Rotten Luck! Read Free Page A

knights were as brave and fearless as you!”

    Sir Roland gave a little snort of laughter. Unfortunately the king heard him.
    “What’s so funny, Sir Roland?” he frowned.
    “ You , sire!” said Sir Roland. “I mean no, er, I—”
    “ Me? ” snapped the king.
    “No-no-no, sire,” mumbled Sir Roland, blushing. “What I meant was I-I-I—”
    “So you think I’m here to amuse you, do you, Sir Roland?” said the king. “Like some kind of jester , eh?”
    Sir Percy was biting his lip to stop himself laughing. He was clearly enjoying watching Sir Roland squirm.
    “Well, Sir Roland, unlike Master Patchcoat here I don’t enjoy being laughed at,” said the king. “ You can jolly well stay behind and guard the castle!”
    The king strode off to join the queen at the head of the hunting party. For a moment Sir Roland stood there gawping. Then, with a furious look at Sir Percy, he stomped back to the castle.
    “We’ll get you for this, Fatbottom,”hissed Walter. “That’s if the Ghost of Grimwood doesn’t get you first!”

    We followed the royal hunting party out of the castle. Sir Percy, whistling merrily, led the way on Prancelot while Patchcoat and I rode on Gristle.
    “The king’s got a point,” said Patchcoat. “Even if we’re quiet and stealthy like Sir Percy says, does he seriously reckon the three of us can capture the Ghost and his band? They’re bound to put up a fight, aren’t they?”
    “I know,” I said with a shiver. “Sir Percy’s being very jolly, considering.”
    “A bit too jolly, if you ask me, Ced.”
    Uh-oh . Was my master up to something?
    As we passed through the town gates, I noticed a couple of peasants at the side of the road – a short stocky man with a staff, and a tall skinny youth with a bow. I could have sworn that the stocky one gave the youth a nudge and a nod in our direction. A little further up the road I glanced round to see the two peasants walking behind us. I thought of mentioning it to Patchcoat, but the next time I looked they had both disappeared.
    We were just at the point where the main road entered the forest.
    “Right, this path should do nicely,” said Sir Percy, veering on to a rough track. “Follow me, chaps!”
    I watched the hunting party carry on along the road without us.
    “Um – are you sure this is the best way, Sir Percy?” I said, pointing to a signpost half hidden by bushes.

    No wonder those two peasants had stopped following us.
    “No need to worry, dear boy!” said Sir Percy. “We won’t go far into the forest. We’ll just trot along this path for a while until we find some charming little glade among the trees. Then we’ll have our picnic and maybe a snooze in the sun for a few hours before trotting back to the castle in good time for supper.”
    “But – but what about tracking down the Ghost, Sir Percy?” I said.
    “Oh, that ,” said my master breezily. “Well, we’ll keep an eye out for the fellow, of course. But let’s be realistic, Cedric. The forest stretches for miles. Do you seriouslythink we have a chance of bumping into anyone , let alone the Ghost? His Majesty won’t be at all surprised if we don’t find the Ghost. So we might as well relax and enjoy our little jaunt, eh?”
    So that was it! Sir Percy had no intention whatsoever of tracking down the Ghost. No wonder he was cheerful. And no wonder he didn’t want any of the king’s soldiers coming with us!
    Patchcoat gave me a wry grin. “Oh well,” he said, as we headed down the track. “At least it means we won’t actually have to fight the Ghost and his gang.”
    “That’s true,” I said. “But it also means I’ve missed out on the hunt. I might finally have had a go with a bow and arrow!”
    We followed Sir Percy as he looked for a spot to stop for a picnic. But as we got deeper into the forest, the trees started to grow closer and closer together.
    “Bother!” said Sir Percy. “There must be a clearing somewhere. We’ll just have to