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The girl ca in his ear Fenoglio’s turtle face twisted in a sie liked him better that way ‘Oh, that’s where he always hides, Paula,’ he told the little girl softly ‘Perhaps you should advise hi-place’

Paula ran off for the fourth tiie first

‘Well, you’d better colio Without another word he showed Mo and Meggie into the house, went down a dark, narrow passage ahead of the to his leg like a monkey, and pushed open the door to the kitchen, where the ruins of a cake stood on the table Its brown icing was as full of holes as the binding of a book when bookworlio bellowed so loud that even Meggie juhtiness ‘I know you can hear me And I warn you I shall tie a knot in your nose for every hole in this cake Understand?’

Meggie heard a giggle It seelio broke a piece off the cake with the holes still in it ‘Paula,’ he said, ‘give this girl a slice if she doesn’t ed froie

‘I don’t e knife, cut an enormous piece of cake, and put it on the table in front of her

‘Pippo, let’s have one of the rose-patterned plates,’ said Fenoglio, and a hand stuck out of the cupboard holding a plate in its chocolate-brown fingers Meggie was quick to take the plate before it dropped, and put the piece of cake on it

‘What about you?’ Fenoglio asked Mo

‘I’d prefer the book,’ said Mo He was looking rather pale

Fenoglio re and sat down ‘Go and find another tree to clihtfully at Mo ‘I’le copy left They were stolen, all of them I lent them to an exhibition of old children’s books in Genoa: a lavishly illustrated special edition, a copy with a signed dedication by the illustrator, and the two copies that belonged to my own children with all their scribbled comments – I always asked them to mark the bits they liked best – and finally my own personal copy Every last one of them was stolen two days after the exhibition opened’

Mo ran a hand over his face as if he could wipe the disappointment off it ‘Stolen,’ he said ‘Of course’

‘Of course?’ Fenoglio narrowed his eyes and looked at Mo with great curiosity ‘You’ll have to explain In fact I’ you out of my house until I find out why you’re interested in this of all ht set the children on you – and you wouldn’t like that!’

Mo tried for a smile, without much success ‘My copy was stolen as well,’ he said at last ‘And that was a very special edition too’

‘Extraordinary’ Fenoglio raised his eyebrohich were like hairy caterpillars creeping above his eyes ‘Come on, let’s hear your story’ All the hostility had vanished frolio’s eyes Meggie saw the saood story that overca book

‘There’s not ie heard in his voice that he didn’t intend to tell the oldI found yours in a second-hand bookshop so and then sell it, but I liked it so much I kept it instead And now it’s been stolen and I’ve been trying in vain to buy another copy A friend who knows a great deal about rare books and how to get hold of theht try the author himself She was the person who found lio wiped a few cake crumbs off the table ‘Fine,’ he said, ‘but that’s not the whole story’