Dot has had a ping! moment - she reckons the ghostly figure is really a film, projected onto the background of the Dendringham woods in the dark. She'd know about that, when the others at Dendringham Hall wouldn't - because films had only just been invented in 1896. But where could the film be coming from? It'd have to be high up... maybe on the deserted attic floor above her room... and before she can stop him, Mr Mouse has zoomed off to find out!
Really, thought Dot, the MESSES Mr Mouse gets me into!
AH-TISHOOOOOOOOOOOO! she sneezed.
It was really dusty up on the attic floor above her bedroom. AND spooky. It was totally dark too – she could hardly see a thing.
She wouldn't have seen anything at all if she hadn't found a candle and an old box of matches in a little cupboard in the wall just to the right of her bed.
But she'd had to follow him – she really had no choice.
After Mr Mouse had dashed off to try and find what was going on upstairs, she had waited for a bit – telling herself he might come back any moment, because mice can run really fast... and anyway she couldn't follow him where he could go... and what if someone saw her going where she wasn't allowed...
But then she decided she was just being a bit of a scaredy-cat and anyway she was dying to see what the upstairs area looked like!
It was funny climbing the narrow stairs on the other side of the door on the landing. It was like going into another world after the big, luxurious rooms she'd come to know in Dendringham Hall. It looked like there was only one way up, and the steps were steep and narrow. Halfway up, the stairs turned a corner, and the light from the candle flickered on the bare unpainted walls on either side of her.
Dot touched the pocket of her dressing gown, and felt good to hear the rattle of the matches she'd remembered to take with her at the last moment.
At the top of the stairs, another door opened out onto the corridor with the attic rooms stretching out on either side.
At least, she guessed they did – it was so hard not having a light to switch on.
But it was so dusty! Everywhere she trod she made clouds of dust rise up. The floorboards creaked under feet as she slowly walked along the narrow corridor that ran along the top of the house above the bedrooms of the floor where her bedroom was.
AH-TISHOOOOO! Dot went again.
“Wouldja mind not doing that?” came a cross Canadian voice from out of the darkness. “Scaring me outta my skin, sheee!”
“Where are you, Mr Mouse?” whispered Dot. She daren't raise her voice in case someone heard.
“In here!” came the reply.
“In where?” said Dot, holding up the candle so she could see more. It wasn't much good, though – the flickering light was even less use than a torch with a flat battery (like most of the batteries in her house, because though Gadget Dad had bought loads of rechargeable ones to help the environment, everyone kept forgetting to put them in the charger... )
“Here!” came Mr Mouse's voice back at her. “The door with the big crack in it!”
Dot sighed. In fact both the doors close to her had cracks in them, and anyway she couldn't see very far with the candle. She took a step forward and something kind of dusty and sticky dragged across her forehead. Yuk! A spider's web!
Then there was a scritchy scrabbling across her feet and up her nightdress, and she just couldn't help it – she let out a little scream, and blew the candle out!
Then whatever it was ran up her arm!! She took a deep breath, her heart thudding, and -
“Country cousins, what can ya do!” said Mr Mouse, settling down in his usual place on her shoulder.
“Mr Mouse!” said Dot crossly. “Would you PLEASE warn me before you do that next time!”
“Oops, sorry” said the Canadian cheesehunter carelessly. “Anyways, nothing in that room – 'cept an old piano and some drums and a lot of apples all shrivelled up on shelves – and the Scratchets!”
“Wait a minute!” said Dot. She put the candle down – very carefully, so she'd find it again – and pulled the matches out of her pocket. Zssst! went the match along the side of the box, and the flame flared up. Very carefully, Dot lit the candle again and blew the match out.
“Now” she said. “What on earth are the Scratchets?”
“Country cousins, like I said” sighed Mr Mouse. “Know nothings! Family of my kind in there, been mice in residence here at Dendringham for years. They don't get out much I guess – been in that room since forever, apart from shopping trips down the kitchens for food. They say” and his eyes went dreamy “they say there's a cheese store down there you gotta see to believe. Cheddar... Lancashire... Stilton... Wensleydale...”
“Mr Mouse - ” said Dot.
“But also – they heard stuff... ” Mr Mouse went on. “Footsteps... just recently someone's been coming up here a lot!”
Another clue, thought Dot. Can't wait to tell Mr Holmes!
“Did they see who it was?” she asked excitedly.
“Naaa!” said Mr Mouse. “Said they thought it was none of their business, “We keep ourselves to ourselves”, they said. I give up! Ya can't - ”
Then he suddenly stopped and stood up, his nose whiffling and his whiskers twitching.
“Wait one” he said. “There's something - ”
And next thing, the candle went out!
But it wasn't a draught or anything like that – someone had blown it out!!
