darius and chums - and the missing sapphire

8/10/2019 Darius and Chums - And the Missing Sapphire

1/25

The author is an aspiring writer who lives with his wife

and pet Dalmatian in South Wales. Whilst Cwmlas is

mythical, it reminds him of happy places he frequented

in his early childhood.


2/25


3/25

Mr OSullivan this is for you.


4/25


5/25


6/25

Copyright Jeremy Damian

The right of Jeremy Damian to be identified as author of this work

has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of

the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the

publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to thispublication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims

for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British

Library.

ISBN 978 1 84963 924 8

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2015)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.

25 Canada Square

Canary WharfLondon

E14 5LB

Printed and bound in Great Britain


7/25

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to my cousin, Peter Murphy, a TV consultant,for his helpful advice, sound judgment and encouragement,

which enabled me to get this book published. Thank you,Peter.And to my wife, who is more computer literate than I am,

for providing much needed assistance in the booksformatting, as well as practical support and guidance. Thank

you, Brenda.

Finally, I must acknowledge my publishers for giving me,an unknown author, the chance to get this story published.

So, to all the editors and production staff at AustinMacauley who have assisted me, thank you.


8/25


9/25

Chapter One

As the winter sun rose over Cwmlas, an extraordinary

village that nestled in a secluded Welsh valley, long

forgotten by the rest of the world, Darius was sitting in

his favourite armchair, warming himself before the

fire. He wasnt thinking of anything in particular, justindulging in pleasant daydreams. He had washed his

face and trimmed his shaggy whiskers that morning,

and was waiting in his study for Mrs Hedges, his

housekeeper, to tell him that breakfast was ready.

Darius was an amateur detective but no ordinary one

he was The Daring Detective. Indeed, that was how

the local Gazette had described him in the latest editionof the paper, which was the main source of news to

everyone besides word of mouth, that is. And that

description was really quite apt because he confronted

villains that no one else would and solved crimes that

no one else could; in fact, nothing delighted him more

than helping the police to round up and pen the local

miscreants.

Darius leaned back in the armchair and stretched

his legs so that he could toast his toes in front of the

crackling fire. He was wearing a pair of blue, cotton

pyjamas with a stripy dressing gown that was tied at

the waist with a braided cord. He looked up at the

portrait of his great-grandfather that was hangingabove the mantelpiece and thought what a fine fellow

he was. Generations of his family had lived in this

comfortable, old house down the years, and now


10/25

Darius was the sole occupant with Mrs Hedges, of

course, who had been there for as long as he could

remember and who had known Darius since he was a

young pup. He had a great fondness for her becauseshe had really been a nanny to him when he was

growing up. For some reason, she constantly wore

black clothes, as if she were in perpetual mourning,

although she did have a contented life. She was quite

happy looking after Darius, and took pleasure in

keeping the house clean and tidy and making sure he

ate well; and she was a very good cook. Her onlyirritating feature was that she shrieked a lot because

she was going deaf. She thought that if she couldnt

hear herself, nobody else could.

As Darius dreamt about what it would have been

like to live in the good old days, a dark shadow

interrupted his thoughts, like a bad memoryresurfacing, and the outlines of a leering, evil face

started to creep into his consciousness. But his sharp

mind resisted immediately and dispelled the disturbing

image in an instant. Yet, his body still shivered

momentarily as if someone had just walked over his

grave. He settled back into the chair and returned to

happier thoughts; but not for long as Mrs Hedgespiercing voice ripped through the air and snapped him

out of his reverie.

Mr Darius! Breakfast is ready and its on the

table!

He knew better than to dawdle, so he quickly

popped his feet into some black-and-white check,

fleecy slippers, rose from the comfort of the armchairand walked smartly into the dining room.


11/25

Good morning, Mrs H, he said. Did you sleep

well?

I never have a good nights sleep, Mr Darius, she

moaned, because my rooms too cold and the waterpipes are noisy. You know that Ive got a bad back and

I need warmth to soothe it. When are you going to get

someone in to fix the radiators?

Yes, I really must make a note to get that done,

Darius replied sympathetically. Leave it to me, Mrs

H.

Most mornings during the cold weather, they had asimilar conversation before breakfast but Darius never

got around to fixing the radiator in Mrs Hedges

bedroom. It was not that he didnt care about his

faithful housekeeper; it was just that something else

more important usually came up which distracted him.

Whilst his bedroom was on the first floor, she had herown living quarters in a separate wing on the second

floor of this large red brick house. Darius never

ventured into that part of the property, so he couldnt

say whether the heating system worked properly or

not, but he believed her; though she did tend to

exaggerate. Darius suspected (but was too polite to tell

her) that she simply enjoyed the chance to bristle aboutthe irksome radiators and her make-believe lack of

sleep because, invariably, she was fresh and alert at the

beginning of each day. He supposed too that theirs was

one of those conversations that had become a kind of a

ritual, so that, if the radiators were ever fixed, she

would feel something was missing from their early

morning dialogue.Whats for breakfast? Darius enquired.


12/25

A medium boiled egg, just as you like it, two

rounds of hot buttered toast with your favourite orange

marmalade and a pot of piping hot tea.

Splendid, absolutely splendid, Mrs H! A feast fitfor a king! Darius replied.

Oh, go on with you, Mr Darius, Mrs Hedges said,

blushing slightly at his extravagant praise for what

was, essentially, a simple meal; but, really, she liked

him complimenting her on the food she cooked for

him, even though he did go over the top sometimes.

She handed him the Gazette and withdrew to thekitchen to have a bite-to-eat herself. Darius sat down at

the table and, for a moment, savoured the smells

wafting upwards from the hot food in front of him,

before tucking in. He first cut a slice of toast into

fingers and dunked each one into the soft, yellow yolk,

causing it to ooze over the side of the egg. Afterfinishing the egg, he spread a thick layer of marmalade

over the other slice of toast and munched it greedily.

Delicious, as ever, he thought to himself. He then

poured a cup of tea, stirred in one level teaspoon of

sugar and sipped the invigorating hot liquid. He simply

couldnt start the day without a steaming hot cuppa.

After sighing with contentment, he opened thenewspaper and glanced routinely at the front-page

story. Although Cwmlas was a country village, there

was always something happening which caught his

attention particularly if the story concerned

somebody who was up to no good. He wasnt

disappointed on this occasion. In big, bold, black

letters followed by smaller print, the headlinescreamed:


13/25

LADY SERENAS SAPPHIRE HAS BEEN

STOLEN the police are making enquiries but

have no suspects yet. Perhaps, this is another case

for DariusThe Daring Detective.Hmm, Darius mused, it looks like the police

may need my help once again. I must visit them

straightaway to offer any assistance I can.

He left the dining table and proceeded upstairs to

his bedroom to get dressed.

Since it was a very cold day, he wore a thermal

cotton vest and long pants underneath a crisp, white,grandpa shirt that Mrs Hedges had ironed for him. He

put on a pair of brown corduroy trousers and a dark

green corduroy jacket, which had leather elbow

patches. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on a

pair of his thickest socks. Before going back

downstairs to get his Wellington boots from the pantry,he opened the top drawer of his bedside cabinet,

picked up a solid gold watch and chain and dropped it

into the right hand pocket of his jacket. This was a

precious heirloom that had been given to him by his

father who had inherited it from his grandfather who,

in turn, had received it from his great-grandfather, and

Darius rarely went anywhere without it. Remarkably, itstill kept good time, but he did have to remember to

rewind it every thirty days. Darius never forgot to do

so, as he was particular about most things. He liked to

be groomed and well dressed and appreciated order in

his life; everything had to be in the right place or done

at the right time. He considered his actions carefully

and seldom rushed into a situation without analysing itproperly. Indeed, he didnt rush at all and his response


14/25

was always thoughtful and measured the sign of a

good detective.

Once he had pulled on a pair of dark green

Wellington boots, tucking the bottoms of his trousersneatly inside, he grabbed a charcoal-coloured, woollen

overcoat from the cloakroom and threw it on, as he

opened the front door.

Dont forget your woolly scarf and cap, Mr

Darius! Mrs Hedges shrieked again from the kitchen.

Its blooming well freezing out there!

No, I wont, he called back; though he had nointention of wearing those particular items of clothing.

She did fuss over him a great deal but she couldnt

help it. She had knitted him a garish scarf and

matching cap that seemed to consist of all of the

colours of the rainbow. They would undoubtedly have

kept his neck and head warm but there was no way hewas going to wear them. However, as he didnt want to

offend good old Mrs Hedges, he thought it was better

to oblige her by taking them off the clothes peg and

hiding them in the pockets of his overcoat. Then he

walked outside on this chilly, winter morning.

A pale sun glimmered faintly in a pewter sky and a

sheet of glistening frost covered everything; from thelong gravel path that wound between fir trees at the

front of his property to the green fields on the hillside

yonder. He breathed in deeply and exhaled a plume of

cloudy air, thinking to himself, Its going to snow

today. I can feel it in my bones.Just at that moment,

Maximillian (known to his friends as Max) came

crunching up the path, half walking, half running, andpanted, Whats up, Darius! (Max greeted everyone


15/25

this way.) Have you heard about the missing

sapphire?

Yes, Ive just read about it in the Gazette and am

on my way down to the police station. Coming, Max?You bet. Count me in, Max replied

enthusiastically.

Darius and Max were best friends and, whenever

Darius was about to embark on a new adventure, he

was pleased, as well as a little relieved, to have his

trusted companion alongside him. Max was dressed in

a shabby, brown overcoat that looked too big for himand that was buttoned to the neck with the collar

turned up. He liked wearing it, not only because it kept

him warm but also because it had lots of deep pockets

in which he could carry an assortment of useful things.

Peeking below this oversized coat were some faded

jeans and a pair of scuffed training shoes.Contrastingly, he had on some bright yellow mittens

that were obviously a Christmas present. Since Max

was short-sighted, he wore glasses that seemed to

habitually slide down his nose which meant that,

whenever he looked up to speak to someone, he tended

to twitch his snout in the process. He had to do that

with Darius anyway because, although he wascertainly taller and furrier than the average mutt,

Darius was still a head and shoulders above him in

stature. He was an impulsive sort of chap who tended

to act first and think later, so Darius had to keep an eye

on him; but he was always unfailingly in good spirits

which endeared him to Darius and, indeed, to everyone

else.When they got to the end of the path, they turned

into the lane and headed for the police station that was


16/25

located at the heart of the village. Most folk had wisely

decided to stay indoors in their warm and cosy

parlours, but a few hardy souls had ventured outside

and were going about their regular business, undauntedby the icy weather. Those whom Darius met on the

way, he greeted cordially with either, Good morning,

or How are you? and, after a brief exchange of

pleasantries, he usually finished by adding, Ill be

surprised if it doesnt snow later today.

Max, on the other hand, greeted passers-by in his

unique manner; except that Darius had to gentlyremind him that not everyone appreciated being

addressed by, Whats up! especially if they werent

in a good humour or feeling particularly perky that

morning.

After a brisk walk, they came to a stop outside a

grey stone building that looked drearier than normal onthis dull frosty day. A dark blue sign hung above the

front door that announced sombrely in plain, white

lettering, POLICE STATION. Darius lifted the

heavy, silver knocker and banged it twice against the

solid, black door. They waited but nothing happened.

Max was going to knock again when Darius stayed his

hand and suggested, Lets give him a little longer,shall we?

It was generally regarded as inconsiderate to an

occupier to keep knocking his front door; unless, of

course, there was some sort of emergency. Max began

to stamp his feet impatiently, but also to keep them

from going numb, and even Darius started to rub his

hands together; it was definitely getting colder. Thenthey heard a hollow voice, like someone speaking in a

tunnel, Im coming, and the sound of approaching


17/25

footsteps got louder. The door creaked open and a

droopy face peered out.

Oh, its you two.

Whats up, Bonkers! Max exclaimed. Come on,let us in. Its freezing out here.


18/25

Chapter Two

Constable Bonkers opened the door fully and, as they

followed him down a dimly lit corridor, he muttered to

himself, My backs playing up a bit and this cold spell

isnt helping it any. I was only complaining to Bertha

this morning Hang about, Bonkers, Max broke in, I wasnt

asking you: Whats the matter? I was just saying, you

know: Whats up!

Well, Im trying to tell you whats up, if you give

me a chance, Bonkers responded, somewhat put out.

Never mind, Bonkers. Max sighed.

Bonkers wasnt mad or crazy or anything like thatbut he wasnt the brightest star in the galaxy either. No

one knew exactly how he had acquired the name, but

some folk recalled that it had probably originated when

he was in school. He certainly did some daft things in

those days, more often than not to impress his friends.

Like the time he swallowed thirty hard-boiled eggs in

as many minutes as a dare, then was horribly sick for

the next two days. Or the time he sauntered into Mr

Toadys classroom on Halloween, dressed up as Father

Christmas, when his classmates were masquerading as

ghosts, ghouls and monsters which did get a laugh

from them but didnt amuse old Toady one bit. As his

silly exploits continued, the other pupils would say tohim, Youre bonkers, you are, and, quite naturally

over time, the nickname stuck. He didnt seem to mind

and, in fact, on being addressed in this fashion, would


19/25

proudly boast, Thats me Bonkers by name, bonkers

by nature! It may have been amusing then but, now

that he had grown up and was the village bobby,

whenever he repeated this expression, it was positivelyembarrassing. The problem was that, due to force of

habit, he just couldnt help saying it.

As they proceeded along the corridor, Darius

managed to get a fleeting glimpse of some of the

notices that were pinned to each wall. One warned,

DONT ROLL AND RIDEwhich he thought was

quite snappy. Since Bonkers didnt have a snappy bonein his body, Darius guessed that his wife, Bertha, had

probably dreamt up that punchy phrase. He suspected

that it was aimed at those rascals who rolled out of The

Drunk and Incapable Arms late at night, after an

evenings merriment, and then foolishly decided to try

and ride back home on their bicycles. Another noticecautioned youngsters, DONT TALK TO

STRANGERS YOU DONT KNOWwhich Darius

regarded as sound advice, though it was rather

overstating the obvious. That one had more than likely

been devised by Bonkers himself.

They were led into a small office that wasnt much

brighter than the passageway. Bonkers sat down on alarge, comfortable chair behind an imposing desk and

invited his friends to do likewise. There were two, bare

wooden chairs in front of the desk that allowed them to

sit, but not in any comfort. Perhaps that was the idea?

The room was a contradiction in terms because it was

both sparse and cluttered. There was hardly any

furniture a desk, some chairs and a filing cabinet but what was there was covered in files, documents

and the sort of bric-a-brac you would expect to find in


20/25

an office. Unfortunately, Bonkers was quite a

disorganised bloodhound and he didnt have a proper

filing system. Consequently, there were open folders

on his desk; closed files on the wooden chairs; sundrypapers scattered around the floor; and the poor old

filing cabinet was leaning over pitifully from the

weight of documents crammed into it. Consequently,

Bonkers had had to jam a couple of cardboard wedges

under the cabinets front feet in order to keep it upright

and give it some dignity. Nevertheless, as furniture

went, it looked pretty forlorn.Darius and Max lifted the files off the chairs and

placed them in heaps on the thinly carpeted floor, and

sat down.

Now, Bonkers, Darius said, tell me whats

happenedfrom the beginning please.

Well, I got out of bed, cleaned my teeth andwashed my face, then I got dressed Bonkers began.

No, wait a moment, Darius interjected with a

note of exasperation in his voice, I dont need to

know everything you did today. Just start from when

the sapphire was first reported as missing.

Bonkers didnt like to be interrupted, particularly as

he was supposed to be the one in authority, but hewasnt about to argue with Darius. So he rearranged a

few papers on the desk, as if he had meant to do that

anyway, gave a loud sniff as if to say, Do you mind!

and continued again, slowly.

As I was saying: early this morning, I received a

telephone call from Boris Badger, the butler up at the

manor. He was blathering on about something terriblehad happened. To tell you the truth, Darius, it was

some time before I could get any sense out of him. I


21/25

told him (at this point, Bonkers put on his official

voice), Now look here, Boris, I cant help you if you

dont give me the facts. When he had composed

himself, Boris related to me that his mistress, LadySerena, had locked her silver necklace and sapphire

pendant away in the safe, before she went to bed last

night, but, when she woke up, the safe was open and

the necklace was gone. After speaking with the

servants and satisfying herself that none of them was a

likely culprit, she asked the Squire to ring the Gazette

office straight away, so that the theft could bepublicized in todays edition. As I didnt manage to

speak with the Squire, I advised Boris not to disturb

anything at the crime scene and to lock the room in

question, until I arrived. And thats how the matter

stands.

Darius had been listening intently with his handsclasped together on his chin, as if in thoughtful prayer,

when he released them suddenly and spoke. Well

done, Bonkers, that was sensible of you. Right, well

obviously need to speak with Lady Serena and the

Squire and then examine the crime scene, before

reaching any preliminary conclusions. Give Boris a

ring now and tell him to expect us by noon.Bonkers started to hunt for his address book, as he

couldnt remember the telephone number off-hand, but

he was unable to lay his hands on it.

Berthas forever moving things about in here and

tidying up after me, he complained, his frustration

evident. I can never find anything.

At this juncture, Bertha happened to pop her headaround the door, which was slightly ajar, and, looking


22/25

directly at her husband, asked pointedly, Talking

about me, were you?

Not really, my sweet, Bonkers replied meekly. I

was just wondering where my address book was.Its in the front right hand drawer of your desk

behind the manual on Proper Police Procedure, she

emphasised with barely disguised sarcasm.

Oh, so it is, Bonkers admitted in an apologetic

tone, as he removed it from the drawer.

Its a wonder you can find anything in this room

its a complete mess, Bertha continued. The numberof times Ive had to come in here and sort things out

for youand thats on top of everything else I have to

do. Youd lose your own head if it wasnt screwed on.

Darius and Max just sat there patiently, mere silent

witnesses to this domestic courtroom drama. As far as

Bertha was concerned, when it came to her husband,she was the prosecutor, judge and jury and Bonkers

was the hapless defendant who was guilty as charged.

They knew from experience that it was not advisable to

interrupt her when she was in the middle of a rant,

even a mild one like today that would only register

about three on the Richter Scale.

Now, now, dear, dont get yourself into a lather,we have visitors, Bonkers whispered soothingly,

endeavouring to placate his wife, while he glanced at

his friends.

It worked, because Bertha suddenly calmed down

as if he had opened a gauge on her side and released all

the pressure. She fussed momentarily with her clothes,

looked at Darius and Max and enquired politely, asthough nothing had gone on before, Would you like

something to drink?


23/25

Max piped up, Anything please as long as its

hot.

Bertha smiled sweetly and replied that she had a

pot of ready-made soup simmering on the stove in thekitchen; whereupon she disappeared and returned in

hardly any time at all with three mugs of steaming

broth.

Thank you very much, Bertha, Darius said (he

dared not call her Mrs Bonkers). Youre too kind.

This is really excellent soup, isnt it, Max?

Mmmm its delicious, he answered, as helapped it up.

Bertha beamed with delight as she wiped her hands

on a red-and-blue, polka dot apron that seemed to

perfectly match her hot and cold temperament.

When Bertha left the room, carrying the empty

mugs back to the kitchen, Bonkers took theopportunity to ring the manor. He didnt like her

around when he made official police calls, in case she

interrupted him, which she was prone to do.

Boris, this is Constable Bonkers here. Darius and

Max are with me and Ive just given them the brief

facts of the theft you reported. Can you inform Lady

Serena and the Squire to expect us at twelve oclock?Is that all right?

There was a short pause, no doubt to allow Boris to

take instructions, when Bonkers continued. It is.

Good. Well see you then. And Borisyou will tell the

Squire, wont you?

Darius and Max could visualize Boris muttering

opposition to this final request at the other end of theline, as Bonkers replaced the phone. Shaking his head,

he got up and put on a long, grey trench coat, which he


24/25

fastened to the collar and which concealed a dark blue

tunic with shiny brass buttons. Indeed, only the very

bottoms of his pressed trousers could be seen hovering

above a pair of polished black shoes. These shoes werestandard police issue that were not only waterproof but

also had thick rubber soles, which made walking any

distance more bearable. After pocketing a notebook

and pen, a whistle and some handcuffs, as well as his

trusty truncheon (again standard police issue) he

popped a black helmet on his head, which he cocked to

one side (the way he liked to wear it) to complete hisattire.

They returned down the same passageway they

came in. Darius and Max both noticed that Bonkers

seemed to be walking very cautiously, as if he was

trying to tiptoe out of the station. Once he had lifted

the latch carefully and opened the front door slowly,Bonkers called out, Were off now, dear. See you

later.

They guessed correctly, because this inoffensive

farewell triggered a crescendo of utterances, like a

gathering storm, from Bertha who was still in the

residential quarters at the rear of the building.

Bonkers, just you wait a minute, followed by,Ah! and, Oh bother! as she probably spilt

something in the kitchen in her haste to get to the

hallway.

Dontforget you still have to build a sledge for

the younguns; and you can tidy up the shed

afterwards; and tea will be on the table at six oclock

sharp. Dont be late.


25/25

Her final words faded into the air like steam

evaporating from a boiling kettle, as they slipped

through the door and hurried on their way.

Aaaah married life, eh, Bonkers. Bliss, isnt it?Max joked.

Your time will come, you young scamp, Bonkers

retorted. Mark my words it will and well see whos

joshing then. And they all laughed.

The manor was situated right on the outskirts of thevillage, so they marched, rather than walked, along

with the combined intention of getting there as quicklyas possible and of keeping themselves warm. As they

passed Mrs Peekys Tea Shop, they nearlybumped in

to Rowena and her younger sister who happened to be

emerging, having spent a very pleasant time drinking

tea and eating cream scones, and talking about this,

that and the other.Im terribly sorry, Miss Rowena, we didnt see

you, Darius said apologetically.

Thats all right, Darius, Rowena answered

graciously, no harm done.

The group was standing together in a huddle, which

was a little too close for comfort, so Darius continued.

Were in rather a hurry to get to the manor. Youveheard the news, I suppose?

About the missing sapphire? Yes, its awful, isnt

it? Rowena replied.

Yes, it certainly is, Darius said; but couldnt

think of anything further to say.

As a result, there was a pregnant pause in the

conversation that put everyone in a sort of timevacuum. Bonkers started to fidget, which progressed to

rubbing his hands together and blowing on them; and it

darius and chums - and the missing sapphire

Documents