The Magical Peppers and the Great Vanishing Act Read online

  “Are we?” asked Heather.

  “For sure?” asked Trevor.

  As Henry argued with the Bonces, Monty took the opportunity to ease the plastic bag from the villain’s fingers. Henry tried to hold on to the bag, but in the confusion he lost his grip.

  “I’ve got it!” Monty called to Esmé. “Henry really is a butterfingers.”

  He clambered down from the window ledge and ran over to his sister and the Queen.

  Henry was left standing on the ledge – perplexed and without the skull.

  “This is not going to plan,” he murmured to himself, just loud enough for everyone to hear. “The children were meant to be standing in the middle of the room, not joining me by the window.”

  He climbed down from the ledge sulkily and walked towards Monty.

  “OK, give me the skull.”

  “No,” said Monty.

  “Trevor, Heather – persuade Monty to give me back the skull.”

  Trevor shot a look at the Queen and the Peppers, “I’m sorry, boss, but I’m not touching any of ’em,” he said. “That lady says she ’as friends in ’igh places.”

  “Who pays your wages?”

  Henry stood right in the centre of the room, glaring at his security team, as the Pepper twins and the Queen looked on.

  Esmé suddenly remembered something Henry had said when they’d entered the Pottery Room – I’ve been expecting you. Henry had waited for Esmé and Monty in that room for a reason. And now Esmé looked more closely, she could see from the tiny marks on the floor that he and the Bonces had momentarily forgotten they were standing on one of Hans Toast’s trapdoors. That must be the exact spot where Henry had wanted the Pepper twins to stand. Yet Monty now had the skull – an event that Henry had not foreseen – and Henry did not want to let the skull go. Everything made sense.

  Esmé quickly looked around. Was there… could there be – a secret button? She scanned the room, looking at the display cabinets filled with earthenware – cracked plates and scuffed bowls. There had been a button by the obsidian mirror and one in Toast’s study. Surely…

  Ah! There it was – a small red disc on a display of plates.

  Esmé nudged her brother.

  “Monty – the display cabinet next to you,” she whispered. “Press the red button, right now!”

  Monty knew when to obey orders and did so straight away. Slowly, as Henry bickered with the Bonces about the skull, Monty edged closer to the cabinet. But Henry had decided enough was enough.

  “Some security team you are,” he said sarcastically to Trevor and Heather. “I’ll just have to get it myself.”

  Quick as a flash, Monty made a move towards the button. He reached out and hit it with his index finger – but nothing happened.

  Monty looked at Esmé anxiously.

  “Try again!” she whispered.

  Henry turned to Monty, and was just about to make a grab for the bag when Monty hit the button again, harder – with more success this time.

  Caaaaaabhhhhhooom!

  The trapdoor opened with alarming speed. Henry and the Bonces dropped through the floor as fast as buttered toast.

  “Dash it!” cried Henry as he fell.

  After a moment’s silence, the Queen and the Peppers heard a voice.

  “Are you still going to escape, boss?” asked Trevor Bonce.

  “I haven’t got the skull, you imbecile. The quick exit from the window ledge was all a bluff. The children were meant for the trapdoor, not us.”

  “Oh,” said a baffled Trevor.

  The Queen, Esmé and Monty walked up to the hole and peered down.

  “Mr Henry J. Henry J. Henry,” hollered the Queen, “you stole the crystal skull and you will be put in prison. The Potty Magician will return and perform a triumphant museum opening, of which you will no longer be a part. One hopes one will never hear from you again.”

  “I’m sorry, Your Majesty…”

  “Sorry is not good enough, Mr Butterfingers,” chuckled the Queen, who had clearly heard of his nickname. Then she turned to Esmé and Monty. “One is so looking forward to Potty’s show. Now why don’t you go home and put the kettle on for him. Expect him back there in an hour – one will get one’s people on to it.”

  “What do we do with this?” asked Monty, holding up the carrier bag that still contained the priceless skull.

  “You leave that with one,” said the Queen, winking for the second time and taking the bag. “One will put it somewhere safe.”

  Monty bowed deeply. “Thank you, ma’am. We are truly honoured.”

  “Now now, enough of the formalities,” the Queen replied. “You have a show to prepare for.”

  An excerpt from

  TRICK: Haunted Pendulum

  Take a long piece of string from your pocket and ask someone in the audience for a ring.

  Tie the ring to one end of the string, holding the other end so that it is like a pendulum. Tell everyone assembled that the ring is haunted and that the spirit it holds will answer questions. Get a volunteer to hold his or her hand, palm-side up, under the ring while asking a yes/no question, such as “Do I need to visit the dentist soon?”

  The pendulum will swing back and forth for yes, and it will swing in a circle for no. The wonder is, just thinking yes or no sets up the vibrations in your fingers that change the direction of the pendulum – so there’s nothing to it. It simply means that you are in fact deciding whether or not friends or complete strangers should visit the dentist.

  With alarming regularity we seem to be coming to the end of another Dr Pompkins guide. I do hope that you, dearest reader, a modern young person, have picked up some practical advice that will put wind in your sails and make you become the magician you’ve always wanted to be. I feel we have come to a large bench by the side of our imaginary road, and we should now park ourselves here and reflect.

  “...”

  Well, that was wonderful. Anon and adieu – please stay in touch.

  In all totality,

  re you sure this Celia Nutkins person wasn’t from the council?”

  It was past midnight and Potty was sitting, slightly bewildered, in the Peppers’ kitchen. He had a lot to catch up on.

  “In all honesty, it was the real Queen,” explained Esmé. “She helped us find Henry J. Henry and get the crystal skull back.”

  Potty shifted in his seat and had a sip of tea.

  “What a curious fellow that Mr Henry is,” he slurped.

  “And not a particularly nice one,” said Esmé. “But when we go back tomorrow, at least he won’t be anywhere near.”

  “It’s late,” said Potty. “We must get some shut-eye and then we will be refreshed for the show.”

  “I’d almost forgotten it was so soon,” yawned Monty.

  “As nice as it might have been to have a priceless object in my act, I’d better swap it for something less precious.”

  Esmé smiled, but she dared not think about how much the skull was worth – just how much bother it had caused.

  The Peppers and Potty arrived at the museum for the final run-through at midday the next day. By that time, there was already a large white van in the grounds.

  “It’s from Her Majesty,” the driver called out of the cab. “A few hundred doves from Frogmore House for the finale. And a very special item, which is being hand-delivered.”

  Esmé heard the sound of a motorbike roaring up the driveway, turned and saw the Queen approaching.

  “Hello, Esmé,” said Her Majesty, as she took her bike helmet off.

  “Hello, Your Majesty.”

  There was a pizza-delivery-style box on the back of the motorbike. “One has got something for the Potty Magician.”

  Potty stepped forward. “It’s an honour to mee—”

  “One does like your purple cape,” interrupted the Queen, who was still dressed as Celia Nutkins. “One has one just like that at home. Now, on to important matters.” She unclipped the box.

  Po
tty took it and held it stiffly.

  “Open it, won’t you?”

  So Potty carefully opened the box. Inside, something twinkled in the light.

  “It’s a crown…” Potty was stumped. “Sorry, Your Majesty, I don’t understand.”

  “Philip!” called the Queen in the direction of the van, and from the passenger seat appeared the Queen’s husband.

  “One has been trying to make him disappear for years, ahahaha!” laughed the Queen. “One thought he would be ideal for the first trick. He can wear the crown or not – whatever you choose. First, you make him vanish, then the museum – that is the act, is it not?”

  “Yes, yes!” cried Potty. “Wonderful.”

  “Good afternoon, Mr Potty Magician,” said Prince Philip, shaking hands with Potty. “I’m a big fan of yours and it will be a pleasure working with you – so my wife tells me.”

  Esmé and Monty smiled. Potty’s act was going to be sensational.

  And after the performance – in which Potty did make Prince Philip disappear first, then the whole museum – the audience were raving. The act had truly been a never-to-be-forgotten spectacle, and the doves at the end were the icing on the cake.

  Potty was, as usual, modest and quick to praise Esmé and Monty – and the Queen – who had helped him put the show together. A man from the television introduced himself and gave Potty his business card. A famous pop star told Esmé she wanted Potty to direct her next video. Monty ate a lot of after-show cakes and felt a bit sick as the evening wore on.

  Walking back home through the darkening streets, Esmé, Monty and Potty were feeling on top of the world.

  “I think that went well, did it not?” said Potty.

  “In all totality,” said Esmé.

  “Shame Henry J. Henry missed it,” Monty muttered.

  “It’s not a shame at all,” said Esmé. “I’m glad he’s in prison. He’s where he deserves to be.”

  “I just meant it was a good show,” said Monty.

  Potty nodded his head. “While he’s behind bars, maybe Mr Henry will think about his actions, realise he was wrong and come out a nicer and more generous human being.”

  Esmé thought Mr Henry might be too arrogant ever to feel genuinely sorry for what he’d done.

  Beeeeee-eeeeeep! went a noise behind them, sharply and suddenly. All three turned to look at a car that had braked abruptly. It seemed that the driver had narrowly avoided running someone over.

  “Do be careful, old sport,” said a man’s voice.

  “Ruddy pedestrians!” the driver shouted back, shaking his fist as the man reached the pavement and walked on in the direction of the museum.

  Esmé couldn’t be entirely certain in the darkness, but it looked as though the man was wearing an expensive grey suit. In fact, the man looked a little like Henry J. Henry, escaped from the clutches of the police and back to cause havoc at the Mega-Million Super Museum.

  Of course it isn’t, thought Esmé to herself. It’s late and you’re tired.

  And she, Monty and Potty continued walking the short distance home.

  Take a peek behind the scenes at the wonderful world of THE PEPPERS…

  The Pepper twins, Esme and Monty, are spending the holidays with their eccentric Uncle Potty, a professional magician.

  When they find out that Potty’s beloved magic club might have to close, the twins are determined to use every trick in the book to save it. But no-one can find the book, the escapologist is all tied up and the human cannonball has had a nasty accident. Can the twins still pull off the performance of a lifetime?

  A show-stopping story starring an unbeatable double act.

  Join the Pepper twins on their next fantastic adventure full of magic and mayhem!

  Esmé, Monty and their Uncle Potty have been summoned to the Sea Spray Theatre on the end of Crab Pie Pier. They’re on a mission to keep the old theatre from closing and must perform the show of a lifetime to reel in the crowds.

  But not everyone wants the theatre to survive and a certain someone is determined to sabotage the show, whatever the cost…

  Add a strange island hideaway full of zany inventions, a hair-raising helicopter rescue-mission and the world’s biggest goldfish bowl and the Peppers are in for an unforgettable summer!

  Copyright

  First published in Great Britain by

  HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2012

  HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of

  HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd,

  77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

  Visit us on the web at

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

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  Text and additional magic illustrations copyright © Siân Pattenden 2013

  Inside illustrations copyright © Jess Mikhail 2013

  Cover illustration copyright © Jimmy Pickering 2013

  The author and illustrators assert the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrators of the work.

  ISBN-978-0-00-743003-1

  Epub Edition © JANUARY 2013 ISBN: 9780007430390

  Epub Version 1

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