“Where are we headed?” Fred asked.
“The library,” I replied. “It’s way at the end of the building. I would guess that’s where she’d be, anyway, with her … oops!”
“What’s that ‘oops’ mean, Rupert?” Fred asked. “I don’t like the sound of it.”
“I forgot,” I said. “Miss Switch may have her cat Bathsheba with her. She usually does.”
“C-C-C-Cat?” quavered Fred, his little beak chattering. “You never mentioned a cat.”
“I’m really sorry,” I said. “But honestly, I just didn’t think of it. Anyway, whose idea was it to come with me—insisted on it, actually?”
“I didn’t know there was a c-c-c-cat involved,” Fred said. “Your jacket doesn’t have a bird-sized pocket in it by any chance, does it?”
“Several that you’d fit right into,” I replied. “Are you ready to go in now? We’re just about there.”
“I kind of wanted to see this Miss Switch,” said Fred. “But maybe I’d better go into hiding until you see who’s with her. I can always come out later if it’s safe. But could I have an assist, please?”
I reached up, wrapped my fingers around him, and gently stuffed him into one of my pockets. “Do you want to be zipped in?” I asked.
“Not necessary just yet,” came the muffled voice from my pocket. “Hey, I really like it in here. Nice and cozy.”
“That’s good,” I said. I missed having him on my shoulder, but I had to respect his feelings about Bathsheba. In his position, my feelings would have been exactly the same.
At any rate, by now we had arrived at what I knew was the library. Its big, dark windows reached all around the end of the building. Its big, very dark windows. The reflection from the moon appeared on them, disappeared, then reappeared again as the clouds blew across it. I couldn’t help shuddering as I watched them.
“Courage, friend!” came Fred’s voice from my pocket.
“Thanks!” I said, my courage being in short supply at that moment.
But I remembered the last time I had seen what I’d thought was the moon’s reflection turned out to be the reflected light of a Bunsen burner inside my classroom, with Miss Switch hovering over it. I had no reason to think there would be a Bunsen burner in the library, but with Miss Switch you never knew. I needed a closer look. Reaching up and grabbing the windowsill, I hoisted myself up onto a ledge that ran around the building, and peered into the window. But except for some dim light from the moon, the library was dark. Pitch-dark. And empty.
“Anything there?” asked the voice in my pocket.
“Nothing that I’m looking for,” I replied, and dropped back to the ground. What a letdown! Not that I wanted anything really nasty to happen to Fred and me, but it seemed a real waste of time, getting all scared for nothing. “I guess it’s back to school tomorrow with eyes peeled,” I said. “Unless … unless …”
“Unless what?” asked Fred.
“Unless she might be someplace else!” I said excitedly. “And I’ve got an idea where—my classroom!”
I started to run. Well, it stood to reason, didn’t it? Wasn’t my classroom where Miss Switch and I had always met before? Of course, that used to be the fifth grade, and now I was in the sixth, but I was certain she would figure that out. I quickly found the Room Twelve windows, took a deep breath, and hoisted myself up.
“Here goes!” I said, and pressed my nose up against the glass.
And someone was there! Sitting at her desk with a small desk lamp on, marking papers. She must have heard me scrambling onto the ledge, because I had barely pressed my nose against the window, when she looked up. She jumped up and came toward the window. I was so startled, I couldn’t even manage a squeak. She unlatched the window and threw it up.
Oh no! It couldn’t be, I thought. But it was!
“M-M-M-M-Miss B-B-B-B-Blossom?” I croaked. I very nearly lost my grip on the windowsill and went sailing off the ledge backwards, with Fred and all. “E-E-E-Excuse me, but I was looking for s-s-s-some-one else,” I quavered, hoping stupidly that I would not be pressed for details.
“For goodness’ sake, Rupert, I am someone else,” Miss Blossom snapped. “Don’t you recognize me? I thought you knew who I was.”
“M-M-M-Miss S-S-S-Switch?” I stammered.
“No other,” said Miss Blossom. “And you’d better climb on in here before you fall and break your head. It would be a great loss to the scientific community if you did, you know.”
I scrambled speedily through the window. But I was still in a daze and had to hang on to the nearest desk to keep from keeling over.
As I was trying to steady myself, I saw Miss Blossom’s lips widen into a thin smile. “Didn’t recognize me, eh? Splendid!”
Uh-oh! I thought immediately. If this actually was some kind of crazy disguise, couldn’t it just as well be disguising Saturna as Miss Switch? Had I walked right into a trap? At any moment, could I find myself turned into a toad or a rat or just about anything? As for poor Fred hiding in my pocket, he could end up birdseed. And what could I do about it? Not much; I’d just have to try to bulldoze my way through, and somehow figure out how to make my escape.
“What’s so splendid about it, Miss Switch … or Miss Blossom … or …
