Shapeshifter 1: Finding the Fox by Ali Sparkes
Author:Ali Sparkes [Sparkes, Ali]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780192757265
Publisher: Oxford University Press Children's Books
Published: 2011-05-04T14:00:00+00:00
Dax hooted with laughter. The Beast of Barkâs End! Gideon looked up from unwrapping the parcel of chocolate his dad had sent him. Dax handed him the cutting and Gideon gaped and grinned as he read through it.
âThe Beast of Barkâs End,â he said, admiringly. âThatâs brilliant! Iâm sharing a dorm with a legend!â
Dax took the cutting to Owen Hind, knocking on the door of one of the little round cob cottages that Gideon had pointed out to him. A ribbon of smoke was curling out of the stubby chimney up on the conical roof, and it smelt of wood and berries. Owen opened the door and Dax stood awkwardly on the step for a moment, before handing him the cutting and Cliveâs letter. His concern for Clive hadnât quite gone.
Owen glanced quickly at the cutting, caught the headline, and then pulled Dax into the cottage and shut the door behind him. His reaction was less buoyant than Gideonâs. He read the report quickly, without a word, and then sighed heavily, rubbing his chin and furrowing his brow. âSit down,â he said to Dax, sinking into a worn leather chair by the small brick fireplace, and turning his attention to Cliveâs letter.
Dax sat in a wooden rocking chair on the other side of the fire and looked around him. The room had a low ceiling with dark beams and the floor was tiled with stone, covered near the glowing fireplace with a large, dark red rug. Above the crackling log fire, on a narrow brick mantel, was a bronze Tilley storm-lantern, although the room, in the early winter twilight, was lit by an electric lamp on a stand behind Owenâs chair. Piles of books and more wooden boxes and baskets lay around the curved edges of the uneven room and a rough brick arch led further back into what Dax presumed was Owenâs kitchen and bathroom and sleeping quarters, deep inside the cliff.
âWho have you told about this?â said Owen, folding Cliveâs letter and sliding it back into the envelope with the cutting.
âOnly Gideon,â said Dax. âHe loves being in a dorm with the Beast of Barkâs End.â
Owen rolled his eyes as he handed the envelope back to Dax. âOnly Gideon. Oh dear.â
âShe wonât be able to find me here, will she?â asked Dax.
âItâs unlikely, but I donât like the feel of this,â said Owen, thoughtfully. âSheâs playing it by the book at the moment, being quite discreetâprobably had a reporting restriction bounced on her because youâre under sixteen. But when the press think up daft names, like the Loch Ness Monster or the Beast of Bodmin ⦠or Barkâs End, they tend to want to keep it all rolling for a while, to wring as much out of the story as they can. I think sheâll be doing some digging. But noâI donât think sheâll work out where you are. In the meantime, though, write back to your friend and ask him to send anything else that crops up in the paperâand keep me informed.
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