The Genius Files #4 Read Online Free PDF Page B

a—”
    â€œHow could I have been so dumb?” asked Coke. “I know. You break off a piece of the backscratcher and put it into somebody’s drink, right? It dissolves, and the next thing they know they’re coughing up blood and begging you to give them the antidote. Right?”
    â€œWrong.”
    â€œThere’s no antidote for the poison?” Coke asked.
    â€œThere’s no poison, and there’s no antidote,” said Bones. “You must understand, we have no budget for high-tech—”
    â€œMaybe you can stab somebody with this thing?” Coke asked hopefully.
    â€œIt’s a backscratcher ,” insisted Mya, demonstrating it. “That’s all it is. You use it to scratch your back! You know, in those hard-to-reach places. It telescopes. See?”
    â€œWe don’t need a backscratcher!” Coke said, disappointed. “We need something we can use to defend ourselves from the crazy people who are trying to kill us!”
    â€œLook,” Bones said. “You’ve got to believe me. Nobody is trying to kill you anymore. Relax! Enjoy the rest of your vacation. The coast is clear.”
    The coast may have been clear. It was Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico that the twins were worried about.
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    Go to Google Maps (http://maps.google.com).
    Click Get Directions.
    In the A box, type Little Rock AR.
    In the B box, type Bauxite AR.
    Click Get Directions.
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Chapter 7
RETURN OF AN OLD FRIEND
    T heir tummies filled, the McDonald family was on the road again. In fact, Dr. McDonald began to sing, much to everyone’s dismay, Willie Nelson’s signature song “On the Road Again.” As a singer, Dr. McDonald made a good history professor.
    The twins stared out the window as Arkansas rolled by. They were both thinking the same thing—what if Bones and Mya were wrong ? What if the coast wasn’t clear? What if Mrs. Higgins or those pesky bowler dudes were waiting for them at their next stop, ready to leap out and do some horribly unspeakable thing? Or what if there was a new threat out therewaiting to attack them?
    Coke made a mental note to never let down his guard.
    On the first half of their journey, most of the highway signs had an E , for east, after the route number. Now the highway signs ended in a W . The McDonalds were on their way home.
    â€œHot Springs, here we come!” Dr. McDonald bellowed as he merged onto I-30 West out of Little Rock. Mrs. McDonald opened her Arkansas guidebook and casually leafed through it. They had only traveled about fourteen miles when they approached exit 123—Bryant/Bauxite.
    â€œBen, stop the car!” Mrs. McDonald shouted suddenly.
    He swerved off to the shoulder of the road and slammed on the brakes, nearly causing an accident and frightening the other drivers. The Ferrari screeched to a halt. Books, maps, papers, pens, and anything else that wasn’t held down went flying into the front seat. Had they not been wearing seat belts, the whole family would have gone through the windshield.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Dr. McDonald asked, his heart racing. “Did I hit something?”
    â€œThis is the exit for Bauxite, Arkansas!” Mrs. McDonald said excitedly.
    â€œSo?” replied the rest of the family.
    â€œThe town is named after bauxite!”
    A moment of silence.
    â€œWhat’s bauxite?” asked Pep.
    â€œIt’s an off-white, grayish, brown, yellow, or reddish-brown rock,” Coke informed her. “They make aluminum out of it.”
    He remembered that from a game of Trivial Pursuit he had played years ago.
    â€œThank you, Mr. Wikipedia,” Pep said, rolling her eyes.
    â€œDon’t tell me, let me guess,” Dr. McDonald said. “There’s a museum here—”
    â€œYes!” Mrs. McDonald said gleefully. “Bauxite, Arkansas, calls itself the Aluminum Capital of the World! This will be great for Amazing but True