Left alone with an angry Moth, Sabrina ignored the fairy, watching talk shows she was certain were inappropriate for her. Moth stalked around the room with clenched fists, muttering bitter words under her breath.
“What’s this?” Sabrina said when her grandmother and sister returned with a long piece of string.
Granny tied one end of the string to the bottom of the cocoon and handed the other end to Sabrina. “Now, isn’t that a lovely balloon?”
Sabrina grumbled, knowing she looked like an unhappy child at the worst birthday party ever.
Mother Goose’s directions were far better than any Bess or Oz had given the group. Momma knew exactly where to find the dwarfs. They lived in an abandoned subway station underneath the mayor’s office downtown. The City Hall station had been closed decades ago, when the new, longer subway cars had made the platform impractical.
The walk to the station was chilly and the Grimms were glad to have scarves and mittens. Even Mr. Canis had found a big pair of gloves for his claws and a scarf to wrap around his whiskered head. Moth, Mr. Hamstead, and Bess didn’t seem bothered by the cold, Moth because of her fairy blood and Mr. Hamstead and Bess because they were too busy giggling and holding hands to notice the temperature.
The group crossed a small park and found the steel door in the sidewalk that Momma told them led into the ancient subway station. There was no one out in the harsh weather, so they didn’t have to worry about being seen when Canis pulled the door open, revealing a flight of steps that led down into darkness. Mr. Hamstead insisted that he go first, claiming his police training prepared him for any kind of danger. It was obvious his boasting was for Bess’s benefit, but Sabrina held her tongue.
Hamstead led the group down the steps and when everyone was inside, Canis pulled the door closed, plunging them into darkness.
“Creepy,” Daphne said.
“Just be patient, liebling. Your eyes will adjust,” Granny promised.
“Man, it smells foul down here,” Bess said.
“I believe that is the girl,” Canis said.
“Uh, hello? I’m standing right here!” Sabrina said.
Before long, their eyes adjusted, and Mr. Hamstead was leading them along a damp concrete passageway lined with huge pipes and electrical wiring. Every once in a while they would pass under a dingy, flickering lightbulb, which helped them see a few feet ahead.
“We are close,” Canis said, sniffing the air. “I smell them.”
The tunnel opened into a huge station with an arched ceiling held up by elegant columns and cut through with skylights that allowed rays of light to shine down on the gold-tiled walls and floor. The room looked like the lost tomb of a pharaoh. At the center was a single train track, where a lone subway car was parked. Sabrina had been in many subway stations in New York City, but this one, by far, was the most beautiful.
“Hello?” Granny shouted out. Her voice bounced off the walls and echoed back. “Is anyone here?”
“They have obviously abandoned this station,” Moth said.
Something flickered in the corner of Sabrina’s vision. She spun quickly and thought she saw movement in the shadows along the far wall. She turned to Mr. Canis, whose senses were much more acute than hers. He held his finger to his lips to let her know he had seen something, too, and to be quiet.
“What are we waiting for?” Moth continued as she headed for the train car. “We should take their train and search the tunnels ourselves.”
Before she could step into the car, the station erupted with movement as five tiny men bore down on them, flipping and jumping, shouting and screaming. They stopped just short of the group, surrounding them like tiny ninjas from a martial arts film.
The door to the subway car opened and a sixth little man with a long, white beard stepped out and eyed the group angrily through round glasses. He wore a blue uniform jacket with a patch that said MTA. Sabrina knew what the letters stood for—Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The little man worked for the subway.
“You’re trespassing in the domain of the six dwarfs,” he said, signaling to the others to close in on the group. “Invaders get a beating.”
Sabrina watched as one of the little men slipped a set of brass knuckles on his hand.
Granny stepped forward. “We’re not here to invade your territory.”
A second dwarf clenched his fists. He had greasy little half spectacles on his nose. “These are our tunnels,” he said. “We’ll fight every one of you, chickadee!”
Mr. Canis growled. Sabrina could see he was losing his patience, again.
“We’re looking for someone and we were told you could help,” Sabrina said quickly. “A fairy flew down here last night. We think he’s hiding in the tunnels.”
“A fairy!” cried the dwarfs in horror. “No fairies in the subway! Your kind isn’t welcome here.”
“We’re not fairies,” Daphne said. “Well, except for her,” she added, pointing at Moth. “We’re detectives.”
Suddenly, the white-bearded leader of the group cried out. “My oh my, it’s you! It’s Veronica’s girls.”
The little men immediately lowered their fists and smiled. They crowded around Sabrina and Daphne, offering up praise for their mother.
“Veronica was a gem.”
“A real inspiration!”
“We loved her.”
“What charisma!”
The men smiled and introduced themselves. Each had a different story about Sabrina and Daphne’s mother. They all seemed to idolize her and regretted the day she had disappeared. The day of the “big speech,” they added. It was clear they thought the speech would have changed their lives.
When it grew quiet again, the leader, who called himself Mr. One, spoke. “What are you doing down here?” he asked.
“We’re looking for Cobweb,” Daphne replied.
“Just like your mother,” Mr. One said with a chuckle. “Veronica was always taking on other people’s troubles. She wanted to help, even when it put her in some sticky situations. Your mother introduced me to my wife. Anything we can do to help you would be an honor.”
“Can you help us search for Cobweb? We think he went underground in these tunnels,” Hamstead said.
“Nobody knows these tunnels better than you do,” Bess added, and the dwarfs puffed up with pride at her compliment.
“What do you say, boys?” Mr. One asked his companions. “Up for a fairy hunt?” He pronounced the word fairy as one might the word rat. It was clear that dwarfs and fairies weren’t fond of each other.
“Can we keep the train windows open?” Mr. Two asked, pointing his thumb at Sabrina. “Someone’s a little funky.”
Sabrina scowled.
Nevertheless, the other dwarfs cheered and raced for their subway car. The girls and their group followed. As they climbed aboard, Mr. One opened the conductor’s door at the front of the car and stepped inside the control room. The rest of the dwarfs hurried to different parts of the train car. Mr. Two and Mr. Six made sure everyone got into a comfortable seat while Mr. Five and Mr. Three opened a couple panels on the wall. Inside each panel was a bright yellow handle. The dwarfs each pulled one down and suddenly there was a loud hiss and the train doors closed. Mr. One’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “All passengers, welcome to the D train. Please, no eating, drinking, or playing loud music while onboard. Next stop … well, I guess we’re just going to have to see. All right, everyone. Hold onto something! We’re going express.”
The train car suddenly surged forward, sending the little men tumbling and skidding across the floor. Sabrina and Daphne helped them to their feet, then grabbed onto the pole in the center of the car to steady themselves. They looked out the windows and saw they were rocketing through the tunnels.
“You wouldn’t happen to know a Mr. Seven would you?” Daphne asked Mr. Two.
“He’s my brother,” the dwarf said.
“We know him. He lives in Ferryport Landing,” Sabrina said.
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Mr. Two frowned. “Well, next time you see him, remind him he owes me twenty bucks.”
“What’s with the balloon?” Mr. Five asked Sabrina as he lifted his little blue toboggan hat out of his eyes.
“It is King Puck’s medicinal vessel!” Moth said indignantly.
“Smells like the N train coming back from Coney Island,” Mr. Four grumbled.
Mr. Six snatched a walkie-talkie off his belt and held it to his mouth. “Kenny, this is Mr. Six. I’m in train 499. Have there been any unusual sightings in the tunnels today?”
A voice on the other end grunted. “You mean like six little people driving a stolen subway car through the system?”
Mr. Six scowled and turned to the group. “Kenny’s a human.
We trust him—helped get him the job with the MTA—but he’s a pain in the morning.”
“Especially when he hasn’t had his coffee,” Mr. Four added.
“Kenny, I’m talking about fairies,” Mr. Six said into the device. “You know, anyone report seeing a flying person with wings?”
There was silence on the other end and then Kenny responded. “Actually, there’s a report of an incident at the Fifty-ninth Street station. Some woman claimed she saw an angel in the tunnel.”
“Sounds like our fairy. When did it happen?” Bess asked.
Mr. Six repeated the question into his walkie-talkie.
“Five minutes ago,” Kenny said.
“All right, pal, I’m on the 6 line coming up on Spring Street. I need to jump to the F line at Broadway-Lafayette.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Kenny said grumpily.
“Kenny, just do it!” Mr. Six shouted into the walkie-talkie. In no time, the train was racing into the Broadway-Lafayette station, where it jumped onto an intersecting track, forcing the car to make a hairpin turn. Nearly everyone fell out of their seat and onto the floor.
“Cobweb is lucky you guys are going to catch him,” Mr. Two said, as he helped everyone back into their seats. “If we caught him down here we’d teach him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget. The tunnels belong to us.”
“Like anyone else would want them, half-breed,” Moth sneered.
“You’ll be singing a different tune when we strike it rich down here,” Mr. Four said as he scratched his sideburns. “There’s diamonds down here somewhere. I can smell ‘em. All we have to do is find them.”
Mr. Six raised his hand for quiet and held his walkie-talkie to his mouth. “Kenny, Six here again. I need you to divert us to the uptown A track at West Fourth Street.”
The car was suddenly diverted again and whipped through the next tunnel so fast Sabrina was sure they would derail.
“I got him!” Mr. One shouted over the loud speaker.
Everyone raced to join him at the front of the car. There, flying directly in front of the train, was Cobweb. He turned back to look at them and Sabrina saw his face. It was angry and desperate. His wings began to beat even harder and he zipped ahead into the tunnel.
“He’s getting away, fool!” Moth cried. “Can’t you make this thing go faster?”
“You got it!” One shouted.
The train car zipped through the tunnels, taking turns at blistering speeds. It slammed through one station after another, blasting waiting passengers with wind that blew their newspapers and coffee cups out of their hands. All the time, Mr. Six barked orders to Kenny on his walkie-talkie that sent the train jumping onto different lines. More than once they nearly collided with another train. If the constant near crashes bothered the dwarfs, they didn’t show it. In fact, they seemed bored by the whole experience.
Cobweb was almost impossible to catch. He could easily switch to a different tunnel, or backtrack the way he came before the train car had a chance to maneuver. Still, the dwarfs did a good job of keeping up.
Just as they seemed almost on top of the fairy, there was a loud thump on the roof of the car.
The dwarfs looked at one another with serious expressions.
“What?” Mr. Canis growled.
Mr. Four held his finger to his lips urging him to be quiet. After a few seconds, there was another loud thump.
Mr. Five looked to the roof. “Uh oh.”
“What’s uh oh?” Granny cried.
“Yahoos,” Five replied.
“Yahoos? What’s a Yahoo?” Daphne asked.
“Dirty lunatics that keep invading our tunnels. Gulliver should have never brought them over here!” Mr. Six complained.
“You mean Gulliver? The Gulliver from Gulliver’s Travels?” Sabrina asked.
“The same. He felt sorry for the little heathens and tried to civilize them by bringing them to the United States. They took over the Bowery and were happy enough playing in punk rock bands and working in coffee shops—you know, being worthless slackers—but now the neighborhood is being taken over by boutiques and health food stores. So they’re in search of new turf and have been eyeing the tunnels all year.”
There was another loud thump and one of the glass windows shattered. A thick, hairy hand reached into the car from outside. Mr. Six swatted at it. “Dirty, stinking slackers. Go find another neighborhood. Haven’t you ever heard of Brooklyn?”
Then the entire train started rocking back and forth. Loud hooting and hollering could be heard, followed by more of the frightening pounding on the train.
“They’re trying to derail us!” Mr. One shouted from his conductor seat. “If they keep rocking this train we’re going to jump right off the tracks and slam into the wall.”
“That’s bad, isn’t it?” Daphne asked the little men. They all nodded.
“I’ve got an idea!” Mr. Two said. “But you’re not going to like it. Let’s slam on the brakes.”
The rest of the men stared at him.
“You’re right, we don’t like it,” Mr. Six said. “We’ll just derail ourselves.”
“That’s the idea!” Mr. Two cried. “We whip the car into South Ferry Station and then slam on the brakes.”
“South Ferry is the end of the line, you imbecile!” Mr. Five shouted. “If we can’t stop we’ll crash.”
“Even if we can stop, the train will probably catch on fire,” Mr. Three cried. “The brakes can’t handle the strain.”
Another window shattered in the back of the train car.
Mr. Two shrugged. “It doesn’t look like we have much choice. We can slam into the wall and get mangled in twisted metal or save ourselves but possibly die a fiery death.”
“You fools cannot be serious,” Mr. Canis said, rising to his feet. “Stop the train now, and I will get out and take care of these little parasites.”
“No can do, buddy,” Mr. Six said. “We’re in a tunnel and these tracks are electrified. If you stepped on one you’d be an instant French fry.”
“Grab onto something, people,” Mr. One said over the loudspeaker. “Sorry we don’t have any seat belts.” The dwarfs scurried over to seats and hugged them tightly. The girls and their friends looked at one another in disbelief.
Mr. Six shouted into his walkie-talkie. “Kenny, we need you to clear the platform at South Ferry.”
There was a groan on the other end of the line. “When?”
“Two minutes,” Mr. Six replied.
“Two minutes?”
“Just do it, Kenny!”
Daphne wrapped her arms around Granny Relda. Even in all the excitement, Sabrina felt stung that the little girl would turn to their grandmother instead of her sister, who had been there for her whole life! Now, it was like Sabrina didn’t even exist.
“South Ferry is the last and final stop on this train!” Mr. One said over the loudspeaker. Then he raced out of the conductor’s room, climbed up onto one of the seats, and reached for a red cord on the wall. A sign above it read EMERGENCY BRAKE.
Mr. Hamstead wrapped his arms around Bess and pulled her to the floor.
“You gonna save my life again, cowboy?” she said.
Hamstead nodded. ?
??That’s my job.”
“I hope this hurts!” Mr. Six shouted to the Yahoos on the ceiling just as Mr. One pulled the brake cord.
loud, metallic screech filled the air. Sabrina was jolted forward but managed to grab the center pole as she soared past. Still, the forward momentum of the car nearly pulled Sabrina’s arms out of their sockets.
Just then, the darkness of the tunnels turned to light. Sabrina knew they had just entered South Ferry Station. She saw three Yahoos with thick arms and legs tumble off the front of the train. They fell in horrible, bone-crunching fashion. But as black smoke began to fill the car, Sabrina wondered if the Yahoos were the lucky ones. She could see flames and sparks outside as the car came to a hard, jerky stop. She heard feet racing up and down the car, and then the doors opened.
“Everyone off!” one of the dwarfs shouted. Sabrina couldn’t be sure which one it was through the smoke. “This thing is going to go up in flames.”
Mr. Two and Mr. Five helped Sabrina to her feet and hurried her onto the station platform, where everyone else was gathered. Puck’s cocoon floated out of the car behind Sabrina.
Moth grabbed the cocoon’s string and whirled around to confront the group. “You lost Cobweb, you fools,” she cried.
“Shut your trap, Princess,” Mr. Three said. “You’re not so big that I can’t put you over my knee.”
Sabrina had no time for their stupid argument. She hugged her sister. “Are you OK?” She didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she started examining the little girl’s arms and legs for broken bones or cuts.
“I’m fine,” Daphne said, irritated. She struggled out of Sabrina’s embrace.
“Good!” Sabrina said as she pretended not to be hurt. She looked around at the others. “We’re all safe now. Everything is going to be OK. We’re out of danger.” It seemed as if one of them was always getting hurt on these detective missions; it was amazing to see her friends and family unscathed.
“Dwarfs go too far!” a voice shouted. Sabrina turned. One of the Yahoos, who only moments ago had been crumpled on the floor, was now back on his feet. His friends had joined him.