Davina Dupree Puzzles a Pirate Read Free Page B

walking round the beach dripping with pearls and diamonds. Show-offs.com .
    After a scrummy breakfast of fried eggs, bacon and sausages cooked by Moody Mr Snap on his enormous portable cooker, Mr Fossil sat us all down in a circle on the flattest, sandiest part of the beach. He was practically dribbling with excitement as he explained our ten day projects to us. Well, nine day really now as yesterday was the first day. He said our task was to roam the island freely in groups of two or more, spotting as many rare plant and animal species as we could and then drawing them in our project folders, looking at the species guide stuck inside the folder’s front cover to see what each plant or animal was called. I really like doing project work like this, I don’t know why but I just love new folders and pens and things. Arabella thinks it’s all a bit dull, she says she’d rather be working out advanced maths problems. Weirdo.com .
    ‘What about that silly bird you were telling us about yesterday, Mr Fossil?’ Cleo sniggered, nudging Clarice, as Mr Fossil walked round handing out pencils.
    Mr Fossil lowered his fluffy eyebrows at Cleo.
    ‘If you are referring to the
rare
and not at all
silly
bird, the Kapatoo, then yes Cleo, it would be beyond exciting if anybody spotted one. I myself will be on constant look out for a Kapatoo as it is well known among the bird loving community that the last sighting of one was here on this very island, about ten years ago. If anyone sees one, please come and get me at
once,
and there will be a prize for anyone who successfully spots a Kapatoo and brings me to see it.’
    ‘What will the prize be, Mr Fossil?’ Clarice flicked open her portable hairbrush as she spoke and brushed her long, blonde hair.
    ‘Erm...a surprise,’ Mr Fossil twitched his rabbity nose. ‘But unfortunately I’m not seriously expecting anyone to spot a Kapatoo. Mrs Fairchild and I have been accompanying school trips to the Island of Ni for many years now and no one has ever seen one, not even me.’ A deep sigh whooshed through his skinny body.
    Arabella, who’d been drawing maths equations in the sand throughout this conversation and was getting rather restless, said,
    ‘Righto Mr Fossil, we’ll keep our ears and eyes open for a blue, plump, chickeny, owly type of bird. Now please can we go and explore?’
    ‘Yes, off you go,’ Mr Fossil twitched. ‘This island is very safe and I’m pretty sure there’s no danger you can get into but Mrs Fairchild wants you to remain in pairs or more, so please respect her wishes. See you all back here in an hour or so. Mrs Pumpernickle’s gone fishing and is hoping to make you all her delicious fish stew for lunch.’
    So see you later, Diary, I’ve got Kapatoo hunting to do!
    Saturday, 10 th January
    A robbery, Diary?
    Good gracious me, Diary, it looks as though another mystery may be beginning. This morning, just as Arabella and I sat down to eat our poached eggs on toast cooked by Moody Mr Snap, Cleo came screaming out of her tent.
    ‘I’ve been robbed, Mrs Fairchild,’ she bawled, running like a toddler across the sand towards a table near ours where Mrs Fairchild and Mrs Pumpernickle were calmly drinking their morning cappuccinos, throwing herself down, her nose running unattractively down her face. ‘Do something, help me, PLEASE!’
    ‘Sorry dear, are you trying to tell me something of yours has gone missing?’ Mrs Fairchild spooned chocolate sprinkled froth into her mouth as she spoke. ‘Do stand up Cleo, there’s a good sort.’
    ‘My diamond necklace and my platinum, ruby encrusted tiara have both been STOLEN,’ Cleo wailed, ignoring Mrs Fairchild’s wish that she stand up. ‘I KNOW they’ve been stolen because I remember EXACTLY where I put them before I went to bed, which was in my gold jewellery box by the door of our bedroom, and when I woke up they were GONE.’
    ‘What a silly thing to do, bringing jewellery on a camping trip,’ Mrs