Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delights by David Elliott

Author:David Elliott
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780375849435
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2008-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

There Are Two Jeremies

Jeremy had never met someone whose introduction required the wearing of a helmet. He got up early the next morning and was fully dressed by the time Toby and Letitia came to fetch him. Toby was his usual talkative self; neither he nor Jeremy mentioned the ramble.

In a matter of minutes, they were standing at the edge of the field, far from the living and performing areas. Before them, a great white X had been chalked into the grass.

“What’s that for?” Jeremy wanted to know.

“Oh, that,” Toby replied. “It marks the spot.”

Suddenly, the air resounded with an earsplitting boom. Jeremy had heard this thundering blast several times that morning. He assumed they were explosions at one of the Baron’s factories, which, as everybody knew, were nearly as dangerous as the sunstone mines. But the second the boom shook the air, Toby nodded solemnly.

“Put this on,” he said.

He handed Jeremy a leather helmet as he deftly removed his top hat and strapped an identical helmet under his chin. Letitia was already wearing hers, leather, like the boys’, but checked in contrasting shades of pink. Toby had cut out holes for her large but dainty ears. She looked very cunning.

“Any second now,” Toby said.

Both he and Letitia directed their gaze at a sixtydegree angle up into the vast emptiness of the sky. Jeremy had no idea what it was he was supposed to be looking for, but he followed Toby and Letitia’s lead, nose in the air, squinting into the sunlight.

And then he saw it. At first, it seemed to be nothing more than a red dot, growing larger and larger as it hurtled through the air toward them. But by the time the dot had reached the pinnacle of its arc, high above the field and about halfway from the entrance to the Living Museum, it began to take a recognizable shape.

But that’s impossible! Jeremy thought. It can’t be! It’s a . . .

“Yes!” the woman shouted as she hit the ground, her feet placed perfectly on either side of the X. “A perfect landing!”

She smiled broadly. Her full set of gold teeth sparkled happily in the sunlight.

“You stuck it, all right,” Toby said. “So I guess we don’t need these.” He unbuckled his and Letitia’s helmets and took them off as he shot the woman a knowing glance. “Not like last time.”

“Now, Jeremy,” the woman protested, turning to Jeremy as if she had known him all her life. “You are Jeremy, right? Of course you are. Who else could you be?” She reached out and touched his cheek. “At any rate,” she went on, “don’t you listen to Toby about what happened before. It wasn’t my fault. The wind blew me off course.”

She was wearing overalls completely covered in spangles, which, like her helmet, were the brightest shade of red.

“This here’s Sylvana,” Toby said, gesturing toward the woman. “The Wuman Cannonball.”

Sylvana removed her helmet. An avalanche of hair the color of winter carrots tumbled down her back and onto her shoulders.

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