Scholastic Inc. / New York

Transcription

1 Scholastic Inc. / Nw York

2 Txt copyright 2016 by Maya Gabrill Illustration by Júlia Sardà copyright 2016 by Scholastic Inc. All rights rsrvd. Publishd by Chickn Hous, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishrs sinc scholastic, chickn hous, and associatd logos ar tradmarks and/or rgistrd tradmarks of Scholastic Inc. First publishd in th Unitd Kingdom in 2016 by Chickn Hous, 2 Palmr Strt, From, Somrst BA11 1DS. Th publishr dos not hav any control ovr and dos not assum any rsponsibility for author or third-party wbsits or thir contnt. No part of this publication may b rproducd, stord in a rtrival systm, or transmittd in any form or by any mans, lctronic, mchanical, photocopying, rcording, or othrwis, without writtn prmission of th publishr. For information rgarding prmission, writ to Scholastic Inc., Attntion: Prmissions Dpartmnt, 557 Broadway, Nw York, NY This book is a work of fiction. Nams, charactrs, placs, and incidnts ar ithr th product of th author s imagination or ar usd fictitiously, and any rsmblanc to actual prsons, living or dad, businss stablishmnts, vnts, or locals is ntirly coincidntal. Library of Congrss Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lonard, M. G. (Maya Gabrill), author. Btl boy / by M. G. Lonard. First dition. pags cm Summary: Darkus Cuttl had takn car of his fathr vr sinc his mothr did, but on day his fathr vanishd from a lockd vault at th Natural History Musum, and now h livs with his ccntric uncl but on day h finds a larg and unusually intllignt and slf-awar btl, and soon h and his two frinds ar caught up in a struggl to protct an intllignt suprspcis of btls. ISBN Btls Juvnil fiction. 2. Inscts Juvnil fiction. 3. Missing prsons Juvnil fiction. 4. Fathrs and sons Juvnil fiction. 5. Uncls Juvnil fiction. 6. Bst frinds Juvnil fiction. [1. Mystry and dtctiv storis. 2. Btls Fiction. 3. Missing prsons Fiction. 4. Fathrs and sons Fiction. 5. Uncls Fiction. 6. Bst frinds Fiction. 7. Frindship Fiction.] I. Titl. PZ7.1.L46B 2016 [Fic] dc Printd in th U.S.A. 23 First dition, March 2016 Book dsign by Carol Ly

3 CHAPTER ONE rious Disappar t s y a M n m o h l w o h t C T o f Ba r uttl c D r. Bartholomw Cuttl wasn t th kind of man who mystriously disappard. H was th kind of man who rad normous old books at th dinnr tabl and got frid gg stuck in his bard. H was th kind of man who always lost his kys and nvr took an umbrlla on rainy days. H was th kind of dad who might b fiv minuts lat picking you up from school but h always cam. Mor than anything ls, Darkus knw his dad was not th kind of fathr who would abandon his twlv-yar-old son. Th polic rport statd that Sptmbr 27 had bn an unrmarkabl Tusday. Dr. Bartholomw Cuttl, a forty-ight-yar-old widowr, had takn his son, Darkus Cuttl, to school and gon on to th 1

4 Natural History Musum, whr h was th Dirctor of Scinc. H d grtd his scrtary, Margart, at nin thirty, spnt a morning in mtings discussing musum businss, and atn lunch at on o clock with an x-collagu, Profssor Andrw Applyard. In th aftrnoon, h d gon down to th collction vaults, as h frquntly would, via th coff machin, whr h d filld his cup. H d xchangd plasantris with Eddi, th scurity guard on duty that day, walkd down th corridor to th vaults, and lockd himslf in on of th ntomology rooms. That vning, whn his fathr didn t com hom, Darkus alrtd th nighbors and thy calld th polic. Whn th polic arrivd at th musum, th room Dr. Cuttl had ntrd was lockd from th insid. Faring h may hav suffrd a hart attack, or had an accidnt, thy producd a stl battring ram and smashd th door opn. Th room was mpty. A ston-cold cup of coff sat with som paprs on th tabl bsid a microscop. Svral Coloptra spcimn drawrs wr opn, but thr was no sign of Dr. Bartholomw Cuttl. H had vanishd. Th vault had no windows or doors othr than th on h had ntrd by. It was a sald chambr with a controlld atmosphr. Th puzzl of th disapparing scintist mad th front pag of vry nwspapr. Th unsolvabl mystry drov journalists crazy, and not on of thm could xplain how Dr. Cuttl had gottn out of that vault. 2

5 Scintist Disappars! hadlins scramd. Polic Ar Outfoxd! nwspaprs crid. Orphand Boy Placd in Car! thy rportd. Hunt Is On for Only Living Rlativ, Famous Archaologist Maximilian Cuttl. And th nxt day: Archaologist Lost in Sinai Dsrt! Boy Alon! thy waild. Outsid th fostr hom, journalists stoppd Darkus in th strt, taking picturs and shouting qustions: Darkus, hav you hard from your dad? Darkus, is your fathr on th run? Darkus, is your dad dad? Fiv yars arlir, whn his mothr did, Darkus had rtratd insid himslf. H stoppd playing outsid with frinds or inviting anyon ovr. His mum, Esm Cuttl, had bn takn away suddnly by pnumonia. Th shock was trribl. His dad was ovrcom with grif. Som days blu days, Darkus calld thm his fathr lay in bd and stard at th wall, unabl to spak, tars rolling down his chks. On th blakst blu days, Darkus would bring ta and biscuits and sit bsid his dad, rading. It was doubly hard, losing Mum and Dad bing so sad all th tim. Darkus had to larn to tak car of himslf. At school, h got along with vryon, but h didn t hav clos frinds. H kpt to himslf. Th othr childrn wouldn t undrstand and h wasn t sur h could xplain it. Th only thing that mattrd was taking car of Dad and hlping him gt happy again. 3