Horten's Incredible Illusions by Lissa Evans

Author:Lissa Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Sterling Children's Books
Published: 2012-08-09T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22

Stuart and the triplets stood in the corridor outside Rod Felton’s office and listened to the argument going on inside. Phrases like “personal injury liability” and “health and safety inspection” were being shouted really loudly. June was doing a lot of scribbling in her notebook. Stuart’s dad had wandered off to the bookstore.

“They can’t actually close the place down, can they?” whispered April.

One by one the camera crew trailed past them, lugging their equipment toward the entrance. The last one to leave was the teenage boy, balancing a column of coffee cups. A couple of feet behind him came the small dog. It was brown and white with a pointed muzzle and very short legs.

“Shoo,” said the teenage boy, turning. “Go home.”

“Isn’t it yours?” asked Stuart.

The boy shook his head. “It followed us in. Must be a stray.”

The dog paused uncertainly, and Stuart watched as it turned and trotted back into the exhibition room. Something was tugging at his memory.

At the same moment the door to the office was wrenched open, and Rowena Allsopp stalked out, followed by Rod Felton, who had turned a bit pale.

He looked down at Stuart and April. “Right,” he said, “er … we’ve reached a useful compromise. Rowena won’t sue us for criminal injuries and personal humiliation if we immediately close down the magic exhibition and replace it with a temporary display of her favorite outfits from Midlands at Midday. We’ve also agreed to stock copies of her brand-new biography, Rowena’s Way, in the museum bookstore, as well as placing a full-size cardboard cutout of her by the cash register.”

Stuart and April turned to watch Rowena leave the building, the main door crashing shut behind her.

“On a brighter note,” added Rod Felton, “she’s agreed to come and open the Roman Beeton exhibition, which should get us quite a lot of publicity. She’s going to combine it with a book signing.”

“But what about Great-Uncle Tony’s tricks?” asked Stuart indignantly. “Where are they going to go?”

“Yes, you’ve put your finger on a slight problem,” admitted Rod. “Our storeroom’s pretty full at the moment. I wonder if one of the larger regional museums might take them until we’ve got some free space again. I’ll start making some phone calls.” He went back into the office.

Stuart looked at April. “What are we going to do?” he asked. “If they end up in a warehouse in Birmingham or somewhere, we’ll never get to see them.”

“Let me think for five seconds …” said April, squeezing her eyes tight shut. “Perhaps we could—”

“A petition!” announced one of her sisters.

“What?” asked April, opening her eyes again. “What are you going on about, June?”

“Save Beeton’s Magical Heritage,” said June, making every word sound weighty and important. “It’s precisely the sort of thing the Beech Road Guardian should be doing. It’s a matter of civic pride. We can print up a special edition—with photographs,” she added, looking at May, who nodded eagerly. “And I’ve got an idea for temporary storage of the magic tricks.”

“What is it?” asked Stuart, feeling left out.

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