The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

table, and a towel rail, but it stayed upright. Dolly, cart and all, sped out of sight, still screaming.
    The table thundered on and hit the Post Office wall like a battering ram. It went in among the bricks as if the bricks weighed nothing and plowed on, deep into the raised lawn behind the wall. There it stopped.
    When the shaken bed carriers trotted up to the wreckage, Aunt Joy was standing above them on the ruins, with her arms folded ominously.
    â€œYou’ve done it now, haven’t you, you horrible old woman?” she said, glaring down at Gammer’s smug face. “Making everyone carry you around like this—you ought to be ashamed! Can you pay for all this? Can you? I don’t see why I should have to.”
    â€œAbracadabra,” Gammer said. “Rhubarb.”
    â€œThat’s right. Pretend to be balmy,” said Aunt Joy. “And everyone will back you up, like they always do. If it was me, I’d dump you in the duck pond. Curse you, you old—!”
    â€œThat’s enough, Joy!” Dad commanded. “You’ve every right to be annoyed, and we’ll pay for the wall when we sell the house, but no cursing, please.”
    â€œWell, get this table out of here at least,” Aunt Joy said. She turned her back and stalked away into the Post Office.
    Everyone looked at the vast table, half buried in rubble and earth. “Should we take it down to the Dell?” a cousin asked doubtfully.
    â€œHow do you want it when it’s there?” Uncle Charles asked. “Half outside in the duck pond, oron one end sticking up through the roof? That house is small . And they say this table was built inside Woods House. It couldn’t have gotten in any other way.”
    â€œIn that case,” asked Great-Aunt Sue, “how did it get out ?”
    Dad and the other uncles exchanged alarmed looks. The bed dipped as Uncle Simeon dropped his part of it and raced off up the hill to see if Woods House was still standing. Marianne was fairly sure that Gammer grinned.
    â€œLet’s get on,” Dad said.
    They arrived at the Dell to find Dolly, still harnessed to the cart, standing in the duck pond shaking all over, while angry ducks honked at her from the bank. Uncle Richard, who was Dolly’s adoring friend, dropped his part of the bed and galloped into the water to comfort her. Aunt Dinah, Mum, Nicola, Joe, and a crowd of other people rushed anxiously out of the little house to meet the rest of them.
    Everyone gratefully lowered the bed to the grass. As soon as it was down, Gammer sat up and held a queenly hand out to Aunt Dinah. “Welcome,” she said, “to your humble abode.And a cup of hot marmalade would be very welcome too.”
    â€œCome inside then, dear,” Aunt Dinah said. “We’ve got your tea all ready for you.” She took hold of Gammer’s arm and, briskly and kindly, led Gammer away indoors.
    â€œLord!” said someone. “Did you know it’s four o’clock already?”
    â€œTable?” suggested Uncle Charles. Marianne could tell he was anxious not to annoy Aunt Joy any further.
    â€œIn one moment,” Dad said. He stood staring at the little house, breathing heavily. Marianne could feel him building something around it in the same slow, careful way he made his furniture.
    â€œDear me,” said the Reverend Pinhoe. “Strong measures, Harry.”
    Mum said, “You’ve stopped her from ever coming outside. Are you sure that’s necessary?”
    â€œYes,” said Dad. “She’ll be out of here as soon as my back’s turned, otherwise. And you all know what she can do when she’s riled. We got her here, and here she’ll stay—I’ve made sure of that. Now let’s take that dratted table back.”
    They went back in a crowd to the Post Office,where everyone exclaimed at the damage. Joe said, “I wish I’d seen that