In which there are lots of ears and legs, and a gargantunormous plan that might get Uncle Shawn and all the inmates out of the Institution… At least we hope so.
The next day, while Uncle Shawn and the orphans tried to keep happy by dancing in their dormitories – even though they were getting hungrier and hungrier – Badger Bill and the llamas were trying to make plans.
Only they weren’t exactly good at plans.
Bill had put a big piece of paper on the kitchen table (which wasn’t a llama under a coverlet) and then he had written: PLAN TO RESCUE UNCLE SHAWN.
After that, things had got a bit difficult.
And Claude the spider was wondering how to say he’d like to help, because spiders don’t really speak. So he just bounced on his silk – like a yo-yo with lots of legs.
Brian Llama said, “The Institution has big, high fences and tall iron gates and searchlights and everything.”
“Well, then let’s dig a tunnel,” said Bill. Badgers are good at tunnels.
“That sounds very dusty and dirty,” said Ginalolobrigida.
“I know!” said Guinevere. “We could get a helicopter and fly over the walls, and we could jump out wearing dark pullovers and hats and then rescue everyone.”
Bill put his paws over his ears in frustration. “We don’t know how to fly a helicopter – and we don’t have one! We don’t even have pullovers and … and … poor Uncle Shawn is in that nasty place and IT’S HORRIBLE AND I MISS HIM.”
After that, Bill and the llamas just sat and felt sad and lonely.
And then a voice that didn’t seem to belong to anyone said, “I’m hungry.” And a scone lifted off the scone dish, floated in mid-air and was slowly eaten by an invisible mouth.
Bill and Carlos and Guinivere were very scared by this, and yelled, “EMERGENCIA!” But Ginalolobrigida just said to a patch of air, “Oh, you’ve taken off your make-up. A lady is invisible without the proper make-up.”
Brian – which surprised everyone – wasn’t scared even a bit. He just said, “That’s who tickles my ears and strokes my nose when I’m scared at night. She keeps the swamp monsters and the giant hungry owls away. She leans her head against my tummy where the fur is very soft and takes naps.”
“Good heavens,” said everyone except Ginalolobrigida, who explained, “This is a young invisible human girl called Linvizzygirl.”
Just then there was a loud thumping at the door.
“Aaahhh! Emergencia!” said Brian. “They’ve come back to take us away for being Unusual!”
But when Bill went and opened the door with shaking paws, there stood the Tweed-Faced Boy.
“I heard cries for help! I will rescue you!”
Bill sighed. “It’s not us who needs rescuing – it’s Uncle Shawn.”
“Is he a damsel?”
“He’s an uncle.”
Bill took the Tweed-Faced Boy back to the kitchen, where Linvizzygirl had eaten another two scones and an apple.
“He’s been taken by Doctor P’Klawz,” explained Bill.
“Yes, and that’s not something that should happen to anyone,” said the Tweed-Faced Boy, looking a bit smaller and worried but also cross. “I’ve been an inmate in one of his Institutions and they’re terrible. Anything to do with P’Klawz is always terrible. I have sworn my revenge on him. And you should never have let your friend go and see him, not even for a visit, never mind letting P’Klawz lock him away.” He shook his sword, but the bootlace came loose and it turned back into two sticks.
“If you managed to get away from an Institution… Could you manage to get into one?” asked Bill, his ears at an excited angle.
“It would be very hard…” The Tweed-Faced Boy scratched his newspaper hat sadly.
By now, Claude was so enthusiastic that he quickly spelled out, in spider silk:
Let us help too, please.
He was a very polite spider.
Bill noticed the spider writing and said, “Hello?”
Claude bounced down on his thread and smiled as much as spiders can – which isn’t much. (This made Brian squeal.) And then Claude wrote out – quite slowly:
The World Association of Spiders (Pandrumdroochit Branch)
will help you.
Because P’Klawz drove spiders from all the corners of all his rooms and squashed them whenever he could, spiders everywhere did not like him.
Everyone tried to be pleased about Claude’s offer of help, but also felt a bit shivery, because spiders can seem scary.
“I like spiders, though,” said Carlos.
“All right, then,” said Bill. “Let’s make a plan. Claude – you can write it down in spider-web.”
Linvizzygirl tickled Brian’s ears and made him grin and then everyone made a wonderful plan together. Or most of one. 