Danny Dunn on a Desert Island Read Online Free

you parents needn’t worry. Are there any last-minute questions?”
    â€œYes,” said Mrs. Pearson, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Can’t you change your minds and stay home?”
    â€œOh, Ma,” Joe protested. “Don’t start that again.”
    â€œThey’ll be perfectly safe, Sarah,” said Mr. Pearson, patting her hand.
    â€œI know it. But saying good-bye always makes me feel so sad.”
    â€œIf there are no other questions,” said the Professor, “we’d better get everything aboard.”
    They turned to the mountain of equipment. In addition to the material they needed for their camps, there were numerous cans of gasoline, and a rubber raft with a box of emergency equipment.
    They got the gasoline aboard first, and then the Professor put his hand on a large packing case. “I’m afraid this won’t go through the door,” he said. “What on earth is it, anyway?”
    â€œThe two portable cookstoves we decided on,” said Dr. Grimes.
    â€œHm. This plane carries a little over a thousand pounds. With three hundred pounds of gasoline, for emergencies, we’re dangerously close to the load limit.”
    Danny said, “Why not just leave them behind, Professor? We can build a fireplace.”
    â€œI only agreed to them for your sake,” growled Dr. Grimes. “I can do without them very well.”
    â€œThat suits me,” said the Professor, “Let’s move them aside.”
    â€œAs far as that goes,” Dr. Grimes continued, “we don’t need air mattresses, or pillows, either.”
    â€œI agree,” the Professor said. “And since the islands are near the equator and will be quite warm, we can do without tents. After all, the most important part of adapting to a desert island should be making one’s own shelter.”
    â€œLeave them behind then,” cried Dr. Grimes. “It will only make it easier for me to win.”
    â€œHere! Wait a second,” Mr. Pearson said. He stepped between the two scientists and held up his hands. “If you two practical men go on this way you’ll find yourselves on those islands with nothing but loincloths and hunting knives, like a character in a TV jungle story. We don’t care so much about your comfort, but I’m sure Mrs. Dunn feels as my wife and I do—we want our boys to survive.”
    That put an end to the competition, and they packed the rest of the gear away in the plane. At last they were ready to depart. Joe hugged his mother and father. Danny gave his mother a last embrace, and whispered, “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll be all right. It’ll just be a swell vacation.”
    â€œI’m not really worried,” said Mrs. Dunn, with a wistful smile. “After all, you’ve gone camping almost every summer. Just be careful. Do try not to get wet or chilled. And—look after Mr. Bullfinch, dear. He is a very important scientist, but he doesn’t have quite as much experience in camping as you do.”
    Danny was flattered. “I will,” he promised earnestly.
    He gave his mother a last kiss, and followed Joe into the plane. The scientists, after shaking hands all around, took their seats at the controls. The twin motors roared, and the plane slowly taxied down the runway.
    * * * *
    Since the Cessna was only a small plane, as private planes go, the two scientists had decided to make the trip over land as much as possible. They flew to Brownsville, Texas; then over Mexico and Central America, keeping to a schedule of between five and six flying hours a day. At night, too tired for sightseeing, they slept in hotels near the airfields where they landed for refueling and checkups. The evening of the fifth day found them within a hundred miles of their goal.
    They were flying down the west coast of South America, with the towering ranges of the Andes Mountains on their left and the Pacific