Read Online The Wizzle War by Gordon Korman - Free Book Online Page B

work in your room — I don’t want Boots to know what we’re doing.”
    * * *
    “He really cleaned the place out,” said Bruno, surveying room 201, in which Elmer lived alone.
    “Yes,” agreed Elmer forlornly. “It seems so empty. I never realized what good company my ants were.”
    “Hey, Elmer,” said Bruno, pointing at a large grey box with an enormous circular cone speaker, “I didn’t know you had a sound system.”
    “It’s not a sound system,” said Elmer. “Mr. Wizzle thought it was, too, and I didn’t disabuse him of the notion, so he left it here.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s a low-frequency audio generator,” explained Elmer. “It makes subsonic sounds at very high decibels, but it can’t be heard because the sounds are too low.”
    “What good is a sound system that you can’t hear?”
    “It’s just an interest of mine,” said Elmer. “I’ve been experimenting with it.”
    “What does it do?”
    “Well, it can simulate a small earth tremor.”
    Bruno’s eyes popped. “You made an
earthquake machine
?”
    “Well, I suppose on a very small scale, yes. The sound produced is between eight and nine cycles per second. It is largely inaudible, but will produce overtones in the form of a low rumble. I’m just experimenting with it now, leaving it on for very short periods of time. If left on too long, it could conceivably do some damage.”
    “Can it work somewhere else besides here?” asked Bruno.
    “Yes, of course. It can be operated from a distance by remote control.”
    “Great!” cried Bruno, grinning broadly. “Tonight Wizzle’s getting this in his basement!”
    “What for?” asked Elmer.
    “Just to shake him up a little,” said Bruno. “If it won’t drive him away, at least it’ll drive him nuts!”
    Just after midnight, a tapping at the window of room 306 brought Boots out of a light sleep. He raised the window to admit Cathy and Diane.
    “You guys have
got
to save us!” Cathy was moaning, even as Boots was helping her and Diane into the room. “We’ve got to get rid of that monster! Hey, where’s Bruno?”
    “I don’t know,” mumbled Boots.
    “What do you mean you don’t know?
Where’s Bruno?”
    “I think he’s out with Elmer Drimsdale,” said Boots lamely.
    “What do you mean you
think
?” shrilled Cathy. Her sharp eyes spotted the tape that divided the room. “What’s going on here?”
    “Bruno hasn’t spoken to me ever since I quit his committee,” explained Boots dully.
    “You quit Bruno’s committee?” echoed Diane incredulously.
    “Wizzle’s here to stay,” said Boots, “but Bruno won’t accept that fact. He’s going to get himself and everyone around him expelled, and that’s where I draw the line.”
    “You’re knuckling under!” accused Cathy. “That’s terrible! What would happen if
I
knuckled under?”
    “We’d run a lot fewer laps,” said Diane feelingly.
    Cathy ignored her. “Poor Bruno! Boots, how could you? He’s out there trying to help everyone, working all alone —”
    A dark shape appeared at the window and Bruno climbed inside. “I tell you, Elm,” he was saying, “Wizzle’s as good as gone.”
    Elmer Drimsdale was climbing into the room behind him. “Well, it certainly will teach him a lesson, Bruno. Imagine confiscating my experiments! Actually, I found the danger of this evening rather exhilarating. I mean, breaking into Mr. Wizzle’s basement —”
    “Shhh! Elm, we can’t let you-know-who know about what we’re doing!”
    “But you can tell us,” chimed in Cathy. “Hi, guys. What’s up? And can we use it, too?”
    Elmer Drimsdale went immediately mute, as he always did in the presence of females.
    “Oh, hi.” Bruno beamed. “I can’t say too much about it, but we’re using science against Wizzle.”
    “Can we have some science, too?” begged Cathy. “Like maybe a disintegration ray?”
    “Or anything that has a chance against jiu-jitsu?” added Diane hopefully.
    “Gee, I