Dolphin Island Read Online Free PDF Page A

determined
     not to be sent home by the next boat.
    “I haven’t any family,” he said. “There’s no one I want to send a message to.”
    The nurse’s eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch.
    “H’mm,” she said, in a skeptical tone of voice. “Well, in that case, we’ll give you
     your nightcap right away.”
    “Just a minute,” pleaded Johnny. “Please tell me where I am. Is this Australia?”
    The nurse took her time in answering as she slowly poured a colorless fluid into a
     measuring glass.
    “Yes and no,” she said. “This is Australian territory, though it’s a hundred miles
     from the mainland. You’re on an island in the Great Barrier Reef, and very lucky to
     have reached it. Here, swallow this—it doesn’t taste too bad.”
    Johnny made a face, but the nurse was speaking the truth. As the medicine went down,
     he asked one more question.
    “What’s this place called?”
    The huge nurse gave a chuckle that sounded like a small thunderstorm going by.
    “
You
should know,” she said. The drug must have been very quick acting because Johnny
     barely caught her next words before he was unconscious again.
    “We call it Dolphin Island.”
    The next time he woke up he felt a slight stiffness, but all the burning had gone.
     So had half his skin, and for the next few days he was molting like a snake.
    Nurse, who had informed him that her name was Tessie and that she came from the island
     of Tonga, watched approvingly while he ate a hearty meal of eggs, canned meat, and
     tropical fruits. After that, he felt ready for anything and was anxious to start exploring
     at once.
    “Don’t be so impatient,” said Nurse Tessie, “there’s plenty of time.” She was going
     through a bundle of clothing, hunting for shorts and shirt that would fit Johnny.
     “Here, try these for size. And take this hat, too. Keep out of the sun until you’ve
     worked up a proper tan. If you don’t, you’ll be back here again, and that would make
     me very angry.”
    “I’ll be careful,” promised Johnny. He decided that it would be an extremely bad idea
     to make Nurse angry.
    She put two fingers in her mouth and blew a piercing whistle, whereupon a tiny girl
     appeared almost instantly.
    “Here’s your dolphin-boy, Annie,” said Nurse. “Take him to the office—Doctor’s waiting.”
    Johnny followed the child along paths of crushed coral fragments, blindingly white
     in the fierce sun. They wandered between large shady trees, which looked rather like
     oaks, except that their leaves were several sizes too big. Johnny was a little disappointed
     by this; he had always believed that tropical islands were covered with palms.
    Presently the narrow road opened into a large clearing, and Johnny found himself looking
     at a group of single-storied concrete buildings, linked together with covered walks.
     Some had large windows behind which people could be seen at work; others had no windows
     at all and looked as if they contained machines, for pipes and cables led into them.
    Johnny followed his little guide up the steps into the main building. As he walked
     past the windows, he could see the people inside staring at him curiously. That was
     not surprising, in view of the way he had arrived here. Sometimes he wondered if that
     strange ride was all imagination—it seemed too fantastic to be true. And was this
     place
really
called Dolphin Island, as Nurse Tessie had said? That would be an altogether outrageous
     coincidence.
    His guide, who had apparently been too shy or too overawed to utter a word, disappeared
     as soon as she had led Johnny to a door marked “Dr. Keith—Assistant Director.” He
     knocked, waited until a voice said “Come in,” and pushed his way into a large air-conditioned
     office, refreshingly cool after the heat outside.
    Dr. Keith was a man in his forties, and looked like a college professor. Even though
     he was sitting behind his desk, Johnny could see that he was unusually tall