Clive Cussler Read Free Page A

waded over to the boat and pushed the bow back and forth until the hull slid off the magic pad. He then hid the magic box and pad under a bush. With the boat moving free in the water, he eased it alongside the dock so Lacey and Floopy could climb down into the cockpit. Then he quickly put on his shoes and socks before studying the instrument panel and the single throttle that was attached to a foot pedal.
    "Do you know how to start it?" asked Lacey as she and Floopy settled into the leather seat in the cockpit, anxious to get moving.
    "Just like starting the tractor," Casey replied, self- assured.
    Lacey had brought life jackets and wouldn't allow Casey to start Hotsy Totsy's engine until they slipped them on. She even settled one around Floopy so they could all float if thrown from the boat. Then she adjusted the seat belts and harness straps that Casey had thoughtfully installed on the model.
    Casey pushed the big fuel pedal a half an inch downward. Then he looked for the choke and starter switch. He found them easily because they had little plates under them that labeled what they were. Carefully, cautiously, almost afraid of what would happen, he eased open the choke and pulled the starter switch.
    The starter motor began to whine as it turned over the big Wright aircraft engine under the cowl in front of the cockpit. Then came a pop, followed by another pop, and then an entire series of pops inside the twelve cylinders until the engine burst into life with a thunderous roar through the exhaust pipes in the stern.
    "She sounds awfully powerful," said Lacey, holding her hands over her ears.
    "She's powerful, all right," shouted Casey above the roar. "The original Hotsy Totsy's engine turned out seven hundred and fifty horsepower." He gripped the shift lever that stood upright on the middle of floor and pushed it forward. The gears clunked and the powerboat moved forward, picking up speed as Casey cautiously eased his foot against the pedal.
    Although she knew the Salinas River like the back of her hand from many enjoyable trips in their father's little fishing boat, Lacey spread her charts out on her lap and begin studying the riverbanks and the shoals. She wanted to warn Casey if he became excited and steered too close to them.
    "Careful not to go too fast down the river," shouted Lacey. "There are fishermen in their rowboats, so you should stay under ten miles an hour."
    "I'll be careful," Casey assured her. "I won't open her up until we come into the bay and enter the ocean."
    So far there was nothing magical about Hotsy Totsy. She merely responded to Casey's hands on the throttle and steering wheel as he aimed her down the Salinas River into Monterey Bay. She gave no sign of mystical powers or any desire to control her own speed and direction like Vin Fiz had on her flight across the country.
    Lacey could see the eager look on Casey's face. She could tell he was anxious to reach the Pacific Ocean and see how fast Hotsy Totsy could go. He kept glancing down at the fuel pedal, which stood nearly two inches above its stop. He held his foot back in anticipation of pushing it all the way to the floor.
    At last, after what seemed a week in Casey's mind, they rounded a bend in the river and cruised into Monterey Bay. The smooth water of the river noticeably changed to choppy as the waves rolled in from the ocean.
    "Hold on," he yelled in happy excitement. "Here we go." As he spoke the words, his foot pressed the throttle pedal and slowly pushed it all the way down. As quick as a cat runs through a half-open door,Hotsy Totsy lifted her bow and began skimming over the waves, her stern with its spinning bronze propeller whipping through the water. The bow rose until it was two feet above the water as the shingled, V-shaped hull lifted and cut through the waves like a knife, leaving a wide frothing wake that spread behind them.
    To protect Floopy's eyes from the spray as the boat bounced over the waves, Lacey slipped a leather