He produced the key from a pocket. A moment later, Tess heard the groan of a rusty old lock. Hoggle turned back to them with one hand still resting on the door. His voice was almost a whisper as he said, “Are you ready, children?”
Tess heard Oliver and the twins whimper behind her. She was feeling more than a bit afraid herself at the thought of going into the old factory. But it was the only way to save the farm and the dear cows. And Tess had to be brave for the young ones. So she stood up straight and nodded firmly. “Yes,” she said. “We’re ready.”
Hoggle pulled down on the handle, which clicked this time. He pushed the double doors using both of his hands and they swung inwards on creaking hinges. Then he stepped aside, giving Tess and her siblings a perfect view of the large foyer in front of them.
CHAPTER 4Enter the Factory
The toy factory’s entrance was a large circular space. It had a wide spiral staircase twisting up to the floor above and a great crystal chandelier hanging from the centre of the ceiling. Everything was covered in a coat of dust ten centimetres thick, so it was hard to tell what colour things were supposed to be. It was grander than Tess had expected – more like a mansion than a toy factory. It was terribly dirty, but at least there was no blood or teddy-bear hearts lying around.
There were plenty of teddy bears on the walls, however. The entire room was decorated with wallpaper of bears having picnics. They were dressed like people, with lots of top hats and parasols, and Tess thought it was horrid.
“This is the main foyer,” Hoggle said as he led the way inside. “As you can see, it’s in a frightful mess, so the first thing I want you to do is get it cleaned up. I can’t make toys in a dirty factory … Well, what are you all standing outside for? Come in, come in!”
The children shuffled into the foyer reluctantly, their feet kicking up clouds of dust that made them sneeze.
“There is a map somewhere,” Hoggle said. He covered his nose with his hand and moved away from the dust storm. “It’s over here, I think. Ah, yes, here it is. Come and have a look.”
Tess and the others walked around to the wall behind the large reception desk.
“This is a map of the toy factory,” Hoggle said. Tess saw that there were rooms with labels such as “Teddy-Bear Room”, “Mermaid Room” and “Dolls’ Hair” on them. Hoggle pointed at the map with his blue glove. “It’s split into two floors, you see. We’re here in the room marked ‘Foyer’. And two corridors and the staircase lead off from it. The factory can be a bit confusing, so try to memorise this map if you can. I can’t be running around after you the whole time. I’ve far too much to do. And if you get lost in here, then we might never find you.”
Oliver gasped and Hoggle grinned. “I’m joking, of course,” Hoggle said. “We’d find you at some point, I expect. Now, there are buckets and mops and dusters and things in the cupboard over there. I want you to clean the factory until it is sparkling. Any questions?”
“When do we get paid?” Tess asked.
Hoggle glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Ah, an entrepreneur.”
“What’s an entrepreneur?” Tess asked. She was afraid that Hoggle might be insulting her.
“It means a bright, intelligent person who will go far in life and one day make their fortune,” Hoggle replied. “You will be paid at the front gates at six o’clock – when it is time for you to go home. Once I have inspected your work and seen that it has been done properly, I will give you your wages myself. And now I shall leave you to get to work and start earning that money.”
Hoggle turned and strode from the room, leaving deep footprints in the dust as he went. The children watched him go in glum silence.
“Well,” Tess said, trying to sound positive. “Let’s get to work.”
She led the way over to the cupboard Hoggle had pointed out. When she opened the door, a whole load of mops and brooms fell out on top of them. There were dusters and buckets at the bottom of the cupboard. Stacy squealed because there was a dead spider inside a bucket. Tess told her to not be so silly and throw the spider outside. “If we’re expected to clean the whole factory,” Tess said, “then there will probably be a lot more dead bugs to come.”
But worse than the dead spider was what they found in the last bucket – thirteen small knives, each about the size of a thumb.
“Teddy-bear daggers,” Niles whispered.
They all peered at the knives.
“Is there any blood on them?” Stacy asked.
“Don’t be daft,” Tess told her. “Teddy bears don’t bleed.”
“Why not?” Oliver said with eyes as big as saucers.
“Because,” Tess replied. “They haven’t got any blood. They’re just full of stuffing.”
“Oh. Well … what should we do with them, Tess?” Niles asked.
Tess thought for a moment. “Throw them out,” she said at last. “If Hoggle really is going to start making toys again, then we don’t want the new teddies getting any ideas.” Tess handed the tiny daggers over to Niles and said, “I saw a rubbish bin out in the yard. Go and put them in there. Oliver, you go with him.”
When the two boys came back in, Tess gathered the children close and said, “Now listen – never go anywhere on your own, OK? We move around the factory in pairs. If you need to go to the bathroom, take someone with you. Stay within sight of each other at all times – understand?”
The other children nodded with serious, nervous looks on their faces.
“Right,” Tess said, rolling
