Read the book: «Paddington at Work»

Chapter One A BEAR AT SEA

PADDINGTON WOKE WITH a start and after blinking several times in order to accustom his eyes to the evening light, peered round the deck of the liner Karenia with a puzzled expression on his face.

If he hadn’t known it was quite impossible, for the ship was still over two days’ sailing-time away from England, let alone number thirty-two Windsor Gardens in London, he would have sworn he’d just heard his name being called, quite loudly, not only by Mr Brown, but by the rest of the family – Mrs Brown, Jonathan and Judy, not to mention Mrs Bird into the bargain.

Normally Paddington was rather keen on dreams. Some of the ones he’d had in the past had been very good value indeed, especially after one of Mrs Bird’s heavy suppers. But as he looked around the deserted deck of the great ship he began to decide that the one he’d just experienced seemed almost too real for his liking.

It was that time in the day when the half-light from the setting sun plays strange tricks with the shadows, and with most of the other passengers still below and not even so much as the friendly white coat of a steward anywhere in sight, Paddington almost wished he hadn’t partaken of a second helping of the suet pudding which the chef had prepared especially for him that evening.

Pausing only to dip one paw into a nearby jar of marmalade, he pulled his duffle coat hood more firmly over his head and then settled back again in the deck chair as he turned his attention to a large tin marked OSBORNE BISCUITS – PROPERTY OF P. BROWN ESQ. WANTED ON VOYAGE, which stood near by.

Paddington liked Osborne biscuits, especially when they were covered in a thick layer of marmalade chunks, and soon a steady munching sound broke the stillness of the evening air.

The journey to Darkest Peru in order to take part in his Aunt Lucy’s birthday celebrations at the Home for Retired Bears in Lima had been a long and enjoyable one, but all the same, now that he was nearing the end of the return voyage, Paddington was beginning to feel more and more excited at the prospect of seeing all his old friends once again, and after a moment’s thought he put this down as the cause of his unusually lifelike dream.

Gradually the combination of a large and most enjoyable dinner, the sea air, and the distant throb of the engines far below, all had a soothing effect. In no time at all he was fast asleep again, and not even the plonk of an Osborne biscuit as it slipped from his paw and rolled across the deck towards the scuppers served to waken him.

Paddington wasn’t quite sure when it happened, or how long it lasted, but suddenly he found himself in the middle of yet another dream and to his surprise it once again had to do with the Browns.

As a dream it was, if anything, even more vivid than the first one.

It all started when he dropped one of his biscuits at the top of a steep hill near Windsor Gardens. Instead of breaking or even falling over on its side, it landed edge downwards and immediately started rolling after him. Worse still, with every passing second it grew larger and larger, and as it grew larger so it rolled faster until in the end Paddington found himself running down the Portobello Road, in and out of all the market stalls, as fast as his legs would carry him.

All the time, although he couldn’t see them, he could distinctly hear the voices of the Brown family calling out his name.

And then the worst happened. One moment he was running along the road mopping his brow and glancing anxiously over his shoulder at the pursuing biscuit, the next moment it was just as if he had stepped into a great pool of treacle. The more he tried to move his legs, the more impossible it became, until quite suddenly he woke with a start and found himself sitting on the deck almost completely enveloped in his duffle coat.

As he struggled free, Paddington discovered to his surprise that not only had he got one of his paws stuck inside the jar of marmalade but that in his excitement he’d also knocked over the tin of biscuits and quite a number of them had rolled out on to the deck.

It was a large tin and it had been given to him by his Aunt Lucy as a parting gift just before he set sail on the return voyage to England. Even though he’d had to dip into it quite heavily on a number of occasions, there were still several layers left, and Paddington had no wish to lose any of them before the end of the journey so he spent the next few seconds hastily gathering up the remains.

It was as he picked up the last of the biscuits that he suddenly froze in his tracks and stared along the deck at a group of five very familiar figures who had suddenly appeared out of a patch of shadow near the stern.

Before he even had time to blink, the figures all began waving frantically and calling his name as they moved towards him in a body.

Pinching himself several times in order to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, Paddington looked wildly about the ship for somewhere to hide and then, hastily scooping the remains of the marmalade back into the jar with one paw, he replaced the lid on his tin of Osbornes with the other and disappeared through a nearby door as fast as his legs would carry him.

A few seconds later he emerged on the other side of the ship, took one last look along the deck in case he was still being pursued, and then paused before yet another door which had a red cross over the top and the words SHIP’S DOCTOR written in large red letters on the panelling.

Paddington was a brave bear at heart and when something out of the ordinary happened he was usually only too ready to investigate the matter on his own account, but the events of the past few minutes had been altogether too impossible to explain for his liking and he was anxious to seek a second opinion on the matter.

The Ship’s Doctor looked most surprised when the door opened and Paddington entered his cabin. “Have you got an appointment, bear?” he asked briskly.

Paddington placed his belongings on the floor and put a paw to his lips as he bent down to lock the door. Because of his fur it was a bit difficult for him to actually look as white as a sheet, but there was something about the end of his nose and the way he stood that caused the Doctor to jump up from his seat in alarm.

“Good gracious!” he exclaimed.”What on earth is the matter?”

Paddington crossed the cabin towards the Doctor and collapsed into a chair in front of the desk. “I don’t think it’s anything on earth,” he replied ominously, casting an anxious glance over his shoulder.

The Doctor sat down again and eyed Paddington nervously. “I must say,” he began, in an attempt at jollity, “you look rather as if you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“I have,” said Paddington, feeling a bit better now that he’d reached the safety of the well-lit cabin. “Five of them!”

“Five?” echoed the Doctor. “Dear me. I think perhaps you’d better tell me all about it.”

“Well,” began Paddington, taking a deep breath. “It happened soon after I was chased by an Osborne.”

“Soon after you were chased by a what?” exclaimed the Doctor.

“An Osborne biscuit,” repeated Paddington patiently.

The Doctor gave a nervous, rather high-pitched laugh. “You’re sure it wasn’t a Bath Oliver or a Garibaldi?” he asked.

Paddington gave him a hard stare. “It was an Osborne,” he said firmly as he held up his tin. “It says so on the label. My Aunt Lucy gave them to me. It fell out of the tin and then it chased me all the way down the Portobello Road.”

The Doctor looked at Paddington and then at the cabin door, almost as if he were measuring the distance. Although they’d passed quite close to each other several times on the voyage, it was the first time they’d actually spoken, and there was something about Paddington’s unwinking stare which was beginning to make him feel rather uneasy. “You were followed all down the Portobello Road by an Osborne biscuit?” he repeated casually.