Pan's Realm Read Online Free PDF Page A

him. I told the dwarfs to ignore him and maybe he would go away.”
    â€œYou aren’t as forceful as you’re portrayed in the books,” Watch interrupted, “and why do you have four legs? In all the paintings I’ve seen, you’ve had only two legs.”
    â€œThose paintings are more modern. I’ve always had four legs.” A note of pride entered Pan’s voice. “And I can be forceful when it suits me. But let me get back to what happened that night.”
    â€œPlease do,” Adam said.
    â€œToward the end of the party, when we were stuffed with food and getting drowsy, Klandor brought out an old gold coin. He suggested we enjoy a harmless game, where we wagered small things. He even said I could flip the coin in the air and call heads or tails, which sounded fair to me. I mean, I didn’t see how he could cheat me if I was tossing the coin.”
    â€œBut he’s a wizard,” Adam said. “It might have been a magical coin.”
    Pan shrugged. “It sounded harmless to me. We were going to wager only small items: a silver plate from my table, a copper ring from his treasury, a silk robe from my closet, a crystal necklace from his study. He had brought his items with him so when I won something, he gave it to me right away. And I did the same—I have always paid my debts promptly.”
    â€œWhat did you win?” Cindy asked.
    Pan brightened. “Lots of things at first. I won most of what he brought. But then my luck turned. I would call heads, and it would be tails. I would say tails, and it would be heads. Really, I had an extraordinary run of bad luck. I think I lost twenty bets in a row. In fact, I lost back to him almost everything I had won. My servantswere kept busy bringing goods from my rooms to meet my debts. I eventually emptied my house, and I have a big castle.”
    â€œWait a second,” Watch interrupted. “You said you were only betting small things?”
    Pan looked more depressed. “At first we were, but then Klandor kept betting me double or nothing. I had to match everything he had already won from me, each time I tossed the coin. One of two things could happen. If I could win just once, I would be even. But every time I lost, I lost a great deal.”
    â€œAnd with each bet, the stakes went way up,” Adam said.
    â€œExactly,” Pan answered. “But I kept thinking I had to win at least once, and then everything would be all right. But I never did. The coin always landed opposite from what I called.”
    â€œBut you didn’t bet your kingdom away?” Sally asked. “That would have been completely stupid.”
    Pan looked as miserable as a half-goat, half-man creature could. “Well,” he said sadly, “yes, I did. I lost it all.”
    Adam tried to sound cheerful. “We all make mistakes.”
    â€œBut not all of us make such big mistakes,” Watch added.
    â€œBut how can you lose a kingdom with a toss of a coin?” Cindy asked. “I don’t understand.”
    â€œEveryone was watching the game,” Pan explained. “I couldn’t refuse to hand over my kingdom. I had lost it fair and square.” He sighed. “My poor elves, dwarfs, gnomes, leprechauns, fairies—as soon as Klandor took over he ordered us out. I guess he wanted to get back at all the elementals for ignoring him while I was king.”
    â€œWhy did you come here?” Watch asked.
    Pan shrugged. “We didn’t know where else to go. This seemed as good a place as any.”
    â€œBut your elementals can’t stay here,” Sally said. “They cause too much trouble. Your leprechauns stole our bikes and our picnic stuff. And one of your fairies made us invisible. Even in Spooksville, you can’t get away with stuff like that and not suffer repercussions.”
    â€œI can get your bikes back for you,” Pan said quickly.
    â€œI’m missing a watch