Mystery at Silver Spires by Ann Bryant Page B

statue, he leaped back up onto the window ledge and disappeared.
    From my hiding place I could hear Mr. Monk take a few steps into the attic, then stop. I guessed he was checking the trap. A moment later he took a few more steps in my direction. I could hear him muttering to himself, but the only two words I could make out were “…fix that”. Then there was the sound of the window shutting and opening again, more muttering, and finally Mr. Monk’s footsteps heading back towards the stairs, followed by the shuffly thuds that his feet made on each step.
    I realized I’d been holding my breath for ages, and let it out in a long slow sigh of relief as I crept out of my hiding place. And that’s when I noticed for the first time that the catch on the window was broken.

Chapter Six

    Emily grabbed my wrist and practically yanked me into the dorm the moment I’d opened the door. “We only really heard you at the end, Bry. It was like you’d forgotten to creep or something. We hardly heard a thing before that.”
    Then Nicole started to gabble. “But what happened? Was Silver there? Please tell me Silver was there.”
    â€œIt wasn’t me you heard. It was Mr. Monk…”
    They all gasped. “Mr. Monk! Did you manage to avoid him?” asked Izzy.
    Emily jumped in with another question before I could answer. “Did he see Silver?”
    â€œI don’t think so. Silver came in through the window just as Mr. Monk was coming up the stairs, but the poor thing turned and bolted at the sound of his footsteps. And Mr. Monk didn’t notice me because I was round the corner out of sight. He didn’t come in as far as that, thank goodness. But the good news is that there wasn’t any poison. He’s put one of those humane traps down with a bit of chocolate as bait.”
    â€œSo that’s what he was doing then,” said Emily. “Checking the trap. You’re supposed to check those humane ones every day.”
    â€œBut the bad thing,” I went on, “is that the catch on the window is broken. That’s how Silver’s been able to come and go. Up the trellis to the roof, then through the window. Only now Mr. Monk’s spotted it, because I heard him muttering about getting it fixed.” I sighed heavily. “And then what’ll happen to poor Silver?”
    â€œMaybe you’ve just got to risk telling Mrs. P, Bry.” Sasha’s face looked so sympathetic. “She’ll find Silver a good home, I’m sure.”
    I knew Sasha was right, but even though it was selfish of me, I was starting to dread the thought of Silver leaving Forest Ash.
    â€œI want to see him!” said Antonia, suddenly hunching her shoulders excitedly like a little girl.
    â€œMe too,” said Izzy.
    â€œWe’ll frighten him away for good if we all go trooping up there,” said Emily firmly. “Let Bry go on her own a couple more times until Silver’s used to her.”
    â€œAnd what about when Mr. Monk’s fixed the window?” asked Nicole, her face in a heavy frown.
    â€œMaybe we can find a secret, sheltered place somewhere outside, and keep him there,” said Izzy.
    There was a dull silence and I guessed the others were trying to think, like I was, of where on earth we could possibly keep a cat in secret. And anyway, we’d all be going home for the summer holidays soon. What then?
    After supper it’s prep and I thought this would be the perfect time to go up to the loft. Everyone would be occupied, and even if the Year Nines were working in their room, I knew now that they weren’t likely to hear me. It must have been when Silver jumped from the window ledge or ran across the loft that the sound could be heard from below. Also, at night-time it’s as though the silence grows a deeper layer. During the day there’s hardly ever any time when you’re completely silent in your dorm.