Chenda and the Airship Brofman Read Online Free

naughty Pekinese, watched as the professor darted back and forth across her office, collecting books and maps from the shelves, several bits of stone from a specimen cabinet, a small anvil, a hammer and a tiny rubber mallet. All of these, she plopped onto the heavy wood paneled desk in front of Chenda.  The professor darted to the window, snapping shut the gauzy, moth-eaten curtains and closing out the last rays of the afternoon sun. Little wisps of dust curled slowly down to the floor. Candice glanced around the room one last time, and stepped to the door again, closing it firmly and sliding the draw bolt. She turned to face Chenda.
    “Bring those stones out again,” Candice said as she handed Chenda a small felt lined specimen tray. She settled on a corner of her desk while Chenda obliged, placing the tray near the professor.
    “These stones,” Candice began, running her finger across each one, “are extraordinarily rare.” She looked at the stones, not one bigger than the last joint of her thumb. “I'd never imagined I see ones this big.” Candice sat for a moment with one hand under her chin, thinking about what to say next. Chenda held perfectly still, anticipating, not wanting to disturb the professor's thoughts.
    Suddenly, Candice jumped to her feet and grabbed a jagged purple rock from the pile on her desk.
    “Lepidolite,” she said, placing the stone on a small anvil. Grabbing the hammer, she smashed the stone into powder with one strike. “That's a plus two on the hardness scale.”
    “Malachite,” she said, smashing a green stone into a hundred fragments. “Plus four.”
    “Hematite - plus six” Smash. Slivers of stone slid off the anvil.
    “Spinel - plus eight” - Smash.
    “Diamond - plus ten” Candice swung the hammer toward the clear stone and stopped at the last second. “Um,” she glanced at Chenda, “That one is expensive, but I promise you, it would have shattered.”
    Puzzled, Chenda asked, “What's your point?”
    Without answering, Candice grabbed Chenda's blue stone from the specimen tray, slapped it onto the anvil and brought the hammer down with great gusto.
    There was a thunderous crack. Chenda let out a small yelp, and watched as bits of the hammer's broken head fell to the floor. The small blue stone sat on the anvil, unharmed.
    Chenda trembled, shocked that the professor would take such liberties with specimens that did not belong to her.
    “This is a zul pedradurite .” Candice explained. “It's remarkable stuff. Can't smash it for anything, but watch this.”
    Dropping the now useless hammer handle, Candice picked up the small anvil in one hand and tilted it sideways. Chenda watched, expecting to see the stone falling to the floor, but nothing happened.
    “Magnetic," she said. Scooping the stone off the anvil, Candice reached for the small rubber mallet. Holding the azul pedradurite by the tips of her thumb and forefinger, she gently tapped the stone. The room filled with a rich, clear, musical note, and the stone glowed from within.
    Chenda covered her ears. How could a gentle tap create such a loud noise? The professor let the note ring out, pure and strong, for a few seconds more, then closed her fingers around it, choking off the sound.
    “The crystalline structure is perfect, you see, and the sound waves simply amplify themselves. It would just about ring forever, if you let it.”
    Candice opened her hand to reveal the stone, quiet and dull blue once again. She dropped it back into the tray. Picking up the yellow stone, she said, “ Geel pedradurite ,” and with the red necklace, " Kokivos pedradurite .” Candice thought a minute and said with a smile, “I'd have those stones sing for you, too, but I'm sure the fillings in my teeth would pop out from the vibration if I did. Tingles a bit, no?"
    Chenda, still with her hands over her ears, nodded in stunned agreement.
    “These stones are Tugrulian,” she said while passing the tray back to Chenda. “Please,