Mermaids in the Backyard Read Online Free

disappeared with the sea horse. “He doesn’t trust just anyone.”
    Lindy wasn’t sure what to say. She’d never been trusted by a sea horse before. “I like him, too,” she said.
    Soon Coral reappeared on the other side of the old-man boulders. “Finneus is okay,” she said. “Now it’s your turn, Sealily. Are you sure you can do this?”
    “I’m sure. Lindy Drylander will save me, just like she saved Finny. Let’s go!” Sealily sounded almost cheerful. She stuck her face under the water for a second. Then she slithered out of the back of the pool and pulled herself onto the life jacket.
    Lindy couldn’t stop staring at her tail. Could this really be happening? Was she really helping to rescue a
mermaid
?
    Sealily gripped the life jacket with both hands. “Ready!” she said.
    “Hurry!” Coral urged. She turned and dove out of sight again.
    Lindy grabbed the straps of the life jacket. She gave a tug, but nothing happened.
    “Ready?” Sealily asked. Her voice already sounded breathier.
    Lindy gulped. Should she just give up and wait for Jessica after all?
    “Lindy! Are you coming?”
    It was Coral. Lindy saw her bobbing in the surf just beyond the beach. It was hard to see through the rain, but Lindy thought she could make out Finneus’s tiny yellow head beside her.
    Seeing them made Lindy feel a little braver. She’d promised to help the sisters. She couldn’t let them down just because she was scared.
    She gave another pull on the straps. This time she felt the life jacket slide a little on the rocky ground. Another tug, and it slid even more.
    Sealily hung on tight. She let out a cry that sounded like it might be a mermaid version of “Wheeeee!”
    That made Lindy smile a little. She couldn’t help noticing that Sealily’s voicesounded weaker and shakier than ever, though. Pulling harder, she heard a
rrrrrip!
as the life jacket caught on a rock. Still, she kept pulling.
    A few seconds later, the life jacket slipped onto the sand. Now all Lindy had to do was pull Sealily up the path and around the rocks. Then down the beach to the ocean.
    Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide. Lindy’s arms ached. But she kept going. Pull. Slide …
    At last she crested the hill. She couldn’t stop yet. Yanking the life jacket around the corner, she started pulling it down the beach. She expected it to be a lot easier now that they were going downhill instead of uphill. But the wet sand clung to the life jacket and slowed it down. When Lindy glanced back, Sealily looked pale. Her eyes were half closed, and she wasn’t saying anything.
    Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide. The water was only a few feet away. Lindy’s muscles felt like jelly, and she could hear Sealily panting. Could they make it in time?
    Then Lindy saw something else. Coral was crawling out of the surf. She looked scared but determined.
    “We’re coming!” Lindy called to her.

    Pull. Slide. Pull. Slide.
    Coral crawled forward and grabbed another strap. She pulled, wriggling backward toward the waves. Lindy glanced down at Coral’s tail. It had to hurt her to crawl over the rough sand. Yet she wasn’t complaining.
    “Almost there,” Lindy said, huffing and puffing.
    “Ready,” Sealily said faintly.
    Lindy turned to look down at Sealily and saw the mermaid’s eyes fluttering all the way shut. That gave Lindy extra strength. “Arrgh!” she cried, giving a big pull.
    Her foot caught in the wet sand. She felt herself flying backward. But she kept hold of the straps. Her fall yanked the life jacket forward at the same moment an extra-large wave rolled onto the shore. It washed over Sealily, and she burst into motion. Both sheand Coral spun through the water as gracefully as birds flitting through the air.
    “Whew!” Lindy gasped. She hardly noticed when the wave poured over her. She was already soaked from the rain.
    She rolled over to watch the mermaids swimming away. For a second she thought they weren’t going to stop. But when the next wave rolled in,