Cliffhanger Read Online Free PDF Page B

banging hard into my back. I staggered and fell headlong, spilling all the water in my bucket.
    â€˜Ooooh!’ All the breath was knocked out of me.
    â€˜Oh Tim!’ said Biscuits, ever so upset. ‘That Cheetah pushed into you on purpose. He really
did
cheat!’
    Giles was yelling at me from a long way off.

    â€˜Tim! You’re so
useless
!’
    I lay there, still juddering. I had my eyes shut because I was trying very hard not to cry.
    â€˜You cheaty old Cheetah!’ I heard Kelly bellow.
    There was a yell and a thump and a splash. When I opened my eyes I saw the Cheetah sprawling on the ground, soaking wet, Kelly standing over him triumphantly.
    â€˜Hey! Hey! You’ll all end up disqualified if you’re not careful!’ Jake called. ‘Is Tim OK?’
    I wasn’t sure. There was wet on my knees. It wasn’t just the water from my bucket. I was
bleeding
.
    â€˜Maybe you’d better go and get them bandaged?’ said Biscuits.
    I stood up very slowly. The blood spurted a bit more. I had a truly great excuse to get out of finishing the race.
    I looked at Biscuits. I looked at Kelly. I looked at Laura and Lesley, who were running back to see if I was all right. I looked at Giles. He was yelling again.
    â€˜Come
on
! We’ve all got to finish. You can’t let us down, Tim!’
    I didn’t mind letting Giles down
at all
. But I didn’t want to spoil it for the others.
    â€˜I’m OK,’ I said. ‘I’ll run back to fill my bucket again.’
    â€˜We’ll wait for you,’ said Biscuits.
    â€˜No, I’ll catch you up.’
    So I ran all the way back to the pool, even though my knees were hurting quite badly. Then I filled my bucket and started the long run again, way way way behind all the others, though two Lions then bumped into each other and had to go back to the pool as well. And more came a cropper on the slide. There was a whole bunch who fought to go first and spilled all their water. By the time
I
got to the slide it was clear and I could take it slowly. I didn’t spill a drop.
    I caught Biscuits up at the sandpit. We staggered through the sand, balancing our buckets.

    â€˜It’s like being at the seaside,’ I said.
    â€˜I couldn’t half do with an ice-cream,’ said Biscuits longingly. ‘Or an ice-lolly. Or a can of cola. No, a bottle of Tizer. Or an ice-cream soda. No, better, a Knickerbocker Glory . . .’
    He was off in a wistful food fantasy right up until we got to the stream. Jake was swinging the bin mouths again.
    â€˜They’re so
thirsty
,’ Jake called. ‘They’re desperate. Water, water!’
    But we were all the other side of the stream with our buckets. None of the others had made it across. Some of the children were very wet, after several attempts.
    â€˜Let me have a go,’ said Kelly, elbowing Giles and Laura and Lesley out of the way.
    She started edging along the wobbly drainpipe, holding her bucket out. The drainpipe was only lightly wedged into the ground at either side of the stream. It jiggled at each step. Kelly wobbled, but got halfway across. She turned round to make sure we were all watching her. She wobbled again, lost her balance, slipped off the drainpipe and fell into the stream. She had the presence of mind to clutch her bucket to her chest so that it didn’t
all
spill. She added a bit of stream water for luck when she thought Jake wasn’t watching.

    â€˜Hey, Kelly, no sly refilling that bucket!’ he shouted. ‘Empty half of that out.’
    Kelly sighed and muttered but did as she was told.
    â€˜I’ll
have a go,’ said Giles. ‘I’ll have a little practice without my bucket.’
    He made it halfway across too. Then the drainpipe jiggled and Giles wobbled and he went flying too. He made a leap for it so that he didn’t get totally soaked like Kelly. He just got water all down his trouser legs.
    â€˜You