1997 - The Chocolate Money Mystery Read Online Free PDF Page A

their way as fast as they could through the snow towards the cable station.
    It was a long walk, and a hard one too, as much of it was uphill. As they went along, the crate seemed to get heavier and heavier, and Max and Maddy had to stop more and more often to rest and regain their strength. But they made progress, and soon they had crossed the ravine and were able to look back at the farm buildings, now far down below them in the brilliant white snow fields.
    “Look how far we’ve come,” said Max. “Now all we have to do is…”
    He stopped. As they looked down towards the farm, they saw the back door burst open and two tiny figures run out. They saw one of the figures spin round and look up towards them, pointing in their direction.
    “He got out of the cupboard,” Max said. “He’ll be furious!”
    “Cupboard?” asked Maddy. “Who was in what cupboard?”
    “Professor Sardine,” said Max. “You see, there were wheels on his bed and the floor sloped, and there was an open cupboard…” He stopped. “I’ll tell you all about it later on. I think they’ve seen us!”
     

Chapter 6
    Cable-Car Adventure
    Max and Maddy lost no time. Picking up the crate, they plunged ahead, almost falling over one another in their haste. The snow was deep, and their feet sank down with each step, but they realised that if they did not hurry, they would soon be caught by the professor and his assistant. They had snow shoes, and could make much quicker progress than the children, who were wearing ordinary snow boots.
    The dogs realised that something was wrong, and they barked encouragement to the children and defiance towards their pursuers. But it did not do a great deal of good, as the next time they looked behind them they saw that they were losing ground quickly.
    “They’ll catch us in no time,” moaned Max. “They’re much faster than we are.”
    Now it was Maddy’s turn to have a good idea.
    “Look,” she said. “It’s now mostly downhill from here to the cable station. If we had a toboggan, we could go much faster.”
    “That’s not much use,” panted Max. “We haven’t got a toboggan. You might as well say: if we had an aeroplane…”
    He stopped. He saw what Maddy meant now, and it was a wonderful idea.
    “The crate!” he exclaimed. “Why don’t we use it as a toboggan?”
    “That’s just what I thought,” said Maddy. “But we must hurry. They’re getting closer and closer all the time.”
    They put down the crate and pointed it in the direction of the cable station. Then, with Maddy getting in the front and Max sitting immediately behind her—both of them perched on top of the piles of money—they gave the crate a good push with their arms.
    It was slow at first, but after a moment or two it started to slide more quickly. Then, as the ground began to slope more sharply, the crate really picked up speed, and soon it was rushing along the ground like a bobsleigh in a mountain race. The dogs thought this was tremendous fun, and they galloped along beside the crate, the fresh white powder flying off their feet in tiny snow showers.
    When their pursuers saw the children shooting off in their makeshift toboggan, they shouted out in fury and broke into a run. It’s not easy to run in snow—in fact, it’s impossible—as the two men were soon to find out. Down went Professor Sardine, flat on his face in the snow. His assistant reached down to pick him up, and then he slipped and landed on top of him. Professor Sardine now struggled to his feet and reached down to pull his assistant up, but the assistant tugged hard on his hand and then suddenly let go, which made Professor Sardine fall over backwards and slide away on the snow.
    “You idiot!” yelled Professor Sardine at his assistant. “They’re getting away! Quick, after them!”
    Of course, in their makeshift toboggan the two children reached the cable station well before the two men chasing them. They drew to a halt just as an empty