The Magician staggered after Gran’pa who had rolled clear to the bottom of the long flight of steps. The Magician in his anger did not see Johnny or the Chief of Detectives, who still sat in a daze part of the way down the steps, so as he passed them, Johnny stuck his foot out and tripped up the Magician.
Down the long flight of steps the Magician fell, his long arms and legs hitting the steps and his crooked stick flying high in the air as he turned over and over.
Johnny, though still dazed, got to his feet and started down the steps, hoping he could get the Magician’s crooked stick.
The Magician rolled to the bottom of the steps and he found Gran’ma there to meet him; for as soon as the others had started to run, they had released Gran’ma.
So Gran’ma waited until old Jingles had stopped rolling, then she rushed at him, and, catching his long nose in her hands, she gave it a tweak.
With one scream of pain, the Magician lay still, and as Johnny raised the crooked stick to bring it down upon Jingles’ head, Gran’ma stopped him.
“I said I’d tweak his nose,” Gran’ma cried, “and I’ll tweak it again just as soon as he awakens!”
Gran’pa sat up and looked around.
“Give me another sack of peanuts,” he said.
The Magician showed signs of awakening, so Gran’ma gave his long nose another tweak which made him lie still.