The Mystery of Banshee Towers (Discontinued-Nearly Finished)

Off to meet old Fatty

' I do wish old Fatty would hurry up and come back from wherever he's staying, 'said Bets.' We've had almost a week of the holidays without him already-  such a waste!'

        He's coming back today,' said Pip, passing a postcard across the breakfast table to his young sister. ' Here's a card from him. Three cheers!

        Bets read the card out loud. ' Back tomorrow by bus from Warling. Meet me at bus stop if you can. What about a nice juicy mystery? i feel just about ready for one, Fatty.'

      ' A nice juicy what?' said her mother, puzzled.

     'Mystery,' said bets, her eyes shinning. 'You know how something always seems to happen when Fatty's about, Mummy - there was the mystery of the pantomime cat -  and the mystery of he vanished prince - and.....'

       Her father groaned. Look, Bets - I'm tired of all these adventures and strange happenings that seem to pop up whenever your friend Frederick is about. Just try and steer clear of any trouble these holidays. I was hoping that Frederick was staying away for a nice long time.'

       I wish you wouldn't call him Frederick, Daddy,' said Bets. 'It does sound so silly.'

     I should have thought that Frederick was a much better name for a boy in his teens, than the absurd name of Fatty,' said her father. ' I wonder how Frederick allows people to call him by that old nickname now.'

    But the name suits him,' said Pip. 'Anyway I don't think my nickname is very suitable for me now that I'm a bit older. Why can't I be called by my proper name of Philip, instead of Pip?'

       ' Simply because you're a bit of a pipsqueak still and probably always will be,' said his father, disappearing behind his newspaper. Bets gave a sudden laugh, and then groan as Pip kicked her under the table.

    'Pip!' said his mother, warningly. Bets changed the subject hurriedly. She didn't want Pip to get into any trouble the very day that Fatty came home.

  'Mummy, where's the bus timetable?' she said. 'I'd like to find out what time old Fatty's bus arrives.'

 ' Well, seeing that there are only two in the morning, and the bus from Warling takes two hours to get here, I should think he'll be on the first bus,' said Pip. ' Otherwise he'd be really late!'

 ' It should be about a quarter to ten,' said his mother. 'That means you'll have plenty of time to clear up the fearful mess in your playroom first. I could hardly get into it yesterday.'

 Pip groaned. ' WHY do we always have to tidy the playroom when we plan to go out?' he demanded. 'I really do think it's....'

  'Enough said,' said his father, from behind his newspaper, and Pip became silent as once. He looked across at bets, and she grinned at him happily. Fatty was coming back! Fatty, with his wide grin, his twinkling eyes, his mad jokes -  and his extraordinary habit f suddenly finding himself in the middle of peculiar mysteries! oh the times they had had with Fatty - the excitement - the adventures! Why was it that some people always found themselves in the middle of something thrilling?

  If Fatty was cast away on a lonely desert island, something extraordinary would immediately happen, Bets thought. A mermaid would pop up and let him swim away on her back. Or a submarine might arrive and.....

   'Bets, what are you dreaming about?' said her mother.' You've carefully buttered your bread on both sides!'

   Pip and Bes tore upstairs as soon as breakfast was finished, only one thought on their minds - Fatty was coming back!