He quite forgot that he was talking to children, and he spoke as if Larry and Daisy were as learned as himself. They began to feel very bored. When he turned to get another sheaf of old papers, Larry whispered to Daisy. "Go and see if you can find any of his shoes in the cupboard outside in the hall."
Daisy slipped out. Mr. Smellie didn't seem to notice
that she was gone. Larry thought he would hardly notice
if he, Larry, went too!
Daisy found the hall cupboard. She opened the door and went inside. It was full of boots, shoes3 goloshes, sticks and coats. Daisy hurriedly looked at the shoes. She turned up each pair. They seemed about the right size, but they hadn't rubber soles.
Then she turned up a pair that had rubber soles! How marvellous! Perhaps they were the very ones! She looked at the markings - but for the life of her she couldn't quite remember the markings in the drawing of the footprint. Were they or were they not just like the ones she was looking at?
"I'll have to compare them," thought the little girl at last. "I must take one shoe home with me and go down to see the footprint drawing. We shall soon see if they are the right ones."
She stuffed a shoe up the front of her jersey. It made a very funny lump, but she couldn't think where else to hide the shoe. She crept out of the hall cupboard - straight into Miss Miggle!
Miss Miggle was tremendously astonished to see Daisy coming out of the boot cupboard. "Whatever are you doing?" she asked. "Surely you are not playing hide-and-seek?"
"Well - not exactly" said Daisy, who didn't quite know what to say. Miss Miggle carried a tray of buns and milk into the study, where Mr. Smellie was still lecturing poor Larry. She put the tray down on the table. Daisy followed close behind her, hoping that no one would notice the enormous lump up her jersey.