help?’ Brian sounded bewildered.
Grunge swallowed the last of his toast. ‘I think whoever’s behind these fires is sending us a message. They’re telling us that no matter what we do, it won’t make any difference. They want us to feel helpless.’
‘Both fires must have been started at about the same time. It has to be the work of more than one person. It’s impossible to get from one side of Beadledom to the other within an hour,’ said Bligh. He picked up a plate and offered it to Crimson. ‘Muffin?’ he asked. Crimson politely refused. Bligh placed one on his plate. ‘We must ask the Myrmidots again for help.’
Reach hesitated, then said, ‘But what if the Myrmidots do come and the next night there are three fires? You’ll be worse off.’ Reach hoped she didn’t sound foolish.
‘How can we be worse off?’ Brian said impatiently.
Brian’s impatience made Reach feel even less sure of herself. ‘Before last night, Beadledom was losing only one or two buildings each night. Last night it lost four,’ she said in a low voice.
Bell peered at the young Muddle and nodded. ‘The two buildings destroyed by the blue fire and the two warehouses we couldn’t save. Reach is right.’ Reach gave Bell a grateful smile. ‘At that rate,’ Bell continued, ‘all of Beadledom will be ashes before long.’
‘Perhaps you’re right. More coffee, Grunge? We won’t ask the Myrmidots just yet. We’ll see if we can find another way to fight whoever is doing this.’ Bligh cleared his throat. Very deliberately, he put the coffee pot on the table. When he spoke he seemed almost as hesitant as Reach. ‘But we have another problem. Word has spread of what happened to Crimson last night. It’s made some of the townsfolk uneasy. Some are having … second thoughts … about asking Muddles to help. As High Councillor I am obliged to listen to everyone’s opinions.’
Crimson said nothing. It was Grunge who replied to Bligh. He gave a polite nod as if he understood.
‘If you think it best, we’ll leave. But I think you should tell the Beadles that if they’re worried about Crimson, they don’t have to be. Whatever happened to her, she has it covered.’ Grunge smiled at Crimson. ‘She’s always got everything covered, has Crimson.’
Crimson raised her head. She looked at Grunge for a moment, then gave her friend a little smile.
Bligh raised his hand to protest. ‘No, no, I don’t think that’s necessary.’ He looked at the half-eaten muffin in his hand. ‘Not
just yet.’
‘Well then, I think we should discuss how we’re going to find out who’s setting the fires,’ said Grunge.
Bell ran his hand over his face. ‘I don’t know where to start. My head isn’t working too well these days.’
‘If only we knew where the next fire will be ...’ mused Crimson.
Brian couldn’t hide the impatience in his voice. ‘We’ve thought of that, naturally, Crimson. We’ve tried to find a pattern behind the location of the fires, but there isn’t one. We’ve gone over the places again and again.’
‘Brian’s right. There doesn’t seem to be any logic to it,’ confirmed Bell.
‘Another look won’t hurt. Let’s have a look at that map, Brian.’ Brian scowled at Grunge’s request, but in a few minutes the remains of breakfast were removed and the map was unrolled on the table.
The sight of the map covered in blue dots shocked Crimson. She couldn’t imagine such destruction. ‘Another month or so and Beadledom would cease to exist,’ she thought to herself. But something wasn’t right...
‘There are so many dots! It’s horrible!’ Crimson exclaimed.
‘Between the blues fires and the extra ones it causes we lose two or three additional buildings each night,’ explained Brian.
Six pairs of eyes stared at the blue dots on the map and tried to find a pattern. Nothing. The fires jumped all over Beadledom, as if whoever was responsible simply stuck a pin in a map to decide where to
Grunge swallowed the last of his toast. ‘I think whoever’s behind these fires is sending us a message. They’re telling us that no matter what we do, it won’t make any difference. They want us to feel helpless.’
‘Both fires must have been started at about the same time. It has to be the work of more than one person. It’s impossible to get from one side of Beadledom to the other within an hour,’ said Bligh. He picked up a plate and offered it to Crimson. ‘Muffin?’ he asked. Crimson politely refused. Bligh placed one on his plate. ‘We must ask the Myrmidots again for help.’
Reach hesitated, then said, ‘But what if the Myrmidots do come and the next night there are three fires? You’ll be worse off.’ Reach hoped she didn’t sound foolish.
‘How can we be worse off?’ Brian said impatiently.
Brian’s impatience made Reach feel even less sure of herself. ‘Before last night, Beadledom was losing only one or two buildings each night. Last night it lost four,’ she said in a low voice.
Bell peered at the young Muddle and nodded. ‘The two buildings destroyed by the blue fire and the two warehouses we couldn’t save. Reach is right.’ Reach gave Bell a grateful smile. ‘At that rate,’ Bell continued, ‘all of Beadledom will be ashes before long.’
‘Perhaps you’re right. More coffee, Grunge? We won’t ask the Myrmidots just yet. We’ll see if we can find another way to fight whoever is doing this.’ Bligh cleared his throat. Very deliberately, he put the coffee pot on the table. When he spoke he seemed almost as hesitant as Reach. ‘But we have another problem. Word has spread of what happened to Crimson last night. It’s made some of the townsfolk uneasy. Some are having … second thoughts … about asking Muddles to help. As High Councillor I am obliged to listen to everyone’s opinions.’
Crimson said nothing. It was Grunge who replied to Bligh. He gave a polite nod as if he understood.
‘If you think it best, we’ll leave. But I think you should tell the Beadles that if they’re worried about Crimson, they don’t have to be. Whatever happened to her, she has it covered.’ Grunge smiled at Crimson. ‘She’s always got everything covered, has Crimson.’
Crimson raised her head. She looked at Grunge for a moment, then gave her friend a little smile.
Bligh raised his hand to protest. ‘No, no, I don’t think that’s necessary.’ He looked at the half-eaten muffin in his hand. ‘Not
just yet.’
‘Well then, I think we should discuss how we’re going to find out who’s setting the fires,’ said Grunge.
Bell ran his hand over his face. ‘I don’t know where to start. My head isn’t working too well these days.’
‘If only we knew where the next fire will be ...’ mused Crimson.
Brian couldn’t hide the impatience in his voice. ‘We’ve thought of that, naturally, Crimson. We’ve tried to find a pattern behind the location of the fires, but there isn’t one. We’ve gone over the places again and again.’
‘Brian’s right. There doesn’t seem to be any logic to it,’ confirmed Bell.
‘Another look won’t hurt. Let’s have a look at that map, Brian.’ Brian scowled at Grunge’s request, but in a few minutes the remains of breakfast were removed and the map was unrolled on the table.
The sight of the map covered in blue dots shocked Crimson. She couldn’t imagine such destruction. ‘Another month or so and Beadledom would cease to exist,’ she thought to herself. But something wasn’t right...
‘There are so many dots! It’s horrible!’ Crimson exclaimed.
‘Between the blues fires and the extra ones it causes we lose two or three additional buildings each night,’ explained Brian.
Six pairs of eyes stared at the blue dots on the map and tried to find a pattern. Nothing. The fires jumped all over Beadledom, as if whoever was responsible simply stuck a pin in a map to decide where to
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