The Secrets of the Stone: A Lottie Lipton Adventure
There it was again With a deep breath she pushed the door open with her foot and leaped out into the room She raised the pole above her head like a spear ready to strike Lottie Lottie turned on the lights to discover a large man in a linen suit and bow tie lying on the floor Uncle Bert Lottie’s great uncle Professor Bertram West the Curator of Egyptology at the British Museum was lying flat on his back and grimacing The door opened again and Reg the museum’s kindly old caretaker entered 4
He was holding his trusty mop which was about as thin as he was Evening all he said cheerily Ello Professor West What are you doing down there then I fell said Uncle Bert Your dratted floor is too slippery Just polished her tonight with my own special mixture Reg grinned proudly Shines the floorboards up a bit it does Far too much I could’ve been killed The two old men bickered as Lottie played at sliding along Reg’s wonderfully polished floor She had long ago 5
learned that the trick was to kick off your shoes and run at full speed She could slide the whole length of the room if she wore just her socks Lottie my dear said Uncle Bert Why do you have that large pole I thought you might have been a burglar A burglar The very thought This is one of the most secure buildings in Britain No robber would ever dare to break into this old place Lottie shrugged Shame I’d quite like an adventure The two old men continued to bicker about 6
the polished floor as they all made their way to their rooms to go to bed CRASH The sound of a window smashing and glass shattering on the floor made the three of them stop dead in their tracks Lottie my dear said Uncle Bert I fear we may yet have that adventure you wished for They walked briskly to the source of the noise and found a side window broken Below it were some muddy footprints A clue smiled Lottie Lottie noted it down in her trusty detective’s notebook and the three of them followed the footprints through the museum 7
