The Forbidden Expedition by Alex Bell

Author:Alex Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2019-11-11T16:00:00+00:00

“This is Gus,” Cadi said proudly.

“He’s wonderful!” Stella exclaimed, delighted.

“Why is there a fish dangling from a string over his head like that?” Shay asked.

“Oh, I tied that there before I came down the mountain to see you,” Cadi said. “I was a little farther up when I saw your airship arrive. I wanted to come and have a look at you without Gus following me.” She glanced at the walrus. “It’s a little mean, really, as he can’t actually reach the fish, but he’ll bat around at it with his flippers for hours and it keeps him entertained enough that he won’t go wandering off and get himself into mischief.”

As if sensing he was being talked about, Gus gave a loud bellow before sliding forward across the ice toward them. He obviously did have poor eyesight, because the walrus almost collided with Ethan. When he realized there was a person there, the walrus became very interested and immediately raised himself up to snuffle all around Ethan’s hair, pressing his soft, whiskery face right up close to the side of the magician’s head.

“Great Scott, this is even worse than the polar bear!” Ethan exclaimed. “He’ll have my eye out with one of those tusks!”

“No, he won’t!” Cadi said indignantly. “His whiskers are just his way of seeing you properly.”

Gus insisted on inspecting every one of the explorers this way. When he got to Stella, she couldn’t resist flinging her arms around him in a big hug, causing him to snort appreciatively. When he tried to greet Nigel, though, the camel spat at him in outrage, although Gus didn’t seem to mind particularly. He just sloped off back to Cadi, who kissed him on the neck.

“Why do you have a walrus, anyway?” asked Ethan.

“Why do you have a camel?” Cadi shot back.

“He was foisted upon us,” Ethan said. “Although, actually, he’s not half bad. I rather like him.”

“Well, Gus wasn’t foisted on me,” Cadi said. “I chose him. Apprentice hunters all get to pick their own walrus when they go off to hunt witches in the Icelands. They’re terribly useful for carrying all your supplies and things. Plus they help keep you warm in a blizzard. Walruses are supposed to be good for hunters because they make hardly any sound as they glide along the ice. Nobody wanted Gus on account of his being a little odd, but I liked him more than the stuck-up, noble walruses.”

“Seems to me that a noble walrus is just what you ought to be picking rather than an odd one like this,” Ethan said.

“Don’t be rude,” Stella said. “And don’t call him odd. You’ll hurt his feelings.”

“Oh, Gus doesn’t mind,” Cadi replied. “He’s been called far worse. Anyway, you’ll certainly be safer with us. I know a bit about what to expect from the mountain. I’ve been here a few times before. For example, I could have told you to travel through the Cave of Hypnotizing White Cats rather than the Cave of Flying Sharks. That would have been much simpler.

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