He recognized it at once from the Mammals book. A rat, he thought with disgust, and a shiver of fear. He felt very grateful that he had reversed his cloak, which now hid him in the moonlight. The rat sniffed the air trying to locate the smell. Morley froze, anticipating the worst. The rat caught his scent again, and began to move toward him.
Suddenly a shadow passed over the moon, and the large powerful talons of an owl fastened its death grip on the rat. Its wings blotted out the stars as it rose into the sky carrying the limp body. It circled once, then passed across the moon, and was gone.
The branches in the tree rattled again, and he realized he needed to get back to his own world quickly. A fog was moving in on the breeze making the night damp. He felt chilled, and pulled his cloak closely around him. Making use of his new walking stick, he hurried forward.
CHAPTER 23 - THUNDER AND PIXIE DUST
It was getting dark and clouds were filling the sky as the pixies arrived at the Grandfather Tree. Thistle flew up and stopped suddenly, hovering in the air. The others grouped around him. There in front of the door, Travis and Telah sat glumly with their chins in their hands. They had been arguing about how to get the door open, and were now thoroughly discouraged, tired, and thirsty. To make things worse it was getting cold and felt like rain.
Travis looked up, and stared at the pixies dully. "Thistle? What are you doing here?"
Telah looked up, and squinted at the pixies in the fading light. "There's pixies in this world too?" she asked.
Travis snorted. "What are you and your group doing here Thistle?"
Telah rubbed her eyes. "Della? Is that you?"
Della giggled, and waved her little hand.
Thistle answered,
"Now that we all know who we are,
Let's all go home,
We've traveled far."
Spike added:
"Fun we've had,
We want no more.
Up with you,
And open the door."
Travis smiled grimly. "Wish we knew how to open the door. We left it propped open and now it's shut tight. We've tried everything we can think of, and can't get it to budge."
This news made the pixies very agitated. They flew up to the door, and examined it. Intermittent drops of rain started falling. The efforts of the pixies became more intense. Soon pixie dust was everywhere.
Travis and Telah stood back muttering, and brushing the sparkles off their arms and shoulders. There was now a fine mist of rain, which was turning the pixie dust into a paste on the door.
In the midst of all this, there was a rustling in the bushes. Turning quickly, they all wondered what new danger awaited them. A gray shimmer of light moved into the clearing. They stared nervously, dreading the new encounter.
Throwing back his hood, Morley appeared as a floating head. He quickly took off the cloak, and they sighed with relief as he stood before them whole. They all stared at each other in surprise and amazement as the light quickly faded, and it began to rain in earnest.
Telah muttered, "Looks like we're all going to be late for dinner."
Travis poked his elbow in her side.
Morley cleared his throat. "Well, quite a party we're having I see," he said quietly.
Telah and Travis both started to explain, but Morley raised his hand and shook his head. "It's getting late and it's dangerous and wet out here. Let's get back to safety before we talk."
He went to the tree and passed his hands over the door. They couldn't see exactly what he did, but after a few seconds they heard a faint "click". Morley scraped the paste of pixie dust off the cracks and the handle, and pulled on the door. It stuck, but he persisted.
It gave way just as a flash of lighting lit up the clearing. The pixies flew forward. Morley stepped aside, and motioned to the opening, "After you, my little friends." They flew through and Morley turned to Travis and Telah. They grabbed their bag and rushed through.
Morley followed as a flash of lightening lit up the sky with the sound of distant rolling thunder. He tugged on the door trying to shut it, but the paste from the pixie dust had seeped into the door frame and was blocking the mechanism.
Another flash of lightening lit up the frame around the door. There was a crash of thunder, and the door clicked shut. But instead of being plunged into darkness, the narrow passageway was lit up. Covered with pixie dust, the door shimmered with iridescent colors.
Suddenly it exploded, throwing Morley backwards. Bits of the ceiling began falling, and Travis and Telah rushed back. They each grabbed one of Morley's arms, and pulled him down the passageway into the cave. The ceiling collapsed, and the passageway was filled with debris.
Morley struggled to his feet. "Let's get home. Kendra will be wondering where we all are."
Dinner was not the fancy fare that Kendra had planned, but there was plenty of plain food. No one minded, as they were all just glad to be warm, fed, and safe. Travis spent the night at Morley's, and they all slept in.
CHAPTER 24 - LOST WORLD
The next morning Kendra made a large breakfast for everyone. Telah and Travis had been sternly reprimanded for intruding in Morley's business, and for taking dangerous risks. They were both feeling embarrassed and sorry they had offended Morley and Kendra. They realized they had acted selfishly, and that Morley might have been hurt badly. There was also a good chance that their adventure had been partly responsible for the door being destroyed.
Many questions were answered, including how the door was originally found, and had been used by Axel Wordsmith. The book, The World Beyond the Door was an accurate account of his discovery and travels.
"From what we know of these doors to other worlds," Morley was saying, "they don't stay open very long. This one was unusual as it had been open for many years, but we expected it to collapse eventually. There are usually signs that show it is weakening, and the door looked as strong as ever yesterday morning. I think the pixie dust, and the lightening together was too much for it. Perhaps it's for the best. When one door closes, another opens as they say."
Telah looked wistfully at the shelf on the wall where the metal disk was now displayed. Light from the window shown on the metal making the picture of the tree seem very real. All that was missing was the door at the bottom of the trunk.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging on the door. Kendra went to answer it. To her surprise, Polly Worder, the mayor's secretary stood on her porch. Her face was flushed and very excited. "Kendra dear, you'll never guess what's happened." She swept into the living room and sat on the edge of a chair. Kendra followed her. "Sit down my dear, sit down," Polly gushed. She stood up and gently pushed Kendra into another chair, and then resumed her seat.
In the kitchen Morley winked at the kids and laid his finger over his lips. They sat very quietly listening. Polly was easily excitable, and this might be an amusing visit.
Kendra looked questioningly at her guest, "So what is your news Polly?"
She clasped her hands nervously. "Well, you remember all those?fantasies?uh, stories?uh well, theories your grandfather had about the bones in the museum?" Kendra nodded politely. Polly conspiratorially whispered, "They're true."
Kendra raised her eyebrows. "Why do you think so?"
Polly leaned forward, and spoke in a hushed voice. "Last night a large beast bounded through the middle of town."
Kendra was intrigued in spite of herself. "What kind of beast?"
Polly frowned and sat back. "You don't believe me, do you? I thought you of all people would believe me."
Kendra smiled. "I don't disbelieve you Polly. Why don't you tell me more about it?"
Polly hesitated, then rushed on. "It was a beautiful night, and we were meeting on the large balcony at City Hall. I was taking notes for the meeting when it came down Main Street and passed right underneath us. It was huge and covered in fur. It had a very short fluffy white tail. And it was hopping!"
>
Kendra's smile froze as she began to realize that maybe something really had gotten through the door. "Where did it go?" she asked.
"To the Pixie Woods," she answered in a hushed voice.
"What did you do?" Kendra asked.
"I was so frightened, I hurried right home. The Mayor is organizing a hunting party to search this morning." She paused and then looked right at Kendra. "Is everything in those books of Axel's true? What are we going to do?"
Kendra patted her hand and said, "I think it will be okay. Even if everything in Grandfather's books is true - it all happened in another world so we don't have to worry about it here. I'll bet the hunting party doesn't find anything. It won't be long till this will be just another great legend and you'll be famous."
Polly smiled timidly, "Do you really think so?"
Kendra smiled. "I'm sure of it. Why don't you go home, and we'll see what the Mayor's group reports back."
After Polly left, Kendra went back to the kitchen. Morley smiled. "Sounds like a rabbit. They're not particularly dangerous. They eat grass, and it should be very happy in the Pixie Woods." They all relaxed.
Then Morley added, "I just hope it wasn't pregnant." They all looked at him startled.
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