Island of Spies by Sheila Turnage

Author:Sheila Turnage [Turnage, Sheila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

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• • •

“Clean our floors? Why?” Dirk asked, slouching in the doorway.

Neb lowered his voice. “Man to man? It’s bugs—a boy job, but Rain and Stick can handle it. Please show Julia out. I don’t want her to see this.”

I peeked around Dirk, into the front room. Julia stood there barefoot, a pair of flat-soled shoes dangling from her fingertips. “I think these shoes will be better for the sand,” she said.

Rain scooted around Dirk, into the room. “Thank you for liking my art, Julia,” Rain said. “Where are your palmetto bugs?”

Palmetto bugs. Brilliant.

“Eurycotis floridana,” I said. “Like roaches but bigger. One lays fourteen to sixteen eggs a week. Time is of the essence.” Julia stared at us, her green eyes calculating. She’s not going for it, I thought. “There’s one!” I shouted, pointing behind her. Rain screamed.

Julia bolted, slamming the front door behind her.

“Pull the curtains and stomp,” I whispered. Rain high-stepped around the front room as I sprinted into the bedroom and slipped my spyglass in my bucket. “I’ll get the passports,” I whispered, shoving the bucket at Neb.

“No,” Neb said. “It’s the first thing they’ll look for. Let’s get out of here.”

A flash later, we stepped onto the porch. “Thanks,” I told the Artists as Neb strolled away with the bucket. “In case of insects, come directly to us. The postmistress suffers from entomophobia—an irrational fear of bugs. We hope to keep her from full-blown phobia.”

We’d almost made it to the lighthouse when I took the bucket from Neb. It was heavier than expected. Sadly, I didn’t ask why. Instead, I turned to Rain. “Something’s bothering me.”

“The origin of life again?” she guessed. “The mechanics of time?”

“No. You said the PO receipts sat on top of things in the little suitcase. On top of what?”

“Money,” she said. “The little suitcase is full of ten-dollar bills.”

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