Catweazle

is?’
    ‘That smell from the barn. Wonder if the drains are all right?’
    Theda came in, tying on an apron. ‘ ’Mornin’, Mr Bennet,’ she said
cheerfully. ‘Ooh, who did that?’ Mr Bennet followed her glance to the broken
window.
    ‘He did,’ he said curtly, nodding at Carrot. ‘That comes out of your
pocket money, my lad,’ he said, pulling on his boots again to go back to the
turkeys.
    Theda smiled at Carrot, as if to say ‘never mind’ and began sorting
through a large pile of dirty washing on the scullery floor.

    Where was Catweazle? He hadn’t left the house, Carrot was sure of that.
He sniffed his way out into the hall and then, with growing conviction, up the
stairs. On the landing he paused, listening. The grandfather clock ticked in
the hall below and in the distance he could hear the faint gobbling of the
turkeys. Sniffing his way into his bedroom, he crossed to the wardrobe and
threw it open. Inside, between Carrot’s school blazer and his duffle coat,
Catweazle stood like a ragged sentry.
    ‘By what magic didst thou find me?’ he gasped.
    ‘I followed my nose,’ said Carrot. ‘Come out.’
    Catweazle pushed his way out, looking even dirtier than before, while a
few wire hangers clattered down behind him.
    ‘Where did you sleep?’ asked Carrot. Catweazle explained about the
hen-house. ‘I thought they’d pulled that down,’ said Carrot, wondering how he
was going to get rid of him.
    I don’t know why I couldn’t tell Dad about you last night,’ he said. ‘I
tried to.’
    ‘Thou hast sworn, remember?’ Catweazle waved Adamcos at him. ‘Tis my
magic. Show me thine, thy ... electrickery, O master.’
    ‘Oh, all right,’ said Carrot, ‘but you’ll have to go then, O.K.?’
    There was a pull-cord by the bed which operated a reading light on the
head board. After pulling it a few times, and then letting Catweazle have a go,
Carrot carefully took out the bulb and handed it, still warm, to Catweazle. He
took it gingerly and examined it.
    ‘ ’Tis a wonder, truly,’ he whispered, feeling the rounded smoothness of
the glass. ‘And like a feather,’ he added. He held it away from himself and
pulled the cord with his other hand, very disappointed when nothing happened.
    ‘Shine, tiny sun,’ he said hopefully to the light bulb. ‘Salmay, Dalmay,
Adonay.’
    ‘It’s got to go in there,’ said Carrot, taking it from him and pointing
to the lamp socket.
    ‘Where?’ said Catweazle approaching the headboard.
    ‘There,’ said Carrot.
    ‘There?’ said Catweazle, jabbing his finger into the socket and touching
the live terminals. With a loud cry, he fell backwards and collapsed in a
little heap on the floor.
    ‘Are you all right?’ Carrot asked anxiously, getting down beside him.
    ‘Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!’ cried Catweazle.
    ‘You’ve had a shock,’ explained Carrot.
    ‘Indeed, indeed!’ groaned the magician, keeping his face in the rug.
‘Has it gone?’
    ‘Has what gone?’
    ‘The invisible horse that kicked me.’
    Carrot rocked with laughter and Catweazle, realizing that the danger had
passed, sat up on the floor, scratching himself, and looking angrily at the young
magician who was making such a fool of him.
    ‘I need thy magic,’ he snapped.
    ‘You need a bath,’ said Carrot. Catweazle, who had no idea what a bath
was, looked questioningly at the boy.
    ‘I wonder if I dare,’ murmured Carrot, thinking what fun it would be to
clean him up.
    ‘I do not like thy look,’ said Catweazle uneasily.
    ‘Come on,’ said Carrot, making up his mind and leading Catweazle towards
the bathroom.
    In the garage, Sam was putting away his welding gear, when Mr Bennet
came in for a can of oil.
    ‘What did the old feller want, Boss?’ asked Sam.
    ‘What old fellow?’ said Mr Bennet, examining the harrow Sam had just
repaired.
    ‘The old tramp Carrot took in.’
    Mr Bennet looked at his foreman. ‘What are you talking about? Carrot has
had strict instructions not to feed any more tramps. There’s no one in the
house with him except Theda. Now, I’d like you to mend that window next and
then take down that old hen-coop in Top Field. That job’s been hanging fire for
months,’
    Before Sam could open his mouth to reply, Mr Bennet had collected the
oil can and strode out of the garage.
    Wonder what’s biting him, Sam thought. He had seen someone, he
was sure of it. He took a dusty sheet of glass from a shelf at the back of the
garage, and went up to the house.