Ghoul Trip (5 page)

Chapter 5

Castle Capers

“That's weird,” said Lee. “Miss Gargoyle said there
weren't
any ghosts.”

“Maybe they came back after all,” said Bella.

“But why now?” said Billy. “Peg Leg Pete's been dead over three hundred years. The ghosts could have returned long ago.”

“Hmmm,” said Lee. “It's very strange. Maybe we should take a look.”

“But the gates are locked!” said Billy.

“Silly Billy,” said Lee. “We'll go in as bats, of course. No one'll notice. Besides, how else can we do Miss Gargoyle's worksheet? Come on!”

After checking to make sure no Fangless folk were watching, they said the bat chant Miss Gargoyle had taught them:

“I'm a bat, a bat is me
,

A bat is all I want to be.”

And with a
POP! POP! POP!
they all turned into bats and fluttered off over the castle wall.

They flew through all the roofless halls and ruined chambers of the castle. It was dark and dank and cold—and incredibly spooky.

“Wow!” said Lee. “This place is really cool!”

“Yeah,” agreed Bella. “I'll bet those old ghosts were sorry to leave!”

“No sign of any
new
ghosts, though,” said Lee. “Hang on, what's that?”

They hovered over some stone steps leading down to the dungeons. At the bottom of the steps was a light!

“Uh-oh,” said Billy. “It's a glowing phantom! I think we should leave. It's not polite to enter a ghoul's home without asking.”

“It's not a phantom,” said Lee, peering at the light. “It's a fire. Let's take a closer look.”

Lee was right. A small campfire was flickering in the dungeon. Next to it were two men.

“It's okay, they're Fangless,” said Lee.

Hanging from the dungeon wall was a rusty iron chain. The vampire bats landed on it, dangled upside down, and listened.

“Where's Tony? He should be here by now,” growled one of the men. He was wearing sunglasses even though it was night.

“Dunno, Jim,” grunted the other man, who was as big as a truck. “The Ferris wheel stopped ages ago.”

Lee grinned at Bella and Billy.

“Tony must be the guy who cheated me!” he whispered.

“Oh!” said Bella. “I'd forgotten all about him. He's still stuck at the top of the Ferris wheel!”

“But what are they doing in the castle?” wondered Billy.

He didn't have to wait long to find out.

“D'you know what, Milton?” said Jim. “If Tony doesn't show up soon, we'll just have to rob St. Orlok's without him.”

“Yeah,” said Jim. “We'll give him ten more minutes, then we're outta here.”

The vampire bats nearly fell off their chain. So that was it! The three men were the robbers who'd been burglarizing the local schools. And the castle was their hideout!

“So that's why we haven't met a single ghost,” said Lee. “There aren't any!”

“Yes,” agreed Bella. “That sign on the castle gate is just a trick to keep everyone away.”

“We should tell the Fangless police,” said Lee.

“But the men will be gone by the time they get here!” said Billy.

“You're right,” said Bella. “We'll have to make sure they don't get away. But how?”

They dangled in silence for a minute. Then Lee spoke.

“I've got an idea,” he said, flitting into the air. “I'll explain when I get back. You stay here and keep an eye on the men.”

“But where are you going?” cried Bella.

“First I'm going to see Miss Gargoyle,” said Lee. “Then I need to find Ollie and Claude …”

Chapter 6

Spooky Surprises

Lee quickly flew off while Billy and Bella hung in the darkness, watching the men.

After about ten minutes, Billy said, “Brrr! I wish Lee would hurry up. I'm getting cold. And bored!”

Just then the man called Milton took off his sunglasses and looked at his watch.

“Shh!” whispered Bella. “He's saying something.”

“Okay. Tony's not here,” said the man. “So we're going to have to do it without him.”

“Right,” agreed the man called Jim. “You got all the tools for breaking in?”