False Bottom Read Online Free Page A

density. Less dense, then more colour. Things like paper and cotton are orange.’
    â€˜What is green?’
    â€˜Orange or green is for vegetable or plant matter. Brown is carbon-based.’
    Amy was puzzled. She had seen the round, black shape in The Mouth’s guitar-case, even if the guard missed it. What could that be? Did it move slightly? Or was that just the jerk of the belt? Was it alive? Was he smuggling something?
    â€˜What’s that?’ Christopher pointed to a doll-like shape in the outline of Amy’s backpack.
    â€˜Vegetable matter.’
    Amy didn’t like to tell the guard that it was Edwina, her teddy. ‘Cool’ ten- year- old sleuths don’t usually carry stuffed teddies in their bags. But her Edwina had been all over the world.
    Strangely, the mysterious shape in The Mouth’s bag was about the same shape. Did he have an Edwina, too? Or was it alive?
    Edwina was stuffed with cotton wool because Aunty Viv repaired her after a Wilhelmina snack attack. So there were no weapons or drugs inside Edwina. And she wasn’t smuggling anything inside a toy, but others might be.
    Christopher had an important question. ‘Excuse me. What colour for money? If someone was trying to smuggle money out of the country.’
    â€˜That’s illegal. You’re only allowed to take out a certain amount of Australian money.’
    â€˜And the colour on the screen? Would it show up as vegetable? Or would there be some metal?’
    â€˜Depends on how dense it was. How much of it. Now move away, this is a restricted area. You shouldn’t be looking this side. You might distract our guard.’
    The warning came too late. The Mouth’s guitar case had already slipped through!
    A young mother with lots of luggage struggled to the scanner. She was carrying a baby capsule, holding a grumpy toddler and followed by another child.
    â€˜Put the baby capsule through, madam,’ instructed the guard. He didn’t see the baby inside. He thought the capsule was empty.
    Looking worried, the mother put the baby capsule on the belt. She unloaded her airline bags ,too. Her other children ran ahead through the security doorway. The mother turned just as Christopher walked back. He looked sideways at the capsule...
    â€˜Hey! Stop the belt! The baby’s inside the capsule!’ yelled Christopher.
    â€˜What!’
    The guard moved very fast. So did Amy and Christopher. Together they pulled the capsule from the moving belt. The felt ribbons has just started to drag across the baby’s face.
    It started to scream.
    â€˜I’m so sorry, madam. The baby should be all right. The rays will not have hurt her in that short time. It only reached her feet.’The guard looked shocked, but the mother just calmly accepted the capsule and baby. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’
    â€˜ Yes, thanks. I’ll have to go. The others are running wild, as usual.’
    She followed her other children through the metal detector doorway.
    Christopher and Amy gave each other the thumbs up sign.
    â€˜Fast work.’
    â€˜I wonder what the baby would have looked like on the monitor?’
    â€˜A skeleton. The bones show. We’ve had skulls through here,’ the guard said.
    â€˜Whose skull?’ The twins spoke together.
    The guard smiled. ‘Some medical doctor. He was giving a talk. It was one of his teaching aids.’
    â€˜Would a dog’s bones show? After all the excitement, Amy was sorry she hadn’t seen the screen baby. It might have looked like the bump in
    The Mouth’s luggage. That might have been a clue.
    â€˜Thanks, you two. Now off you go and get your plane.’ The security guard looked glad to get rid of them. ‘Amazing. You both wear glasses,
    I have perfect eyesight, and I miss the baby! Amazing!’
    â€˜Nothing wrong with wearing glasses!’ muttered Christopher.
    The Mouth had hurried through the security