Read Online Nanny Piggins and the Pursuit of Justice by R. A. Spratt - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: R. A. Spratt
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discovering a forgery was sure to lead to a lot of denouncing.
‘Listen,’ continued Nanny Piggins, rapping the wing of the plane again. ‘It’s hollow and I think it’s made of canvas !’
‘Maybe planes were made of canvas back in the old days,’ suggested Samantha.
‘Don’t be ridiculous! What would happen if it rained?’ said Nanny Piggins.
Samantha had the mental image of a plane all limp and floppy like a wet beach towel.
‘No, someone must have stolen the real plane and replaced it with this canvas replica,’ said Nanny Piggins. ‘Well, there’s only one way we can find out for sure.’
‘Call the police and ask them to bring down a forensic team to carbon date the material?’ suggested Derrick.
‘No, turn it on and see if it flies,’ declared Nanny Piggins.
‘Oh no,’ said Samantha, sitting down on the ground and taking out her lunch. Not so she could eat anything, but so she could use the brown paperbag to hyperventilate into.
‘But that’ll never work,’ protested Derrick.
‘Why not?’ asked Nanny Piggins as she walked around the plane, kicking the chocks out from in front of the wheels. ‘This is a museum, isn’t it? They are supposed to have restored everything to perfect working condition.’
‘But would there still be petrol in the engine?’ asked Michael.
‘I don’t see why not,’ said Nanny Piggins. ‘When the Germans lost the war I expect they had a lot more important things to think about than whether or not they had siphoned all the petrol out of their planes. Anyway, we’ll soon see.’ Nanny Piggins hopped into the pilot’s seat.
‘Oh dear,’ moaned Samantha as she ducked her head between her knees – partly to avoid fainting and partly so she would not have to see her beloved nanny come to harm.
‘Oh look!’ said Nanny Piggins delightedly. ‘The German flying ace who last used this plane left his goggles under the seat. How thoughtful of him.’
Nanny Piggins put on the goggles and revved the engine.
‘It can’t be a fake, that engine sounds fine,’ said Derrick.
‘Oh, we won’t know for sure until we take it up,’said Nanny Piggins.
‘Up where?’ asked Michael. Even he was beginning to worry, and generally he was the least inclined to worry of any boy you could care to meet.
‘For a spin,’ said Nanny Piggins with a joyous glint in her eye.
The children had seen that glint before. Nanny Piggins always got it before she threw herself into one of her death-defying stunts, such as being fired out of a cannon, doing a backflip off the clothes line or returning a library book two days late.
‘Do you even know how to fly an aeroplane?’ asked Derrick.
‘I am the greatest flying pig in all the world,’ Nanny Piggins reminded him.
‘Yes, but the principles are rather different when you haven’t been blasted out of a cannon,’ argued Derrick.
‘Pish!’ said Nanny Piggins, and with that she opened the throttle, released the brake and the plane started to roll forward.
At this point the security guard from the museum started running towards them. (Now you might be wondering why he had not taken action sooner, such as when Nanny Piggins turned on the noisy diesel engine of their 95-year-old German tri-plane. Butyou have to understand that the security man was a little deaf and he had fallen asleep while lip-reading the curator’s incredibly boring talk on Victorian water pumps taking place in the next room.) But an elderly man with a heart condition was never going to run down Nanny Piggins in an aeroplane.
She shot down the full length of the hall (which was perfectly safe because the museum was so boring there were no members of the public for her to crash into) and then, just as Samantha hid her face in her jumper because she did not want to see Nanny Piggins slam into a brick wall, the plane took off. And as it lifted up into the air, the tri-plane transformed from a rickety old thing banging along the ground, into an elegant
‘Listen,’ continued Nanny Piggins, rapping the wing of the plane again. ‘It’s hollow and I think it’s made of canvas !’
‘Maybe planes were made of canvas back in the old days,’ suggested Samantha.
‘Don’t be ridiculous! What would happen if it rained?’ said Nanny Piggins.
Samantha had the mental image of a plane all limp and floppy like a wet beach towel.
‘No, someone must have stolen the real plane and replaced it with this canvas replica,’ said Nanny Piggins. ‘Well, there’s only one way we can find out for sure.’
‘Call the police and ask them to bring down a forensic team to carbon date the material?’ suggested Derrick.
‘No, turn it on and see if it flies,’ declared Nanny Piggins.
‘Oh no,’ said Samantha, sitting down on the ground and taking out her lunch. Not so she could eat anything, but so she could use the brown paperbag to hyperventilate into.
‘But that’ll never work,’ protested Derrick.
‘Why not?’ asked Nanny Piggins as she walked around the plane, kicking the chocks out from in front of the wheels. ‘This is a museum, isn’t it? They are supposed to have restored everything to perfect working condition.’
‘But would there still be petrol in the engine?’ asked Michael.
‘I don’t see why not,’ said Nanny Piggins. ‘When the Germans lost the war I expect they had a lot more important things to think about than whether or not they had siphoned all the petrol out of their planes. Anyway, we’ll soon see.’ Nanny Piggins hopped into the pilot’s seat.
‘Oh dear,’ moaned Samantha as she ducked her head between her knees – partly to avoid fainting and partly so she would not have to see her beloved nanny come to harm.
‘Oh look!’ said Nanny Piggins delightedly. ‘The German flying ace who last used this plane left his goggles under the seat. How thoughtful of him.’
Nanny Piggins put on the goggles and revved the engine.
‘It can’t be a fake, that engine sounds fine,’ said Derrick.
‘Oh, we won’t know for sure until we take it up,’said Nanny Piggins.
‘Up where?’ asked Michael. Even he was beginning to worry, and generally he was the least inclined to worry of any boy you could care to meet.
‘For a spin,’ said Nanny Piggins with a joyous glint in her eye.
The children had seen that glint before. Nanny Piggins always got it before she threw herself into one of her death-defying stunts, such as being fired out of a cannon, doing a backflip off the clothes line or returning a library book two days late.
‘Do you even know how to fly an aeroplane?’ asked Derrick.
‘I am the greatest flying pig in all the world,’ Nanny Piggins reminded him.
‘Yes, but the principles are rather different when you haven’t been blasted out of a cannon,’ argued Derrick.
‘Pish!’ said Nanny Piggins, and with that she opened the throttle, released the brake and the plane started to roll forward.
At this point the security guard from the museum started running towards them. (Now you might be wondering why he had not taken action sooner, such as when Nanny Piggins turned on the noisy diesel engine of their 95-year-old German tri-plane. Butyou have to understand that the security man was a little deaf and he had fallen asleep while lip-reading the curator’s incredibly boring talk on Victorian water pumps taking place in the next room.) But an elderly man with a heart condition was never going to run down Nanny Piggins in an aeroplane.
She shot down the full length of the hall (which was perfectly safe because the museum was so boring there were no members of the public for her to crash into) and then, just as Samantha hid her face in her jumper because she did not want to see Nanny Piggins slam into a brick wall, the plane took off. And as it lifted up into the air, the tri-plane transformed from a rickety old thing banging along the ground, into an elegant
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