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Authors: Philippa Dowding
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face. The trees grew closer and closer together, and the late afternoon sun barely filtered down to the forest floor.
They crept along, working their way deeper into the gloom.
Suddenly Carter heard the sound of running water ahead. He shhhâd Arthur, and the two boys snuck over fallen logs and through the tightly growing tree trunks toward the sound.
SNIP!
SNIP!
Carter stopped.
Mr. Green stood beside a tiny, bubbling fountain. The water came up out of the ground and ran into a little stream that grew into a pool, and then meandered into the woods. Mr. Green stooped and took a drink.
âHello, Carter,â he said without looking up. âYouâve finally found me. It took you long enough, much longer than most children. You must have dawdled.â
Dawdled?
âYou! Youâre crazy! What have you done to us? We want to go home!â
Suddenly Carter wasnât scared. The whole afternoon flashed before him, the Wild Man of Borneo, the terrifying battlefield, the scary bear, and the constant feeling of being lost and weirdly out of place. No, he wasnât scared â all he felt was mad.
It felt good to be mad.
âYou have no right to steal kids and send them back through time in your stupid maze! I donât even care how you did it ⦠or why ⦠but itâs time to stop this! Weâre lost, weâre tired, Arthur is scared ⦠we almost got blown up by a huge gunpowder explosion during a BATTLE and ⦠then a bear tried to eat us! If it wasnât for that Native boy â¦â
âAh, yes, him,â the old man said. He snapped upright, and Carter was SURE he heard a cracking, like a twig. Mr. Green stared at Carter with his brown wooden eyes. Carterâs own eyes were getting used to the gloom, and he suddenly noticed a girl standing perfectly still behind a tree, looking at him.
It was Creepy Leaf Girl. Finally, the last person from the maze! Carter gulped. The girl didnât have leaves growing out of her ears this time, thankfully. She just looked old-fashioned and normal. She smiled at Carter behind Mr. Greenâs back.
Mr. Green didnât stop talking.
âAh yes, the Native boy. The magic of the maze is very old indeed, but his people have lived in this spot long before the maze arrived, so it holds no power over him. He was the first child to walk through the maze in this place, the first child to find his way out. He can come and go as he pleases and show others the way to me. Itâs annoying. Most children I choose for the maze have to work hard to find the exit, unless heâs around.â
âWhat do you mean, âchoose?â Why did you choose us?â Carter pulled Arthur closer.
âYou, Carter? You were an interesting case. You were the boy who found everything dull, remember? You said, and I quote, âNothing interesting has ever happened around here in the history of the world.â I wonder if you think that now? And as for Arthur ⦠well ⦠you needed a sidekick, didnât you?â Mr. Green stooped to take another drink from the fountain. Behind him, Creepy Leaf Girl looked hard at something, again and again. She kept looking at whatever it was and then looking back at Carter. He followed her eyes.
Mr. Greenâs red-handled garden shears lay against a tree. It was only the second time that Carter had ever seen them out of the old manâs hands or out of his smock pocket.
The old man talked and took sips from the bubbling fountain.
âHow did you like the bear? Or the grand magazine? Or the freak show? All quite interesting , donât you think? Or did you find them boring, too?â On and on he went, drinking from the fountain and talking.
Creepy Leaf Girl was still telling Carter something with her eyes. She kept darting looks at the garden shears against the tree. She wanted him to do something with them.
But what?
The old man was speaking. âDid you like how only other
They crept along, working their way deeper into the gloom.
Suddenly Carter heard the sound of running water ahead. He shhhâd Arthur, and the two boys snuck over fallen logs and through the tightly growing tree trunks toward the sound.
SNIP!
SNIP!
Carter stopped.
Mr. Green stood beside a tiny, bubbling fountain. The water came up out of the ground and ran into a little stream that grew into a pool, and then meandered into the woods. Mr. Green stooped and took a drink.
âHello, Carter,â he said without looking up. âYouâve finally found me. It took you long enough, much longer than most children. You must have dawdled.â
Dawdled?
âYou! Youâre crazy! What have you done to us? We want to go home!â
Suddenly Carter wasnât scared. The whole afternoon flashed before him, the Wild Man of Borneo, the terrifying battlefield, the scary bear, and the constant feeling of being lost and weirdly out of place. No, he wasnât scared â all he felt was mad.
It felt good to be mad.
âYou have no right to steal kids and send them back through time in your stupid maze! I donât even care how you did it ⦠or why ⦠but itâs time to stop this! Weâre lost, weâre tired, Arthur is scared ⦠we almost got blown up by a huge gunpowder explosion during a BATTLE and ⦠then a bear tried to eat us! If it wasnât for that Native boy â¦â
âAh, yes, him,â the old man said. He snapped upright, and Carter was SURE he heard a cracking, like a twig. Mr. Green stared at Carter with his brown wooden eyes. Carterâs own eyes were getting used to the gloom, and he suddenly noticed a girl standing perfectly still behind a tree, looking at him.
It was Creepy Leaf Girl. Finally, the last person from the maze! Carter gulped. The girl didnât have leaves growing out of her ears this time, thankfully. She just looked old-fashioned and normal. She smiled at Carter behind Mr. Greenâs back.
Mr. Green didnât stop talking.
âAh yes, the Native boy. The magic of the maze is very old indeed, but his people have lived in this spot long before the maze arrived, so it holds no power over him. He was the first child to walk through the maze in this place, the first child to find his way out. He can come and go as he pleases and show others the way to me. Itâs annoying. Most children I choose for the maze have to work hard to find the exit, unless heâs around.â
âWhat do you mean, âchoose?â Why did you choose us?â Carter pulled Arthur closer.
âYou, Carter? You were an interesting case. You were the boy who found everything dull, remember? You said, and I quote, âNothing interesting has ever happened around here in the history of the world.â I wonder if you think that now? And as for Arthur ⦠well ⦠you needed a sidekick, didnât you?â Mr. Green stooped to take another drink from the fountain. Behind him, Creepy Leaf Girl looked hard at something, again and again. She kept looking at whatever it was and then looking back at Carter. He followed her eyes.
Mr. Greenâs red-handled garden shears lay against a tree. It was only the second time that Carter had ever seen them out of the old manâs hands or out of his smock pocket.
The old man talked and took sips from the bubbling fountain.
âHow did you like the bear? Or the grand magazine? Or the freak show? All quite interesting , donât you think? Or did you find them boring, too?â On and on he went, drinking from the fountain and talking.
Creepy Leaf Girl was still telling Carter something with her eyes. She kept darting looks at the garden shears against the tree. She wanted him to do something with them.
But what?
The old man was speaking. âDid you like how only other
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