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TREASURE

Nosy Nora had got there before us We found her trying to push the safe off the trapdoor She looked up e came in and said, "Oh, it’s you, Wanda Wizzard, and your weirdo friend I see you fell in, ha-ha What have you done withwith him, " said Wanda Nosy Nora snorted

"Well, he didn’t get down there all on his own, " she said "Yes he did, " I told her "And then we put the safe there It is for his own good In fact it is probably better if he stays there forever " "Why?" asked Nora suspiciously "There’s a very angry ghost who is after him You dad has stolen his treasure and he wants it back " "Oh, ha-ha " Nora snorted again It was not a nice snort Wanda’s snorts sound like quite a sweet little pig, but Nora’s was host The one that was in the haunted shark suit Remember?" Nora did not reply "He’s really, really mad, " said Wanda "In fact he will be here in a few ive hiry He has a very sharp sword, you know "

Nora looked pale "Does he?" she said "Yes And he is really good at using it, " I told her I could see that Nora did not like the sound of this I was right "If Dad gave hio away?" she asked "Probably You can never tell with ghosts, but I expect he would I mean, ould he want to stay in this duht Water Wonderland was a bit of a duet Dad out and we’ll give the treasure back " "It’s a deal, " I said "Shake on it, " said Nora So we did

The three of us pushed the safe off the trapdoor and Old Morris was up the ladder like a rat up a drainpipe He was not in a good ht, you pesky, kids, " he snarled "You can make yourself useful and help ot that?" Wanda and I nodded We were hu him Sometiet the chest up Old Morris shoved the chest through the trapdoor and then sat on it, looking puffed "Right," he said "You tith the ridiculous hats can get lost And don’t coroaned while he held his back and said to Nosy Nora, "You wait here I shall go and get a crowbar We’ll have this thing open in no time Who knows, it may make our fortune "

He chuckled as though he had made a clever joke--which he had not "But it’s not yours, Dad, " said Nora "It belongs to a fierce ghost " "A really horrible ghost, " put in Wanda, which I did not think was very fair to Sir Horace Old Morris snorted like a whole flock of evil-minded camels and said, "You kids heard what I said--scraet his crowbar "uick, " said Nora "Take the chest before he gets back And those slis too, then on’t have to do those stupid shows any- ed to carry the chest outside, and just as we got out the door Aunt Tabby, Brenda, and Uncle Drac turned up in Barry’s van It was perfect ti We heaved the chest into the back

Aunt Tabby poked her head out theand asked, "Where did you get that, Ara it for his " Aunt Tabby did not look as thrilled as I thought she ht "Hmm, " she said "Beryl says that they should probably stay here for a while " "Beryl? Who’s Beryl?" I asked "Beryl Watkins, dear She was sitting next to us at the show " "Nurse Watkins? But she stole them in the first place Of course she thinks they should stay here " Aunt Tabby tutted impatiently "Really, Aras

Beryl didn’t steal the frogs They ju She had a terrible shock when she arrived on her eency call to Old Morris’s turtle bite and she opened her bag Beryl doesn’t like frogs Anyway, they all juht for the pond She says they were prob- ably tadpoles in that pond and wanted to come back to spawn " I would have liked to question Nurse Watkins myself, since I was not sure that Aunt Tabby was a reliable witness But there was no ti out of one of his sheds with a huge crow- bar in his hand It was ti bucket into the back of the van and slammed the door, but as we drove out of Water Wonderland Wanda said, "What about Sir Horace?" Wanda has a knack of res when it is just a bit too late

I was about to bang on the little driver’sthat looks into the back of the van and get Aunt Tabby to stop when I saw the weirdest thing Sir Horace--the suit of ar beside the ditch was the eot out A moment later the back doors opened and Aunt Tabby helped Sir Horace cliruht on top of his treasure chest and didn’t say anything at all Aunt Tabby dropped Sir Horace’s ar and said, "Araot into the ditch, or how his arms fell off, and I don’t think I want to know either But why do I think it has soot here" Aunt Tabby shook her head and sla that I didn’t knohy she thought it had anything to do with ue with Aunt Tabby about things like that Especially when she is alrumpy all the way ho it and did nothing but coruh we put them back really carefully; he moaned about the mud and the leaves inside hioton?" "Soloo, you know " "We know, " said Wanda grumpily And then Sir Horace’s head drooped and he started snoring And when Sir Horace snores, there is no way you can wake hiers in your ears and sing very loudly to drown out the noise Which is what Wanda and I did All the way hoing, dear, " said Brenda as she let us out of the van

Brenda thinks every- thing that Wanda does is nice, unlike Aunt Tabby, who thinks nothing I do is nice at all Aunt Tabby was not pleased about having to lift Sir Horace out of the van as well as his treasure chest, even though I told her how i clock in the hall, and he suddenly woke up The first thing he saas the chest "My treasure!" he said, and his voice had a really happy sound to it "Miss Spookie, Miss Wizzard, you have been as good as your word How could I ever have doubted you?" "The Spookie Detective Agency always keeps its word, Sir Horace, " I said "You ency, " Wanda butted in "No I do not, " I told her "Yes you do, " said Wanda "Who found the -184- frogs? Who solved the ot Nosy Nora to let us have the treas- ure chest?" "I did, " I said "No you didn’t--I did " "May I suggest, " boomed Sir Horace, who sounded est a coood sound to it " "Okay " I sighed an Aunt Tabby sigh "The Spookie-Wizzard Detective Agency it is " "Wizzard-Spookie Detective Agency sounds better, " said Wanda "Sometimes, " Sir Horace told her, "it is best to stop while you are ahead I would advise that at this particular ht, Sir Horace " Wanda s to open your treasure chest now?" Sir Horace bent doith a horrible grinding noise, unscrewed his right foot, and took out a big brass key Sir Horace keeps all his keys in his feet It’s an odd place to keep keys, but I suppose he always knohere to find them The key turned easily and Sir Horace lifted up the lid Wanda and I peered in; ere both really excited at the thought of seeing real buried treasure It was a big disappoint but moldy old papers, a battered whistle, and so "Pooh, " said Wanda, holding her nose "It smells horrible " It did It sherkin soup and the cat’s litter box Not nice "Where’s the treasure?" asked Wanda, who does notnosy questions, which I suppose will coency "This is my treasure, " boomed Sir Horace "All my precious letters and keepsakes Even my lucky rabbit’s foot " He bent down and lifted out a disgusting luh, " said Wanda "That’s what smells so horrible " "What about the coins?" I asked "And the precious jewels?" said Wanda "And the silver plates?"

"And the doubloons?" "The what, Wanda?" "Doubloons Old gold coins " Sir Horace shook his head "Never hadin the chest "Oh look, here’s ht school report" We left his to deliver We passed Uncle Drac on our way out He was sitting in the broom cupboard in his favorite armchair with his feet up He had already started on one of Mabel’s--or was it Vera’s?--hats "Hello, Minty, hello, Wanda, " he said "It’s nice to see you back Oh,me but it orth it Ho-ho " "What orth it, Uncle Drac?" I asked him

Uncle Drac chuckled "I bet old Watkins that I could walk all the way to Old Morris’s mushroom farm She said she’d eat her hat if I could But I did it Ho-ho " "Wo long did it take her, Uncle Drac?" "How long did what take her, Minty?" "To eat her hat " Uncle Drac laughed "I told her that I’d let her off if she told Tabby that I didn’t need her anymore Which she did Spookie House is now a Nurse Watkinsfree zone " We left Uncle Drac knitting happily and went to find Barry

Barry andering around the garden, poking under rocks with a stick in a miserable kind of way

He looked up and saw us, and guess what he said? Yes, you’re right He said, "Aras?" This was thefor "In the bucket, " I said, and I handed hi bucket Barry lifted off the lid a little suspiciously I don’t knohat he expected to find in there But when he saw his frogs he se smile And then do you knohat he said? He said, "I knew you had theot Wanda winked atold frogs Let’s go and do so fun " Sometimes Wanda can be really nice, like a real best friend

Later that night, e had used up all of Wanda’s bike oil on Sir Horace getting hiain, put his arms on properly, and cleaned off all the leaves andin bed in our Tuesday bedroo ould be the next job for the Spookie-Wizzard Detective Agency, although now that I a to run fish shows I ency as Itired and I leaned back onhard underneath it I put my hand under the pillow to see what it was and pulled out a small leather pouch It smelled of Brenda’s pumpkin soup and the cat’s litter box

"Look what I’ve found!" I showed it to Wanda Wanda lifted up her pillow too I really hoped there was so there for her as well And there was--another little leather pouch that looked just the same "What do you think it is?" she whispered "I don’t know--open it and see, " I said "No, you open yours and see " "We’ll both open theether, okay? OneTwoThree!" We tipped the pouches on top of our pillows "Wow, " breathed Wanda "Look " She held up a thick gold disc threaded onto a leather cord It was just likeon it, " I said "Oh yes " Wanda screwed her eyes up and squinted at the words

"It’s Sir Horace’s funny spelling again, " I told her "He iven us these You did a good job with your bike oil, Wanda " "For aTrue andFaithefullFrende, " said Wanda very slowly "That’s what it says " And it did It said that on mine, too Which is not such a bad description of Wanda Wizzard, when you come to think of it Or Sir Horace Or me, I think

THE END