"But sir, don't you see? If the Serpents of Chaos get their hands on the tablet and learn where all the really powerful artifacts are, our country—the whole world—will be in even more jeopardy."
"Well, yes, there is that. Speaking of which, you'll be happy to know that we caught all but four of the Serpents of Chaos; only von Braggenschnott and three others got away. It's the largest haul we've ever managed. Needless to say, the Home Office is quite pleased."
"What about Trawley and the Order of the Black Sun?"
"We're keeping Trawley a while longer; the man appears quite unstable. Fortunately for the others, however, they had their ears stuffed with wax for some reason, which kept them from overhearing anything that would compromise us or our organization, so they are free to go. We've given them all a good recommendation and reference to a nice, respectable club. Oh, and here." He thrust a small velvet pouch at me. "The nurse said you weren't wearing the amulet I'd given you."
My cheeks warmed with embarrassment. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. I know it's bad manners to give away a gift, but Henry needed it more than I did."
Wigmere raised one bushy eyebrow. "How's that?"
"He was being haunted by Tetley's mut." As Wigmere's eyes widened in shock, I rushed to add, "But everything is all right now, sir. It's taken care of."
A look of intense curiosity crossed Wigmere's face. "And how did you manage that?" he asked.
I gave him a long steady stare. "Do you really want to know?" I would tell him, but I was fairly certain he wouldn't like the answer.
He searched my face a moment longer, then sighed. "No, probably not."
Who said grownups couldn't be taught?
Text copyright © 2010 by R. L. LaFevers
Illustrations copyright © 2010 by Yoko Tanaka
All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions,
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company,
215 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10003.
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
The text of this book is set in Minister Book.
The illustrations are acrylic on board.
Map of 1905 London used courtesy of the Harvard Map Collection.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Number 2009049709
ISBN 978-0-547-22592-0
Manufactured in the United States of America
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