Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire. Andy Stanton

      

       This one’s for me brother, his name is Dan And he looks like a marshy to the native man!

      Mr Gum and the Biscuit Billionaire First published 2007 by Egmont UK Limited This edition published 2019 by Egmont UK Limited, The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road London W11 4AN

      Text copyright © 2007 Andy Stanton

       Illustration copyright © 2007 David Tazzyman

      The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

      First e-book edition 2019

      ISBN 978 1 4052 9370 9

       eISBN 978 1 4052 5928 6

      mrgum.co.uk www.egmont.co.uk

      A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

       Printed and bound in Great Britain by the CPI Group

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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       Read all of Andy Stanton’s books!

       You’re a Bad Man, MR GUM!

       MR GUM and the Biscuit Billionaire

       MR GUM and the Goblins

       MR GUM and the Power Crystals

       MR GUM and the Dancing Bear

       What’s for Dinner, MR GUM?

       MR GUM and the Cherry Tree

       MR GUM and the Secret Hideout

       Contents

       Title Page

       Dedication and Copyright page

       Front series promotional page

       1 On Boaster’s Hill

       2 Meanwhile, Over at Mr Gum’s

       3 Alan Taylor Shows Off Like Nobody’s Fat Business

       4 The Onions of Doom

       5 The Robbers on the Run

       6 Alan Taylor Stays in Bed

       7 On the Trail of the Money

       8 Smuggler’s Cove

       9 Hooray for Friendship!

       10 The Spirit of the Rainbow

       11 The Festival of the Leaves

       About the Author

       Also by

       Praise

       Chapter 1

       On Boaster’s Hill

      It all started late one afternoon in the peaceful little town of Lamonic Bibber. Summer was almost at an end and the day stretched out long and lazy like a huge glossy panther made of time. The birds chirped in the trees, the rabbits chirped in their burrows, and a fox walked along the railway tracks whistling ‘Greensleeves’ and thinking fondly of a vixen he had once loved.

      Up on Boaster’s Hill a little girl sat reading a book called ‘Cobbler Wins The Prizes’. Now this little girl’s name was Polly and she was the sort of girl you could be friends with. She was brilliant at running and jumping and scabbing up her knees and she didn’t have no time for nonsense, OK? She was brave and honest and true and when she laughed the sunlight went splashing off her pretty teeth like diamonds in search of adventure.

      But where were the laughter and diamondy teeth now? Nowhere, because Polly was bored.

      “Cobbler Wins The Prizes’ is full of escapades but that’s just a book,’ she complained to herself. ‘Nothin’ exciting never happens ’round here. An’ that whopper dog Jake never even comes ’round to play no more!’

      For alas, it was true. Polly hadn’t seen big Jake all summer long. Oh, how she missed riding on his huge furry back and pretending he was a horse or a spaceship!

       ‘Jakey!’ she called hopefully, in case he just happened to be nearby, playing cards with a dormouse or something – but there was no answering woof to be heard.

      ‘Sigh,’ sighed Polly with a sigh. ‘First no adventures an’ now no Jakey. It’s well unfair.’

      And with that she lay back in the long grass. The hot sun beat down and