CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Geppetto’s Notebook

After hours, the arcade had a totally different atmosphere. The group—now joined by the other members of the Resistance—walked through it as though in a tomb. A few of the gaslights had been left on casting dancing shadows on the stone. Security grilles were pulled down over the shops’ windows. The only sound was the sharp tapping of their footsteps on the tiled floor, until they were interrupted by rhythmic marching and the beating of toy drums. They retreated behind some decorative carts and watched as a small procession of baton-wielding golliwogs appeared. The golliwogs threw their shoulders back, swelled their chests and lifted their knees ridiculously high as they marched. They wore khaki uniforms and military caps with badges. The leader of the procession was tank-like and had a thuggish expression. Milli knew at once that these weren’t original Von Gob toys—their glinting eyes and scowling mouths cut from brilliant red felt told her so. These golliwogs had been altered somehow to become a menacing regiment.

Up until now, the children had only heard about a ‘round-up’; now they saw the Golly Police executing one. Moving methodically, the gollies unlocked doors and cabinets and randomly withdrew toys, which they then threw unceremoniously into a laundry cart as if they were nothing more than soiled towels. The toys’ limbs jutted out at uncomfortable angles as they were piled on top of one another. Then the drum beat started up again and the patrol moved off around a corner.

‘Who were they?’ the children asked, horrified by the gollies’ callous treatment of their fellow toys.

‘The Golly Police,’ Fritz said. ‘Bred to patrol, a service which, I’m told, gains them certain privileges.’

‘Traitors!’ whispered Loyal angrily, but Fritz gave a dismissive shrug.

‘I suspect corruption has been beyond their control,’ he said.

Outside, the children and their toy friends studied the giant stone replica of Gustav Von Gobstopper. They circled, kicked and prodded the immovable stone. It divulged no answers.

‘Could there be a password?’ agonised Fritz.

No one replied; they all felt as if they had reached an impasse. Their plan to find the toymaker before the doctor did and take him to the safety of the toys’ secret headquarters was about to be foiled. What could they do now? In half an hour or so, Dr Savage would come for Von Gobstopper and deliver him to Tempest Anomali. There was no way they could prevent this without access to wherever it was Von Gobstopper was being held.

They decided to position themselves strategically behind some shrubbery and wait. They figured that once the doctor arrived, a plan might present itself.

They didn’t have to wait long. Dr Savage appeared wearing a crumpled suit. He walked purposefully to the colossal statue of the toymaker, stopped in front of it and pulled himself, with some exertion, up onto its base. He rummaged for something in his pockets, and cursed under his breath when he did not immediately find it. Then, from his breast pocket, he withdrew something very small that Ernest thought might be an allen key. They watched him fit it smoothly between a gap in the statue’s stone fingers. After some seconds there was a sound like a roll of thunder and the seated statue began to vibrate and then rotated on its base until it was facing the opposite direction. Dr Savage stepped into the exposed opening and disappeared.

Who would have thought that the toymaker was being held prisoner beneath the very statue that celebrated his genius? Wild possibilities raced through the children’s minds. Perhaps, once Von Gobstopper emerged, they could distract the doctor and make a run for it. Perhaps together they would be strong enough to tackle him to the ground whilst Pascal guided Von Gobstopper to safety? Whatever they did, they would be giving themselves away and an extensive search for them would surely follow.

Whilst they ruminated on these possibilities, something totally unexpected happened. Without so much as a warning, Captain Pluck charged towards the monument with his rifle cocked. Upon reaching the opening, he let off a round of shots, which still managed to create a loud cracking sound even though it was only a toy weapon.

‘Up here, good doctor!’Pluck shouted, despite gesticulations from his companions urging him to turn back.

Dr Savage’s face emerged from the hole looking stunned. He looked around for the speaker, then spotted the wooden soldier.

‘Come and get me, you bumbling coward,’ jeered Captain Pluck.

It took the doctor several moments to get his bearings and realise who was speaking to him. Captain Pluck had been constructed from forty separate pieces of shellacked and painted timber, but was remarkably nimble as he darted between the rose bushes. The doctor stumbled clumsily after the retreating figure of the toy soldier wearing an inspired expression as though he had just made the discovery of the century.

Theo reassured the others that Captain Pluck could take care of himself. The doctor, on the other hand, would be out of breath from pursuing him in just a few minutes. The group descended a steep staircase into a crypt-like room, where they found a fragile old man sitting in a rocking chair with his hands and feet bound. Milli and Ernest recognised him instantly—this was a face that had become familiar all around the globe.

‘Uncle!’ Fritz cried out, distressed to see the toymaker in such a state. He took Von Gobstopper’s papery hand and peered at him.

The sound of his nephew’s voice seemed to stir Von Gobstopper out of his stupor. ‘Fritz?’ he asked. His voice was like sandpaper, scratchy from lack of use. ‘What are you doing here? How did you find me?’

‘I’ve been here all the time,’ answered Fritz. ‘I just didn’t know where you were. I’m sorry I couldn’t come for you sooner.’

‘How could you have known? They did a good job hiding me.’

Loyal coughed and Fritz nodded as he caught the rocking horse’s eye. There would be time for explanations later, when they had reached the safety of the Resistance’s underground headquarters.

Ernest and Theo supported Von Gobstopper’s frail frame like a puppet as Fritz untied his bonds. They all made for the stairs. The toymaker, although dazed, realised their intentions and allowed himself to be directed. He looked as if he’d woken from a prolonged sleep.

When they reached the hideaway, Fritz settled his uncle into a chair. Milli and Earnest were now able to study the toymaker properly. Gustav Von Gobstopper had attained a Rastafarian look from months of neglect. He certainly looked different from the publicity portraits they had seen of him. His face was unshaven and his thin hair unkempt. His body looked as small and shrunken as a balloon after a party. His shoulders sagged and there were dark circles under his eyes. His corduroy trousers were dusty and the green vest patterned with woolly bunnies was frayed at the edges. But despite the overwhelming sense of weariness he conveyed, his blue eyes still held a sparkle.

‘Are you all right?’ Fritz asked. ‘Did they mistreat you?’

‘I am fine, just a little stiff, that’s all. I was foolish, my boy, allowing myself to be duped like this.’

‘Are you aware, Uncle, that terrible things are happening in the arcade?’ Fritz said gently, not wishing to alarm the toymaker but not wanting to conceal the truth from him either.

‘Hush, Fritz,’ Von Gobstopper said. ‘I know what is going on in my arcade. Who have you brought with you?’ He took off his dusty spectacles and rubbed them on his trouser leg before putting them back on. ‘Loyal!’ he exclaimed in gleeful recognition. ‘And the valiant Theo! You here too, my little Pascal—but how unhappy you look. It is so comforting to see you all again. Come closer and let me see that you are unharmed.’

In the reunion that followed, the toys behaved much like children and Von Gobstopper like a doting parent. It made Milli and Ernest think of their own parents and how worried they must be by now. They also felt a surge of guilt for having lied, even if their intentions had been good.

‘And I see you have found friends to lend a hand,’ the toymaker said, turning his attention to the children.

‘I could not have done it without them,’ acknowledged Fritz. ‘Uncle, meet Milli Klompet and Ernest Perriclof.’

‘Ah,’ Von Gobstopper smiled in recognition. ‘I know those names. These are the two that led the other children to safety. I have heard much about you both. I extend my thanks to you, Milli and Ernest,’ the toymaker said, shaking their hands with a formal solemnity.

Although Von Gobstopper had just escaped real danger, he didn’t seem particularly flustered by it, Ernest thought.

‘I can see that you are all wondering what is going on,’ the old man said. ‘It is a long story but I am happy to tell you the abridged version, should you be willing to hear it.’

Everyone nodded, curious to hear what he had to say.

‘Well,’ he gave a heavy sigh, ‘it all began a long time ago in a small village where an accomplished carpenter carved a puppet from a block of pine. The man’s name was Geppetto and his loneliness was great. His dearest wish was for a boy to call his own, and his wish was unexpectedly granted by a Blue Fairy, who gave the puppet life and assigned a cricket to act as the puppet’s guardian and conscience. The puppet was named Pinocchio and Geppetto loved him as if he were his own flesh and blood. But Pinocchio was constantly being lured into trouble and caused Geppetto only strife. All the boy wanted was to prove his worth, and he was finally able to do so one day when he rescued his creator from the belly of a monstrous whale. It was only then that the Blue Fairy turned Pinocchio into a real boy.’

‘It’s a beautiful story,’ Milli said. ‘But what does it have to do with the arcade?’

‘Ah,’ said Von Gobstopper, ‘I have something my kidnappers desperately want. Geppetto kept a notebook in which he recorded all of his inventions, as well as the spell to summon the Blue Fairy. Her power to bring toys to life would prove invaluable to our enemy. They only keep me here in the hope that I will reveal its whereabouts.’

‘Do you know the spell to summon the Blue Fairy?’ Milli breathed.

Von Gobstopper smiled. ‘I do.’

‘And the notebook?’ Ernest asked.

‘That will never be found,’ Von Gobstopper said decisively.

‘But, Mr Von Gobstopper, they won’t stop until they do find it,’ warned Ernest.

‘They can try as much as they like, but the book no longer exists. I decided to burn it after reading its contents.’

‘Why did you do that, Uncle?’ asked Fritz. ‘Isn’t the knowledge it contained now lost forever?’

‘Ah,’ mused Von Gobstopper, ‘I am of the opinion, dear boy, that too much knowledge can be a dangerous thing. But do not fear—the knowledge is safely stored in this old brain. When the time is right it will be passed on to you, Fritz, for safe keeping.’