Clive Cussler Read Free Page B

came a roar up the vertical exhaust pipe through the muffler, and the engine began to thump on all four cylinders. A funny little hinged cap that kept water out when it rained flipped up and down on top of the exhaust pipe.
    Casey acted as if this was an everyday routine and beamed like a lighthouse. "Come along, Lacey, and we'll drive it up to the house so Mother and Father can see it."
    "Not me. Are you sure you can drive this thing?" she asked skeptically. "Your feet barely touch the pedals."
    "I told you, it's simple. I only have to shift it into gear and let out the clutch." Saying that, Casey could barely push in the clutch with his toe. Next, he pressed his other foot down on the gas pedal. Having forgotten to straighten the steering wheel, he watched in horror as the tractor leaped forward and crashed through the barn door.
    Now really worried, Lacey ran through the hole in the barn door after the tractor as it lurched toward the house. Frantically, Casey pushed the gear level into neutral and pushed the brake with all his might. The tractor came to a stop not five feet from the front porch steps. Ima Nicefolk was in the middle of fixing dinner, and Ever Nicefolk was washing his face and hands after planting herbs all morning. They heard the noise from the crash and came running out on the porch just in time to see Casey climb down off the tractor, his face etched in fright. Dumbfounded, the Nicefolks could not comprehend where the tractor had come from. It was as if it had appeared out of nowhere.
    Mr. Nicefolk asked, "Where did that come from?"
    And Mrs. Nicefolk asked, "Who does it belong to?"
    Casey said, "It is a gift from Mr. Sucop."
    And Lacey said, "Isn't it beautiful? It's ours now."
    Mr. Nicefolk shook his head in wonderment. "Mr. Sucop gave this to us? I can't believe it. He had no money to buy such a fancy machine. He must have stolen it."
    "Oh no," the twins shouted as one. "He didn't steal it. We know."
    "He made it from parts of other tractors," Casey said, pleased that he didn't lie.
    "Are you children certain of this?" asked Mr. Nicefolk.
    "Oh yes," they chimed together. "He worked on it at night in the shop he built in the barn."
    Ever Nicefolk shrugged and turned to his wife. "Well, then, I guess we have to thank Mr. Sucop for working all those hours at night to make a new tractor we can use in the fields from now on."
    The Nicefolks loved their tractor. Mr. Nicefolk drove it up and down the road and to town to show it off to his friends and neighbors. Neither he nor Mrs. Nicefolk ever noticed that Casey never played with his little tractor in the sandbox again. Nor did they notice that it was gone.

3 The Magical Vin Fiz

    Lacey and Casey did not use the magical box to make any toys grow big during the next two months. They were afraid to overdo the enchantment and decided to save it for only those times when it might be needed.
    The spring harvest had come and gone. Summer had arrived, and school was out. During the warm, sunny days, they played in the fields, swam in the rivers and floated on air mattresses their father had bought them from a sporting goods store in town. They also fished and were often successful in catching catfish that they brought home for dinner.
    One early morning, before the rooster crowed and while the eastern sky was just beginning to brighten, Casey crept into Lacey's room and woke her up.
    "What is it?" she asked sleepily. "What are you doing up so early?"
    "Get up and get dressed," he whispered. "I've got something I want to show you."
    "What about Mother and Father?"
    "I don't want them to know."
    Not understanding and her mind fogged from sleep, Lacey dressed and followed her brother quietly down the stairs to the living room, out the door to the porch and across the yard to the barn. Their father had repaired the door that Casey had crashed the tractor through, and it looked as good as new. Floopy trailed behind, yawning from being awakened so early.
    The red