from the undergrowth and leapt into the lake, making an enormous splash. Water splattered over Millie and Jess, drenching their cloaks.

  Millie gave a shriek, pointing to the dark shape. “It’s here! It’s the monster!”

  “Shh! The guards will hear you!” Jess’s heart hammered as she stared at the thing in the water. It was so dark. She wished she hadn’t put out the lantern. The monster seemed to be paddling around close to the shore. Was it busy eating the turnips?

  Suddenly, the monster sprang on to the bank beside them, before shaking the water off its coat. It gave a soft bark.

  “Jax!” cried Millie. “Oh, you scared me!”

  “What are you doing here, Jax?” Jess hugged the soggy dog. “You were meant to stay inside.”

  Millie giggled. “We must have left the back door open a little and Jax decided he didn’t like us having an adventure without him!”

  Jess glanced up. The guards’ lanterns were moving closer. “They’re coming!” She nudged Millie. “We have to go.”

  Jess held on to Jax as they crept along the shore. Ducking behind the boathouse, she stopped to look back. The guards’ lanterns had stopped moving too.

  “Maybe they’re looking at the turnips we threw in,” whispered Millie. “Do you think they saw us?”

  “I don’t think they were close enough to see it was us.” Jess put down the lantern to shake a stone out of her shoe. Jax broke away, bounding towards the front of the boathouse.

  “Jax, come back!” hissed Millie, running after him.