Alice Appleby and the Kirkham Bum Blasters

Chapter 1 Stargazing

The stars twinkled and winkled against the fabric of night. With not a cloud in the sky, the moon shone clear and bright.

A Hunters moon, according to Alice's Dad. It was the kind of night Lucky the cat stayed out until dawn.

Grandad looked up at the moon. "Can you see it?" He asked. "The craters and how wonderful and detailed everything looks? It's like you could reach out and touch it."

Alice peered through the lens of the telescope. "It's moving quite fast. I can only see an edge. It's out of focus."

"So it is," said Grandad, taking control of the telescope and adjusting it for Alice. After a short while, he handed it back. "The moon has to be fast; it's chasing the sun."

"Wow, I can see it now!" said Alice excitedly. "It's so clear I can see every crater, but there's almost no colour at all."

"That's right. It's just light and darkness. Each crater is where an asteroid has collided," said Grandad.

"Wow," said Alice, looking in wonder at the moon. "And it's all made of cheese?"

"Every bit of it," chuckled Grandad.

To Alice, it looked like a fine place for an adventure. Who wouldn't want to go somewhere with as much cheese as anyone could wish to eat? I wonder if they have a chocolate moon too, thought Alice.

Shortly after, the cold became too much for the two stargazers to bear. They retreated inside to warm themselves with mugs of hot chocolate by the fire. Then, to their beds they went, tucking themselves into their thick duvets and the safety of their dreams.

* * *

At the break of dawn, before anyone else was awake, Alice heard scratching from downstairs. She ventured down to the kitchen and opened the door, letting in Lucky the cat. A heavy dew hung from the plants and cobwebs. To Alice’s surprise, the telescope was still outside.

They must have forgotten to take it in with them the night before, thought Alice. Why don't I bring it in now? Slipping on her sparkling, pink wellies, she stepped out into the garden. She trod cautiously over the wet grass before reaching the old, wooden bench where the telescope had fallen on its side.

Without thinking, she put her eye to the lens of the telescope and peered in. At first, everything was blurry and out of focus. Feeling around and finding the adjustment wheels, she began twisting them until the telescope’s view came into focus. Instead of the starry sky like the night before, the telescope focused on a little house on a hill. To Alice’s surprise, she saw another telescope and a person peering straight back at her.

She was not prepared for this so early in the morning. Pulling back from the lens, she felt a tingle of fright prickle all over her body. She looked at the house in the distance, then peered back into the telescope. The person in the house on the hill was gone.

"Alice! You'll catch your death of cold!" came the telling voice of Mum. "Get back inside this instant!"

"But Mum, I just wanted to get the telescope," said Alice, doing her best to explain why she was out in the garden so early.

"Alice, leave it where it is and get inside. Grandad will get it later."

Alice did as her mum asked, hopping carefully back over the wet grass to the safety and warmth of the house. The telescope rescue would have to wait for Grandad.