The Return of Captain Conquer by Mel Gilden

Author:Mel Gilden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction, sci-fi, middle grade, young adult
ISBN: 9781434448408
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2012-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

DOWN IN THE LABORATORY

It took forever for Berkowitz to get ready to leave. Watson, Fred Achziger, and Martin Trent stood around in various attitudes of boredom while Berko­witz banged and thumped and slid things around in his underground apartment.

Berkowitz also kept up a running commentary to himself. He said, “Oh yes, sure I’ll help. Of course. Just because you want Sherlock Congruent instead of me. Oho! Just step right up and insult the old man. Sure! Of course!” And so on. He was really steamed that the Puddentakers had kidnapped Wat­son’s father instead of him.

Watson said to Martin Trent, “It sure would have saved me a lot of trouble if the Puddentakers had kidnapped Berkowitz instead of my father.”

“Maybe next time,” said Martin Trent. He smiled sympathetically and patted Watson’s hand.

After a while Berkowitz came upstairs. He was still wearing his sub-ether antenna. Watson thought he was ready to go after he lowered his rocking chair back over the secret trapdoor, but Berkowitz insisted on saying good-bye to each of his gophers individ­ually. Gophers were everywhere. Watson leaned against the wall of the ticket booth, hugging himself to keep warm and watched Berkowitz rub noses with his pets.

His leave-taking did not seem to make much of an impression on the gophers, but saying good-bye evi­dently was a strong emotional experience for Berko­witz. He sniffled a lot and he seemed close to tears.

“I haven’t been parted from them for ten years,” Berkowitz said, sobbing.

He waved to the gophers from the edge of the open field around the ticket booth, and cried, “Good­bye! Good-bye! I’ll be back soon,” even while Fred Achziger and Martin Trent dragged him into the forest.

The group walked back down to the tree with the noose, and Fred Achziger began to walk south across the mountain, but Berkowitz said, “No. This way.” His eyes were still red, but his voice was steady.

“We’re going back to the road,” Martin Trent said.

“I know where you’re going. Follow me.” He set off down the hill in a direction which, according to Watson’s ring, was sort of southwest.

Watson, Fred Achziger, and Martin Trent looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. They walked together in the light cast by Watson’s ring, but Berkowitz didn’t seem to need it. He just plunged into the forest, sensing his way by sound and smell and feel. Any way but sight, because outside the um­brella of Watson’s light, it was too dark to see any­thing but the occasional glimmer of shine off a smooth leaf or the trunk of a tree.

After they’d walked for a while, Fred Achziger called a halt and sat down on a fallen tree. “As a man with forty pounds of brains in his nose, I say we’re lost.”

Berkowitz stopped and turned to glare at him. Watson and Martin Trent stood near Fred Achziger, but did not sit on the tree. Berkowitz said, “Those are city brains. They’re no good here. I know this forest. We’re almost there.” Without waiting for an

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