Rescue On Nim's Island Read Online Free

fast they could grow when they were cold. So as well as ropes, torches, and cans of emergency food like rice pudding and baked beans, the cave held rows of test tubes and Petri dishes.
    ‘Fascinating!’ said Leonora, studying a tube full of shimmering algae.
    Nim glowed brighter too, knowing that all these scientists had come to see Jack’s research, and that somehow, this meeting might change the world. She stayed happy the whole walk back to the camp, even when Tristan made vomiting noises at the rotten-egg smell from the Hissing Stones and Tiffany stole a yellow flower off a bowerbird’s nest.
    T HAT NIGHT EVERYONE collected driftwood from the beaches and sticks from the forest to make a giant bonfire on the sand. They roasted sweet potatoes from Nim and Jack’s garden, and toasted marshmallows that Anika had brought from the city.
    Nim’s marshmallow caught on fire. She blew it out fast. She’d never had a marshmallow before, and she didn’t want it all burned up before she’d tasted it.
    ‘That’s my favourite way too,’ said Edmund, poking his stick into the fire till the marshmallow was flaming bright. He blew it out, pulled off the ashy cover, and sucked the melting white mess off his stick.
    Nim tried, and he was right. She still liked sweet potatoes better, but flaming marshmallows were more exciting.
    After dinner, the adults pulled their fold-out chairs closer around the campfire and talked science talk. Jack told them about the experiments he was doing with algae.
    ‘We need to find a fuel that doesn’t destroy land or oceans, and doesn’t use up crops that people need for food. Algae grow fast, and some of them produce oil. But the ones I’ve found that grow fast don’t make oil, and the ones that produce oil don’t grow fast. I’m hoping that with all of us working together, we’ll find the answer to how they can do both.
    ‘It was a big decision to invite you,’ he continued, ‘because Nim and I have worked very hard to keep our island secret. The ancestors of its plants and animals have lived here for thousands and even millions of years, and we want to make sure that they always stay safe in their own environment. But the island is part of the world, and right now we need to work together for the whole world’s environment to become safer.’
    Everyone smiled and clapped, then Lance gave a speech about how honoured they were to come here, and about being part of the world family of scientists, and how he hoped that everyone here respected the island as much as he did. It was quite a long speech, and Nim closed her eyes as she rested her head against Selkie’s warm back. She barely even heard Anika talking about seaweeds and kelp, the biggest algae of all, or Ryan discussing why it was important to know exactly where the ocean’s temperatures were changing most, and what happened to the algae that grew there.
    But she woke up when Leonora began to speak, because the elegant biologist made her science into a story. Even little Ollie sat quietly to listen.
    ‘Algae were the first form of life,’ said Leonora. ‘Learning about their history will give us clues about the algae we have now.’ Then she told them about the fossils she’d found in different places around the world: dinosaur bones and footprints, fern leaves and seashells.
    ‘Like your necklace?’ asked Tiffany.
    The amber scorpion had its head raised and its pincers spread. In the flickering firelight, it looked as if it was still angry and struggling to get out.
    ‘My lovely little friend, caught in tree sap millions of years ago, but still perfect and fierce,’ said Leonora, stroking the stone.
    Tiffany shuddered.
    ‘It’s not their fault they’re poisonous,’ Leonora said severely. ‘I’m like Nim: I love all creatures, whether they’re ugly or beautiful. That’s why I’m a biologist.’
    Nim swelled with pride all over again. She forgot that a second ago she’d been shuddering with Tiffany, because she