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‘Mo, there’s someone out in the yard!’

Her father raised his head and looked at her with the usual absent expression he hen she interrupted his reading It always took him a few moments to find his way out of that other world, the labyrinth of printed letters

‘So at our house’

Mo put down his book ‘So ere you reading before you went to sleep? Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?’

Meggie frowned ‘Please, Mo! Cogie tugged hi the corridor so impatiently that he stubbed his toe on a pile of books, which was hardly surprising Stacks of books were piled high all over the house – not just arranged in neat rows on bookshelves, the way other people kept theie’s house were stacked under tables, on chairs, in the corners of the rooms There were books in the kitchen and books in the lavatory Books on the TV set and in the wardrobe, small piles of books, tall piles of books, books thick and thin, books old and new They welcoes, they kept boredom at bay when the weather was bad And so there!’ whispered Meggie, leading Mo into her rooot a hairy face? If so, he could be a olf’

‘Oh, stop it!’ Meggie looked at hih his jokes made her feel less scared Already, she hardly believed anyin the rain – until she knelt down again at the‘There! Do you see hih the raindrops running down the pane, and said nothing

‘Didn’t you prolars would never break into our house because there’s nothing here to steal?’ whispered Meggie

‘He’s not a burglar,’ replied Mo, but as he stepped back froie’s heart thudded faster than ever ‘Go back to bed, Meggie,’ he said ‘This visitor has coie could ask what kind of visitor, for goodness’ sake, turned up in the ht? She followed him anxiously As she crept down the corridor she heard her father taking the chain off the front door, and when she reached the hall she saw hiht ca of the rain sounded loud and threatening

‘Dustfinger!’ called Mo into the darkness ‘Is that you?’

Dustfinger? What kind of a na it before, yet it sounded familiar, like a distant memory that wouldn’t take shape properly

At first, all see as if the night had found its voice But then footsteps approached the house, and thecoat so ith rain that it clung to his legs For a split second, as the stranger stepped into the light spilling out of the house, Meggie thought she saw a s as it looked out of his rucksack and then quickly disappearing back into it

Dustfinger wiped his wet face with his sleeve and offered Mo his hand

‘How are you, Silvertongue?’ he asked ‘It’s been a long ti ti past his visitor as if he expected to see another figure eie says you’ve been standing out there for soer let Mo lead hihly that she felt quite embarrassed and didn’t knohere to look In the end she just stared back