Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness! Read online

  “Erwin,” growled Erwin Hornheaver. “My name is Erwin, lad, and I think I’ve got both.”

  This was Tom’s plan: Hugo was to play with the COCOT until the trap — oops, what a shame! — released itself, whereupon he was to throw it out the window in horror. There, Tom would already be waiting with the full sprinkler and would bombard the NEPGA with baking powder and scouring sand as soon as it freed itself from the trap.

  “I just hope Hugo doesn’t mess it all up!” whispered Tom as he and Hetty Hyssop stood below in the foggy street. The white haze was so thick by now that Tom could hardly make out their bedroom window. He himself was barely visible, either. He was wearing what’s known in ghosthunting circles as a GHOSID (GHOst-SImulation Disguise): pale, moldy green overalls with a hood and gloves of the same color; and his face was covered in almost a pound of makeup that went by the name of “Ghostly Pallor.” On top of that, he was surrounded by a faint smell of cellars, as the smaller, harmless ghosts often are. Tom, unfortunately, hadn’t been able to change anything about his body temperature, but it was entirely possible for some ghosts to radiate something very similar to human warmth.

  There was just one more problem, and it worried Hetty Hyssop more than anything else: Tom needed to wear the goggles to protect himself from being looked at by the Ghost of Death — but he was supposed to be disguised as a ghost, and no real ghost would wear such a thing. Tom, however, promised to have them always on hand and to put them on as soon as he and Hugo were on their way back. Thankfully, his normal glasses wouldn’t give him away.

  Wearing glasses is not unusual in the ghostly world.

  Tom pulled the moldy green hood down even more tightly over his forehead. The village, devoid of humans, was ghostly silent; only the stones were still moaning and the mud gurgling — and Hugo’s voice resounded clearly down to them through the milky darkness.

  “Soooooo, it’s maaaaaaking yoooooou dizzzzzy, yoooooooou shaaaaady character, is it?” Tom could hear him howling. “Cooooooome on. What’s it liiiiiiike in there, my liiiiittle gooooooldfish?”

  “Ten more seconds,” whispered Hetty Hyssop, not taking her eyes off her illuminated wristwatch. “Nine, eight, seven…”

  “Yoooooou’ll loooooook great in the muuuuuuuseum for captuuuuured ghooooosts!” breathed Hugo. “A reeeeeeal jewel in oooooour coooooollection.”

  “Three!” whispered Hetty Hyssop. “Two, one, and — zero!”

  Holding their breath, they looked up at the fog-shrouded window. “Come on, Hugo!” whispered Tom, holding the full sprinkler. At that very moment, it happened.

  The COCOT flew through the air… and landed in a lake of mud.

  “Curses!” hissed Tom. “It’s sinking. What now?”

  But the NEPGA was already arising from the mud. Dripping, it raised itself from the swamp like the shadow of a dark dream.

  This was Tom’s moment. With one leap, he bounded into the street, sank up to his knees in the brown goo — and raised the sprinkler.

  “Yoooooou!” breathed the NEPGA, floating threateningly over to him. “Yooooooou dared…”

  “Not one foot farther!” cried Tom, sprinkling Erwin Hornheaver’s entire supply of baking powder and scouring sand onto its dark body. The NEPGA coughed and tried with smoky gray fingers to wipe the burning powder off its body, but Tom knew it wouldn’t succeed. With an angry screech the ghost flew up into the sky — and disappeared into the swirling fog.

  “Hugo!” cried Tom, casting aside the empty sprinkler. “Hugo, where are you?”

  But the ASG was already floating out the window.

  He was barely visible in the fog. With icy fingers, he lifted Tom up onto his shoulders.

  “Don’t take any risks, Tom!” cried Hetty Hyssop. “Remember the Thirteenth Messenger and don’t, whatever you do, try to fight the Zargoroth on your own!”

  But Tom and Hugo had already been swallowed up by the fog.

  ALSO BY CORNELIA FUNKE

  DRAGON RIDER

  THE THIEF LORD

  INKHEART

  INKSPELL

  WHEN SANTA

  FELL To EARTH

  GHOSTHUNTERS

  and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost!

  GHOSTHUNTERS

  and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost!

  About the Author

  CORNELIA FUNKE is the author of the bestselling novels Dragon Rider, The Thief Lord, Inkheart, and Inkspell. She lives in Los Angeles, California.

  Copyright

  First published in Germany as Gespensterjäger in der Gruselburg by Loewe Verlag

  Original text copyright © 1995 by Loewe Verlag

  English translation by Helena Ragg-Kirkby copyright © 2007 by Cornelia Funke

  Interior illustrations copyright © 2007 by Cornelia Funke

  Cover art © 2007 by Guy Francis

  Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi and Leyah Jensen

  Published in the United Kingdom in 2007 by The Chicken House,

  2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1DS.

  www.doublecluck.com

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920, by arrangement with The Chicken House. SCHOLASTIC, THE CHICKEN HOUSE, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

  First Scholastic paperback printing, January 2007

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  eISBN: 978-0-545-40602-4