Magic Tree House #40: Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Osborne Mary Pope & Sal Murdocca

Author:Osborne, Mary Pope & Sal Murdocca [Osborne, Mary Pope]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Published: 2008-12-23T08:00:00+00:00

Jack’s hand was cold, so he put his glove back on. He put away his notebook, and then laid his head back down and closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep. The warmth from the small heater felt good. The sound of the snowmobiles was fading into the distance. As he started to fall asleep, the words of his notes ran through his mind: Go slow… Stay with others… Cracks in ice…

Oh, no! thought Jack. He sat straight up. He tossed off the blanket. He threw on his pack and rushed out of the hut.

The wind was blowing the snow into icy clouds. Jack pulled up his ski mask and lowered his goggles. “Annie!” he shouted.

“What?” Her voice came from the distance.

Jack caught sight of her. She was aiming her camera up the slope at the smoking crater of the mountain.

“You have to come back now!” he shouted, walking toward her. “You shouldn’t be walking around by yourself!”

“Okay, okay.” Annie put her camera in her pocket.

“Come on,” said Jack. He took Annie’s hand. They held on to each other and walked through the blowing snow, toward the hut. “Remember Nancy’s rules?” said Jack. “There are deep cracks in—AHHH!”

Before Jack could finish, the ground beneath him gave way and he and Annie crashed through a thin layer of snow hiding a deep crack in the ice.

Jack and Annie landed on an icy ledge. Clumps of snow fell on top of them. Silence filled the air. A thin shaft of light came from the opening they had fallen through. It was at least ten feet above them.

“You okay?” Jack said.

“I think so,” said Annie.

They both sat up slowly. Annie peered over the edge of the ledge. “Uh-oh,” she said. “Look.”

Jack looked. He and Annie were on the ledge of a ravine that plunged thousands of feet down into darkness.

“This must be one of those hidden places in the mountain Nancy talked about,” said Jack, “the ones made by the lava and hot gases.”

“It’s incredible,” said Annie. She reached into her pocket for her camera.

As soon as Annie moved, Jack heard the ice crack. “Don’t move!” he said.

Annie froze.

“Forget pictures,” said Jack. “We’re facing serious danger here. If we move, the ice might break under us and we’ll fall thousands of feet.”

“Got it,” said Annie. She took a deep breath. “Maybe we should use the wand.”

“We can’t,” said Jack. “The wand won’t work. We can only use it for the good of others, not just ourselves.”

“Darn,” said Annie.

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