MEANWHILE, BACK AT the Hedgerows Hotel everyone was having a ball. Mr and Mrs Woodchester supervised everything and made sure that it was all running smoothly. Aunt Marigold had organized relay races, pass the parcel and quizzes too. Grandpa kept score and acted as the referee. Honey, Mimosa, Sweetpea and Abigail were playing cards, while some of the other children built snowmen in the hotel grounds. A group of adults were having a friendly argument about the rules of Monopoly, and those who had been assigned the task of cooking that day were busy in the kitchen making delicious cottage pies and various other tasty treats. Everyone was looking forward to hearing good news from the two scouting parties that had gone out earlier in the day.
“I do hope they manage to bring Mum and Dad back with them,” said Sally Meadowsweet.
“I’m sure James will do his best,” Mum assured her. “He can be very persuasive when he wants to be.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Mrs Crowther bursting into the room.
“Dr Latimer, come quickly, please! It’s my Ernest – he forgot to bring his medicine with him and he’s having a bad turn. I’ve tried giving him as many sweet snacks as I can – that usually revives him – but it doesn’t seem to be working.”
Gosh, I’m glad we never did tell tales on them, thought Honey as she watched the drama unfold. Poor Mr Crowther!
Dr Latimer grabbed his medical bag and followed Mrs Crowther to her room. He was finding life very busy at the Hedgerows Hotel. He soon re-emerged with the good news that although he was keen to get Ernest checked out at the hospital as soon as possible, he was going to be fine; along with the babies and children, he was a food priority and must get exactly what he needed – little and often. The people working in the kitchen were beginning to realize that food supplies were fast running out.
By mid afternoon the team that had been clearing the snow on David’s tractor had arrived back at the hotel with kindling and logs from Wildspice Woods as well as some food from the school kitchens and the café at the Lavender Lake Garden Centre.
“The digger seemed to be making good progress down towards the farm!” they reported to Mum, who was delighted to hear the news.
“They were certainly moving faster than we were!” said David. “I expect they’ll be back soon, although they did have further to go.”
When Dad, Poppy and Mr Atkins were still not back by tea time, Mum began to worry since it wouldn’t be long before dark. She tried to keep busy but she was so anxious that she couldn’t concentrate on anything, and in the end Grandpa had to feed and bath the twins for her. Every time Mum heard a noise she rushed to the lobby in the hope that it would be them, triumphantly returning with lots of fresh provisions. But it was always just the wind and snow battering the hotel.
“They only had one thermos of soup between them,” said Mum. “The poor lambs will be absolutely ravenous.”
“Don’t worry, love,” said Granny Bumble. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. You know that James would never let anything happen to Poppy. She’s got two big strong men to look after her.”
“I know,” replied Mum, “but I just don’t understand why it’s taking so long. They’ve been gone for hours and the weather’s getting worse all the time.”
“These jobs often take a lot longer than you expect. Perhaps they’ve been waylaid by an elderly person who needs their help, or maybe someone has made them a meal. There are still a few people in the village who decided to stay in their own homes, you know, dear.”
“Of course, you’re quite right,” said Mum, in an effort to pull herself together. “They’ll walk through that door at any minute.”
Supper time passed and they still hadn’t come back. Poor Mum couldn’t eat a thing. When it was time for the children to go to bed and there was still no sign of Poppy, Dad and Mr Atkins, Mum couldn’t bear it any longer.
“We’ve got to do something!” she said. “What if they’re in trouble and need our help? If they’re outside, they won’t last long in this terrible weather. And look, the snow is falling more heavily than ever.”
“You’re right, Lavender,” replied David. “This is serious – we’re going to have to send out a search party.”
David organized everything very quickly. Before long, a search party, which included David,Ted, Mr Woodchester and Hector Melody, was assembled. They wrapped up warm, grabbed some torches, spades, a tow-rope and a thermos of hot tea and set off in the tractor towards the farm and the coast, following the path made by the digger.
The fresh snow meant that the tracks the digger had made had almost disappeared, so progress through the village towards Barley Farm was slow.
“Well, the digger looks like it did OK in the snow,” said David, trying to sound cheerful and keep everyone’s spirits up.
“Yeah, but why haven’t they come back yet if it was all going so well?” wondered Ted out loud.
No one knew the answer to that and they continued in silence.
“What’s that!” said Mr Woodchester as he saw something in the road in front of them, lit up by the tractor’s headlights.
“Looks like a massive snowdrift to me,” replied Hector Melody.
But as they got closer, they realized that it couldn’t possibly be a snowdrift – it was simply too huge. David stopped the tractor and they got out to have a proper look. As they approached, they all realized what it was at the same moment: Mr Atkins’s digger, almost completely buried by snow.
They wiped the snow away and had a good look around the digger, calling out for Dad, Poppy and Mr Atkins as they did so.
“It just looks like it’s been abandoned,” said Ted, “and there is no sign of James, Poppy or Mr Atkins.”
“They must have broken down,” said David. “Maybe they decided to head for Barley Farm instead of turning back. It is closer, after all.”
“You’re probably right,” replied Mr Woodchester, “but the road’s completely blocked by the digger and the snow. We can’t reach Barley Farm now.”
“He’s right,” said Ted. “We’ll never get past it. We’d better return to the hotel and report back. You can tell Lavender Cotton the news, David. I don’t want to.”
