Ripley had been up to. He discovered a whole load of magic books that Ripley had been hoarding.’
Archie was about to ask what happened to Ripley’s collection when he caught sight of a tall, stoopingman talking to Professor von Herring at the bar.
‘I know that man,’ he whispered to Bramble.
She nodded. ‘Yes, that’s Aurelius Rusp. I wonder what he’s doing here.’
Rusp strode past them, his face set in an angry scowl. The two cousins watched him sweep through the door ray and out the main door.
‘He’s not very friendly,’ Archie observed.
‘Rusp? No, he’s famously unfriendly. A right old grouch in fact. Funny that we should see him today, though, when we were just talking about Arthur Ripley, because Rusp was in the museum on the night of the fire. He was the one who discovered what was going on and raised the alarm. If it hadn’t been for Rusp the place would have burned to the ground.’ She paused. ‘He’s been a bit strange ever since. Very intense.’
‘You think it’s because of the fire?’
‘Yeah, it affected him. He’s always searching for books. Trying to replace the ones that got burned – that’s what Dad says.’
‘Why would he do that?’ Archie asked. ‘I mean it’s not as if it was his fault or anything.’
Bramble shrugged. ‘Who knows,’ she said. ‘Perhaps he feels responsible somehow or feels he should have said something sooner. But there are other rumours, too. Some people say he’s got links to the Greaders.’
19
The Almanac
A fter the incident with the poppers, Archie assumed it would be a while before he was allowed anywhere near another magical book. But when he arrived at the mending workshop a couple of days later, Old Zeb had put two books on the bench. Pages had been marked in each.
‘Right,’ said the old bookbinder, ‘orders from the elders are that we’ve got to speed up your lessons. With Greaders about, they want all apprentices to be ready in case of danger. Today, you’ll be learning about the different types of magical books.’
His serious expression dissolved into a gummy grin. ‘You’ll like this,’ he added, a gleam in his eye. ‘It will be fun.’
The old man tapped his nose with his finger. ‘Since you’re so fond of ’em, let’s start with the poppers. Poppers are enchanted books. Theycontain spells that are bound to the book until it is opened – then, ready or not, out they pop!
‘There are two types – pop-ups and pop-outs. With a pop-up, the spell pops up but it remains with the book it came from. Once they’re out, of course, it can be a devil of a job to get them back inside the book but at least they can’t wander off. So let’s see a pop-up in action.’ He pointed at the first book, which had a dark green cover and was entitled
The Dodo Bird and Other Extinct Animals
.
‘Go ahead,’ the old bookbinder urged, ‘open it!’
There was a loud popping sound and a large and very surprised looking woolly mammoth appeared in the room, still chewing a mouthful of grass. It had long yellow tusks and a puzzled expression on its face. Its two small eyes regarded Archie down its long trunk.
‘A popper has no idea that it is only a temporary spell so it thinks and behaves just like a real animal or person – a mammoth in this case,’ Old Zeb explained. ‘This makes poppers extremely realistic but potentially dangerous because they don’t want to go back into the book once they’re out. That’s why popper stoppers were invented. It allows them to be safely stored until they
ezaporate
– which means the spell expires or they go back into their book of their own volition.
‘I hope we didn’t disturb your breakfast,’ the old man said to the mammoth. He winked at Archie and produced an apple from his pocket and gave it to the bemused animal. Then he took out a popper stopper and removed the top to release the white mist, which immediately surrounded the mammoth. When the mist was sucked back into the
Archie was about to ask what happened to Ripley’s collection when he caught sight of a tall, stoopingman talking to Professor von Herring at the bar.
‘I know that man,’ he whispered to Bramble.
She nodded. ‘Yes, that’s Aurelius Rusp. I wonder what he’s doing here.’
Rusp strode past them, his face set in an angry scowl. The two cousins watched him sweep through the door ray and out the main door.
‘He’s not very friendly,’ Archie observed.
‘Rusp? No, he’s famously unfriendly. A right old grouch in fact. Funny that we should see him today, though, when we were just talking about Arthur Ripley, because Rusp was in the museum on the night of the fire. He was the one who discovered what was going on and raised the alarm. If it hadn’t been for Rusp the place would have burned to the ground.’ She paused. ‘He’s been a bit strange ever since. Very intense.’
‘You think it’s because of the fire?’
‘Yeah, it affected him. He’s always searching for books. Trying to replace the ones that got burned – that’s what Dad says.’
‘Why would he do that?’ Archie asked. ‘I mean it’s not as if it was his fault or anything.’
Bramble shrugged. ‘Who knows,’ she said. ‘Perhaps he feels responsible somehow or feels he should have said something sooner. But there are other rumours, too. Some people say he’s got links to the Greaders.’
19
The Almanac
A fter the incident with the poppers, Archie assumed it would be a while before he was allowed anywhere near another magical book. But when he arrived at the mending workshop a couple of days later, Old Zeb had put two books on the bench. Pages had been marked in each.
‘Right,’ said the old bookbinder, ‘orders from the elders are that we’ve got to speed up your lessons. With Greaders about, they want all apprentices to be ready in case of danger. Today, you’ll be learning about the different types of magical books.’
His serious expression dissolved into a gummy grin. ‘You’ll like this,’ he added, a gleam in his eye. ‘It will be fun.’
The old man tapped his nose with his finger. ‘Since you’re so fond of ’em, let’s start with the poppers. Poppers are enchanted books. Theycontain spells that are bound to the book until it is opened – then, ready or not, out they pop!
‘There are two types – pop-ups and pop-outs. With a pop-up, the spell pops up but it remains with the book it came from. Once they’re out, of course, it can be a devil of a job to get them back inside the book but at least they can’t wander off. So let’s see a pop-up in action.’ He pointed at the first book, which had a dark green cover and was entitled
The Dodo Bird and Other Extinct Animals
.
‘Go ahead,’ the old bookbinder urged, ‘open it!’
There was a loud popping sound and a large and very surprised looking woolly mammoth appeared in the room, still chewing a mouthful of grass. It had long yellow tusks and a puzzled expression on its face. Its two small eyes regarded Archie down its long trunk.
‘A popper has no idea that it is only a temporary spell so it thinks and behaves just like a real animal or person – a mammoth in this case,’ Old Zeb explained. ‘This makes poppers extremely realistic but potentially dangerous because they don’t want to go back into the book once they’re out. That’s why popper stoppers were invented. It allows them to be safely stored until they
ezaporate
– which means the spell expires or they go back into their book of their own volition.
‘I hope we didn’t disturb your breakfast,’ the old man said to the mammoth. He winked at Archie and produced an apple from his pocket and gave it to the bemused animal. Then he took out a popper stopper and removed the top to release the white mist, which immediately surrounded the mammoth. When the mist was sucked back into the
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