Catweazle

the
sergeant walked straight past them and opened the door to his office.
    ‘You
can go, Mr Woodyard,’ he said dreamily, ‘you can go.’
    ‘Hullo,
boss,’ said Sam sheepishly as he saw Mr Bennet.
    ‘Case
dismissed,’ said Bottle in a strange hollow voice. ‘Time, gentlemen, please.’
    ‘What?’
said Mr Bennet.
    ‘If you
want to know the time, ask a policeman,’ said Bottle, going into his office and
shutting the door.
    ‘The
man’s ill!’ said Mr Bennet.
    There
was a crashing noise from the office and the sound of running feet. Throwing
open the door, the three of them stared at Sergeant Bottle, who was galloping
round and round his desk on a broomstick. P.C. Cooper, very embarrassed to see
his superior officer behaving in such a manner, pushed them from the door and
phoned the Cottage Hospital.
    Carrot
walked back through the fields with Catweazle and when they reached the wood he
silently handed over the mouth-organ. Catweazle’s eyes gleamed as he snatched
it and darted off among the trees. Carrot listened for a minute and then the
rather melancholy sound of the mouth-organ floated back to him.
    ‘Well,
I suppose he did earn it,’ he said softly to himself.

13
     

THE FISH OUT OF WATER
     
    Catweazle was worried. It was nine days since the young sorcerer
from the farm had been to see him, and now Touchwood was missing as well. He
felt very uneasy as he gazed hopefully into his scrying glass, but the Eye of
Time was shut and he could see nothing. ‘Where art thou, Touchwood?’ he
muttered anxiously. ‘Where hast thou gone?’
    He
would have been even more worried had he known that Touchwood was squatting in
the middle of the farmyard. He tried, too late, to crawl out of the way as
Carrot and another boy, both in their school blazers, cycled in through the
gate.
    Now
that Carrot had started school again, Mr Bennet had needed a housekeeper and
unfortunately Mrs Skinner was the only applicant. She and her son Arthur had
been at Hexwood now for just over a week, and Carrot loathed them both.
    ‘Cor!
What a bloomin’ great frog,’ said Arthur, a spotty boy with glasses.
    ‘It’s
not a frog - it’s a toad,’ said Carrot, recognizing Touchwood.
    But as
he went to pick him up, the other boy pushed him out of the way and ran off into
the barn with Touchwood.
    ‘Put
him down Arthur,’ yelled Carrot, running after him. But Arthur dodged behind
the tractor and waved Touchwood at him with a mocking grin.
    ‘Hand
him over,’ pleaded Carrot.
    ‘Not
likely,’ said Arthur. ‘I saw it first.’
    ‘What
d’you want him for?’
    ‘Experiments,’
Arthur said evilly.
    Carrot
gulped. ‘Look, Arthur,’ he said. ‘I’ll buy him off you.’
    ‘No
dice,’ sneered Arthur. ‘It ain’t for sale. It’s my frog.’
    ‘Ten
bob,’ said Carrot.
    ‘ ’Ow
much?’ said Arthur, very surprised.
    ‘Ten
bob,’ repeated Carrot firmly.
    ‘You
ain’t got ten bob. My mum says you Bennets ain’t got nothin’ ’cept the farm,
and that’s falling to bits, but you’re stuck up just the same,’ said Arthur,
and waved Touchwood in Carrot’s face.
    ‘Don’t
do that!’ said Carrot anxiously.
    ‘Frogs
can’t feel anything,’ said Arthur. ‘They’re cold blooded.’
    ‘All
right,’ said Carrot. ‘You can have my telescope as well if you give me Touch -
if you give me the toad.’
    ‘Done,’
said Arthur, absolutely staggered, and handed Touchwood over.
    Before
he could follow, Carrot ran across the yard and hid Touchwood in the garage.
Then he watched as his enemy came out of the barn and went into the house.
    ‘Hullo,
Arthur,’ said Mr Bennet as the spotty youth came into the kitchen. ‘Glad school’s
over for the week? Where’s Carrot?’
    ‘Dunno,
Mr Bennet. I told him it was tea-time and that everybody would be waiting,’
said Arthur slyly.
    ‘Good
boy,’ murmured Mrs Skinner.
    ‘I
tried to make him come with me, but he just ran off.’
    ‘Oh,
did he!’ said Mr Bennet angrily.
    ‘Shall
I see if I can find him?’ said Arthur, but at that moment Carrot came running
in.
    ‘Sorry
I’m late,’ he said while his father gave him a dirty look.
    ‘Where
have you put him, Eddie?’ asked Arthur.
    Carrot,
who hated being called Eddie, glared at him. ‘That’s my business,’ he said.
    ‘Put
who?’ asked Mr Bennet.
    ‘We
found a frog,’ said Arthur.
    ‘Don’t
keep calling it a frog,’ shouted Carrot angrily, ‘it’s a toad!’
    Arthur
lowered his eyes and got quietly on