An Accident In The Snow.

Claire and her aunt drove to the church that evening. There was a strong wind started to fall again. Claire watched it through the car window. But she did not thinks about the snow or about Christmas: she thought about the witch and about witch and about the fire coloured thing that she saw on the top of the Black Tower after the stone fell. These thoughts stayed with her all evening and she only half-listened to the singing in the church. She could not get the story of her head.

When the Christmas singing was finished, she and Aunt Min went back to the car through the snow. Now it came up over their shoes, and the night was very cold.

The car made lines in the snow when they drove away from the church, and everything was white-white houses, white trees, white cars, people's white coats. Soon they were in the little roads outside the village and there were no other cars, only Aunt Min's. Driving was difficult. The car could not stop easily in the snow. Aunt Min drove carefully, but with a worried face.

They were in the road near the castle. Aunt Min tried to drive slowly- but the car went faster in the snow!

"I can't stop it!" she said.

And then the car went off the road and hit a tree!

Aunt min put her hands to her face and shut her eyes.

Are you OK? Claire asked.

Y-yes, I think so, said her aunt.

they got out of the car and looked at it.

' i can't drive it now, said Aunt Min. I must phone the garage in the village. Mr Perkins can drive out and see it tomorrow. But how we must get home, Claire'.

Claire looked across the fields. She could see Genny Castle. Aunt Min looked at the castle too and Claire could read her aunt's thoughts: it was more than two miles round the road, but it was not a mile across the fields.

' let's go across Walter Burger's field ', said Aunt Min. ' I can't walk all round the road '.

She got a light from inside the car, then they went into the field and began to walk through the snow.

Claire tried not to look at the castle.

Walter Burger sat in a big chair in front of the fire in his cottage.

there was a book about castle in his hands. There were other books in the little room and many of them were about castles too.

His cat, Alexa, sat by the fire.

Walter knew the stories that people in the village told about him. ' he's crazy ', they said, and he knew this. And he knew the stories about the castle. People said it was a bad, dangerous place. He didn't try to stop these stories, because people to go near the castle. he knew that the castle had its secrets.

He stopped reading and closed his eyes. Alexa, the cat, stood up. She walked into the kitchen without making a sound, and across to a window. The window was not quite shut and she pushed it with her foot. When it was open, Alexa jumped down into the snow.

She began to walk up to the castle.

Walter opened his eyes. ' It's time I went to bed, Alexa, ' he said. Then he saw that the cat was not there, and he got up out of the chair and walked through to the kitchen.

Alexa?' he said. He saw the open windows. Again he said.

Why did you go out on a night like this?.

There was no time to thinks about this - her aunt was cold and tired. Claire pushed open the back door of the cottage and they went inside.

They found the room with the fire and Aunt Min sat on the chair in front of it. Claire went to the kitchen and made her a cup of tea. When she came back Aunt Min's eyes were closed. Claire looked at her watch. the time was eleven o' clock.

After two or three minutes Aunt Min opened her eyes. Here's some tea for you, Claire said.

Thank you, Claire, said Aunt Min. her voice was weak. I'm

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