Every year, in the summer time, there’s a big race right across town. It’s called the Horsmarlonerpool Hurry.
The starting point is Merrytime Stream, near to Mr Harry’s watermill, and the race goes right along the River Gurgleglug, over the Bridge of Spires, then through the Old Town and finishes on the largest road in the New Town - Noble Plaza.
The interesting thing about the Horsmarlonerpool Hurry is that there isn’t a set course. You can go anyway you want in theory, so long as you don’t use a bike or a car. But you see the shortest distance from Merrytime Stream to the New Town is along the river Gurgleglug, then over the Bridge of Spires, and through the Old Town into the New Town. Any other way would take longer. So that’s just the route that people take - although if you liked, you could go any which-way you pleased.
The other interesting thing about the Hurry (oh, The Hurry is what the locals call it) is that for the past seven years there has always been the same winner: Pebbles and Crater - the two only really naughty people in town.
And that was a mystery, because Pebbles and Crater aren’t very fit. They never do any exercise, unless you count creeping around and getting up to no good as exercise, and so nobody could understand how they do it. But because there was no evidence of them having cheated or anything of that sort, they always won the Devonroe Cup, and the prize that came with it: Free sweeties for a month from Mister Bibbin’s shop.
So this year, Georgie and her cousin Sophie had made a plan. They had got as fit as possible by practicing their running every single day for a whole month. And they were going to wait at the start line behind Pebbles and Crater and then secretly follow them wherever they went to see how they did it. If the naughty Pebbles and Crater were cheating, then Sophie and Georgie were going to be detectives and solve it.
On the morning of the Hurry, about two hundred contestants - some in running clothes and others in wonderful fancy dress - gathered at Mr Harry’s watermill by Merrytime Stream. Sophie and Georgie spotted Pebbles and Crater loitering just behind the other runners. Mayor Dubbin rang his bell to start the race, and everyone set off.
Pebbles and Crater weren’t even trying to be close to the front. There were already at least a hundred racers in front of them, but none the less Georgie and Sophie stayed a few meters behind them, watching their every move.
As the runners came to the river and turned right along its south bank towards the town, Pebbles and Crater (with Georgie and Sophie secretly keeping pace a few meters behind), left the path and climbed over a fence into a field. Well, this was odd. This was not the way to town, and not the way to win the race. Sophie and Georgie followed, and saw them pull up a rusty old metal cover in the corner of the field and climb down into it.
“What could they be doing?” asked Georgie.
“Let’s find out,” said Sophie. And after Pebbles and Crater had disappeared into the hole they crept up and looked down it. It was dark, and they could make out a ladder, but - Oh the PONG! It was the worst smell they’d ever smelt! It smelt of rotting Brussel sprouts and cabbage covered in maggots.
Sophie went first, before Georgie followed her down the ladder and they found themselves in… a sewer pipe.
This must be the main sewer to Horsmarlonerpool because it looked more like a river than drain, and on the wall they spotted a lantern on a hook. It still had power in the battery, and so turning it on they saw that they were in a brick room, with the sewer river running right through it, and an old boat moored up at their feet. Then, they heard a CACKLE of a laughter from down the sewer tunnel. It was Pebbles: “We’re going to win again!” she laughed.
“They must have taken a boat!” said Sophie. “They must be using the sewers to get to the New Town as quickly as possible!”
“Then let’s follow them!” said Sophie, jumping into the second boat.
Georgie nodded. “Let’s not just follow them. Let’s BEAT them!”
Once they were both in, they untied the boat and floated along the disgusting muck into the small round tunnel that led off from the brick room. Georgie found an oar at the bottom of the boat, and used it to push against the walls, as Sophie sat at the front and held out the lantern to try and see where they were going. Soon, there was a junction - with one smelly sewer pipe going off the to he left, and another smelly sewer pipe going off to the right.
“Which way?,” asked Georgie.
“Just guess!” said Sophie. And they glided down the left tunnel.
But now they couldn’t hear Pebbles and Crater up ahead. They couldn’t hear anything except the squelches and pops and bubbles their boat made as it sloshed through all the ooze of the sewer.
They were lost. It was dark, and smelly, and there were no signs on the wall because nobody in their right minds ever came down here. Only Pebbles and Crater would know the way, and they must be miles up ahead by now.
Sophie and Georgie began to panic when a big, deep voice said “Hello Sophie, Hello Georgie.”
Sophie’s trembling hand held up the lantern to see where the voice had come from.
“Only me,” it said.
They both laughed with relief when they saw it was Lionel, the friendly troll.
“I was just headed home,” said Lionel. “I find it quicker this way, but… what are YOU two doing down here?”
Sophie and Georgie quickly explained, and when Lionel heard that Pebbles and Crater had been using the sewers to win the Horsmarlonerpool Hurry every year he was furious. He’d never liked Pebbles and Crater.
“RIGHT!” said Lionel. “Hold on tight! New Town it is!”
He put his huge troll hand on the back of Sophie and Georgie’s boat, and then pushed them forward with enormous speed as he ran through the pipes! He knew every twist turn, and junction! All Sophie and Georgie had to do was hold on with one hand, and cover their noses with the other!
Soon, they entered a larger tunnel, and saw Pebbles and Crater’s boat up ahead! As they raced up behind them, with Lionel pushing them as he crashed through the sewerage, Pebbles and Crater looked behind them in horror.
“Coming through,” said Lionel, and as he, Sophie and Georgie passed Pebbles and Crater, Lionel took a big handful of the mucky sludge and threw it in the faces!
“Arrrggggh,” they both cried, wiping their eyes and noses!
“Here were are,” said Lionel, stopping below a maintenance cover in the ceiling of the tunnel, and pushing it open. Sophie and Georgie climbed out, saw a pack of runners running towards them in one direction, and the finish line in the other! They both held hands and raced through the tape - winning the Horsmarlonerpool Hurry!
“Our winners, this year,” said Major Dubbin, standing on the stage. “And recipients of the Devonroe Cup, AND a month’s worth of sweeties from Mr Bibbin’s shop are - Georgie and Sophie!”
As everyone applauded, Georgie took the microphone. “Actually - we have an announcement to make. We only entered this year to follow Pebbles and Crater, and we discovered that they’ve been using a boat to go through the sewers and win.”
The crowd whispered to each other. “And so we did the same,” said Sophie. “Lionel helped us. And we were in a boat too, so, we haven’t really won. It isn’t fair.”
Mayor Dubbin rubbed his chin. “There are only rules about using a car or a bike,” he said. “Not a boat…”
“But we got pushed most of the way by Lionel,” said Georgie. “So, we have decided that instead of us winning, this year everyone gets one sweet from Mr Bibbin’s shop!”
The crowd cheered! Sophie and Georgie were the most popular winners of the Horsmarlonerpool Hurry that there’d ever been. And what happened to Pebbles and Crater? Well, they hadn’t actually broken any rules. So they just went home. But they had to go home the same way they’d come - through the sewers. But without a boat this time, and their boots full of smelly, smelly, sewer sludge.
