3 Panic!

3. PANIC! Though it had been almost a month since the robbery at the museum, Dull-on-Sea was still in a panic. Now everybody seemed to be in a hurry. Shopkeepers shut their shops early. Police cars hurtled along with sirens blaring. And the tourists had all gone home weeks before. Rumors of marauding pirates can have that effect on a little seaside town.

Worst of all, the police were still baffled. Chief Inspector Klewless had made a list of all the things he knew for certain— it wasn't very long. Raid on archaeological dig— May 14 Raid on museum—June 12 Both raids happened under a full moon Nothing seen on camera Next full moon TOMORROW!

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Since the robbery, the residents of Dull-on-Sea had been making sure every- thing they owned was under lock and key. The bank had no space left in its vault, and every safety-deposit box was full. On the way home from school, Matilda and her mom walked past the bank, where a line of people clutched their valuables. The line stretched around the corner, down the hill, around another corner, and along the seafront. Everyone in the line looked nervously out to sea and muttered unintelligible nonsense about pirates. Mrs. Penelope Wise, the bank manager, was trying to

persuade people to go home since the bank had no more room. "It's a good thing we don't have anything valuable in our house," said Matilda's mom as they climbed on the bus. The bus was jam-packed, but they squished themselves between people on their way to the hardware store to stock up on padlocks. The traffic was crawling along. Hun- dreds of cars wound around the traffic circle and spewed out along the main road, blocking the bus lane. People beeped their horns and shouted out of car windows, desperate to get to Do-It-All World. At the Do-It-All World bus stop, a man from the store got on the bus.

"I'm sorry to tell you that we've completely sold out of padlocks... and window locks... and door chains... and door bolts... and hammers... and nails.... Oh, and mini-safes." A crowd of people waiting to get off the bus let out a loud moan before ambling back to their seats. A few more people climbed aboard, laden with bags, and stood in the aisle looking smug. "I couldn't get a mini-safe, so I'm going to glue my doors shut!" said a lady beside Matilda, clutching two plastic bags full of superglue. "Those pirates will never get in if I glue the doors shut!" "What if they come down the chim- ney?" said her friend, a bag of cement