Nell: I’m down on our beach. Beefy footprints everywhere as usual. Any news?
Me: You’re not going to believe this.
Nell: Go on.
Me: Just now there was a knock on our door.
Nell: Did you open it?
Me: No, because we’re locked in.
Nell: Oh yes.
Me: I said, ‘I’m a famous author with a giant singing labrador and we are locked in. Could you open the door?’
Nell: Why all the extra information?
Me: I’m undercover, Nell. They replied, ‘Your room can only be locked from the inside, madam. Kindly open your balcony door and I’ll fly round and open it for you.’
Nell: Wait a minute. You locked yourselves in?
Me: The rooks told us to.
Nell: Good grief.
Me: Anyway, the next moment a Beefy flew in. And that isn’t even the strange part.
Nell: It isn’t?
Me: It had really heavy eyebrows.
Nell: Here we go.
Me: And it was smiling.
Nell: Have you been sampling the mini bar again?
Me: No. Guess what happened next.
Nell: I’d rather not.
Me: The eyebrows fell off and it was Henry and Horst.
Nell: Really?
Me: Yes. When Dave threw his hat in the air they activated their parachutes.
Nell: Their what?
Me: They always wear them when they are on manoeuvres. Anyway, they floated down and landed on a Beefy.
Nell: As one does.
Me: Now, unbeknownst to most.
Nell: Good word.
Me: Thank you. Henry and Horst are hypnotists. Learnt from their time with The Great Mutliano.
Nell: Of course.
Me: So they whispered in the Beefy’s ears and to cut a long story short it’s helping us escape.
Nell: Well, you’d better get a move on because Lionel King has just been spotted crossing to the island on the sea tractor.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
