Дом ста дорог

[722] "What is it now?" Charmain said to him, and seriously wondered whether to pick Rollo up too and throw him into the hydrangeas. Rollo was small enough to hurl beautifully, even when she had one arm wrapped round Waif.

[723] "Them flowerheads you got all over that outside table," Rollo said. "You expect me to stick them back on, or something?"

[724] "No, of course not," Charmain said. "They're drying in the sun. Then I'll have them in the house."

[725] "Huh!" said Rollo. "Prettifying in there, are you? How do you think the wizard'll like that?"

[726] "None of your business," Charmain said haughtily, and strode forward so that Rollo was forced to hop out of her way.

He shouted something after her as she was opening the front door, but she did not bother to listen. She knew it was rude. She slammed the door shut on his yells.

[727] Indoors, the smell of the living room was more than musty. It was like a stagnant pond. Charmain put Waif on the floor and sniffed suspiciously. So did Waif. Long brown fingers of something were oozing under the door to the kitchen. Waif tiptoed up to them warily. Charmain, equally warily, put out her toe and prodded the nearest brown trickle. It squished like a marsh.

[728] "Oh, what has Peter done now?" Charmain exclaimed. She flung the door open.

[729] Two inches of water rippled all over the kitchen floor. Charmain could see it seeping darkly up the six bags of laundry beside the sink.

[730] "Doh!" she cried out, slammed the door shut, opened it again, and turned left.

[731] The corridor there was awash. Sunlight from the end window flared on the water in a way that suggested a strong current coming from the bathroom. Angrily, Charmain splashed her way there. All I wanted to do was sit down and read a book! she thought, and I come home to a flood!

[732] As she reached the bathroom, with Waif paddling unhappily after her, its door opened and Peter shot out of it, damp down his front and looking thoroughly harassed. He had no shoes on and his trousers were rolled up to his knees.

[733] "Oh good, you're back," he said, before Charmain could speak. "There's this hole in one of the pipes in here. I've tried six different spells to stop it, but all they do is make it move about. I was just going to turn the water off at that woolly tank through there—or try to anyway—but perhaps you could do something instead."

[734] "Woolly tank?" Charmain said. "Oh, you mean that thing covered in blue fur. What makes you think that will do any good? Everywhere's flooded!"

[735] "It's the only thing I haven't tried," Peter snarled at her. "The water has to come from there somehow. You can hear it trickling. I thought I might find a stopcock—"

[736] "Oh, you're useless!" Charmain snarled back. "Let me have a look." She pushed Peter aside and flounced into the bathroom, raising a sheet of water as she went.

[737] There was indeed a hole. One of the pipes between the washbasin and the bath had a lengthwise slit in it, and water was spraying out of it in a merry fountain. Here and there along the pipe were gray magical-looking blobs which must have been Peter's six useless spells. And this is all his fault! she snarled to herself. He was the one who made the pipes red hot. Oh, honestly!

[738] She rushed at the spraying slit and angrily planted both hands on it. "Stop this!" she commanded. Water sprayed out round her hands and into her face. "Stop it at once!"

[739] All that happened was that the slit moved sideways from under her fingers for about six inches and sprayed water over her pigtail and her right shoulder. Charmain scooped her hands along to cover it again. "Stop that! Stop it!"

The slit moved off sideways again.

[740] "So that's how you want it, is it?" Charmain said to it, and scooped some more. The slit moved off. She followed it with her hands. In a moment or so she had it cornered above the bath and the water spraying harmlessly into the bath and running away down the plughole. She kept it there, by leaning on the pipe with one hand, while she thought what next to do. I wonder Peter didn't think of this, she thought in a sort of mutter, instead of running about casting useless spells. "Great-Uncle William," she called out, "how do I stop the bathroom pipe leaking?"

[741] There was no answer. This was obviously not something Great-Uncle William thought Charmain would need to know.

[742] "I don't think he knows much about plumbing," Peter said from the doorway. "There's nothing useful in the suitcase either. I had it all out to see."

[743] "Oh, did you?" Charmain said nastily.

[744] "Yes, some of the stuff in there is really interesting," Peter said. "I'll show you if you—"

[745] "Be quiet and let me think!" Charmain snapped at him.