The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester Read Online Free PDF Page B

and Stumpy.
    But Owen was not a quitter.
    While he searched, he thought about Tooley, and the niggle he had had earlier that day came back. The more he thought, the bigger the niggle got. It grew and grew until it became a tangled-up mass of worry. And in the center of the tangled-up mass was the biggest worry of all:
    Maybe Tooley really
was
sad.
    And then, just as Owen’s stomach was beginning to ache, something caught his attention.
    Something big.
    Something red.
    Down among the tangled bushes and scrub pines at the bottom of the ravine beside the tracks.
    Owen hurried down the slope, slipping and sliding on the loose dirt and rocks, pushing through clumps of brush and weeds.
    And then he stopped.
    He stood in gape-mouthed wonder.
    “Whoa!” he said out loud.
    The tangle of niggling worry in his stomach disappeared.
    Poof!
    Because lying there before him was the thing that had fallen off the train.
    Owen was sure of it.

CHAPTER TEN
    Owen scrambled through the thick brush, ducking under low-hanging branches and climbing over rotting logs. Prickers scratched his legs and snagged his clothes as he made his way toward the thing.
    The thing that had fallen off the train.
    The thing that had made the
thud
.
    It was big and red and made of metal.
    But what was it?
    Next to it, jammed between two scraggly oak trees, was part of an enormous wooden crate. Scattered here and there among the brush and weeds surrounding it were pieces of wood, splintered and broken.
    The crack of wood.
    The red thing lay nestled at the bottom of the ravine,where it had rolled down the slope from the railroad tracks.
    The tumble, tumble, tumble sound.
    One last push through the weeds and Owen was standing next to it.
    His mind raced.
    What
was
this thing?
    One end was rounded, like the nose of an airplane.
    On the other end was a small propeller.
    On each side was a short, stubby wing.
    There was a small propeller on each stubby wing.
    Was this an airplane?
    Owen didn’t think so.
    The wings weren’t big enough.
    There were no wheels, just a flat, box-shaped bottom.
    Besides, it was surely too small to be an airplane. Owen could stand on tiptoe and see right over the top of it.
    Then what was it?
    Owen walked around it, studying it carefully. There was an enclosed compartment with three large windows in the front and one round, bubble-shaped window on each side.
    In back of the enclosed compartment was a hollowed-out space. Strapped inside the space were four large tanks, like the kind that scuba divers use.
    Painted on one side of the red thing, just under the bubble-shaped window, was a dolphin. A silvery dolphin swimming through blue ocean waves.
    Above the dolphin, in swirling black letters, was written:
    Water Wonder 4000
    “A submarine!” Owen whispered.
    This red thing that had fallen off the train was a submarine!
    Owen peered through the windows. Inside was an instrument panel with a few glass-covered dials, some switches, and a joystick. In front of the instrument panel were two small seats.
    A submarine just big enough for two people!
    Owen had never seen anything like it.
    He ran his hand along the side of the submarine, feeling the smooth metal, tracing the dolphin, brushing dirt off the rounded nose up front, turning the little propeller in back. He examined the top. There were afew small dents here and there. Some scratches in the shiny red paint. But other than that, the Water Wonder 4000 looked perfect.
    Owen’s heart was racing.
    Wait
. . .
    . . . just
wait
. . .
    . . . until Travis and Stumpy saw
this
!
    Owen dashed across the yard toward the woods, followed by Travis and Stumpy. Pete and Leroy galloped along beside them, barking happily.
    “Where are y’all going?”
    Viola’s voice sliced through the air.
    Owen stopped.
    Travis and Stumpy stopped.
    Pete and Leroy ran in circles around them.
    Owen’s face twitched.
    His fingers fluttered.
    His feet bounced.
    Why, why, why
did Viola always have to show up at the