We Sled With Dragons Read Online Free PDF

now!”
    â€œBut we were just about to—” Oliver had just pointed back at the screen when he heard the unmistakable shouts of an angry mob growing nearer. Explorers—and the children of explorers—learn from a very young age what the shouts of an angry mob sound like—a bit like the ocean in a seashell, a bit like a handful of forks tossed into a blender.
    In this case, a very big blender and a whole lot of forks.

5
WE MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT

    â€œHEY GUYS.” COREY nodded at Oliver and Celia as he slammed the door behind him and leaned against it. He had a bruise next to his left eye, just to the side of his teardrop freckle, and his perfect hair was long and greasy and not at all perfect. His clothes were tattered. “I guess I’m doing a whole, like, retro-grunge look, huh?” He smiled widely.
    â€œSo retro,” Celia said, not really knowing what he meant but liking the way he smiled when he said it.
    Oliver rolled his eyes, but Celia elbowed him in the side. Corey gave Oliver a high-five, which he happily accepted.
    â€œSo, did the pirates torture you?” Oliver asked.
    â€œOnly on the first day.” Corey shrugged. “An argument broke out about the series finale of
Sunset High
and, well, they settled it with fists. Team Annabel and Team Lauren took out their disagreements on my face. Who knew that pirates cared so much about romance? But after that was settled, they were pretty decent. My hand got sore from signing autographs and scrubbing floors, but otherwise—”
    â€œThere’s no time!” Dr. Navel cut him off and pulled Ernest up from the bed.
    â€œMrrrmmm,” Ernest groaned.
    â€œWe’re not, like, taking him with us, are we?” Corey asked.
    â€œWe made a promise,” said Dr. Navel.
    â€œWe’ll turn him over to the authorities once we’ve escaped the angry mob,” said their mother.
    â€œBwak!” squawked Dennis.
    â€œSo, uh, why is there an angry mob chasing you?” Oliver wondered.
    â€œYou don’t need to say angry mob,” said Celia. “You can just say mob. All mobs are angry.”
    â€œWhatever,” said Oliver. “Why is there a mob after you?”
    â€œThe rescue didn’t go all that smoothly,” their mother explained. “Patrick snuck into the pirate stronghold and located Corey Brandt, just like he was supposed to.”
    The monkey clapped for himself.
    â€œThe pirates were running around, packing things up to leave,” their mother continued. “Bonnie was furious that the professor had escaped and she was preparing a search party to go after him.”
    â€œShe imagined that I would fetch a nice ransom.” Professor Rasmali-Greenberg smiled. “As president of the Explorers Club, I do have many wealthy friends. The royal family of Monaco attended my last birthday party.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Oliver and Celia shrugged, unimpressed.
    â€œAnyway,” said their mother. “To make a long story short—”
    â€œToo late,” said the twins in unison.
    â€œThe professor created a distraction while your father and I took Corey.”
    â€œThey kept me chained to a post outside!” the teenager added. “Check out my tan! And my scorpion bites!”
    He seemed pretty excited about his tan and his scorpion bites. Celia was afraid he’d gone crazy, but it was very hard to tell with celebrities, and even harder to tell with teenage boys.
    â€œAnyway, we were making our way out of the camp when—,” their mother said.
    â€œThere’s a window back here.” Dr. Navel ran in from the bathroom. “We can climb out that way and escape the angry mob.”
    â€œYou don’t need to say angry,” repeated Celia.
    â€œHoney,” said their mother, smiling way too politely, “I am trying to tell the story about why the mob is chasing us in the first place.”
    â€œBut honey,”