Chapter 4: And what came of it

Mr Goon scanned the crowded shop. It was packed. "Bother again," he growled, making his way to the nearest relatively empty table, "I wish everyone won't come here during the holidays. It makes hot days even hotter! There are plenty of other shops to go to! Gah!" It didn't occur to our resident policeman that all the other shops might be equally as full. With a loud sigh, he sat heavily into a chair. The table's occupant looked up in surprise from behind a newspaper. It was Nick.

-

Buster sniffed suspiciously at that strange girl sneaking up on him. As she didn't try to get past him, he didn't bark.

"Hello, Buster," cooed the girl, "Coochie Coochie Coo!" Buster sniffed and turned his head in disgust. Did she honestly think he would fall for that?

Pamela looked affronted. Well, that was Plan A. Now for Plan B…

Producing a few biscuits, she dropped some in front the disgruntled Buster. After making sure he had eaten them, she dropped more in front him, making a trail that led away from the garden path. Sitting back, Pamela smiled grimly as she observed the dog get to its feet. "Let's see how strong your defenses are, Frederick," she cackled. "I'll get past it, easy as anything!"

-

Meanwhile, Chris was having a smashing time. Having found an 'unclimbable tree', he set out to prove that it was climbable.

His clothes hung in tatters. His face, arms and legs were scratched. His nails were filthy. His hair was messy and some strands were pulled out. Overall, he was not the sort of boy you would expect to find in the Trotteville premises. But Chris was happy. In fact, he was overjoyed. This tree was prickly. But he had found a way up! Peering down through the leaves, it suddenly occurred to him that he might be able to peep into Fatty's shed.

Chris jumped down and pressed his ear to the wall. Yes, he could clearly here Fatty speaking now!

"Let's lead Chris on a false trail, just like what we did to Ern," the boy in the shed was saying. "Shall we tell him that he can become a find-outer if he cracks this mystery?"

"Oh yes, do!" everyone chorused. "Since he wants to be a find-outer so much, he will give it a go and stop bothering us! Splendid!"

Fatty beamed. Outside, hearing everything was Chris. He grinned. "So they want to lead me off track, eh? We'll see about that. This is going to be fun!"

-

Climbing up the tree again, he was soon able to squeeze past some of the bigger branches and get to the other side. In his haste to escape before he got caught, Chris jumped down and yelped in pain. He had sprained his ankle! The find outers soon rushed out.

"It serves you right," scolded Fatty severely. "I expect you were trying to eavesdrop again! Climbing up stupid trees to spy on us! Well, your plan backfired!"

"When your ankle gets better, you can solve a mystery we give you," Bets piped in. "If you succeed, you can become a find-outer!"

Chris smiled inwardly. They didn't guess he already knew their plan. Allowing Fatty to help him into the house, Chris smirked. 'I did eavesdrop,' he thought grimly, 'but not in the way you'd expect. You will pay for doing this…

"…Cousin."

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What do you think? Please read and review. Sorry for the delay in posting. --Totally Clueless and Raccoon