Eating Things on Sticks (18 page)

‘It practically
is
crown jewels!' he grumbled. ‘Three thousand pounds! It's going to take me twenty years to pay back Morning Glory!'

The phone went silent for a while, and then he started up again. ‘You should have snatched it back!'

He had been good to me that night. So even though I only wanted to go to bed, I made one last big effort. ‘Look on the bright side,' I comforted him. ‘It's very nice to think that Morning Glory will end up getting this sort of money for all that rubbish in the bags. And if we hadn't given this purse to Mum, you would have accepted any old stupid amount from the shop for the other one.'

‘That's true enough,' he said. ‘And probably for all the other stuff as well.'

I waited, yawning, while he thought it through, and in the end, as usual, came up with one of his plans. ‘Listen to me, Harry. Tomorrow I'll bring back the bags. Tansy can go through them for me and tell me what each thing is worth. And in return, I'll let her keep the purse, and I'll explain to Morning Glory that she is quids in, really, because without your mum, I'd have accepted tuppence.'

‘I think she'll think that's fair,' I said (though I was really far too tired to think about anything any more).

‘Right, then,' said Uncle Tristram. ‘A busy day tomorrow. Off you go to bed.'

GOOD HOLS?

Ralph was asleep. I woke him up by stumbling over his scout boots and falling on his bed.

‘Oh, hey!' he said. ‘Good hols?'

‘Not bad,' I told him. ‘How was scout camp?'

‘Pretty good. We climbed a mountain.'

‘So did we,' I said.

‘We spent a bit of time in boats.'

‘Yes, so did we.'

‘It rained a lot.'

‘Ditto.'

‘My bed was damp.'

‘Mine was as well.'

‘The food was rubbish.'

‘Can't have been any worse than ours.'

‘Good company, though.'

‘Yes,' I agreed. ‘I had good company as well.'

‘Well, he said. ‘Your trip sounds more or less the same as mine. So I might skip scout week and come along with you next time you burn down the kitchen.'

‘You'd be most welcome,' I told him.

Then I fell asleep.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A
NNE
F
INE
was born in Leicester. She went to Wallisdean County Primary School in Fareham, Hampshire and then to Northampton High School for Girls. She read Politics and History at the University of Warwick and then worked as an information officer for Oxfam before teaching (very briefly!) in a Scottish prison.

She started her first book during a blizzard that stopped her getting to Edinburgh City Library and has been writing ever since. She has won many awards for her books, has twice been voted Children's Writer of the Year at the British Book Awards and was the Children's Laureate for 2001–2003.

She lives in County Durham.