MOUSE OF COMMONS. MOUSE OF LORDS.: PART 9 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA...

Thursday, December 13, 2007

PART 9 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA...

GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA... - PART 9

The 9th part of our new internet-exclusive mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, set in Spain and the Islands, which is a sequel to GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL.

Soller - Majorca, Late Autumn.

"I AM AUGUSTUS GRRR!!!" bellowed Charlie. "...AND I WANT PAELLA - SO YOU WILL COOK ME PAELLA AND YOU'LL COOK IT FOR ME NOW!!!"

"Si Senor..." the restaurant owner looked really panicked and backed away. "Si... Si... I will cook for you my best paella, senor; but I don't want any more trouble, por favor... Let me serve you a drink - it will not take me long..."

...And with that the waiter hurried back inside; leaving Charlie the silent Augustus and Oliver facing one another...

"What on earth was all that about!?" Ollie exclaimed when the waiter had gone. "Was that you mucking about or was it Augustus controlling you? You really scared that man - not to mention frightening me too!"

Charlie paused and thought for a moment. "Hmm..." he said. "Maybe a little bit of both..." he chuckled, as if it wasn't a big deal. "Still, it got us some quick service now, didn't it? We're both hungry bears here, I'll have you know..."

"Well, yes - obviously..." Ollie replied, not quite knowing how else to reply; but the fact that Augustus had spoken so forcibly through Charlie was surely not a good thing, if that was what had really happened.

Meanwhile, back in the taxi - It wasn't much later that Gladstone, Claud; and the suspect Kob finally got a clear glimpse of Charlie and his companions from the back of the taxi; but Soller was suddenly becoming a town on red alert...

Some of the roads around the Square had been roped off; although quite who had done this, it was hard to say; for it appeared that even the police were afraid of Charlie Grrr and had retreated along with most of the local residents.

"He must have done something pretty bad..." Claud said as he also noticed that the trams had been stopped just outside of the Square too.

"There they are..." exclaimed Gladstone, as he caught a brief glance out of the window as they by-passed the edge of the area.

Hurriedly the cub screeched his taxi to a halt at the nearest place he could find to where the bears and Ollie had been seated. "Stay there!!!" he ordered. "I'll sort this out..." he called out, slamming the door as he departed and locking them behind he as he hurried off across the street.

Gladstone and Claud watched as a traffic warden began to approach the car, but as she saw the cub rapidly hurrying towards her she dropped her bag and ran off down a side street and away.

"It's started to snow..." Claud observed nervously, but as soon as Kob was gone Gladstone hurried to his feet. "Come on..." he urged. "He's locked the door; but we need to find a way out of here - and quick..."

Meanwhile, out in the Square - Kob was trying to find his way back to where they had briefly seen Charlie and the crated Augustus - but seemed to be causing a scene no matter where he went. His very presence on the streets appeared to be creating some kind of stir. The townsfolk knew that they weren't allowed to catch the bear; but they weren't quite sure what they could do instead or how it was reasonable to react; so for now, they simply got out of his way as he dodged past them and between the trams as they stood waiting on the rails for the commotion to conclude. Shop keepers peered around pastries and fruitcakes that sat in their windows watching him progress; their customers cowering behind them.

All of a sudden Kob skidded to a halt - there he was just across the street from the cafe where Charlie and his companions had been sitting only minutes before; the waiter was still there - fearful at the sight of him - but as for the bears...

...THEY WERE GONE.

Next episode Charlie and his group head for the snowy mountains; whilst Gladstone has to make an extremely difficult decision...

TUNE IN AGAIN, TOMORROW FOR PART 10 OF THIS ADVENTURE...

This instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA was originally written in Majorca on Sunday 2nd December 2007.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA...

The many various views of Majorca; around the Soller area. Tomorrow we preview the location of the final third of this exciting adventure; the town of Valdemossa...