A Bridge to the Stars Read Online Free Page B

A Bridge to the Stars
Book: A Bridge to the Stars Read Online Free
Author: Henning Mankell
Tags: english
Pages:
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there's the risk of Otto marching
up to you at break asking why your mother didn't wake
you up in time.
    He takes a short cut along the white paths through the
churchyard, taking a quick look round to see if there are
any new graves. As usual he jumps over a black
headstone where it says 'The Family Grave of Nils
Wiberg, Farmer of this Parish', but it's icy underneath
the snow today and he slips and hurts his bottom.
    Ghosts exist even though he doesn't believe in them.
Perhaps it's Nils Wiberg who doesn't like the idea of
Joel jumping over his grave?
    He races over the schoolyard and gets to the top of the
stairs just in time. The school bell is ringing and he
imagines that it is the captain of the barque Celestine summoning his crew to their stations. This very day in
1956 they will set sail from Bristol and head for Biscay
with a cargo of live horses and some cloth from a textile
mill in Manchester.
    Just like his father had told him about. Heading for
Biscay with horses and fabrics.
    On the way home from school Joel calls in at the
bookshop and buys a little notebook for two kronor. He
has nineteen kronor stashed away in a tin under his bed.
He uses two of those coins to buy a book in which he can
write down all the things he is sure are going to happen.
    Logbook, he knows that's what it's called. Every ship
has a logbook. Every day the skipper notes down what
winds are blowing, the location of the vessel and
anything unusual that has happened. If a ship gets into
difficulties, the logbook always has to be rescued.
    'It's the ship's Bible,' his dad told him. 'It tells the
history of the vessel.'
    While he's waiting for the potatoes to boil, he sits
down at the kitchen table with his notebook and a pencil
in front of him.
    'The Search For The Dog That Headed For A Star', he
writes on the cover. He underlines the first letter of
every word and inserts a few vowels so that he can
pronounce it. THESEFOTHEDOTHFAS.
    That's the code for a secret society of course, he
thinks. A secret society whose name nobody will be able
to guess. He starts writing on the first page.
    'The search for the dog that headed for a star began on
March 8, 1956. The weather was fine. Clear sky, plus
four degrees, colder towards evening.' He reads what he
has written and has the feeling that the adventure is now
under way. It's already there inside him. When you have
an adventure inside you the only thing that matters is
what happens next. Just as on a ship like the Celestine .
    The figurehead on the bows always looks ahead.
Never backwards.
    He suddenly has an idea.
    He will hide the logbook in the Celestine 's display
case. If he lifts the model up carefully he can put the
book underneath her so that nobody can see it. Of course
that's where the logbook ought to be!
    The evening passes so unbearably slowly. Joel lies
down on his bed and tries to read a book, but he can't
concentrate. He fetches a needle and thread and tries to
darn a hole in his sock. He can usually do this rather
well, but tonight the thread gets tangled and he has to cut
it away. He goes into his father's room and sits with him,
listening to the radio.
    A man with a high-pitched voice is going on about
how important it is for cows to have enough space in
their stalls.
    He glances at Samuel, who is sitting in his worn-out
armchair with his eyes closed.
    Is he really listening to this? Joel wonders. Surely he's
not interested in cows?
    Suddenly it seems as if his dad has read Joel's
thoughts.
    'You forgot to buy milk from Mr Svenson today,' he
said. 'Don't forget tomorrow.'
    If the adventure and the secret society are not going to
be exposed, it's important that he doesn't forget anything.
Everything has to be exactly the same as usual.
    'I won't forget tomorrow,' he says. 'I'll get some milk
tomorrow.'
    'It's getting late,' says his dad. 'Time to go to bed.'
    Joel creeps into bed and lies waiting.
    When the news has finished, Joel can hear his father
gargling. He can see through the
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