On the Reef Read online

  FLAMP! They flipped back into the Water Bug.

  glurp … “Just in time,” said the Water Bug.

  Andrew pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor and felt the paddle wheels start to spin. The Water Bug began to pull itself out of the sand.

  Clack! Clack! Clack!

  The claws of the Crab-Mobile were cutting through the net above them!

  The Water Bug zoomed forward and sped through the hole they had made for the manatee. But before they could get away, a door at the front of the Crab-Mobile slid open. A big black suction cup on a thick black cord shot out!

  BOINGGGG! It stuck to the hood of the Water Bug. Andrew and Judy slammed against their seats. Then—WHAM!—the Water Bug snapped forward.

  “Woofers!” said Andrew.

  “Errrgh!” said Judy. “It feels like someone’s playing volleyball with my stomach!”

  PLUUUUMP!

  The Water Bug’s rubber-blubber buggy bumper bounced into the front of the Crab-Mobile. Its glass dome was right in front of them!

  Inside they could see the shiny bald head of Soggy Bob Sloggins. His thin lips were twisted into a nasty smile.

  Awk! Awk! Awk! came the mocking laugh of Bob’s Ultra-Robot Parrot Partner, Burpp. He was flapping his wings on the back of Soggy Bob’s zebra-striped chair. Andrew and Judy heard the rustle of Burpp’s blue metal feathers.

  “Hope ya like mah No-Go Yo-Yo!” said Soggy Bob happily.

  Ever since he had attacked the Water Bug with his electrical eel, Soggy Bob could talk to Andrew and Judy whenever he wanted to. But they couldn’t talk back.

  “Ah gotcha now, ya mud puppies!” snickered Soggy Bob. “Some friends of mine are gonna baby-sit ya while ah go huntin’ that giant squid!”

  Soggy Bob pulled a big red handle. A rope at the back of the Crab-Mobile towed something closer. It was a metal cage with thick bars. Inside the cage were three big gray sharks. They were chewing on the bars of the cage.

  “These little fellas are a touch grouchy,” said Soggy Bob. “They’re losin’ their baby teeth! Heh! Heh! Heh!”

  Clack! Clack! Clack!

  The Crab-Mobile’s claws were moving toward the Water Bug’s doors.

  “Soggy Bob is going to pull our doors off!” said Judy.

  Andrew pressed the black Octo-Tool button. But the hood of the Water Bug wouldn’t open.

  glurp … “Suction cup has sealed hood of Water Bug shut,” said the Water Bug.

  “Uh-oh!” said Andrew. “We’ve got to get out of here, Judy!”

  They pressed the buttons on the sides of their seats and—

  FLAMP!

  They flipped out into the water again.

  “I’ve got an idea,” said Judy. “Follow me.” She darted toward the bright patchwork colors of the coral reef.

  Clack! Clack! Clack!

  One of the Crab-Mobile’s claws clamped on to Andrew’s toe!

  “Yeoouch!” he yelled. Andrew tugged his foot away. A piece of Bubble Duds tore off, but his toes were still there.

  Judy was disappearing into a crack in the high wall of the coral reef. Andrew swam faster than he ever had to catch up with her.

  Inside, the walls of the reef rose like a narrow canyon. Andrew could see the surface of the water far above. In some places, coral made bridges across the canyon.

  “HELP!” yelled Judy from farther inside the reef. “It’s got my leg! I’m being eaten by a …”

  “Giant clam!”

  Andrew swam around a bend, and there was Judy. One of her legs was trapped between two huge shells. The top of each shell was covered with rubbery blue skin.

  Clack! Clack! Clack!

  Judy looked frightened.

  “Don’t worry about the Crab-Mobile,” said Andrew. “It’s way too big to get in here.”

  kk … kkk … kkkkk …

  “If ya mud puppies think ya got away,” growled Soggy Bob through their headphones, “ah’ve got some big little surprises waitin’ for ya!”

  Awk! “Burpp gets to ride in the Egg- Mobile!” squawked the parrot.

  Judy pounded her fists on the clamshell. “Help me get out of this stupid clam! Now!”

  Judy pushed one lip of the clamshell and Andrew pulled the other. But the clam wouldn’t budge.

  “Whew!” said Andrew. “This is an awfully strong clam.”

  meep … “Got idea,” said Thudd from the pocket of Andrew’s Bubble Duds. He pointed to little black spots on the edge of the clam’s bright blue skin.

  “Giant clam got eyes,” said Thudd. “Can see light and dark. When giant clam see Oody’s shadow, it close shell. Who got mini-flashlight?”

  “I do,” said Judy, pulling a flashlight out of her front pocket.

  meep … “Shine light on clam,” said Thudd. “Clam get lotsa light, clam open up.”

  Judy snapped on the flashlight and shined it on the clam. It began to open!

  “Well, thank you!” said Judy as she pulled her leg out.

  “I don’t know what Burpp is up to,” said Andrew. “But we’d better find a place to hide.”

  They swam deeper into the narrow passageways of the reef. It was a maze with branching paths.

  Awk! squawked Burpp. “Roses are red, octopuses are blue, lots of scary things are waiting for you!” Awk!

  Andrew pointed to a dark crack in the reef wall. It was almost hidden by waving coral fans.

  “We can hide here,” he said.

  Judy wedged herself into the crack. Andrew squeezed in after her.

  FLOOOM!

  A giant egg, tall as a person, zoomed by the crack. There was a round window at the front of the egg. At the bottom of the egg were two huge metal bird claws. And inside the egg was Burpp.

  “The Egg-Mobile is kind of neat!” said Andrew.

  “Hey, Burpp!” yelled Soggy Bob. “Ya see anythin’ yet?”

  Awk! “Not yet,” said Burpp. “But I’ll find them.”

  “Ah suspect yer just havin’ fun zoomin’ around at top speed,” said Soggy Bob. “Ah want ya to look into every nook and cranny. Start from the beginnin’!”

  Awk! “All right, Boss,” squawked Burpp.

  FLOOOM!

  The Egg-Mobile zoomed past in the opposite direction.

  “Listen,” said Andrew. “It will take Burpp a long time to look into all the cracks in the reef.”

  Andrew peeked out into the main passageway. “We can pile up rocks out there,” he said. “When Burpp comes zooming through again, maybe the Egg-Mobile will become a scrambled Egg-Mobile!

  “Then we can use the compass I found to circle back to the Crab-Mobile. We’ll sneak up from behind and get the Water Bug.”

  Judy shook her head. “Another Bug-Brain special,” she said. “What if Burpp sees the wall and just goes over it?”

  Andrew scratched his head.

  meep … “Drewd and Oody pile rocks,” said Thudd. “Thudd look for something.”

  “Thudd,” said Andrew, “I can’t let you wander around on the reef. You could get eaten by a fish or something.”

  meep … “Thudd not good fish food,” said Thudd. “Gotta go!”

  Thudd pushed himself out of Andrew’s pocket and jumped onto the coral. Even though he was wearing his Bubble Bag, he scrambled away quick as a crab.

  Andrew and Judy gathered loose pieces of rock and piled them up in a narrow space between the coral walls. It wasn’t long before Andrew felt something poke his ankle.

  Andrew turned to see a big pile of shells at his foot. They looked like black clams.

  meep … “Found ’em!” came a squeak from behind the pile. Thudd was pushing it!

  “Thudd!” cried Andrew.

  Andrew picked Thudd up and put him back in his pocket. “What have you got there?” he asked.

  meep … “Mussels!” said Thudd. “Mussel animal make strong, strong glue. If Egg- Mobile touch mussel glue, Egg-Mobile stick!”

  “Wowzers schnauzers!” said Andrew. “Glue that works under
water. I wish I had thought of that!”

  meep … “Put mussels on top of piled-up rocks,” said Thudd. “Mussels spread glue. If Egg-Mobile bump into rocks, Egg-Mobile get stuck!”

  Andrew picked up the mussels and placed them on the rock pile.

  Long, sticky threads oozed from the mussels and onto the stones. But a few of the mussels didn’t seem interested in spreading their glue.

  Andrew gathered them up. “I think these guys are sleeping,” he said. He put them into one of his pockets.

  Andrew and Judy tucked themselves back into the crack in the coral wall and waited.

  They didn’t have to wait long.

  FLOOOM!

  CRACK!

  AWK! screamed Burpp. “Mayday! Mayday!”

  “What is goin’ on in there, Burpp?” asked Soggy Bob.

  Awk! “The Egg-Mobile hit some rocks, Boss,” said Burpp. “They weren’t here before. It’s got to be those Dubble brats.”

  “Stop flappin’ yer beak and get movin’!” yelled Soggy Bob.

  Awk! “Can’t do it, Boss!” said Burpp. “The Egg-Mobile is stuck!”

  “Dagnabit!” said Soggy Bob. “Use them Egg-Mobile claws!”

  Awk! “The claws are stuck, too, Boss!” said Burpp.

  “Holy moly!” said Andrew. “That mussel glue has really strong muscles!”

  Judy rolled her eyes.

  “Grrrrr!” growled Soggy Bob. “Keep on tryin’! Ah can’t come in there and getcha. Mah underwater suit is in the wash.”

  Andrew paddled to the edge of the crack, where there was more light. He pulled the old compass out of his pocket and examined it.

  Its round face looked like a clock. The outside rim was marked with N, E, S, and W for north, east, south, and west. There was an arrow in the middle. No matter how Andrew turned the compass, the arrow always pointed in the same direction.

  meep … “Arrow of compass always point north,” said Thudd. “Arrow of compass is little magnet. Earth is giant magnet cuz it got big, spinning iron lump in middle. Earth magnet pull little compass magnet.”

  “The compass can help us circle back through the reef,” said Andrew.

  Andrew turned the compass so that the arrow pointed to the N.

  “We came from the west,” said Andrew. “And we were going east. We need to go south, then west again. That way we can sneak up behind Soggy Bob and get the Water Bug.”

  “And we’d better hurry,” said Judy, “before that dumb parrot gets loose and finds us.”

  meep … “Look!” said Thudd, pointing to a dark hole in the rock wall.

  Inside was a fish with a purple head and a beak like a bird’s. It was stuck inside a gooey bubble.

  meep … “Parrotfish,” said Thudd.

  “It’s stuck in slime!” said Andrew.

  “Let’s get it out,” said Judy.

  “Noop! Noop! Noop!” said Thudd. “Parrotfish make mucus-goo sleeping bag. Mucus goo hide smell of parrotfish. Lotsa fish hunt by smell. Not find parrotfish. Sleeping bag taste bad, too.”

  “We’ll let the little guy snooze,” said Andrew.

  They quickly swam out of the crack and into the main passageway, hoping that Burpp wouldn’t see them. They paddled farther into the reef, looking for a passage that would take them south. Since they were swimming east, south would be on the right.

  Judy pointed to a rock that seemed to be covered with dust mops—green, orange, red, and purple! Their frilly threads fluttered as Andrew and Judy swam by.

  meep … “Animal called sea anemone,” said Thudd. “Cousin of jellyfish. Got nasty sting!”

  “Look at those pretty little orange fish swimming in the anemones!” said Judy. “They’re not getting stung.”

  meep … “Clownfish!” said Thudd. “Got coat of mucus goo. Keep anemone sting away.”

  Plaaap!

  Something smacked the top of Andrew’s head.

  “Andrew!” yelled Judy. “There’s a blue-ringed octopus on your head!”

  “Uh-oh!” said Andrew. He stopped swimming.

  “I guess I’d make it angry if I shoved it off,” said Judy.

  Plaaap!

  A blue-ringed octopus flopped onto Judy’s face mask. Plaaap! Another one plopped onto her shoulder!

  “Cheese Louise!” said Judy. “It’s raining blue-ringed octopuses!”

  meep … “Drewd and Oody not move!” said Thudd.

  Thudd crept out of Andrew’s pocket and let himself fall to the coral below. He scuttled over to the anemones. He picked up a big red anemone and headed back.

  Thudd climbed up Andrew’s Bubble Duds until he got to his knee, where one of the octopuses had landed.

  Thudd waved the anemone at the octopus. It got up on its legs and moved toward Thudd. But as soon as Thudd touched it with the anemone, it jetted off!

  Thudd climbed to Andrew’s elbow and shook the anemone at another octopus. It pulled back and sped away.

  Thudd jumped over to Judy. He crept up to each octopus and waggled the anemone. The octopuses left in a hurry.

  Thudd went back and forth between Andrew and Judy until all the octopuses were gone.

  “Thank you, Thudd!” said Judy. She picked him up and held him in front of her face mask. “I’d give you a big kiss if I weren’t wearing a face mask and you weren’t inside a plastic bag!”

  Thudd’s face screen went pink.

  “Thudd, that was amazing!” said Andrew. “How did you do it?”

  Thudd pointed to a little patch of anemones that seemed to be creeping across a rock. Andrew and Judy leaned down to look closer. The anemones were actually stuck to a shell. Small brown claws were moving it along.

  “It’s a hermit crab,” said Judy.

  meep … “Octopus like to eat hermit crab,” said Thudd. “But octopus not like anemone sting. Hermit crab stick anemone on shell to keep octopus away. Drewd and Oody got to put on anemones, too.”

  They went over to the patch of anemones, carefully plucked up some big ones, and attached them to their Bubble Duds.

  “We look totally stupid,” said Judy. “The octopuses will be laughing so hard, they won’t be able to bite us. Let’s get going!”

  “Okay,” said Andrew. “But I wish I knew why they attacked us.”

  Andrew and Judy paddled on.

  “Look!” said Judy. She pointed to a little herd of sea horses fluttering toward a tunnel on the right. It was the direction Andrew and Judy needed to go, so they followed.

  The tunnel opened into a large rocky room. At one end was a heavy iron door. A sign on the door said:

  KEEP OUTTA HERE!

  THIS MEANS YOU!

  SOGGY BOB SLOGGINS

  Andrew’s mouth fell open.

  “He’s everywhere!” said Judy.

  “We’ve got to find out what he’s up to,” said Andrew.

  They swam to the door. Andrew unlatched it and pulled it open. It was dark inside.

  Judy snapped on the flashlight.

  The beam of light showed a big cage made of woven wire.

  “Yowzers!” said Andrew.

  The cage was filled with octopuses!

  Some of the octopuses were so big their tentacles could stretch across a room. Small, bumpy ones were curled up in corners of the cage. And there were hundreds of blue-ringed octopuses!

  A sign above the cage said:

  SOGGY BOB’S OCTOPUS SCHOOL

  AND PEARL FARM

  Inside the cage were life-size dolls. They looked like Andrew and Judy! The dolls were covered with clams and mussels and blue-ringed octopuses.

  meep … “Octopus smart, smart, smart!” said Thudd. “Got big brain. Can learn lotsa stuff! Soggy Bob teach blue-ringed octopus that Drewd and Oody good to eat. That why octopus attack. Soggy Bob teach octopus other stuff, too. Look!”

  Large brown octopuses were opening oysters as big as pizzas. The insides of the oysters’ shells glowed with shimmering colors. The octopuses were putting beads inside the oyster shells
.

  meep … “Bead annoy oyster animal!” said Thudd. “Like when Drewd get pebble in shoe. Oyster cover bead with pearly stuff. Same stuff oyster use to cover inside of shell. Make pearl!”

  One of the octopuses opened an oyster. Another octopus watched. Then it picked up an oyster and did the same thing.

  meep … “Octopus learn from other octopus.”

  In another corner of the cage, octopuses were opening oysters, taking pearls out, and putting them in buckets. Then they gobbled down the oysters!

  The blue-ringed octopuses were gathering at the front of the cage. Their slitty little eyes watched Judy and Andrew. Their blue rings were glowing.

  “We don’t want to hurt you, little buddies,” said Andrew. “And we don’t think you really want to attack us, either. So calm down.”

  Judy shook her head. “Soggy Bob shouldn’t be using the octopuses like this,” she said.

  Andrew nodded. “Maybe we can set them free if we get the Water Bug back,” he said.

  More and more octopuses were gathering by the door to the cage.

  Suddenly a tentacle reached through the cage and lifted the door latch. The door flung open, and a flood of octopuses rushed out!

  Judy flattened herself against the sand. “The anemones will protect us, right?” she asked.

  “Eek!” yelped Thudd. “Too many octopus! Not enough anemones! Go fast, fast, fast!”

  Andrew and Judy paddled furiously.

  Most of the octopuses jetted away. But a crowd of blue-ringed octopuses followed them.

  “Over here!” said Judy. She squeezed into a crack in the coral wall. The edges of the wall were covered with anemones. Andrew hurried in after her.

  The octopuses gathered outside. They looked in, but they wouldn’t pass the anemones. They waved their tentacles and jetted off.

  When Andrew and Judy hadn’t seen any blue-ringed octopuses for a while, they crept out.

  “Whew!” said Andrew. “I think they’re gone.”

  “At least we haven’t run into any of those sea wasp jellyfish,” said Judy.

  Andrew scratched his head. “Uncle Al was trying to warn us about one more thing,” he said. “I wonder what it was.”