Floors #3: The Field of Wacky Inventions Read Online Free Page B

side.
    “Merganzer D. Whippet is a strange dude,” Remi said. “The guy’s got a moat.”
    Hazy green water came right to the edge of the wall and spanned fifty feet across. It was so wide, the moatmade the field of wacky inventions look like it was sitting in the middle of a lake.
    “Do you suppose there are any alligators in there?” Remi asked, flipping over onto his stomach and lying down on the wall with his face staring down at the water.
    “One way to find out,” Leo answered, pulling out another lint-covered piece of beef jerky and tossing it over the edge of the wall. He reclined next to Remi and waited as the jerky floated on the surface of the water like a piece of bark from a tree. Looking past the moat, Leo saw a vast space of empty land, presumably owned by Merganzer, and no sign of a road into the property anywhere. It would seem that the only way in was by airship.
    “Check it out,” Remi said. “Did you see that?”
    Leo snapped to attention and looked straight down at the beef jerky. There were swirling movements coming in from four directions, and while Leo looked, four alligator heads burst out of the water and went after the treat at once. The water turned into a frothing, churning sea of sharp teeth and slapping tails.
    “I think I’ve seen enough,” Remi said, sitting up and looking back into the relative calm of the world inside the walls. “Let’s go get breakfast.”
    Leo had to agree — there wasn’t a whole lot moresitting on top of the wall was going to get them. They’d gotten about as much information as they were likely to get, and it was not good: They were isolated, there was no way out, and there were alligators in the moat.
    Whatever Merganzer D. Whippet was doing in the field of wacky inventions, he didn’t want anyone finding out about it.
    “Come on,” Remi said. “There’s nothing a good pancake won’t make better. Let’s go find out what’s going on around here.”

I t was easy finding their way back. All they had to do was climb down onto the ground and follow the smell of sizzling bacon, which became stronger and more pleasant the closer they got to its source. As they walked, they saw enormous round tents and oddly shaped buildings off in the distance between the trees, but they didn’t dare do any more exploring on their own without permission. If there were alligators in the moat, there was no telling what might be lurking in a structure that looked like a circus tent.
    “It looks like the other airships are still here,” Leo said as they passed near a square building sitting on thegrass with ropes leading up into the tall trees. “I think ours was the only one that took off last night.”
    “And we’ve arrived,” Remi said as they walked under a circle of leafy tree limbs overhead. Bright green grass covered a small grove they’d found, and in the middle, a long stone table awaited them. It appeared, from the way everyone was staring at them, that they were late.
    “Is this them?”
    The voice was not friendly, and the face that delivered it was even less so. It belonged to a man dressed in a white suit, with the longest face Leo had ever seen in his life, made longer because of the pointed white beard that extended six inches off his chin.
    Merganzer was standing to the side, wearing an apron and a tall hat. He presided over a round cooking surface as big as a tractor tire. When he saw Leo and Remi, he lit up like a Christmas tree.
    “There you are! I was starting to wonder who was going to eat all these pancakes. Have a seat — we’ve been expecting you.”
    There were five people seated at the long table, and they all looked as if they’d not only already eaten but had also grown tired of waiting around for whatever was going to come next. Leo and Remi sat down in the two empty chairs and waited for their pancakes and baconto arrive. The plates before them were more like pizza pie pans — huge — and this made both of them feel a tinge