Read Online The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ellen Potter
Ads: Link
punching of her heart in her chest.
“You owe me twenty quid,” the man spat at Otto.
“Twenty? But you said it was five,” Max protested.
The man smiled at Otto in a horrible way, his flattened frog’s nose pressing even flatter against his face. “Penalty for nicking.”
“Give him the money, Otto,” Lucia said, her voice shamefully high-pitched.
Otto hesitated and the man grabbed Otto by the throat. Well, he meant to, anyway, but he really grabbed him by the scarf.
“Come on, you little (again, unmentionable), pay up before I start stomping on your ribs.” Then Frog Nose yanked the scarf so roughly that it unlooped around Otto’s neck and slid right off, falling to the ground.
That was when Lucia knew something bad was about to happen. No one had ever touched his scarf. Even the teachers in school never insisted that he remove it, though outerwear like hats and gloves and scarves was forbidden in the classroom. They knew instinctively that this silent, strange boy would not tolerate it, that he needed the scarf more than they needed him to remove it.
Now Otto’s head jerked up. Beneath his long fringe of hair, his one visible eye was wild with rage. In a flash, hegrabbed the camera off the branch on which he’d hung it, and with a single, powerful swing, he whipped it against the side of Frog Nose’s face. It made a crunching noise, but whether it was the shattering of the camera’s inner workings or of bones, it was hard to say. Frog Nose yelped, doubled over, and clutched at his face.
“Run, run!” Lucia cried, but Otto wouldn’t. He was in a frenzy and it was doubtful that he could hear anything at all except for the blood rushing through his ears. He swung the camera over his left shoulder and struck again, this time hitting the back of Frog Nose’s head. The man stumbled and fell to the ground, howling, but still Otto wouldn’t stop. He was getting ready to attack again when Max leapt forward and grabbed the camera right before the next swing.
“I’ll kill you!” Frog Nose roared, his voice strangely muffled sounding. Blood was streaming from his nose and from a gash on his temple, and it was dripping into his mouth and down the front of his shirt. At the sight of it, Lucia sucked back her breath. She felt a confusing tangle of emotions—shock at Otto’s ferocity. Admiration even. And terror for what had been unleashed.
It also made her think about the rumors back in Little Tunks, about how Otto had strangled their mum in a fit of rage.
Stop thinking about that!
she told herself sternly.
It’s nonsense! If you want to think about something, think about a way to get us out of this awful mess!
And that’s exactly what she did. Scooping up Otto’sscarf from the ground, she screamed at him, “Run! Run now or I’ll throw your scarf in the canal!”
It worked. Otto ran. They all three of them legged it down the canal path and through the streets of Camden Town, and they didn’t stop until they found themselves directly in front of the train station.
Chapter 6
In which the Hardscrabbles meet a Viking, a zebra, and a bogus wild boar. Also there’s a cat.
It was very unfortunate that they had left their bags under the willow tree, but there was nothing to be done about it. They couldn’t go back and fetch them—Frog Nose might be waiting for them there.
“Good thing Spoon wasn’t in the bag, eh?” Max said, trying to see the bright side.
“Yes, but our return tickets to Little Tunks were,” Lucia reminded him.
“I have enough money to buy us all new tickets,” Otto said, checking his pocket, “but that will leave us with almost nothing. And where are we supposed to spend the night until the train comes?”
“I’ve been thinking of something,” Max said. “I thought of it before, actually, but I figured we’d first try Lucia’s planof sleeping in London. And since that was clearly a failure—”
“Through no fault of my own!” Lucia reminded
“You owe me twenty quid,” the man spat at Otto.
“Twenty? But you said it was five,” Max protested.
The man smiled at Otto in a horrible way, his flattened frog’s nose pressing even flatter against his face. “Penalty for nicking.”
“Give him the money, Otto,” Lucia said, her voice shamefully high-pitched.
Otto hesitated and the man grabbed Otto by the throat. Well, he meant to, anyway, but he really grabbed him by the scarf.
“Come on, you little (again, unmentionable), pay up before I start stomping on your ribs.” Then Frog Nose yanked the scarf so roughly that it unlooped around Otto’s neck and slid right off, falling to the ground.
That was when Lucia knew something bad was about to happen. No one had ever touched his scarf. Even the teachers in school never insisted that he remove it, though outerwear like hats and gloves and scarves was forbidden in the classroom. They knew instinctively that this silent, strange boy would not tolerate it, that he needed the scarf more than they needed him to remove it.
Now Otto’s head jerked up. Beneath his long fringe of hair, his one visible eye was wild with rage. In a flash, hegrabbed the camera off the branch on which he’d hung it, and with a single, powerful swing, he whipped it against the side of Frog Nose’s face. It made a crunching noise, but whether it was the shattering of the camera’s inner workings or of bones, it was hard to say. Frog Nose yelped, doubled over, and clutched at his face.
“Run, run!” Lucia cried, but Otto wouldn’t. He was in a frenzy and it was doubtful that he could hear anything at all except for the blood rushing through his ears. He swung the camera over his left shoulder and struck again, this time hitting the back of Frog Nose’s head. The man stumbled and fell to the ground, howling, but still Otto wouldn’t stop. He was getting ready to attack again when Max leapt forward and grabbed the camera right before the next swing.
“I’ll kill you!” Frog Nose roared, his voice strangely muffled sounding. Blood was streaming from his nose and from a gash on his temple, and it was dripping into his mouth and down the front of his shirt. At the sight of it, Lucia sucked back her breath. She felt a confusing tangle of emotions—shock at Otto’s ferocity. Admiration even. And terror for what had been unleashed.
It also made her think about the rumors back in Little Tunks, about how Otto had strangled their mum in a fit of rage.
Stop thinking about that!
she told herself sternly.
It’s nonsense! If you want to think about something, think about a way to get us out of this awful mess!
And that’s exactly what she did. Scooping up Otto’sscarf from the ground, she screamed at him, “Run! Run now or I’ll throw your scarf in the canal!”
It worked. Otto ran. They all three of them legged it down the canal path and through the streets of Camden Town, and they didn’t stop until they found themselves directly in front of the train station.
Chapter 6
In which the Hardscrabbles meet a Viking, a zebra, and a bogus wild boar. Also there’s a cat.
It was very unfortunate that they had left their bags under the willow tree, but there was nothing to be done about it. They couldn’t go back and fetch them—Frog Nose might be waiting for them there.
“Good thing Spoon wasn’t in the bag, eh?” Max said, trying to see the bright side.
“Yes, but our return tickets to Little Tunks were,” Lucia reminded him.
“I have enough money to buy us all new tickets,” Otto said, checking his pocket, “but that will leave us with almost nothing. And where are we supposed to spend the night until the train comes?”
“I’ve been thinking of something,” Max said. “I thought of it before, actually, but I figured we’d first try Lucia’s planof sleeping in London. And since that was clearly a failure—”
“Through no fault of my own!” Lucia reminded
Similar Books
