Jennifer Jane and the treasure 2/5

The whole family felt excited when they went to bed that night. Jennifer Jane couldn't get to sleep for a long time but she was just beginning to drop off when she heard an unusual noise. She was used to all the usual sorts of noises she heard in the woods, the goblins breaking nutshells, the giant crying and Barnacle Bill's steam whistle but this was something different.

'Wough, wough, wough'.

"It sounds rather like a swan flying," said Jennifer Jane to herself, "only a good bit slower."

The noise seemed to get nearer and nearer and then it stopped.

Jennifer Jane snuggled down in bed and began to drift off to sleep.

'Thud, thud, thud. Wough, wough, wough, wough.' The noise started again, only this time it quickly faded away.

Jennifer Jane had got out of bed to see what was making the noise but it had gone so quickly that she didn't have time to see anything. She went back to bed and this time she was soon fast asleep.

Just after breakfast had finished the next morning, there was a knock on the door. Dad went and opened it.

"Hello Jack," he said, "do come in." He came back into the kitchen, followed by his friend from the museum. Jennifer Jane liked him at once; he was older than her Dad with grey hair and a nicely trimmed grey beard.

"Come on," said Dad, "let's all go and look at the treasure" and he lead the way to the end of the garden.

"Whatever were you two up to yesterday?" said Mother. "I've never seen such a horrible mess in a garden in all my life."

"Oh no!" said Dad, "whatever's happened? It wasn't like this when we packed up last night."

The tree stump had been torn right out of the ground and was lying on one of the nearby flowerbeds. There was a great big hole where it had been, with the earth scattered all over the grass.

"The box has gone!" exclaimed Dad, who had jumped down into the hole to look. "Oh drat, I was so looking forward to finding out what was inside."

They all went back to the house, trying to imagine what on earth could have happened.

Jennifer Jane went to her room and had a quiet think by herself. 'The noise I heard last night must have been made when the treasure was being stolen.'

Jennifer Jane thought and thought. It had sounded rather like a helicopter but the 'wough, wough' noise hadn't really been quick enough. Now, what would sound like a swan flying, but with a slower wing-beat? Jennifer Jane eventually put two and two together.

‘Something large, flying and interested in treasure. CLARENCE!’

She decided she would have to go and see him at once and try to get Dad's treasure back. She rushed out of the house and ran along the garden.

"Just off to the woods to play," she called as she passed her parents and Mr Saunders.

"Huh!" exclaimed her Father; "it would be a bit more of a help if you tried to find that box instead of playing."

Jennifer Jane arrived at the magic clearing a little out of breath. "Can I see Clarence the dragon, please," she panted.

Nothing happened.

"Clerk of the Weather, please."

Nothing happened again.

"Wish Warehouse then, please," she tried once more.

Nothing.

Jennifer Jane looked round. This was most unusual. Something always happened, even if it was some sort of mistake but this time there was no sign at all.

Suddenly, she remembered something she had noticed yesterday; 'not a cloud in the sky.'

She looked up. Sure enough, the sky was still a clear blue, with no clouds in sight at all.

'Something has gone wrong with the cloud transport,' she thought but she knew the answer to that and ran back home again.

"Just going to fetch my umbrella," she called, as she ran past the grown-ups in the garden.

"An umbrella, on a lovely day like today?" said her Mother.

"Really, that child does have the strangest ideas," said Dad.

"Most peculiar," said Jack.