5: _In Which the Scientist Arrives in Pursuit of the Phoenix, and There Are Alarums and Excursions by Night_ [Illustration] The lights downstairs were all on when David got home, and as soon as he opened the front door he could tell that they had company. He shouted, "I'm home!" and sneezed. The dust from the Gryffons' cave still clung to him, tickling his nose. "Well, here he is at last," said Dad's voice. "Come on in, David." Then, as David walked into the living room, "Good heavens, Son, what's happened to you?" "Your _back_, David!" Mother said in a horrified voice. "Your poor back! What _happened_ to you?" [Illustration] David felt himself. The back of his shirt was ripped to tatters, and there were three lines of caked blood across his shoulders. He remembered now: it was the Gryffon that had tried to grab him as he and the Phoenix made their escape. But he had promised the Phoenix to keep its secret. He stammered, "I--I had an accident." "And dust all _over_ you!" Mother went on. "Well," said David desperately, "it was a _dusty_ accident." "It seems to have been very dusty indeed," said a third voice. There was a loud sneeze. David's father jumped up. "You gave me such a shock when you came in that I almost forgot, David. We have a guest." And he introduced David to a very tall, thin man with a bald head. His face and neck were burnt red by the sun, and he had on a pair of thick glasses which made his pale eyes look immense. For some reason David took an instant dislike to him, but he shook hands politely and said, "How do you do?" "David, eh?" said the man. "Well, well. Are you a good boy, David?" Of all the stupid questions in the world, that was the one David hated most. He clenched his teeth and looked the other way. "David, dear," said Mother with an awkward laugh, "I think you'd better go upstairs and wash and change." When David came into the living room again, the guest was talking excitedly. "... completely unknown to man," he was saying. "It's the discovery of the age. My name will be famous if I succeed in my plans." "How fascinating!" Mother said. "And to think of it happening right here!" "And it's huge," the guest said, "simply huge. And brilliantly colored. For a scientist like myself, it's more than fascinating." David was listening now. Scientist? _Scientist!_ His heart missed a beat, and he choked. Oh, no, it couldn't be _the_ Scientist. _Or could it?_ "David here spends all his time up on the mountain," his father said. "Maybe he's seen it." The guest turned his big, pale, unpleasant eyes on David. "Well, David," he said, "maybe you can help me. Now, have you seen anything unusual on the mountain?" "Unusual?" said David unsteadily. There was a pain in his chest from the pounding of his heart. "Yes, David," the guest went on, "unusual. So unusual that you couldn't miss it: a very large bird with bright plumage."