Claerwen lay hidden in the rotting leaves between two flat cobblestones. She made herself as small as she could while Weedon swept up the glass fragments that covered her. He groaned with fatigue as he bent and brushed the tiny shards into his dustpan.
"Put it all in here, Weedon." Manfred held out a clear plastic bag.
"Wot you gonner do with it?" asked Weedon. "Make one of them installation art things?"
"Never mind," snapped Manfred, who was doing his own bit of sweeping. "And let me know if you see anything unusual."
"Wot sort of unusual?"
"Oh, you know," Manfred said impatiently. "Anything that isn't glass: a fly maybe, or a moth."
"Ah!" grunted Weedon. "Now I get it."145The janitor continued to sweep for another half hour, but the temperature was falling fast, and soon the cobblestones began to sparkle with frost.
"It's no good, Mr. Manfred," Weedon grumbled. "I can't tell glass from frost. I'm giving up." He poured his final haul into the plastic bag and went through a door into the west tower.
Manfred straightened up, rubbing his back. His leg still ached from the wounds the leopards had given him. But he wasn't prepared to give up just yet. He refused to believe the moth had escaped him entirely. Limping around the edge of the courtyard he stared at each and every cobblestone; not one eluded his piercing, coal-eyed gaze.
Claerwen waited. She might have been a dead thing: the vein of a leaf, a thread of grass.
When Manfred had given up his search at last, she crawled out of her hiding place and moved toward the wall of the chapel. There she lay, in the pool of bright colors that fell from the stained-glass window.146She knew she must reach Charlie before he was tempted to travel again, but the route to his dormitory was steep and perilous for the tiny caterpillar that she had become. To escape Manfred, Claerwen had changed shape once more. It would take her some time to become a moth again. No matter. She would find a way to reach him.
On Friday afternoon, when the children went to pack their bags for home, Claerwen was still missing.
Charlie had used every spare minute to search for his moth, but there was no sign of her.
And then, as he and Billy lined up behind the great oak doors, waiting for Weed on to open them, Tancred came flying up behind Charlie and whispered, "Charlie, Dagbert says he's got your moth."
"What!" Letting his bag fall to the floor, Charlie swung around and searched the line of students behind him.147"He's not here," said Tancred. "He's having an extra lesson with the talents master."
"I don't care where he is," Charlie said loudly.
"Shhh! You'll get detention," Tancred warned. "Wait till we're outside."
Weedon had appeared. Puffing and groaning, he drew back the huge iron bolts and rattled the oversize key in the lock. At last the doors were open and the sullen janitor stood aside while students swept past him and out into freedom.
The three buses were waiting in the square. Charlie stood by the steps as the other music students climbed ahead of him onto the blue bus. When Tancred appeared, Charlie grabbed his arm.
"So where's my moth, then?"
"I told you" - Tancred hitched his green cape further onto his shoulders - "Dagbert said he'd got it. He's offered to swap it for his sea urchin."
"What d'you mean?" cried Charlie.
Striding toward the green bus, Tancred said,148"I mean that he'll exchange your moth for that gold charm I took the night he tried to drown you."
"So when are you going to swap it?" Charlie dogged Tancred's steps until they reached the green bus.
"That's just it, Charlie. I don't think I can let him have his sea urchin. He's not as dangerous without it." Tancred began to climb into the bus.
"You've got to!" Charlie leaped onto the bottom step.
"You'll miss your bus," Tancred told him. "Get off quickly, Charlie. This one goes in the wrong direction."
"I don't care."
"We'll find another way to get your moth," said Tancred as he moved to the back of the bus.
"Get off, blue cape," ordered the driver, "or I'll get the school janitor to remove you."
Charlie jumped off the step as the green bus rumbled out of the square. His own bus had already started moving, and he only just managed to catch it.149He was hauled inside by Gabriel and Fidelio and lay in the aisle breathing heavily, while the driver complained about kids who didn't have the sense they were born with.
Gabriel lifted Charlie's bag onto the rack as Charlie pulled himself to his feet and fell into the seat beside Fidelio.
"What's going on?" Billy's anxious face peered around the back of Charlie's seat.
"Tell you later," said Charlie, sinking back. He turned to Fidelio and whispered,
"Dagbert's got my moth, but he's offered to swap it for something Tancred took."
Fidelio stared at Charlie. "I wish there was somewhere we could all meet. I've got rehearsals with the youth orchestra all weekend, but I'll be free on Sunday night. What are you going to do now that the Pets' Cafe is closed?"
From the seat behind them, Gabriel said, "Get the cafe to open again. I'm going to see Mr.
Onimous."
"But he's ... ," Charlie began.150"Not dead yet," said Gabriel solemnly.
The bus meandered around the city while children jumped off at their stops and disappeared into the dusk. The streetlights had come on, but even they couldn't penetrate the dark, winding alleys that led off High Street.
Gabriel lived on the Heights, a steep cliff road that overlooked the city. He was usually the first to leave the bus, getting off at a stop at the bottom of the cliff road, but today he waited until they reached the narrow street that led to the Pets' Cafe.
"My mom will be there," he said. "She wouldn't leave Mrs. Onimous on her own after everything that's happened."
Charlie watched Gabriel turn onto Frog Street and begin to run. Of all of them, Gabriel was probably the closest to the Onimouses. His mother helped in the cafe, and his large family of gerbils was always welcome there.
Charlie and Billy got off the bus at the top of151Filbert Street and walked down to number nine. As they drew closer, Charlie saw Benjamin standing on the top step of number twelve. He was staring across the road at Charlie's house. As soon as he saw Charlie, he went inside and slammed his front door.
Charlie sighed. "He's not going to speak to me until he sees Runner Bean again."
"Maybe I could just take a look at the painting," said Billy.
"Forget it, Billy. If you got caught in Badlock, I'd never get you out. Not without Claerwen." And then Charlie thought of the giant. Without Claerwen he could never reach his ancestor again.
The two boys stepped into the hall and headed straight for the kitchen. Maisie was cooking something that smelled so delicious their mouths were already watering.
Unfortunately, Maisie wasn't the only person in the kitchen. Grandma Bone sat in the rocking chair beside the stove.152"Ahh!" Grandma Bone's grim face broke into a smile.
"Billy Raven, at last. I wondered when you would be coming to see us again."
"Hello, Mrs. Bone," Billy said nervously.
"Hang your capes in the hall, boys." Grandma Bone pointed to the door. "And take your bags upstairs. We don't like bringing the outdoors into our cozy kitchen, do we, Maisie?"
"Doesn't bother me," said Maisie, heaving a large dish out of the oven.
Grandma Bone scowled at her. "Nevertheless." She waved the boys away.
"Maisie, has Runner Bean... ?" Charlie began.
"As far as I know, nothing has come out of that cellar," said Maisie. "Your other grandma could maybe tell you if she's seen anything."
"Boys, your capes," barked Grandma Bone.
Billy backed into the hall and Charlie followed, just managing to stop himself from saying something rude. Hanging their blue capes on the coat stand, the153boys rushed upstairs, dumped their bags in Charlie's room, and ran down to the kitchen.
"Set the table, Charlie," Grandma Bone ordered, rocking her chair back and forth. She seemed excited about something.