The creature's face disappeared into the bushes.
The children bent over the caretaker.
"He's not dead, is he?" Jimmy asked anxiously.
"Just hurt," said Kathleen. "He's very handsome, don't you think?"
"Oh yes," agreed Mabel.
"Quite a nice young man," said a voice behind them.
The children looked up.
And there was the middle-aged Ugly-Wugly.
Everyone but Gerald screamed.
He was still wearing the ring, so he wasn't afraid.
But he noticed something strange.
The middle-aged Ugly-Wugly's face was no longer made of paper—it was real.
And so were his arms and legs.
Somehow this creature had really come alive!
"What happened to the caretaker?" Gerald asked him.
"It was most unfortunate," said the Ugly-Wugly.
"The others must have lost their way in the passage last night.
They never found the hotel."
"Did you find it?" Gerald said in surprise.
"Of course. I wandered through the passage until I found the very nice hotel, just as you said.
When I found the others again, they were behind this door.
They were angry.
They'd been here all night, trying to get out."
Jimmy's eyes were wide with fear.
"Here, take the ring," Gerald whispered.
Jimmy put on the ring and instantly looked braver.
"But what happened to the caretaker?" Gerald asked again.
"He suddenly opened the door.
Before I could protect him, the man in the top hat hit him.
I was just going for help when you arrived."
"We must find the others," said Gerald.
"They've gone to bathe in the lake," said the Ugly-Wugly.
"Their clothes are in the woods."
Kathleen and Jimmy went to check on the other Ugly-Wuglies.
Gerald and Mabel stayed behind to tend to the caretaker.
The Ugly-Wugly sat down on the temple steps.
In the woods Jimmy found four heaps of clothing.
There were broomsticks, hockey sticks, and masks.
All these things had made up the Ugly-Wugly men.
Kathleen found the two ladies sitting on a bench in the sun.
But they had no life in them.
Jimmy shook them to pieces.
"The spell is broken."
Kathleen sighed with relief.
They went back to the Temple of Flora.
The caretaker was trying to sit up.
Gerald told the Ugly-Wugly to hide in the bushes so he wouldn't frighten the caretaker.
"Jimmy is the best one to go with you," said Gerald.
That was true because Jimmy had the ring.
The children helped the caretaker to his feet.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Mabel asked him.
"Yes. But I had the strangest dream."
He looked around.
"I'm grateful for your help.
You may visit here whenever you like."
They all shook hands, and the caretaker walked away.
"We have to get rid of that Ugly-Wugly," said Kathleen.
"But how?" asked Gerald.
"He became real inside the passage.
If we could just get him back there . . ."
Suddenly Jimmy came out of the bushes.
"The Ugly-Wugly is taking a walk," Jimmy said.
"He says he's a very rich businessman and he needs to get to London."
Gerald and the girls were still planning how to get rid of the Ugly-Wugly.
But Jimmy wasn't paying attention.
"He has a car and a tennis court.
I wish I were rich," said Jimmy.
"I'd spend my money on . . ."
"Oh no!" cried the girls, looking at Jimmy.
Suddenly he was growing rich right in front of them.
But he was also growing older.
When the changes stopped, the girls gasped.
"Do you know the way to the train station?" asked rich, old Jimmy.