Olivia Brophie and the Pearl of Tagelus. Christopher Tozier

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СКАЧАТЬ Did I tell you that twenty-five coral snakes live under my house, I mean, my aunt’s house?”

      “Considering we just met a minute ago . . . no. And I doubt that. Coral snakes are solitary.”

      “Shows you what you know, Nature Boy. I’ve seen ’em.”

      “Are you sure they aren’t king snakes?”

      “My aunt said so. Corals. That’s what she called them.”

      “Well, they must just be under there hunting mice. They are solitary.”

      “You don’t know it all. Hey, there’s another burrow.”

      “And there’s the tortoise over there,” Doug pointed across the clearing. “Looks like a really old one.” The tortoise’s shell was a glossy gray color and elegantly sculpted. His head reminded Olivia of an old man. The tortoise was slowly chomping on a cactus.

      “They eat those things?” Olivia exclaimed.

      The tortoise looked up. Its beak was covered with red berries of some kind.

      “Get ’em!” Olivia shouted and took off running.

      “No, wait!” Doug shouted back.

      Olivia sprinted across the sand, convinced that she had the old tortoise cornered, but it turned and bolted into its burrow with amazing quickness.

      “You are never going to catch one that way, dummy. Besides, why can’t you just leave him alone?” Doug continued his lecture. “It’s a little-known fact that no matter how fast you run or how quietly you sneak around, you will never catch a tortoise that way. They are significantly faster than most people believe.”

      “That thing is fast,” Olivia was still shouting, ignoring Doug. “I thought they were supposed to be slow. Gimmee a stick!” She peered down into the burrow. The burrow was so big that Olivia figured she could probably squeeze down there herself.

      “No way. Just let him be. Besides, I just told you tortoises are fast. Do you have hearing problems?”

      As she kneeled there, she could see the tortoise facing her down in the darkness. Olivia looked into his wise eyes. She reached down trying to grab him.

      “Eh. I wouldn’t do that. There might be rattlesnakes down there,” Doug warned.

      “Get up here, Mr. Gruffle,” Olivia ordered.

      “Mr. Gruffle?” Doug asked. Olivia could name anything. She always thought of the perfect name for even the most mundane of things. She is the one, after all, who named Gnat “Gnat” even if their parents refused to spell it with a G.

      “Yeah, Mr. Gruffle.” She looked at Doug like she wanted to add, “and do you want to make something of it?”

      “Oooookay . . . put a flag on Mr. Gruffle’s house, please.” He handed her a red flag.

      “You know, the animals sure are brave in Florida,” Olivia said as they started walking again.

      “I dunno,” said Doug. “There are plenty of bears and panthers and rattlers out here and I never see them.”

      “And corals. Lots of corals,” she responded with a smile.

      “Yeah, for a solitary snake, I guess they are plentiful. You know, you never told me where you were from.”

      “That is because you were rude. I’m from Wisconsin.”

      “Sorry, I just never heard that accent before.”

      “It’s all right,” she said, pulling some leaves off a small tree next to her. “You grow up around here?”

      “Yup. Just down the road.”

      “How many endangered species do you think are out here?” she asked.

      “Well, the books say there are a bunch that haven’t been discovered yet. My plan is to discover a new animal. I have as good a chance out here as anyone. You get to name it yourself when you discover one, you know.”

      “What are you going to name it?” Olivia asked.

      “I don’t know yet. I suppose it depends on what I discover,” Doug responded. “I have ideas.”

      “Well what are your ideas?” Olivia was getting irritated.

      Doug turned red. “I dunno. . . .”

      “You should have seen those chickens back there. They were definitely weird.”

      “Looks like Dougie here has a girlfriend. The new Milligan girl.” Three large boys and a girl stepped out from behind some bushes. Two of the boys were carrying shotguns.

      “Oh geez,” Doug said. “Come on, Larry, we are just walking through.”

      “How many people are walking around out here in the middle of nowhere?” thought Olivia.

      Olivia noticed that Larry was starting to grow facial hair and it was coming in patchy. He was clearly a few years older than anyone else. Later, Doug explained to Olivia that everyone in Lyonia called Larry Mutch and his brother Richard “the twins” even though Richard was born two years later. Their Dad had held Larry back a few years so he would be bigger than the other boys on the football team. He hadn’t held Richard back in school because he showed no athletic talent. In fact, he was particularly slow and clumsy. So the twins were in the same grade at school despite two years of age difference. No one dared argue with them over the issue.

      Olivia learned the skinny boy’s name was Cucumber Nevels and that his buddies called him Cuke. He was as devious as Larry was dumb. Doug told her that Cuke must have decided years ago that he would be friends with the biggest, meanest boys who would then protect him. Doug was sure he was also trying to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by growing the world’s longest mullet. Begonia Salt was the girl. She never said much, but she didn’t have to because she was on the football team herself, and not as a kicker but a linebacker.

      “I’m Olivia,” she said, trying to be nice. She hadn’t learned yet that trying to be nice to this gang wouldn’t help matters.

      “O . . . liv . . . ee . . . uh,” Cuke stretched out her name because he couldn’t think of anything else to make fun of. “How you like being a Milligan? You know, everyone around here thinks they are freaks. You better be careful.”

      Olivia blushed.

      “What are you guys doing out here anywhere? There is no hunting allowed. This is protected,” Doug asked.

      “None of yer business,” Larry snipped. “But if it matters so much, we are huntin’ the Bobwhite Witch.”

      “Who is Bob White?” Olivia asked, suddenly interested. The boys started laughing and slapping each other with exaggerated glee. Begonia didn’t crack a smile.

      “Who is Bob White? Bobwhite is not a person, Einstein. Bobwhite is a bird-witch, a cannibal bird-witch and we aim to kill her. СКАЧАТЬ