The Worst Witch All at Sea (19 page)

revealed a stout wooden plank and another and another.

‘It’s a chest!’ gasped Mildred. ‘Look! It really is a chest!’

‘We’ll never get it free from the rock,’ said Enid. ‘It’s practically grown into it, look.’

‘We could see if one of the broomsticks could pull it free,’ said Mildred. ‘Miss Hardbroom’s broomstick seems to be as strong as an ox.’

‘Let’s try!’ said Maud.

So they untied the boat end of the rope and tied it firmly on to Miss Hardbroom’s broomstick.

‘Pull, broom!’ said Mildred. ‘Pull as hard as you can and stop when I tell you.’

The broomstick set off very fast, several feet above the water, until the rope was taut and the chest was wrenched with a sudden ripping of barnacles, years of sea and salt and swollen wood, clean out of the rock-face, where it fell conveniently into the boat, narrowly missing Miss Hard-broom by a few inches.

‘Stop!’ yelled Mildred. The broom was still pulling as firmly as possible, nearly turning the boat on its side. ‘Down and rest.’

‘Shall we try to open it?’ asked Maud.

‘It’s very rusty,’ said Enid. ‘I think we’ll need a crowbar.’

‘Or dynamite!’ suggested Mildred. ‘No, first and foremost we
must
get H.B. back to the castle. Let’s tie the rope on to the front of the boat again and see if H.B.’s broomstick can get us home. Perhaps you can both fly alongside to make the boat lighter.’

‘You and Tab can ride on the back of my broom if you like,’ said Maud. ‘Then there’d just be H.B. and the chest for it to pull.’

‘Good idea,’ said Mildred.

‘And we ought to both take off our capes and cover H.B. with them,’ said Enid. ‘She must be half frozen. I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before.’

Maud and Enid both took off their capes. Maud laid hers gently over their form-mistress and Enid rolled hers up to make a pillow. Tabby, who had heard the conversation about taking him on Maud’s broomstick, made a dive for the cabin and refused to come out.

‘Never mind,’ said Mildred, scrambling on to the back of Maud’s broom, which was hovering patiently with Maud already on it. ‘He doesn’t weigh much; he might as well stay on board.’

Miss Cackle was on the beach with various members of Form Two, who had come to report after making trips to search for Mildred and Miss Hardbroom.

‘Look over there, girls!’ exclaimed Miss Cackle. ‘Isn’t that a boat in the distance with some of our girls flying above it?’

Everyone craned their necks and screwed up their eyes against the sun to get a clearer view, and as the boat came nearer they could see Mildred on the back of Maud’s broom, Enid next to Maud, and the spare broomstick pulling the boat along. They all let out a rousing cheer of delight.

‘Mildred Hubble!’ called Miss Cackle, not sure whether to be thrilled or angry. ‘Come here at once and explain where on
earth
you have been, worrying us all senseless.’

The boat coasted alongside the breakwater, expertly steered by the broomstick under Mildred’s orders. Everyone ran to help and stopped in their tracks when they saw Miss Hard-broom lying in the boat wrapped in the cloaks. Tabby chose this moment to come miaowing out of the cabin and jump on to the chest.

Miss Cackle stood and stared in complete bewilderment. So did all the other members of Form Two.

‘Oh dear,’ said Mildred. ‘This is all going to be very difficult to explain.’

he magician arrived back early when he received word of Miss Hardbroom’s accident. He materialized in a swirl of brilliant-coloured smoke in the middle of the courtyard, dusted himself down and strode indoors, watched from the windows of their dormitory by the members of Form Two.

Mildred, Maud and Enid climbed down from the window and sat in a row on Mildred’s mat, each of them cuddling their cat.

‘At least I’ve got Tabby back for the day,’ said Mildred gloomily. ‘Though they’re bound to be absolutely
raving
after last night. Goodness knows what’ll happen.’

Ethel looked very nervous too, which was most unusual for her.

‘If any of you say
anything
about me pushing the boat out,’ said Ethel, ‘I’ll – I’ll –’

‘Oh it’s all right, bossy boots,’ said Maud. ‘No one’s going to sneak on you.
You’re
the sneak around here, remember.’

Maud could be quite withering when she wanted to.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. They all leaped to their feet and stood by their assorted beds, thinking that it must be Miss Cackle, as Miss Hardbroom was in bed tucked up with a hot-water bottle, a bandaged head and a pile of warm blankets.

But it wasn’t Miss Cackle. It was the magician and, to everyone’s surprise, he was smiling and looking just as genial as the day they had arrived.

‘Mildred, my dear,’ he said. ‘Come with me.’ He led Mildred through the maze of passages to Miss Hardbroom’s room where, to Mildred’s relief mingled with terror, Miss Hardbroom was wide awake, sitting propped up in bed with a huge white bandage around

her head. Miss Cackle was perched on a chair on the other side of the bed. Miss Cackle smiled in welcome, but Miss Hardbroom looked grim.

‘Come in, Mildred,’ said Miss Cackle. ‘You’ll be relieved to hear that Miss Hardbroom is perfectly all right after her terrible ordeal in the boat. I’m afraid she’ll have to spend the rest of the holiday in bed after such a nasty knock on the head, but I’m sure you girls will be able to cope for a few days away from the firm guidance of your form-mistress.’