Atherton #3: The Dark Planet (No. 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

there would be no better time to reveal a
    little more about what Edgar was planning to undertake. "We
    need to talk with Vincent. There are things down there Edgar
    will need to avoid."
    "What kind of things?" said Isabel.
    Dr. Kincaid wouldn't answer. He simply smiled with a renewed
    spirit and departed into the night to search for Vincent.
    As his figure turned to shadow he called back, "To bed with all
    of you! Come back at the crack of dawn for a plate of Black and
    Green and the beginning of what we must do!"
    And then he was gone.
    Isabel, Samuel, and Edgar were left to wonder what sorts of
    creatures might be hiding on the underside of Atherton.
    CHAPTER 3EDGAR'S SECRET
    REVEALED
    Morning came stark and glaring through Isabel's window at the
    crack of dawn. She bolted from her bed and peered around the
    corner of her tiny room.
    "I was beginning to wonder when you'd wake," said Isabel's
    mother. Isabel turned with a start and saw her mother looking
    through an open window.
    "You scared me," said Isabel. She tried to run her fingers
    through her long, tangled hair without much success. "Where's
    father?"
    "He's already out in the second-year grove tying up the
    remaining rows, but he'll be back for breakfast."
    Isabel's mother held up a basket. Inside Isabel could see ripe,
    juicy figs and a loaf of bread. Not long ago fresh figs were rare
    indeed and bread hadn't even been known among the people
    of the grove. How quickly they'd all become accustomed to
    such extravagance.
    "I want to stay, but I can't," said Isabel. Even she couldn't resist
    tearing a piece of the bread loose and fetching one of the many
    figs. "Dr. Kincaid wants to see us this morning about something.
    Edgar and Samuel are going to be there, too."
    "Your father expects all of you in the new field by mid-morning,"
    said her mother. "Don't be late."
    Isabel smiled and nodded as her mother handed over the
    basket of food.
    Her mother stepped aside and Isabel darted past, taking a bite
    out of the fresh fig and the piece of bread.
    "Clean your teeth along the way. And don't come back for
    dinner if you haven't washed up."
    Isabel half trotted, half walked down a line of first-year trees as
    she finished the fig and bread. The first-year trees were barely
    taller than she was, but they ran in long lines all the way down
    to the edge of the lake. She stopped at one of the trees and
    snapped a little twig off, something she would never have done
    to a first-year when mean Mr. Ratikan was running the grove.
    But the lake seemed to feed the trees like never before. They
    were vibrant and healthy and didn't mind being picked at now
    and then.
    She used the twig to scrub her teeth, working it into the corners
    and along the sides. When she was finished she put the twig in
    her mouth and chewed on it. The twig turned a little soft and
    Isabel could feel her teeth growing squeaky-clean as the bark
    lifted bits of bread and fig. She spit out the twig and ran for Dr.
    Kincaid's cave.
    As Isabel came nearer the water's edge she could see way out
    into the middle. It was the bluest water one could imagine,
    bright and sparkling, teeming with new life. Cleaners, once
    dangerous creatures that roamed on land devouring every thing
    in their paths, now lived in the great blue lake at the center of
    Atherton. Some of them were getting big--really big--but those
    stayed very deep in the lake and didn't taste very good, or so
    she was told.
    Isabel glanced down the shoreline and saw the herds of sheep
    on a long, grassy plain. She made her way toward Dr. Kincaid's
    unusual home and ascended the path between the cluster of
    giant, egg-shaped rocks until she reached the opening of the
    cave. In place of the fire was a table set for five. Edgar, Samuel,
    Dr. Kincaid, and Vincent were waiting for her to take her place
    at it.
    "I told them to wait," said Samuel. He was struggling to speak
    through a big, sloppy mouthful of Black and Green. "But they
    wouldn't listen."
    "He took