Part 10 (1/2)

Emmy was crouched on the carpet by Jesse's bed, crunching her way through a head of cabbage.

From the separate rooms, the cousins called to each other.

”Don't forget the flashlight!” said Jesse.

”Right!” said Daisy.

”Make sure it has batteries!” said Jesse.

”We'll need a second backpack, don't you think?” said Daisy.

”Yeah, and what about the two-person tent--” Jesse broke off in the middle of the sentence because, just then, from Daisy's window, he saw the million-dollar car pull up to the curb.

Jesse dropped the sleeping bags and tore back through the bathroom to where Daisy was kneeling on the floor of his room, packing a second backpack. Jesse ripped it out of her hands. ”Never mind about that now! He's here! St. George is here!”

128.

[Image: The dragon.]

CHAPTER NINE

HIDE-AND-SEEK.

The doorbell rang. Jesse and Daisy grabbed each other as the house filled with the sound of ”Rock of Ages.” St. George must have been leaning on the bell, because the tune played over and over and over again.

Emmy rolled aside the head of cabbage and bounded into Jesse's arms. ”Bad. Man. Come!” she whimpered. ”Hidemehidemehideme!”

129.

Over the din of the doorbell, they heard the back door slam. Uncle Joe was running through the house, calling out, ”All right, all right, all right already! I'm coming!” Then they heard the front door open. Mercifully, the doorbell fell silent. A murmuring of voices came from the front hall.

Emmy had burrowed beneath Jesse's T-s.h.i.+rt. She was trembling. ”Where can we hide her?” Jesse whispered to Daisy.

Daisy shook her head and frowned. Then her face lit up. ”I know! Come with me!”

Jesse followed her down the hall to her parents' room and into Aunt Maggie's vast walk-in closet. Everything in the closet was in apple-pie order except for her shoes. Aunt Maggie had a lot of them--far too many to organize--so she kept them in three big wicker baskets in the very back of her closet.

Daisy tipped over the basket farthest from the door and dumped out all the shoes onto the floor. ”Put her in there,” she said to Jesse.

Jesse lifted his T-s.h.i.+rt. ”Don't worry,” he said to Emmy, ”we're going to hide you really well. All you have to do is be very quiet and still.” He set the dragon gently in the center of the basket. Then the cousins carefully piled shoes around and on top of her. They stood back and looked at the effect.

130.

Emmy was completely covered, but some of the shoes were moving.

”It's fine for you to move around and get yourself comfortable,” Daisy told Emmy. ”But once you're settled in there, you can't move. You have to stay very, very still.”

”Stay. Still. Not. Move,” Emmy said from beneath the shoes. But the shoes were still moving. ”Notmovenotmovenotmove.” The shoes were churning around now.

Jesse sighed. ”And no yakking, either,” he said.

”Em. Meee. Not. Yak. Em. Meee. Eat,” Emmy said. ”Em. Meee. Eat. Em. Meee. Eat. Shoe!” Shoe!”

Daisy's face took on a look of pure panic. ”No, Emmy! Listen to me. Do. Not. Eat. The. Shoes.”

”Fooooood!” Emmy crooned.

Jesse slapped his forehead. ”How can she be hungry at a time like this?”

”I'll find you something,” Daisy said to Emmy ”Only please, please don't eat my mother's shoes.” Daisy dashed out of the closet.

Emmy's head erupted from the pile of shoes. ”Foooooooood!”

”Hush, Emmy,” said Jesse sternly. ”She's gone to get you something. But you have have to keep your voice down.” to keep your voice down.”

Daisy flew back into the closet with a bottle of 131.

Turns in her hand. ”It says on the label that these things are loaded with calcium.” She opened the bottle and dumped some of the colorful tablets into her hand. Then she knelt down and held her hand out to Emmy. ”Try one and see if you like it. Quickly, please.”

They watched as Emmy, with maddening slowness, took a pink tablet in her s.h.i.+ny green talons and nibbled at it, then popped it into her mouth and crunched it to dust. ”Turns. Goooood.”

”At least she won't be suffering from acid indigestion,” Jesse said.

”And she can read!” read!” said Daisy, tucking the open bottle next to Emmy among the shoes, then covering Emmy and the bottle with more shoes from one of the other baskets. The cousins took one last look at Emmy's basket. A soft crunching sound was coming from the pile of shoes, but at least the shoes weren't moving. They backed out and closed the closet door. Then they closed the door of the master bedroom and ran up the hall to Jesse's room. said Daisy, tucking the open bottle next to Emmy among the shoes, then covering Emmy and the bottle with more shoes from one of the other baskets. The cousins took one last look at Emmy's basket. A soft crunching sound was coming from the pile of shoes, but at least the shoes weren't moving. They backed out and closed the closet door. Then they closed the door of the master bedroom and ran up the hall to Jesse's room.

Jesse quickly booted up the computer and slipped in the CD for a video game. Daisy rolled the head of cabbage under Jesse's bed and tidied up the evidence of their thwarted escape. Jesse was pretending to play and Daisy was pretending to 132.

watch when they heard the knock on the door they were expecting. Daisy went to answer it. ”Hi, Poppy!” said Daisy.

Her voice sounded odd. Jesse swiveled in his chair. Uncle Joe was standing in the doorway with St. George right next to him.

Seeing St. George practically inside his bedroom was enough to make Jesse want to pick up his computer and heave it at the man's big head.

”It seems,” said Uncle Joe, giving them each a very careful look, ”that Dr. St. George has misplaced his lizard ... again.” again.”

”Gee,” said Daisy, ”that's too bad.”

”She probably hates being in your lab,” said Jesse. His hand flew to his mouth.

But St. George pounced on him. ”Then you've been to my lab, have you, boy?” he said.

”Of course not!” said Daisy. ”He just figured you have a lab, because you're a, whatchacallit, herpatopterist.”

”Herpabologist, ” Jesse corrected her. ” Jesse corrected her.

”That's herpetologist,” herpetologist,” said Uncle Joe. ”And didn't you guys tell me you were going over to the college to visit him today?” said Uncle Joe. ”And didn't you guys tell me you were going over to the college to visit him today?”