"Hello again, dear reader. Thank you for following me to learn all about the day that I met Gumdrop for the first time and why I was happy to leave my old owners and live with Mr Oldcastle"
went for a sail to the castle on a nearby island. As always happens when a vintage car is
parked -- crowds of people gathered round to look at it to admire it and to touch it.
However, today two strange looking men appeared from a blue car and were taking rather too much interest in Gumdrop. Even going so far as to rummage underneath his back seat.
Mr Oldcastle, of course, knew nothing of this and, when he returned from his sail, he climbed into Gumdrop and drove off.
They were not far up the road when a small black dog ran out. Mr Oldcastle stopped suddenly with a big bang and, although the dog ran on, Gumdrop had a puncture.
While Mr Oldcastle was changing the wheel the dog jumped up into Gumdrop and settled down on the back seat to sleep.
Mr Oldcastle was putting the mended wheel back when something licked his head. "Off with you Horrible Horace" said Mr Oldcastle, but Horace just wagged his tail. Mr Oldcastle looked at Horace's collar and found that his address was 'The Old Tin Mine".
Mr. Oldcastle stopped to ask two policemen for directions to the old tin mine and the said that they would have taken him there but the were looking for a blue car with two smugglers and stolen watches.
Mr. Oldcastle hoped that they didn't think it was Gumdrop. 'Nah', they assured him, 'You don't look like smugglers to us'.
So Mr. Oldcastle went in search of the old tin mine. As he was looking Gumdrop splashed through a ford, the water soaked his plugs and his engine stopped. Mr Oldcastle lifted the back seat to get his spare set of plugs and was astonished to find a green parcel and in that parcel was a hundred or more watches. 'We must get these to the Police' he said.
He changed the plugs and drove off. A car overtook them and stopped. Mr. Oldcastle stopped as two men got out and waved to him. "We are vintage car enthusiasts, Can we have a closer look?" said one. Horace snarled and Mr. Oldcastle politely said "I am sorry but I don't have the time" and he drove off.The car enthusiasts drove after them so Mr Oldcastle drove Gumdrop up a small lane and hid behind a hedge "That's got rid of them", said Mr. Oldcastle as Horace jumped out of Gumdrop and ran up the lane. Mr. Oldcastle followed and discovered a ruin the 'old tin mine'.
Horace raced inside and came out with his favourite bone. Mr. Oldcastle went in to look around and stumbled over a large stone. Behind it were watches, jewels and silver and gold." The smuggler's den", said Mr. Oldcastle. Just then two cars skidded to a halt. The blue car with the vintage car enthusiasts and the police car."That's the car you want" said one of the vintage car enthusiasts pointing to Gumdrop and sure enough the police found the parcel of watches under the back seat." Before you arrest me", said Mr. Oldcastle, " You better take a look in the old tin mine".
The policeman did so and they all realised that the car enthusiasts were the smugglers and they had hidden the parcel under Gumdrop's seat to avoid being caught.One smuggler grabbed the parcel and they both made a run for it but Horace brought one down and a policeman grabbed the other by the collar.
The men were arrested and, as Horace had belonged to them before they abandoned him, the policeman told Mr. Oldcastle just to keep him.
"And that, dear reader, is how Gumdrop found a friend --- ME."
