Harry and George had had some good luck and they’d had some bad luck on their adventures. Now they had the best bit of luck they’d had so far.
They just didn’t know it.
What happened when the Hoo-Min turned the tap on full was that – nothing happened. Not a thing. Where this Hoo-Min lived, things didn’t always work properly. And sometimes there was no water for a while.
By a wonderful piece of good luck (for the centis) no water came out of the shower to wash them away and maybe drown them. Not a single drop.
So they shot down the Up-Pipe and fell on the earth-pile together in a tangle, and no jet of water shot down after them. A lot of noise did follow them. It was the Hoo-Min saying bad words in a very loud voice, but the centis didn’t know that.
They untangled themselves and stood up. Most of the white-choke was gone and they felt terrific. Triumphant! They’d done it! They’d actually climbed on a Hoo-Min and survived! They felt like a pair of the bravest centis who ever lived!
“Wait till we tell Mama!” crackled Harry. “Wait till—”
And then they saw her.
She was lying at the bottom of the earth-pile. They saw her in the light coming down the Up-Pipe.
She was lying in a crumpled heap. She looked like – she looked like – a very dead centipede.
