انتقام کوتوله های حیاط فصل 23

Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes - Chapter 23

I bumped over the window frame and landed on my feet. A few seconds later, I heard Moose and Mindy slide in after me.

I squinted into the blackness that surrounded us. I couldn’t see a thing. I licked my dry lips and sniffed the air. A sharp smell, like vinegar, filled the hot, damp basement. Sweat, I thought. Gnome sweat.

I heard a low giggle from outside. Chip and Hap hurtled over the window ledge and thudded to the floor.

“Hey, guys—” I whispered.

But they scampered off into the darkness.

“What’s going on here?” Moose demanded.

“We’ve got to find the light switch,” Mindy whispered.

But before we could move, the ceiling lights all flashed on. I blinked in the sudden blaze of brightness.

And then gasped as I stared across the vast basement—at a sea of lawn gnomes!

Not six! Six hundred! Row after row of them, jammed against each other, staring at the three of us.

“Whoa!” Moose cried. “It’s a mob!”

“Hap and Chip lied to us!” I cried.

Their shirts were different colors. But the lawn gnomes all looked exactly alike. They all wore pointed caps and black belts. They all had staring red eyes, wide noses, grinning lips, and large pointy ears.

I was so startled to see so many of the ugly creatures, it took me a while to spot Hap and Chip. Finally, I saw them at the side of the room.

Hap clapped his hands three times.

And three more times. Short, sharp claps that echoed off the basement walls.

And then the crowd of gnomes came to life, stretching and bending, grinning and giggling, chattering in shrill, excited voices.

Mindy grabbed my arm. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

I could barely hear her over the chattering, giggling mob of gnomes. I glanced up at the basement window. It suddenly seemed so high, so far away.

When I turned back, Hap and Chip had moved in front of us. They clapped their hands for attention.

The hundreds of gnomes instantly fell silent.

“We have brought the young humans!” Hap announced, grinning happily.

“We have kept our promise!” Chip declared.

Giggles and cheering.

And then, to my horror, the gnomes began moving forward. Their eyes flashed excitedly. They reached out their stubby arms toward us. The pointed hats bobbed and slid forward, like sharks on the attack.

Mindy, Moose, and I backed up. Backed up to the wall.

The gnomes crowded up against us. Their little hands plucked at my clothes, slapped my face, pulled my hair.

“Stop!” I shrieked. “Get back! Get back!”

“We came to help you!” I heard Mindy scream. “Please—we came to help you escape!” Loud giggling.

“But we don’t want to escape!” a grinning gnome declared. “Now that you’re here, it’s going to be so much fun!”