Eve of the Emperor Penguin Read Online Free PDF Page B

take her away!”
    Jack put his arms protectively over his parka. “I’ll hide her,” he said. “We’ve got to get her to Merlin.”
    Jack heard a shout. He turned around. Nancy had caught sight of them. She was waving her arms and running toward them.
    “Hey, you two!” Nancy called. She dashed across the snow and threw her arms around Annie, then Jack.
    Jack held his breath, hoping Penny wouldn’t be squashed.
    Peep.
    Jack pulled away from Nancy and pretended to cough. He made his coughing end in a sort of
peep
.
    “The chopper just got here!” said Nancy. “Pete told me he was delayed by a snow squall! I freaked out! Where have you been? Are you okay?”
    “Don’t worry, we’re fine,” said Annie.
    “Perfect,” said Jack. “We don’t feel a bit sick or anything. We were just getting some fresh air. We’re ready to go now!” Jack started walking toward the chopper.
    Annie grabbed Nancy’s arm and walked with her. “Did you have fun on the mountain?” Annie asked, trying to keep Nancy’s attention off Jack. “What happened? What did you see?”
    “We saw lots of things, but I was worried about you guys the whole time,” said Nancy. “Your parents must be frantic back at the station!”
    “They had their own expedition today,” said Annie. “They study penguins.”
    Peep!
    “What was that?” asked Nancy.
    Jack did his weird cough again.
    “Are you sure you’re okay, Jack?” Nancy called after him.
    “I’m perfect,” he said.
    As the three of them approached the others, they were greeted with cheers. Nancy must have told everyone that we’re just little kids, Jack thought.
    “So glad you’re safe, young man!” said Ali, the biologist. He slapped Jack on the back.
    Penny peeped, and Jack coughed.
    “Sorry you couldn’t make it up to the top,” said Kim, the photographer.
    “That’s okay,” said Annie. “We still got a good story.”
    “Did you now?” said Lucy, the space scientist.
    “Yes, a
really
good story!” said Annie.
    “Excellent, but you mustn’t tell a soul,” said Tony, the journalist, “or one of us will steal it!” Tony laughed, and the others laughed with him.
    “Okay, we’ll keep it a secret.” Annie smiled.
    Pete opened the door of the chopper.
    “Brave little kids first,” said Nancy.
    Oh, brother,
thought Jack.
    Nancy ushered Jack and Annie toward the helicopter. They scrambled up the steps, climbed aboard, and sat down.
    As the others climbed in and got settled, Jack loosened his seat belt so he could buckle up without crushing Penny.
    Peep!
    Jack coughed. But to his relief, Pete started the engine. The rotor blades began to spin.
    “Headphones!” yelled Nancy.
    Everyone pulled on their headphones.
    Nancy gave Jack and Annie a big smile and a thumbs-up sign as the helicopter lifted off the mountain slope.
    “I love late spring evenings in Antarctica,” Nancy said to the group.
    Jack looked out the window. The evening sky was lavender with streaks of pink.
    “This light always reminds me that we’re in a different world from the world back home,” said Nancy.
    Jack and Annie smiled at each other. If only the others knew how many different worlds there really were.
    The chopper swept up through the soft light of the cold sky,
   up the slope of the burning mountain,
     past the orange-red lake of boiling lava,
       over white fields of ice and snow,
until finally it landed at the heliport, where the
red bus was waiting.
    The chopper blades stopped spinning. Pete gave the signal. Then Jack and Annie followed Nancy and the others out of the helicopter.
    Jack held Penny in place under his parka as he boarded the red bus. He sat with Annie near the back.
    Nancy took the driver’s seat and started the engine. As the bus rolled along, Jack peeked inside his parka. Penny looked up at him. She blinked a few times, as if she was a little worried. Jack patted her gently until she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
    Jack kept patting