Stingray City. Ellen Prager
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Название: Stingray City
Автор: Ellen Prager
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Детские приключения
Серия: Tristan Hunt and the Sea Guardians
isbn: 9781938063718
isbn:
Sam and Tristan sat down on the back platform with their legs dangling in the water. They threw a few of the treat-filled toys into the water, and the otters quickly grabbed them. Tristan then offered the smallest otter a big purple sea urchin. The otter approached him tentatively. Tristan tried to communicate with it, thinking, How about a nice, yummy sea urchin? No response. He then tossed the sea urchin into the water. The live purple pincushion sank rapidly to the bottom. The small otter dove for it. But, about halfway down, the otter stopped abruptly. Seconds later, it bobbed buoyantly back to the surface. Another of the otters then easily dove down to snag the tasty treat. As it submerged, air bubbles released from the otter’s fur rose to the surface. The small otter swam into the cloud of bubbles, opened its mouth, and swallowed.
“No wonder she’s got gas,” Tristan said, trying not to laugh.
“C’mon, you’ve got to stop doing that,” Sam told the otter. Seconds later, Sam got an odd look on her face similar to when she first learned she could echolocate.
“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked.
“I think I can speak otter after all,” Sam told him. “The otter says she likes playing with the bubbles and the way they feel in her mouth.”
“Yeah, well, explain to her why she’s got to stop swallowing them,” Tristan suggested.
Since they didn’t need to talk out loud when communicating with sea creatures, Sam was quiet, but Tristan could tell she was concentrating.
“Where’s that gas relief stuff the trainer gave us?” Sam asked.
Tristan handed her a ball filled with crab mush. “There’s a pill stuck inside.”
Sam tossed the crab ball to the small otter. It deftly caught the ball and quickly scarfed down the “pill à la crab.” A few minutes later, a swell of bubbles erupted around the small otter. Sam and Tristan high-fived and tried not to laugh but couldn’t help themselves.
“Thar she blows,” Tristan said, and they laughed some more.
Looking on from outside the exhibit, Ryder, Hugh, and even Rosina were laughing. The trainer just smiled and gave them the thumbs-up.
Sam and Tristan hung out with the otters for a bit longer and then exited the exhibit. It was getting late, and they wanted to get some sleep before returning to begin their shift as regular volunteers in the morning.
Walking back to Pete’s house, Tristan turned to their host. “Hey, tomorrow night’s that big, fancy party at the aquarium. Right?”
“Yes.”
“Guess we won’t be going for a swim in any of the exhibits then,” Hugh noted.
“Definitely not,” Pete said, smiling.
AT THE AQUARIUM THE NEXT NIGHT, THE PRIVATE cocktail party was in full swing. Waiters in neatly creased black pants and starched white shirts roamed about, carrying platters of fancy finger food. Light jazz played over the intercom while the guests ate, drank, and explored the exhibits. A little earlier, when guests first started arriving, Tristan and the other campers had been hustled out a side door.
The teens now sat on a short concrete wall in view of the aquarium entrance. Hugh was showing the others the new mini-pocketknife tool his mother had sent. It had arrived that day at the aquarium. Hugh had told his mother during a recent phone conversation that he’d lost his other pocketknife tool earlier in the summer. He left out the part about how it was lost—taken from him by Marsh’s thugs.
Tristan wasn’t really watching or listening to Hugh. He was more interested in the arriving guests, marveling at the diversity of attendees and their varied attire. Some men had on expensive-looking dark suits. Others were dressed less formally. One guy had on jeans and a Hawaiian shirt. Another man was dressed like he was going on safari or something, clad entirely in khaki. Tristan thought he looked familiar. Many of the women were outfitted in short black dresses. A few had on long, sparkly gowns, and one lady was wrapped in a glittering sarong. A heavily bearded man then approached the entrance. He was encased in dark robes, wore a long matching scarf headdress, and was closely followed by an entourage of at least six men. When he reached the door, the man waited for one of his followers to open it. Just before he went in, the robed man turned. He stared right at Tristan—or at least it seemed that way. Tristan swiftly averted his eyes. When he looked back, the man was gone.
Just then, Pete came running out of the aquarium. He wore a wrinkled tuxedo and was breathing heavily. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you—wanted to catch you before you headed back to the house.”
“Who are they?” Tristan asked, nodding to the still-arriving guests.
“Executives from aquariums and parks around the world,” Pete answered. “They’re here for a conference on rescue techniques and breeding for conservation, and to hear about our work to create international standards for the collecting and keeping of animals. We work very hard and spend tons of money to make sure that our animals are well fed, live in clean water, and have enough room to swim around. But that’s not true in many places in the world. Animals are kept in tiny tanks with poor water quality and fed nutritionless junk. Two dolphins were recently rescued from a tiny pool in a theme park in Asia. It was full of murky, brown water, and the dolphins were sick, probably dying. We’re really trying to prevent that sort of thing from happening, along with stopping pirate fishing and collecting.”
“What’s that?” Hugh asked.
“Fishing or collecting of marine life that’s done illegally. It’s a huge global issue, but don’t get me started on that or we’ll be here forever. About tonight—everyone’s tied up at the event. So you’re on your own. Okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” Ryder answered, a little too quickly.
Pete eyed him and the others warily. “There’s a great pizza place just down the road.” He reached into his pocket and handed Sam a credit card. “Grab dinner and then head back to the house. Watch a movie or some television. Just keep a low profile—and whatever you do, stay away from the water.”
“No problem, sir,” Hugh told him.
“Dude, it’s not like we’re little kids,” Ryder added. “We know how to take care of ourselves. You should have seen some of the things we did earlier this summer.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard. That’s what worries me,” Pete responded. “Look, have a good night off and just don’t do anything stupid.” He then jogged back into the aquarium.
“Why do adults always say that?” Tristan said. “We haven’t done anything stupid yet. Well, at least that I can think of.”
The others shook their heads.
Tristan decided it must СКАЧАТЬ