Charlie Bone and The Blue Boa (Children Of The Red King, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    "No, you won't," said Fidelio. "It's for Cook's dog. He hasn't been well."
    Morris gave him a funny look, then ran his thumb around his own almost-empty plate and licked it. This was against the rules.
    Charlie wondered if Ollie had gotten lost. He scanned the three long tables, looking for signs of a disturbance. He couldn't see Emma, who sat somewhere at the art table. The drama table was in the middle, and it was by far the noisiest, even though Manfred sat at the head. Apart from Asa and Zelda, who sat on either side of Manfred, everyone in drama faced away from the head of the table. They perched rather crookedly on the benches, with the shoulder nearest to Manfred slightly raised. No one wanted to be caught by the head boy's hypnotizing stare when they were halfway through a meal.
    Aside from these strange postures, Charlie couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary among the purple capes, so he turned his attention to the far end of the room, where the teachers sat at a table on a raised platform. From here they could keep an eye on the children below them.
    "Who are you looking for?" Billy Raven stared at Charlie through a fringe of thin white hair. He was sitting on the other side of the table, a few places away from Charlie. His spectacles made his red eyes look far too large for his head.
    "I'm not looking for anyone," said Charlie. "I thought I saw a bat."
    This wasn't so unlikely Hundreds of bats lived in the old building.
    As Billy looked away Charlie felt something push against his side. Fidelio gave him a surprised look, and then a piece of chicken disappeared from the side of his plate.
    "Thanks," came a disembodied whisper. "Delicious."
    Several more pieces disappeared, and no one seemed to notice, until Gwyneth Howells, sitting opposite Charlie, gulped, "Uh! Your meat just . . . " and the fork that was halfway to her mouth dropped to the floor, laden with peas.
    Gwyneth bobbed under the table to retrieve her fork and let out an earsplitting scream. She came up for air, her round, brown eyes popping out of her head. "I saw . . . I saw . . . ," she cried. "There's a . . . there's a . . . under the table, there's a . . .”
    "There's a what?" said her neighbor, Rosie Stubbs.
    "There's a TOE!" cried Gwyneth, and she fainted backward over the bench, landing in an untidy heap on the floor.
    Several girls and even boys screamed and a husky voice gasped, "Yikes" in Charlie's ear. His plate went flying and his glass rolled to the floor, water spilling all over the table.
    "I'd better get out of here," whispered the voice, while Rosie Stubbs shouted, "Gwyneth's fainted."
    Dr. Bloor stared out from his seat at the head of the high table. Matron Yewbeam and Miss Chrystal came down the steps into the main hall and ran up to Gwyneth. The matron shook Gwyneth's shoulder, but since the poor girl was obviously unconscious, she lifted her up and, helped by Miss Chrystal, carried her out of the dining hall.
    Mr. Boldova had come to the edge of the platform and Charlie caught his eye. The art teacher gave a slight shrug and Charlie shook his head.
    Ollie had fled and Charlie knew it would be hard to coax him back again. In fact, this time he might even be locked in. From the end of the drama table, Manfred was watching Charlie suspiciously He had seen him looking at Selena Sparks, and he knew Ollie's toe was still visible. Perhaps he had put two and two together.
    After dinner Charlie gave Fidelio a better explanation about what had happened to Ollie Sparks. He spoke in an undertone as they hurried up the long passage leading from the dining hall. This time he didn't even glance at Selena, in case Manfred was watching.
    "Here we go again," said Fidelio. “Another problem for you, Charlie." They had reached the blue coat-room, and here the two friends parted. Fidelio was taking books and pens to his classroom, while Charlie had to carry his homework upstairs to the King's room.
    How did he manage always to be late,