The Complete Ruby Redfort Collection. Lauren Child

undisturbed.’

      ‘That sounds like our girl,’ said Brant.

      ‘No doubt she’ll be wearing something utterly inappropriate for the evening,’ said Sabina plucking a long red hair from the man’s jacket. ‘Forgive me, force of habit,’ she laughed.

      The man smiled again. ‘She sounds like an intelligent girl, Mrs Redfort, I am sure she will have chosen an outfit that befits the occasion.’ He turned. ‘And who is this?’ He was looking at Clancy who by now was standing next to him.

      ‘Oh I’m sorry, Herr Gustav this is our son Clancy,’ said Ambassador Crew.

      Clancy shook the man’s hand. ‘Pleased to meet you Herr Gustav – I had a hunch you would be much shorter.’

      Herr Gustav laughed. ‘Sorry to disappoint you, master Crew.’

      Meanwhile, locked in a tower someplace, who only knew where, a schoolgirl was watching as the sands of time fell about her.

      Oh boy, thought Ruby, how did I get into this mess?

      She was in a giant egg timer and it was clear that no one was going to rescue her before her three and a half minutes were up. What was the time, she wondered. Had the museum launch even begun? And that’s when she remembered something very important.

      The escape watch. Although both her hands were tied, her fingers were free and so, patiently and with great care, she started to feel each of the twisting winders and tiny knobs and switches. There had to be a cutting device on this thing – every spy surely required a laser? Watch any Hollywood spy movie and it was only a matter of seconds before the hero made use of the laser gadget.

       First thing I shoulda done when I took that darned watch was look for that old laser feature.

      She could have kicked herself – indeed would have, had her legs not been tied together. She twisted and turned every possible button the watch but nothing happened – not a thing. The sand was falling fast and although the chair was raised up on a platform, her shoes were nearly buried.

      And then she felt something warm on her wrist – no, not warm, hot.

      ‘Ouch!’ shrieked Ruby. She had found the laser.

      With a little more ow-ing and a lot of cussing Ruby finally directed the cutting device at the ropes binding her wrists.

      Once her arms were free she set about releasing her feet.

      She was stiff and her limbs were aching but what was the point of thinking about that, she hadn’t even begun to get out of this little mess.

      ‘I am just about bursting to see the Buddha rise from the floor – I understand it does so in the blink of an eye! Am I right?’ Sabina could barely contain herself.

      ‘Quite right,’ agreed Herr Gustav. ‘The clock strikes midnight, the lights go out and a second later there it will be.’

      ‘On the absolute stroke of midnight someone is going to get a chance to look into the eyes of the Jade Buddha of Khotan! Isn’t it thrilling,’ she said.

      ‘Thrilling,’ agreed Klaus Gustav.

      ‘And you are the only person who can make that happen, since you are the one who holds the key.’

      ‘Indeed,’ nodded Klaus Gustav. ‘I hold the key to the secret of the Jade Buddha of Khotan.’

      ‘Will you unlock the case yourself Herr Gustav?’ asked Magorie Humbert.

      ‘You can count on it,’ he said, patting his top pocket.

      ‘I heard you were Swiss?’ said Clancy.

      ‘Indeed,’ replied the man.

      ‘Is that a Swiss accent you have?’ asked Clancy.

      The man nodded.

      ‘Because it sounds sorta, not Swiss, more like…’

      ‘Clancy! It’s not polite to ask questions like that,’ said Mrs Crew, her embarrassment evident. This was not the behaviour of an ambassador’s son. ‘I’m sorry Herr Gustav, our son rarely knows when to stop.’

      ‘I was just asking,’ said Clancy.

      ‘Well don’t,’ said his father.

      Ruby stood on the chair and, holding her wrist very steady, aimed the watch at a metal hook just above the window and pressed down on the winder button.

      Out shot the titanium cable. The grabber claw reached out, missed the hook and the cable slid down the wall.

      Ruby quickly retracted it and tried again. Come on, I don’t have time for this. This was true: the sand had already reached the seat of the chair. Ruby took aim again, and – bingo! – the claw closed around the hook. Ruby closed her eyes, pressed the retractor, bracing herself to be whisked at lightening speed through the air… and nothing happened.

       No, no, no! You are a rescue gadget and you rescue, that’s what you do!

      The sand was covering her feet and the tower was filling up fast. You can’t jam!, Spy gadgets don’t jam! She pressed again – still nothing.

      OK, you can jam but not now! She pressed the button again – nothing for one split second…

      …and then quite suddenly Ruby was wrenched from the chair and carried away high above the sand and onto the window ledge.

       Take your time why don’t you!

      She released the grabber and assessed the situation. The window, it seemed, was boarded shut from the outside, and she didn’t have enough space to give it a good hard kick. She looked around. Right in the middle of the ceiling hung an iron chandelier. If she could just grab on to that, she could swing herself at the blocked window and dislodge the boarding – how she was going to get down from the window was a whole different problem. Several times she pressed the cable button but to no avail – it really had given up.

      OK Rube, you still have time, don’t panic. She looked at the tape machine with its big spools turning round and round – and she had an idea. Sorry buster, but you are beginning to get on my nerves.

      Ruby took off one of the reels and pulled at the yards of song tape, then she took the keyring from her jeans and tied it to the tape, making a weight. Using this as a sort of lasso, she was able to hook and pull the chandelier towards her until she was able to grab hold of it. Then, hanging from it rather like a trapeze artist, she swung back and forth until she had gathered enough momentum to break through the wooden boarding.

      Only thing was she had gathered a little too much momentum: she crashed through the window and was flung into the night sky.

      By now Klaus Gustav was surrounded by all the glittering folk of Twinford.

      ‘To make a completely unbreakable glass display case is quite a feat, Herr Gustav, just how was it done?’ asked Ambassador Crew.

      ‘That was easy,’ said Klaus Gustav. ‘It was the key that was the tricky part.’

      ‘Might we see it, Mr Gustav, I have been just dying to know what it looks like,’ implored Sabina.

      But Klaus Gustav just tapped his nose. ‘Secrets, all secrets.’

      Clancy looked at Herr Gustav, the Swiss man with the accent which reminded him of… who was it?

      ‘Well we are very proud to welcome you to Twinford and our city museum,’ said Ambassador Crew.

      Herr Gustav smiled and his black eyes glistened.

      Dracula! thought Clancy.

       The scrabbling sound had got louder– it was definitely coming from behind the bookcase. . .

      Mrs Digby gripped the lamp.