First Came the Owl Read Online Free PDF Page B

The birds had not a single seed left. It was Mom who usually fed them.
    The wind was strong and the blue water was edged with whitecaps. Nita looked hard at every dune as they drove along the beach. No yellow eyes looked back.
    â€œI saw a snowy owl here yesterday,” said Nita.
    â€œGreat!” said Dad, but he didn’t sound very enthusiastic. He looked over the beach, out across the water. “And Nita…” he said.
    â€œI know. I’ll be helpful and do my homework and say please and thank you.”
    â€œTry not to worry too much about Mom. She has a good doctor, and Mrs. Stillwater will take you to the hospital to see her tonight.”
    â€œShe will ?”
    Why doesn’t anyone ask me if I want to go see her? she wondered. They have it all planned. They have me all packed up and labeled, like my duffel.
    â€œLet’s drop off your duffel at the Stillwaters’. Then you’ve got time to go to the dock before school.”
    Nobody asks me anything, thought Nita. They just assume I’ll do what they plan.
    Dad fiddled with the radio on the way to the Stillwaters’ and waited while Nita put her duffel in the house. Then they drove down to the Coast Guard base, the radio playing piano music and Nita picking at a hole in her shoe. “I wish you wouldn’t go,” she said.
    Dad parked the car and hurried toward the gate. Nita followed more slowly. See? He just assumes I’ll follow him, like a dog or something.
    The dock looked like a postcard, with the white cutter, the flags, and the Coast Guard people all dressed in blue. Dad looked more and more cheerful the closer he got to that stupid boat.
    â€œHey, Nita.”
    â€œHi, kid.” Two officers greeted Nita.
    Dad gave her another of his one-arm hugs, but Nita couldn’t look at him or smile. He ran up the gangplank and jumped down onto the deck.
    The whistle blasted and the shore crew loosed the lines. Dad waved to her from the deck, and the icy blue water made a widening space between them, just like in the movies. Nita’s eyes prickled and her arm shot up. Then she put her arm down. See, I’m playing my part in this movie, she thought. Acting. I won’t wave to him; he’s being a jerk.
    She turned away and almost missed seeing the captain of the cutter throw something in a high arc toward the dock. A little dog leaped into the air and caught a dog biscuit! The crowd cheered, the shore crew laughed, and Dad’s face became a blur under his blue hat. Soon all the dark blue dots on the deck looked the same. The cutter passed the marker buoys and headed out of the harbor into the sound.
    Nita reached down and patted the captain’s little dog, who had come over and drooped against her leg. I know how he feels, she thought. Is it better to be a person? At least the dog got a biscuit.
    A big, smiling man with gold on his hat hurried toward Nita. “Hi there,” he said. “Everything okay?”
    Nita glared at him. She edged toward the gate with the dog at her heels.
    â€œBecause if you need … I mean, well, have a good day at school!” said the officer. His face seemed to get redder, but it had been red to begin with. Nita remembered him now. Captain Pudge! Only she was sure that was not his real name. He used to go fishing with Dad. His friendly smile wavered as he saw Nita’s glare.
    â€œI can’t take this dog, though,” said Nita. She was trying to be nice. It wasn’t his fault that Dad was a jerk.
    â€œOh, I’ll keep him. I always keep him when Dick Turner goes out. Come on, fella. Snack time!” The little dog trotted back inside the gate. Nita headed toward school, feeling hungry.
    Now I’m an orphan, she thought, because my parents are both gone. Maybe it will start to snow. There’s even a hole in my shoe—it’s not a very big one, but it might get bigger. An orphan, all alone in the world.
    She stopped at the