Chapter 9 The morning after
Early
the next morning, Dave, Jack and Steve went to the cavern to clear up after the
birthday party.
“Thanks
for offering to help,” said Dave.
“No
problem,” said Steve. “Where shall I shake the tablecloth?”
“Oh,
put it in a rubbish sack. We’ll shake the crumbs out of it on the hill later,”
said Dave. “And here’s a bag for the leftover sandwiches and cake.” He held out
a black sack.
“There’s
nothing left over.”
“But
there must be. Dad said there were several sandwiches and a quarter of the
birthday cake left.”
“No,
there’s nothing left. There’s just the tablecloth. And there are the crumbs.
And there are a few spiders. Are they the famous subterranean spiders?”
“Yes,
be careful you don’t tread on them,” said Dave. “People travel miles to see
them.”
He
and Steve picked up the tablecloth and put it in the sack. The spiders crawled
away across the sandstone floor.
“Joy
was planning that we would have the leftover sandwiches for lunch with soup,”
said Steve.
“They
must be somewhere,” said Dave.
“The
ghosts of the caves must have taken them,” said Steve.
“The
ghosts are Dad, Emma and sometimes Mum dressed up,” said Dave. “And I can hear
Dad swishing in now. ... When he’s wearing his smuggler’s ghost outfit, does he
look like Batman?”
“No,
I don’t,” said Trevor, coming into the dim light of the cavern. “My superhero
days are over. Oh, where’s the food gone? I fancied a sandwich with my
coffee...”
“The cave ghosts took
the food,” said Dave.
Chapter 10 The ghost hunter
When
Jack reached the caves exit, he saw a man talking to Emma at the entrance gate.
The man was leaning on the ticket desk. The name ENVER was tattooed on his arm in black. A red and black flag was
tattooed next to the name.
“Hi,
Jack,” said Emma. “Have you got the leftovers in that bag? I’d love a
sandwich...”
“No,
I’ve only got the tablecloth. I’m going to shake it outside.”
“Ah,
so you have tea parties in the caves,” said the man.
“Jack
needs to get past you,” said Emma. “Thanks.”
As
Jack squeezed past the man and out of the caves, Dave came up to Emma’s desk.
“Ah,
it is my young friend who cannot see,” said the man.
“Do
you know this man?” Emma asked Dave.
“I
know the voice. It’s Enver. He was up at A and E when I was there with Joy.”
“A
and E?” said the man.
“The
Accident and Emergency Department at the hospital.”
“Ah,
yes. I was not familiar with the abbreviation. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, we
were talking about the ghost who walks the West Hill. Have you yourself seen
the ghost?”
“Are
you asking Dave or me?” asked Emma.
“You,”
said Enver. “Dave does not like to talk about it.”
“Well,
why don’t you come to our next torchlight tour? It’s in six weeks’ time,” said
Emma. “You’ll see a few ghosts then.”
“Well,
I will see,” said Enver. ‘
“There
are so many ghosts in here. Oh, look, here comes one now. The spooky smuggler’s
ghost.”
She
pointed to Trevor, who was coming through the exit gate from the souvenir shop.
He was wearing his smuggler’s clothes.
“You
think I am joking,” said Enver.
“Are
you saying I’m not a ghost?” said Trevor.
“No.
I mean, yes. But I was talking about the girl ghost who walks the West Hill. I
am a ghost hunter, you see. I would be most grateful for information about
her. Have any of you seen her?”
“I told you before,”
said Dave. “No.”
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