Felix Takes the Stage Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    â€œDid, too.”
    â€œDid not!”
    â€œDid, too!”
    â€œDid not!”
    â€œChildren! Children! Quit this squabbling,” Edith commanded. “And, Felix, get that line you just floated away from the cutlasses.” Then she muttered to herself, “So much for peace and quiet!”
    The flashing lights of an ambulance swept through the storefront window. The family fell silent.
    After a frozen minute, Jo Bell said, “They must be taking the Maestro away now.”
    â€œI hope he lives,” Felix said with a sob threatening to burst like a small thundercloud. “He was so … so …”
    â€œGifted,” Fatty finished the thought.
    But Edith was not thinking about the Maestro at all. She was listening to the slow grind of the fire truck’s gears as it turned around. Its siren was replaced by the shrill waaaaa! of an ambulance. The fire alarm was false, Edith thought, but how soon would the medics discover the real alarm — those tiny pale drops of blue, the blood of a spider, on the Maestro’s cuff?
    â€œJust a minute, children. I’ll be right back.” Edith used Julep’s dragline to hoist herself on deck, then scuttled up the rigging to the crow’s nest. Although the USS Constitution was on a table toward the back of the store, she had a clear view from her perch. Edith didn’t have to wait long before she spotted the flash of the white truck and the blurred letters on its side. L.A. CHEMICAL. She felt a shiver pass through every hair on each of her eight legs. They’re always so discreet, she thought with contempt. They never advertise what they really do. Fearful of causing a panic, no doubt. For what was more shameful than an infestation, particularly in a temple of art! And now the E-Men were arriving at the philharmonic hall with their poisons. Forget that fund-raising gala next week! They wouldn’t be able to raise a penny for ages. All because of us! she thought mournfully.
    The words rattled through her, right down to her spinnerets.

F elix felt awful, and it wasn’t just his leg. He was haunted by his mom’s words. “Felix’s only crime was that he showed himself.” He knew she didn’t really think he was a criminal, but it still hurt. His mother was smart. There was no denying it. But if only she were more artistic. His mom always said that brown recluses were misunderstood. But Felix was misunderstood by his own mother! And there was a crime he was guilty of — causing his family to have to move. They were unsettled! A condition that Edith loathed with all her eight legs, six eyes, and every fiber of her body.
    But while Felix was worrying about his mother, Edith was worrying about her son. He had been so quiet since he had arrived in her cabin. And she sensed that it was more than just his leg. She had caught him looking back at the orb weaver’s web. He was one little knotted-up wad of silk.
    â€œHow about I tell you children a story?”
    â€œOh, yes!” they all cried, even Felix.
    â€œYes, Mom, tell us a story, please! I know it would make my leg feel better,” Felix begged.
    â€œYour late leg, which now resides in the philharmonic hall,” Jo Bell said.
    â€œStop it, Jo Bell. Stop it this instant!” Edith snapped. Spiders cannot really snarl. Not exactly. But if they want to add an edge to their communications, they can send fierce vibrations through their webs. The children all shut up. A cross fire of glances shot among all three sets of eyes.
    After several silent seconds, Felix ventured to speak. “A story would be nice, Mom.”
    Then Julep, in a very tiny voice, said, “Maybe the one about the Place Where Time Has Stopped?”
    â€œOh, yes, I like that story,” Fatty said. He was still perched on the table behind the aft cabin windows. The light from his eyes enveloped them all in a lovely green glow.
    â€œAll right, gather