Paddington 3, page 7
Paddington found himself looking up at a figure who towered over him menacingly. He gulped back his fear. But, as the shadow got closer, he realized it was only Hunter.
“But if this is El Dorado”—Hunter bent down and yanked Paddington up by his duffel coat—“where . . . is . . . THE GOLD?”
“There is no gold, Mr. Hunter. And no Aunt Lucy. There’s . . . nothing,” said Paddington sadly.
Hunter cast Paddington aside. Paddington fell back in a heap, confused by Hunter’s callous behavior. The man was fully possessed by his greedy ancestor now—Caboto was working through Hunter! But, of course, Paddington could not see this.
Hunter started pacing back and forth. “No. This can’t be!” He inspected the wall at close quarters, pulling away dirt and moss, running his hands over it. “There must be something . . . some special mechanism that leads to the gold.” He paused, noticing a tiny shred of fabric poking through between two large stones. “Aha! What did I tell you?”
Paddington saw it too and sprang to his feet to inspect the material.
Hunter studied the small white fragment. “Strange Inca symbols . . . a triangle . . . a circle with an X through it . . . ‘Dry clean only’?” He sounded puzzled as he read the words on the fabric.
Paddington grabbed the scrap of cloth and peered at it. “It’s a washing label, Mr. Hunter.” He flipped it over and read: “‘Barkridges of Kensington.’” His eyes widened. “Aunt Lucy’s scarf! She bought this in London!” He looked up. “Are you behind this wall, Aunt Lucy?” he asked, desperately hoping his aunt would hear.
Both he and Hunter rushed to try to force the stones apart, but they had no luck.
Hunter began searching for a secret mechanism. “This must open . . .” He ran his fingers over the stones, frowning in concentration. Suddenly he noticed one of the stones was a slightly different shape from the others. “There!” he shouted triumphantly. It had a special symbol on it in the shape of a bear, with slots carved into the rock for its nose and mouth. It looked just like the statue at Rumi Rock and the talisman on Aunt Lucy’s bracelet!
Caboto’s voice came from within Hunter. “Those clever Incas,” he said. “The bear shows the way . . . The talisman! It must go here! Take it from him!”
Hunter fought the idea. He couldn’t take Aunt Lucy’s precious talisman from Paddington! “It feels wrong . . .” he protested in his own voice.
But Caboto became furious, and his own voice ripped through Hunter. “WRONG? Five hundred years of searching for gold is WRONG?”
Paddington was getting increasingly worried by Hunter’s strange behavior. He hid Aunt Lucy’s talisman behind his back. He watched anxiously as Hunter seemed to argue with himself.
“But I made a promise to Gina . . .” protested Hunter.
“Forget about Gina,” ordered Caboto’s voice. “Take the talisman. Kill the bear!”
Paddington was horrified. Hunter was now completely possessed by his ancestor and loomed scarily over Paddington. He looked completely mad.
“Give me the talisman!” Hunter roared.
Paddington kept his paws behind his back. “Talisman, Mr. Hunter?” he asked innocently, as though he had never set eyes on such a thing in his life.
“Hand it over . . .” Hunter warned in his menacing Caboto-voice.
“No.” Paddington stood his ground.
“I said . . . hand it over!” demanded Hunter.
Paddington drew himself up to his full height and bravely said, “Promise we can go in together.”
Hunter snarled. Caboto had complete control of him. “The thing about that, bear, is CABOTOS . . . DON’T . . . SHARE!” Hunter clenched his fists, ready to strike the young bear.
Paddington’s face was frozen with fear. He gasped, his heart faltering. Would Hunter really hurt him? He held up his Windsorman Deluxe in defence.
“An umbrella?” Hunter scoffed.
“Not just any brolly—the Windsorman Deluxe!” said Paddington proudly.
Then, just as Hunter lunged forward, Paddington clicked the button on the handle of his umbrella and it burst open into Hunter’s face, sending him stumbling backward. And Paddington ran away as fast as he could.
While all this was happening, the Browns, Mrs. Bird, and the Reverend Mother were all crammed on board The Miracle. Mrs. Bird shouted back over the noise of the ancient seaplane’s rickety engine.
“Apparently they bought the plane for the Pope’s visit . . . in 1985!”
“And it’s got . . . an inspection certificate and everything?” Mr. Brown asked anxiously.
“Mmm, it’s got a papal blessing . . .” said the Reverend Mother.
Suddenly the lights and electrics went out. The Reverend Mother gave the dashboard a loud thump with her fist, and they flickered back on again. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s that?” asked Jonathan. He pointed at a ruined city built into the hillside of the misty cloud forest.
Mrs. Brown peered through the binoculars. “It’s Paddington and he’s in trouble!” She could just make out the tiny figure of Paddington breaking away from Hunter and racing off through the ruins. “Reverend Mother, can you land?” she asked.
“I can aim for that clearing,” said the Reverend Mother. “But it will be tight!”
There were concerned faces all around as the Reverend Mother made the sign of the cross before beginning her descent.
Chapter Twenty
The Chase Is On!
Paddington skidded to a halt at the edge of the stone steps where he had heard his roars echo back at him. The place was a labyrinth of ancient ruined buildings. How would he ever escape Hunter and find Aunt Lucy? In a panic, he quickly chose a direction and ran as fast as he could. He raced down a narrow passageway, but behind him Hunter had already appeared on some steps, hot on Paddington’s heels!
Paddington dashed away from him down more steps, but stopped at the center of some crisscrossing paths, uncertain of which way to go, then picked one at random. Just as he disappeared from sight, Hunter appeared at another set of steps and arrived where Paddington had been before. Hunter then chose a different route and left, just at the moment that Paddington reappeared! The chase continued with one of them appearing just as the other had disappeared, both of them seeming to get more and more lost in the maze of ruins.
Eventually, Paddington came to a row of openings in the stone that looked like windows. He could hear Hunter on the other side of the wall, talking to him in the scary voice he had used earlier.
“Where are you, bear?”
Just as Hunter’s face appeared in a window, Paddington ducked. They followed each other like this along the wall of windows. Paddington thought he had gotten away and was safe at last, but he had not realized a section of the wall had crumbled away! He crawled past, but Hunter was standing right there, glaring down at him!
Paddington froze. He had to think quickly . . . He placed a loose stone in front of Hunter’s feet, then scuttled away. Hunter immediately started after him, but tripped on the stone and fell flat on his face! Furious, he scrambled back up and shouted, “Come back with that bracelet!”
Hunter tore after Paddington. But neither of them had noticed that the stone Paddington had taken had left the wall unstable and had loosened some larger rocks. There was a loud rumbling noise as an enormous boulder rolled into view, thundering after Hunter and Paddington, threatening to flatten them both!
Back on the seaplane, the Reverend Mother was preparing for landing. She tugged at various controls, wrestling the plane under her control. “It might get a little bumpy!” she warned.
“It’s already pretty bumpy!” said Mr. Brown.
A red light started flashing angrily.
“Ach! That doesnae look good,” said Mrs. Bird.
“The landing gear’s jammed!” cried the Reverend Mother. “Someone needs to open that panel in the floor and pull the manual release!” she called.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it!” Mr. Brown leaped over to the panel and yanked it open to reveal a huge purple-kneed tarantula squatting inside. He gave a high-pitched squeal.
“Hurry up, lad!” shouted Mrs. Bird. “We need those wheels out!”
“Yup . . .” Mr. Brown hesitated. “Does anyone happen to have a . . . very large tumbler?” He was frozen to the spot.
“DAD!” Jonathan and Judy both shouted at him to hurry up.
Mr. Brown swallowed. “Embrace the risk,” he said to himself, trying to summon up the courage. “Embrace the . . . RISK!” At that moment, he spotted the risk manual and decided to use it to gently lift the spider out. The spider squatted on the book. Mr. Brown’s eyes narrowed, and the spider stared back. Mr. Brown maneuvered the beast slowly toward the side window of the plane, then used his free hand to unhook the window. A huge blast of wind blew the spider back on to his face.
“Come on, Henry!” said Mrs. Brown.
Mr. Brown was terrified. “Yes,” he said, trying to sound normal. “Just coming!” He turned around to reveal the spider sitting on his face! His family gasped.
“Wait, Dad—let me get a photo!” said Judy, aiming her camera.
“FORGET THE PHOTO!” Mr. Brown shouted.
Judy snapped one anyway as Mr. Brown reached down to pull the release lever, with the spider still on his face.
The wheels began descending and a green light flashed on the dashboard.
“You did it!” Mrs. Bird cried.
Mr. Brown gingerly pulled the spider off his face and ushered it back to where he had found it. “There you go. Home sweet home.” He slammed the panel door shut and exhaled, with a cry of approval from Mrs. Brown.
“Well done, Mr. Brown,” said the Reverend Mother. “We’re all set now!”
But at that moment the plane flew beneath a banana tree sticking out from the mountainside. One of its huge leaves splatted on to the window, totally obscuring the view.
“AHHHHHH!” everyone yelled as the plane plummeted toward the ground.
Hunter was still chasing Paddington, but they both stopped when they heard a deep, rumbling noise. They looked behind them to see the massive boulder rolling toward them. Now they were both running away from the boulder!
Paddington and Hunter raced through a stone doorway and paused for breath. They looked back at the doorway, expecting the boulder to break through when—CRASH!—the boulder smashed through the wall directly behind them instead. They hurried down the zigzagging path as the boulder pursued them. It was as if they were characters in a computer game. Hunter ducked out of the way, but Paddington was still running from the boulder. He hit a dead end, but the boulder turned a corner at the last second, narrowly missing him.
Then, just as Paddington thought he was safe, Hunter reappeared and tried to grab him! Paddington backed away and toppled off a high ledge. Terrified, he found himself falling through the air, but he quickly thought of using his Windsorman Deluxe as a parachute! Thanks to the umbrella, he came to a soft landing on the back of a llama! Paddington realized then that he was surrounded by a whole herd of llamas. In the distance, Hunter was still racing toward him. He had to think fast.
“Excuse me?” Paddington said to the llama. “Could you please, erm, ‘giddy up’?”
But the llama refused to move and went back to eating grass instead. Paddington had an idea—he removed his hat and reached inside. The llama stopped eating and sniffed the air.
Hunter was getting closer. “Bear! Give me that bracelet!” he shouted, then paused in disbelief. He could see Paddington galloping away on the llama, which he was “steering” with his emergency marmalade sandwich stuck on the end of his Windsorman Deluxe!
Paddington directed the llama through the maze-like corridors as Hunter sprinted after them. The talisman glinted on Paddington’s paw as the llama took him back up the stone steps.
“I’m coming, Aunt Lucy!” Paddington called.
Suddenly, the boulder reappeared around the corner, and the llama bucked, sending Paddington flying from its back and making the marmalade sandwich fall straight into the llama’s mouth. The llama ran off, munching happily.
Paddington picked himself up and raced away from the boulder, down some steps, and past Hunter, who had paused for breath as he was getting very tired. At the last minute, Hunter saw the boulder hurtling toward him and leaped aside.
Farther down the steps, Paddington narrowly escaped through a doorway that was too small for the boulder to fit through. The boulder smashed against the doorway’s wall, causing the whole side of the building to fall in one single movement. As the wall toppled, Paddington was saved. He had managed to stand in exactly the right spot to fit through a window! However, he was now completely wedged in the tight window space, unable to move.
All Hunter had to do was reach in and grab him . . .
Meanwhile the seaplane was descending fast, the huge banana leaf still pinned to the windshield. Everyone was in a panic.
“One of these must be the windshield wipers!” cried Mrs. Bird. She pressed some buttons—one of them blew off an emergency hatch in the roof.
“Stop pressing buttons!” shouted Mr. Brown.
“I’ve got an idea . . .” said Jonathan, thinking quickly. “I’ll need backup!” His head popped out of the hatch. He was wearing flight goggles, his bangs billowing in the wind. He heroically produced his new improved Snack Hack invention. In one smooth motion, he activated it, and the extendable hand snatched the huge leaf off the windshield and threw it behind him. Then Jonathan dropped back down into the plane.
“That thing is ingenious,” said Gina admiringly.
“I call it the Snack Hack,” said Jonathan. “Patent pending.” He slicked his bangs back confidently and looked over to his parents, who nodded proudly.
“This is it!” the Reverend Mother shouted suddenly as the ground veered toward them. “Brace yourselves!”
Chapter Twenty-One
All Is Revealed
Back at the top of the ruined citadel, Hunter faced Paddington as he teetered on the edge of a very steep cliff. Hunter snatched Paddington’s umbrella.
“The Windsorman Deluxe can’t save you now!” he growled and hurled it into the abyss.
Paddington wobbled dangerously on the edge. “You really don’t seem yourself, Mr. Hunter!” he said nervously. “You don’t have to do this! I don’t think you want to do this.”
For a moment, Hunter’s eyes cleared and he seemed to be back to his old self . . . but then his face hardened once more, and Caboto took over again. “I am Gonzalo Caboto,” he growled, “and I WANT MY GOL—” He turned, now aware of the roar of an engine. “What—?” He could see the seaplane barreling toward him.
As the wheels touched down, the plane lurched violently. Everyone and everything inside it was thrown forward—including Mr. Brown’s risk manual, which flew across the cabin and smashed through the cockpit windshield like a missile. It zipped through the air toward Hunter and struck him right in the gut. Hunter sank to his knees, crying, “Ooooooooh!”
Paddington’s paws flailed frantically in the air as he tried desperately not to fall backward off the cliff edge. Then he regained his balance and toppled forward in a relieved heap.
Just then, the seaplane’s brakes screeched to a halt. The plane was covered in jungle vines, and the Browns were still crammed together on one seat, their arms wrapped tightly around one another.
Mr. Brown noticed his wife had a secret smile on her face. “You looked like you enjoyed that!” he said.
“Just nice to all be on one sofa again,” she said.
The Browns clambered out of the plane gratefully while the Reverend Mother switched off the engine, unclicked her seat belt and reached up to get her guitar case. She saw Gina looking at her strangely.
“We can all sing a hymn of thanks once we’ve found Aunt Lucy!” said the Reverend Mother.
But Gina wasn’t looking at the guitar. She was looking at the Reverend Mother’s forearm. Or, more specifically, the family crest of the Cabotos, which was tattooed there!
“Paddington!” cried Mrs. Brown, as she rushed over to hug him.
“I’m so happy to see you all!” he replied.
Mr. Brown picked up his risk manual and dusted it down. “I knew this would come in handy,” he said, pleased with himself. Hunter groaned quietly.
“I know where Aunt Lucy is,” Paddington blurted out. He handed over the torn label.
Mrs. Brown peered at it. “‘132–137 Kensington High Street’?” she read. “She’s at Barkridges?”
Paddington shook his head. “She’s somewhere behind this.” He pointed at the huge stone wall, and they all turned to look at it. “And I think I know how to open it,” Paddington continued, beaming.
“Clever little bear. I was rather hoping you would . . .” said the Reverend Mother.
The Browns turned, looking puzzled as the Reverend Mother stepped out of the shadows with her guitar case.
“Reverend Mother?” Paddington said in surprise.
She opened her guitar case and produced from it not a guitar but a huge old gun! An ancient blunderbuss.
“What on earth are you doing?” asked Mr. Brown.
“Why, same as everyone else, my dear . . .” said the Reverend Mother. “Looking for gold.” Her voice took on a touch of ice. “So thank you for leading me right to it. As I knew you would.” She aimed the gun. They all raised their hands nervously.
“This is a bit unchristian, isn’t it?” said Mrs. Brown.
“It would be,” said the Reverend Mother, “if I were really a nun . . .” Then she swept off her wimple, revealing a head of long, luxurious hair.
Hunter sat up, a bit winded, but he was back to himself at last. “Cousin Clarissa?” he said, his voice full of disbelief. “But you’re dead! You died in the jungle! You went to find yourself!”
“I went to find gold. And I never stopped looking.” Clarissa grinned. “When I found out the lost treasure had something to do with bears, I did the obvious thing—disguised myself as a nun and got a job at the Home for Retired Bears.”
