The Secret of the Ginger Mice Read Online Free Page B

Mr. Grudge with his weeding, and he—”
    His sister kicked him under the table. “Alistair’s got ginger fur,” she said.
    Ebenezer nodded. “That’s right. And as you might have noticed, there are not a lot of other mice around here with ginger fur. In fact, it’s very rare—except in Gerander.”
    Alice’s eyes widened as comprehension dawned. “He’s ginger because he’s part Gerandan.”
    â€œAnd so are you,” her uncle nodded. “And you’re notjust part Gerandan either. Your mother was actually born in Gerander; she escaped across the border when she was just a few years older than you are now.”
    The mouths of the two young mice dropped open as they tried to imagine their gentle mother doing something as daring as escaping across a border.
    â€œHow come no one else in the family is ginger?” Alice wanted to know.
    â€œIt’s a recessive gene,” her aunt explained. “So a mouse born to one ginger parent and one brown parent will be more likely to have brown fur, because brown fur is the dominant gene.”
    â€œThat explains why Alistair looks so different, anyway,” said Alex. “I didn’t like to mention it, but—”
    â€œDidn’t like to mention it?” Alice snorted. “You’ve mentioned it every day of your life!”
    â€œHave I?” Alex looked genuinely puzzled.
    His sister crossed her arms and gave him a look. “ Help, help, there’s a fire ,” she squeaked, in what was clearly meant to be Alex’s voice. “ Oh, no there’s not—it’s only Alistair .”
    Alex reddened. “I’m just joking around,” he said lamely.
    â€œBut why has no one ever mentioned that Alistair is ginger because he’s Gerandan?” Alice wanted to know. “And why haven’t you ever mentioned it?”
    Ebenezer stroked his mustache thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose to most people around here what happened to Gerander is just part of history, and Sourian history at that, nothing to do with Shetlock. They might think Alistair looks funny, but they don’t really make the connection to Gerander. Out of sight, out of mind, perhaps.”
    â€œShetlockers don’t have much to be proud of when it comes to Gerander,” his wife agreed. “We may not have invaded Gerander ourselves, but we didn’t do anything to stop Souris. And after the first wave of refugees fled Gerander for Shetlock, our government did close the border at the request of the Sourians.”
    â€œAll that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good mice to do nothing,” said Ebenezer gravely. “As for why I never mentioned Gerander”—his tone hardened—“our family has sacrificed enough in the name of our homeland. I’m done with it.”
    â€œBut what about Alistair?” said Alice. “If his disappearance has something to do with Gerander, who will help us find him? Should we ask FIG?”
    â€œForget FIG,” said her uncle. “I have.” Alice was taken aback by the vehemence in Ebenezer’s voice. “After Rebus and Emmeline died I cut off all contact with them. I haven’t been in touch with FIG in four years; any messages go straight in the bin unopened.”
    â€œBut of course we have to do whatever it takes to find Alistair,” his wife reminded him gently.
    â€œAlistair . . .,” said Uncle Ebenezer with a sigh, and his mustache drooped sorrowfully. “The question is: Who has taken him—and where?”
    Beezer shrugged. “My guess is Sourian agents,” she said. “FIG’s number-one enemy is Queen Eugenia. In order to maintain control over Gerander, she has to stamp out any resistance. Though I don’t know why they’d bother snatching such a young mouse. Really, what danger does he pose? What kind of information is he likely to have?” She shook her head.