Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint Read Online Free Page B

undressed and brushed his teeth. Before he got into bed he opened the window and looked out. Above him the sky was brilliant with stars. Somewhere among those glowing, twinkling points of light one of Professor Bullfinch’s shoes sailed, on and out, away from the familiar earth.
    â€œA ship to the stars,” Danny murmured to himself.
    Then, with a chuckle, he jumped into bed and, before his imagination could begin to work, he was asleep.

CHAPTER SIX
    An Odd Duet
    The next day began badly for Danny.
    In the first place, he was so excited by the events of the night before that, once he got his eyes properly open, he didn’t want to go to school, knowing what would be happening at home. It was with difficulty that Mrs. Dunn bundled him out of the house. When he got to school, he was ten minutes late.
    Then, as if that weren’t enough, he discovered that he had forgotten his hundred sentences. He couldn’t even remember where he had left them. Miss Arnold did her best to be patient, but in the end she said, “I’m sorry, Dan, but you’ll have to learn to take assignments like that more seriously. Tomorrow—no, tomorrow is Saturday—very well, Monday, I want to see those sentences and another fifty saying, ‘I must remember to bring in my work.’ ”
    When he started for home at three o’clock, Danny felt as if all the sorrows of the world rested on his shoulders. Joe Pearson’s first words did nothing to make him feel better.
    â€œGosh,” Joe muttered, as they walked up a tree-shaded alley together, “that Miss Arnold—where some people have a sense of humor, she’s got a sense of gravity.”
    â€œGravity?” Danny said with a start. The word reminded him at once of the Professor’s discovery.
    â€œYou know what I mean, she always takes everything so seriously.”
    â€œOh, sure, sure.” Danny bit his lip, remembering his solemn promise to keep silence.
    Joe moodily kicked at a stone. “Of course, it’s your fault too, Danny. You always have your feet off the ground.”
    â€œHuh?”
    Joe nodded. “Take it easy. Remember, what goes up must come down.”
    â€œUrp!” said Danny.
    â€œLook at that, now. A hundred and fifty sentences! And on a weekend too.”
    â€œListen, Joe,” Danny began. “I—listen, suppose—”
    â€œSuppose what?”
    Danny gulped. He had given his word, after all, on his honor as a scientist.
    â€œNothing,” he said.
    Joe looked sideways at him. “Boy, you’re really dizzy. See that? Nothing but trouble. It all started with that spaceship stuff yesterday—”
    â€œEep!” Danny couldn’t help himself. Then he clamped his lips shut. Luckily Joe wasn’t paying attention.
    â€œâ€”and this is where you wind up. What’s the matter? Did you get into trouble last night when you got home?”
    â€œTrouble? Oh—I—why—” The effort of trying not to talk about the anti-gravity fluid, when every word brought it to mind, made great beads of sweat stand out on Danny’s forehead.
    â€œHey, I gotta run,” he blurted at last. “My mother promised to bake me if I didn’t get home.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI mean, she’s going to lick a cake. I mean—anyway, I’ve just got to go. I have to do about a thillion mings—I mean a million thills—”
    He wiped his face. “So long, Joe. See you tomorrow, maybe,” he gasped.
    Then he ran for home, leaving Joe staring, openmouthed, after him. But for once Danny couldn’t spare the time to worry about what his friend thought; he was too busy wondering what was going on in the laboratory.
    The lab, when he poked his head cautiously in at the door, was a peculiar sight.
    Almost half of the equipment was stuck to the ceiling. To some of the pieces long wires leading to rows of batteries on the tables were