Puddlejumpers Read Online Free Page B
teething ring as souvenirs. Root and Runnel ran themselves ragged trying to keep everyone out of the house.
Thatâs when the notorious Buck arrived and quickly put an end to the commotion. He was a chief scout, like Cully, and the only Puddlejumper ever to escape the Most Dark. He had a jagged scar on his right cheek and a nasty claw mark that ran the length of his back, which few Puddlejumpers had actually seen, but all knew about. Upon his unlikely return from the Most Dark, he told about the many captive Jumpers heâd seen there, suffering, enslaved by the Troggs. But Buck didnât tell about something else heâd seen in that place of darknessâsomething even more horrible than any Trogg. The secret was a terrible burden for one Puddlejumper to bear, but he didnât want to frighten the others any more than they already were.
Buck rounded up the perpetrators in the hayloft, where he reminded them that the very future of the Kingdom was at risk. He promised consequences for any further trespassing, then sent the chagrined Jumpers skidding back to the Underneath. After that, he used clay, pinesap, and sundew mucilage from pouches on his belt to seal every puddle on the Frazier farm. In a few daysâ time they would evaporate without a trace.
Buck immediately went to work. His first task was deciding how they would transport the Rainmaker. In a grove of oak, he and Cully selected a solitary maple tree. After beavers took it down, the Jumpers built three wagons sturdy enough to carry a human baby and all of his things.
Next, Buck chose six raccoons strong enough to pull their precious cargo. Jumpers had a long history of enlisting raccoons, beavers, foxes, and deer, even birds and insects, to help them in their work. Despite Buckâs fierce nature, he was the most skilled and patient when it came to working with other creatures.
After acquainting the raccoons with the harness, he trained them to pull in tandem, running through the forest and along the plateau, building endurance. As they gained experience, he added more stones to the wagons to simulate the weight of the baby. During practice runs, the wagons crashed more than once, and Buckâs crew needed to repair them several times. His final hurdle was teaching the coons how to jump a puddle. It took long hours of practice. One raccoon broke his leg and had to be replaced. But they finally got it right.
After mapping an escape route from the farm to a puddle deep in the timber, Buck walked the terrain to make sure there would be no surprises. And it wasnât just planning how they would do it, but when. On clear nights, he rode the back of the farmâs great horned owl to the top of the tallest pine, where he could see the full panorama of the starry sky. Swaying in the wind, he studied the rotation of the planets to determine the optimal time.
While Buck prepared during the long hot summer, Root and Runnel continued to watch over their Rainmaker. Cully never ran out of nighttime stories, while Pav treated pinkeye and fended off a nasty case of cradle cap.
Those who spent time with Shawn were getting impatient because, in their minds, the baby was already theirs. But it wasnât just them. The entire Kingdom was waiting for the homecoming, waiting until all things were right and ready.
The moment finally came on the day of the autumn harvest.
CHAPTER SIX
Kidnapped
R USS AND S HAWN were up before daybreak. Russ made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs with garden vegetables, strong black coffee, and toast slathered in Betty Woodruffâs homemade rhubarb jam. For Shawn, he made pureed vegetables to eat with applesauce and milk.
Shawn was turning six months old that day and Russ was already in a celebratory mood. For him, the day of the autumn harvest was the most important day of the year, and surely the happiest. It was the day when his hard work came to fruition. He kissed his son on the crown of his head and said,
Thatâs when the notorious Buck arrived and quickly put an end to the commotion. He was a chief scout, like Cully, and the only Puddlejumper ever to escape the Most Dark. He had a jagged scar on his right cheek and a nasty claw mark that ran the length of his back, which few Puddlejumpers had actually seen, but all knew about. Upon his unlikely return from the Most Dark, he told about the many captive Jumpers heâd seen there, suffering, enslaved by the Troggs. But Buck didnât tell about something else heâd seen in that place of darknessâsomething even more horrible than any Trogg. The secret was a terrible burden for one Puddlejumper to bear, but he didnât want to frighten the others any more than they already were.
Buck rounded up the perpetrators in the hayloft, where he reminded them that the very future of the Kingdom was at risk. He promised consequences for any further trespassing, then sent the chagrined Jumpers skidding back to the Underneath. After that, he used clay, pinesap, and sundew mucilage from pouches on his belt to seal every puddle on the Frazier farm. In a few daysâ time they would evaporate without a trace.
Buck immediately went to work. His first task was deciding how they would transport the Rainmaker. In a grove of oak, he and Cully selected a solitary maple tree. After beavers took it down, the Jumpers built three wagons sturdy enough to carry a human baby and all of his things.
Next, Buck chose six raccoons strong enough to pull their precious cargo. Jumpers had a long history of enlisting raccoons, beavers, foxes, and deer, even birds and insects, to help them in their work. Despite Buckâs fierce nature, he was the most skilled and patient when it came to working with other creatures.
After acquainting the raccoons with the harness, he trained them to pull in tandem, running through the forest and along the plateau, building endurance. As they gained experience, he added more stones to the wagons to simulate the weight of the baby. During practice runs, the wagons crashed more than once, and Buckâs crew needed to repair them several times. His final hurdle was teaching the coons how to jump a puddle. It took long hours of practice. One raccoon broke his leg and had to be replaced. But they finally got it right.
After mapping an escape route from the farm to a puddle deep in the timber, Buck walked the terrain to make sure there would be no surprises. And it wasnât just planning how they would do it, but when. On clear nights, he rode the back of the farmâs great horned owl to the top of the tallest pine, where he could see the full panorama of the starry sky. Swaying in the wind, he studied the rotation of the planets to determine the optimal time.
While Buck prepared during the long hot summer, Root and Runnel continued to watch over their Rainmaker. Cully never ran out of nighttime stories, while Pav treated pinkeye and fended off a nasty case of cradle cap.
Those who spent time with Shawn were getting impatient because, in their minds, the baby was already theirs. But it wasnât just them. The entire Kingdom was waiting for the homecoming, waiting until all things were right and ready.
The moment finally came on the day of the autumn harvest.
CHAPTER SIX
Kidnapped
R USS AND S HAWN were up before daybreak. Russ made a big breakfast of scrambled eggs with garden vegetables, strong black coffee, and toast slathered in Betty Woodruffâs homemade rhubarb jam. For Shawn, he made pureed vegetables to eat with applesauce and milk.
Shawn was turning six months old that day and Russ was already in a celebratory mood. For him, the day of the autumn harvest was the most important day of the year, and surely the happiest. It was the day when his hard work came to fruition. He kissed his son on the crown of his head and said,
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