Read Online Carter and the Curious Maze by Philippa Dowding - Free Book Online

time, whatever this was.
    He held his breath and watched.
    What are they doing?
    Carter watched closely as a Native man dropped a bundle of dark furs on the long wooden table. A French man measured the height of the bundle with a wooden stick and then passed one of the dark red blankets and a bag of silver beads back to him.
    They were trading! The Native hunters and the French men were trading animal furs for blankets and beads. No wonder the Native man had taken a shot at the bear from the canoe. He hadn’t seen Carter and Arthur; he’d just seen a valuable bear fur.
    Carter had never heard of a French trading fort around there, and no one had ever mentioned it in history class at school.
    When did this happen?
    Arthur poked him. Someone was staring at them.
    The boy from the maze stood near the adults, but he was watching Carter and Arthur closely. Carter had been so engrossed in watching the Natives and the traders, he’d almost forgotten about the boy. He raised his hand and the boy crept over, ducking down to their hiding spot.
    â€œCar-tair,” he said quietly. Not a question, just a hello.
    â€œIt’s you! You saved me from the maze, and your father saved us from the bear! Thank you! Do you think you could save me one last time? I need to find Mr. Green? The old guy, SNIP, SNIP … you know? SNIP, SNIP?”
    The boy frowned, but Carter tried again. “Look, I’m exhausted and I have to get this little guy home. I want to go home, too. Believe it or not, I’ve been in three different time periods today, I’ve seen a LOT of weird stuff. You don’t seem too surprised to see me, though, so maybe this has happened before? Maybe you see people from the maze all the time? It’s been an interesting afternoon, but right now I just want to go home!” On the word “home,” Carter’s voice wobbled, just a bit.
    Yes, he wanted to go home. Was that too much to ask? He’d almost forgotten what home was like, he’d seen so much in the past few hours.
    The boy looked over his shoulder at his father, who was deep in conversation with one of the traders. The boy looked back at Carter, then nodded. He looked over at his father one more time then ducked and crept past his parent’s careful eye toward the forest.
    Carter and Arthur followed. They snuck past a wooden house filled with sacks and boxes, then past a sheep pen, then past a small garden and something that definitely smelled like an outhouse. They crept outside the fort gates, then past a tiny patch of wooden crosses.
    A cemetery. Definitely the oldest cemetery in the city!
    Then they were at the very edge of the dark green forest. The boy pointed into the deep woods and said, “SNIP, SNIP.”
    Carter gulped. The sun was low in the sky, barely piercing the treetops. The sounds of the fort were already far away, and the last thing Carter wanted to do was enter the dark green forest just as night fell.
    But there could be no mistaking the Native boy. He pointed into the deep woods again and repeated those two words that Carter had come to dread: “SNIP, SNIP.”
    Carter took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, I get it, Mr. Green is in there. Thanks, but I really don’t want to do this.”
    The boy put his hand on Carter’s shoulder and said softly, “Car-tair.” His smile made Carter brave. He could do it — he could take Arthur into the dark, terrifying woods and look for Mr. Green.

    Plus Sydney was out there, too, in some future time, calling his name. And Arthur’s mom.
    The boy raised his hand in a final farewell then disappeared back to the fort.
    â€œSee you,” Carter said quietly to his retreating back. “If you’re ever in my time, I’ll show you your city, although it’s changed a little.”
    And hopefully you’ll be braver than me.

Chapter 15
    Sundown

    I t was so dark that Carter almost couldn’t see Arthur’s