‘Sorry, I—’
‘And stop interrupting,’ said Mr Bullerton. ‘Are you ready?’
‘Well—’ said Howard.
‘You don’t look anywhere near ready,’ said Mr Bullerton. ‘It starts at one you know. We must catch the eleven o’clock train or we won’t get there on time.’
‘There?’ asked Howard.
Mr Bullerton stared at Howard.
‘You can’t have forgotten. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.’
‘No,’ said Howard.
‘You have, haven’t you?’
‘Yes,’ said Howard.
Mr Bullerton went very red and stuck his face very close to Howard’s ear.
‘CONFERENCE!’ he shouted.
‘Wupf!’ said Howard, jumping.
‘CONFERENCE!
CONFERENCE!
CON. FER.
RENCE!’
‘Oh yes,’ said Howard. ‘Oh dear.’
‘How dare you oh dear?’ said Mr Bullerton.
‘It isn’t oh dear: it’s a Very Important event. In a Very Important place.’
‘Yes of course,’ said Howard, ‘I—’
‘And,’ continued Mr Bullerton, ‘it’s Very, Very Important that it goes extremely well. A lot of Very Important people are going to be there.’
‘Oh?’ said Howard. ‘Who?’
‘ME,’ said Mr Bullerton, ‘and I’ll be watching you, Howard
Armitage, so you’d better make sure you don’t mess anything up this time.’
‘I’ll try not to,’ said Howard.
‘You will if you know what’s good for you,’ said Mr Bullerton.
‘The only thing is…’ said Howard.
Mr Bullerton made a growling noise in his throat.
‘The only thing is, I haven’t made any arrangements for my dog. I’ll have to get him, and bring him.’
‘You most certainly won’t,’ said Mr Bullerton.
‘But I can’t leave Allen at home alone all night,’ said Howard. ‘I’m sure the organisers would understand.’
‘I am the organiser,’ said Mr Bullerton, ‘and I say no dogs are allowed. Especially not yours.’ He stomped out of the room and slammed the door.
Howard sat down with a groan and the Clumsies came out from under the desk.
‘What’s going on, Howard?’ asked Purvis. ‘What’s a conference?’
‘It’s a kind of large meeting,’ said Howard, ‘in a smart hotel by the sea. We’re supposed to go there by train this morning and stay overnight.’
Purvis and Mickey Thompson started squeaking and jumping about.
‘Now what?’ said Howard.
‘HURRAY!’ shouted Purvis.
‘WE’RE GOING ON HOLIDAY!’
‘No,’ began Howard, ‘it isn’t a—’
‘WE’RE GOING TO
THE SEASIDE!’ shouted Mickey Thompson.
‘No, not y—’ began Howard.
‘Oh I can’t wait, I can’t wait,’ said Mickey Thompson. ‘I’ve never been on holiday before.’
‘Quick, we’d better start packing,’ said Purvis, rummaging.
‘It’s just what you need, Howard. Look!’ He handed Howard Flossy Has Fun at the Sea.
‘Delightful,’ said Howard, ‘but listen, I’m afraid you can’t c—’
‘Howard,’ said Purvis, ‘hadn’t you better go and get Allen? We don’t want to miss the train.’
‘Well yes but how can I?’ said Howard. ‘You heard what Mr Bullerton said.’
The mice gazed up at Howard, and Howard gazed down at the mice.
‘We can’t go on holiday without Allen,’ said Purvis.
‘We can’t leave Allen behind,’ said Mickey Thompson.
‘No,’ sighed Howard. ‘You’re right. Of course we can’t.’
So the Clumsies began to pack and Howard set off to collect Allen. He walked up the long corridor to the lift and was just about to press the button when there was a booming voice behind him.
‘Hoy,’ said Mr Bullerton, advancing.
‘Quick,’ said Howard, pressing.
‘YOU!’ said Mr Bullerton, approaching.
‘QUICK!’ said Howard, j-a-b-b-i-n-g.
‘STOP!’ said Mr Bullerton, arriving.
‘PING!’ went the lift doors, opening and Howard rushed inside.
‘PING! PING! PING!’ went the lift doors closing and opening and closing again as Mr Bullerton grabbed hold of Howard and pulled him out.
‘And where do you think you’re going?’ said Mr Bullerton.
‘Well,’ said Howard, ‘I forgot to bring my overnight things, so I thought I’d better just pop home and—’
‘Oh no you don’t,’ said Mr Bullerton. ‘You’ll pop nowhere.’
‘But—’ began
