Deep Trouble II Read Online Free PDF Page A

choice, Billy,” Dr. D. said grimly.
    “We won’t survive out here. We won’t be able to sail anywhere—unless we get
these giant fish overboard.”
    I knew he was right. The fish had to go.
    “You two grab the tail. I’ll push from the other side,” my uncle said.
    I tugged on the slick golden tail. “Unh—it’s so heavy!” I grunted.
    The fish flopped. The tail slapped Sheena’s hand.
    “Ow!” she cried. “That hurt!”
    “Hold him still!” Dr. D. ordered.
    We dragged the first fish out of my room—uphill—and into the passage. The
snail no longer blocked our path. The snail slime in the passage helped us slide
it out.
    We hauled the big fish up the steps. It flopped on the deck.
    “Good-bye, goldfish,” I said.
    We shoved it overboard. It flipped its tail and swam away.
    “Now we have to do it all over again,” Sheena complained.
    “And what about the snail?” I said. “It’s even heavier than these fish!”
    “One monster at a time,” Dr. D. said.
    As soon as we dragged the other fish overboard, the boat righted itself.
    “What a relief,” Dr. D. said. “I can stand up straight again!”
    “I’m beat,” Sheena whined. “This has been the worst day of my life.”
    We started back down below. The boat looked like the set of a disaster movie.
Broken glass everywhere, pools of water, floors and walls streaked with white
slime. And the giant snail sitting in the corner.
    “What are we going to do about him ?” Sheena asked.
    Dr. D. sighed heavily. “Let’s just leave him for now.”
    I slipped on a puddle of slime on my way to my cabin.
    My cabin. What a mess.
    It looked as if a giant had come, turned it upside down, and shaken it.
    I headed for the closet to get a mop. I stopped.
    I thought I heard something.
    I listened. Yes. Footsteps. Up on deck.
    “Dr. D.?” I called.
    “Right here, Billy,” he answered. He was busy cleaning up his lab.
    Sheena popped out of her cabin. “Did you hear that?” she asked.
    I nodded. “Someone’s up on deck.”
    Dr. D. came out of the lab, wiping his hands on a towel. He glanced at me,
then at Sheena. Then he looked up toward the ceiling.
    “If we’re all down here,” he began, “then who’s walking around up there?”
    We crept up the stairs and stepped out on deck. The afternoon sun beat down
on us. “I don’t see anyone,” I said. “Look behind you,” boomed a deep voice. We
turned around. There stood three men. Three total strangers.

 
 
17
     
     
    The three men stood side by side, wearing shorts, button-down shirts, and
boating shoes.
    The man who had spoken was tall and thin, with glasses and longish brown
hair. On his left stood a burly, sunburned blond man. On the right, a
curly-haired guy with a long, beaky nose on a birdlike face.
    I’d never seen any of them before. What were they doing on our boat?
    Dr. D. cleared his throat. “May I help you?”
    The tall man spoke. “I hope we didn’t frighten you. And I’m sorry to barge
aboard like this, but we were worried. Are you in trouble? We saw your boat
tilting dangerously to one side and became alarmed.”
    Dr. D. chuckled, trying to act casual. “We hit some rough water,” he lied.
“But everything is all right now, as you can see.”
    Where did these guys come from? I wondered. I stepped to the edge of the deck and saw a motorboat tied up to the side.
    “I was afraid you were going to tip over,” the man said. “We thought we would
have to rescue you!”
    “No, no. We’re fine now. Aren’t we, kids?” Dr. D. insisted.
    “Fine?” I blurted out. “What about—”
    Dr. D. squeezed my shoulder. Hard. I shut my mouth.
    Why was Dr. D. acting as if everything were okay?
    When goldfish blow up into monsters, everything is not okay.
    “It was very kind of you to come and help.” Dr. D. let go of my shoulder,
finally. I rubbed it.
    “My pleasure.” The tall man smiled. “I’m glad there’s no trouble. Always
happy to help a fellow sailor.”
    He