Nim at Sea Read Online Free PDF Page B

the Monkey Deck—where the lifeboats were. She stopped under the small inflatable motorboat. “Hang on, Fred,” said Nim.
    Swinging upside down like a nimble monkey-girl, Nim scrambled up the frame and onto the boat, unclipped one end of the canvas cover, and slid inside. Then she pulled out four life jackets to make a mattress and pillow, and curled up.
    Fred went straight to sleep, but Nim kept seeing Selkie locked in her cage, and Alex flying away on the plane, and Jack all alone on their island. She didn’t know how she was going to save Selkie, or where they were going to end up, or how they were going to live on this ship.
    For the first time since she was a baby, Nim cried herself to sleep.

    Nim was so tired, and the canvas lifeboat cover kept the sun out so well, that she didn’t wake up till long after the sun was up and the ship was back out at sea.
    She opened her eyes, peeked quickly over the edge of the lifeboat—and ducked down even faster, because a boy was coming out of the cabin in front of her!
    Nim settled back down to wait. Fred made a hungry face, so she dug through all her pockets to see what she could find: a pencil and a very soggy notebook, a green stone, five ankle bands for birds visiting the island, a small bamboo cup, a few strands of seaweed…and the map Alex had drawn of her city island.
    She gave Fred the seaweed and, very gently, spread Alex’s map out on the seat. It was torn on the fold lines and a bit faded.

    MAP: NEW YORK CITY/MANHATTAN ISLAND

    “You’d probably be grounded all the way to New York City,” Kylie had said when they pulled Nim out of the sea.
    New York City was where Alex’s editor was—the one person in the world who would know where Alex was now.
    “Oh, Fred, we’re going to rescue Selkie, find Alex—and bring us all together again!” she whispered. “All we have to do is stay on the ship till the end of the trip—without getting caught.”
    Then there was a
thump,
and a
bump,
and a boy slithered into Nim’s boat.

N IM AND THE BOY stared at each other.
    Fred and the boy stared at each other.
    “Ben!” a girl called. “What are you doing?”
    Ben didn’t answer.
    “I’m coming up too!”
    Nim’s boat rocked again, and Erin slithered in.
    “Be quiet!” Ben hissed. “She’s a stowaway!”
    “I thought you were the Professor’s kid!”
    “I didn’t mean to stow away,” Nim explained, “but the Professor kidnapped Selkie.”
    “Kidnapped!” Erin and Ben whispered together, crouching closer toward her in the bottom of the lifeboat.
    “Who’s Selkie?” asked Erin.
    “She’s our best friend! She’s a sea lion.”
    “How are you going to rescue her all by yourself?” asked Ben.
    So Nim told them her story. It was hard for Erin and Ben to believe, but they knew it was true.
    “We’ll help!” said Erin.
    “It’s not going to be easy,” said Nim. “We need to make a plan.”
    “But first, we all need breakfast,” said Ben. Fred lifted his head and stared. He liked this Ben.
    “You exit first, Ben,” said Erin. “No one’s ever surprised to see you popping out of strange places.”
    With a quick peek over the edge, Ben swung down, and a second later he rapped twice on the metal frame to say the coast was clear. Erin followed. After a while there were two more raps, and Nim climbed out too. Erin was waiting at the open door of the cabin; Nim could see a man and a woman disappearing down the stairs with two small girls and Ben.
    “Come inside, quick!” Erin whispered.
    This cabin was bigger and fancier, with two beds and two sets of drawers and lamps, a desk, and a closet.
    “Mom and Dad and the twins are in the cabin next door,” Erin said, “but they’ve gone to breakfast now, so we’ll be okay.” She opened the closet. “I’ve got some clothes for you.”
    “But I’ve got clothes,” said Nim.
    “Your shorts are great,” Erin said, “but if you’re going to hide on the ship, you need to look like the other