Sargasso Skies Read Free

others, whacking a few of them over the head with his club as he did so. He glared at the three friends.
    â€œ Spshhhspshhh? ” he roared, pointing at them.
    â€œ Hiiissssssss! ” replied the lizards in chorus.
    â€œUh-oh!” said Esmeralda. “This doesn’t look good.”
    â€œShrrrrraaaasssshhhh!” bellowed the boss lizard.
    â€œLeg it!” yelled Trundle as the whole mass of lizards came surging forward, teeth bared and clubs raised.
    Trundle and Esmeralda and Jack spun on their heels and ran for it.
    But it was hopeless—even if they could outdistance the long-legged lizards, how were they to climb the sheer walls of the canyon?
    Doomed! thought Trundle. After everything we’ve been through! I hope they’re quick eaters!
    They came to the far end of the valley. Using all four paws, they tried to scramble up the steep slope, but the ground was loose under them and they kept sliding down again toward the advancing lizards.
    With a sinking heart, Trundle realized he had to perform another courageous act before it was too late.
    He turned toward the lizards with his sword in his paw. “You two try to get away,” he said resolutely to his friends. “I’ll hold them off as long as possible. If you manage to find all the crowns and fulfill the prophecy, name a park bench after me or something!”
    â€œTrundle, no!” gasped Esmeralda as he stepped forward to meet the marauding lizards.
    The first of the lizards were only a few feet away when the air was suddenly filled with a weird, high-pitched wailing. It was a chorus of voices, singing as shrilly as birds, but with strange, unsettling harmonies and counter-melodies. And it seemed to be coming out of the sky.
    The effect on the lizards was extraordinary. The foremost of them came to a skidding halt, jabbering and screeching among themselves and clearly disturbed by the eerie singing. Even the big boss lizard came to a stop and stared around uneasily.
    â€œLawks a-mussy!” gasped Jack. “Look! Look!” He was pointing up at the cliff tops that surrounded them.
    The lofty ridges were filled with ghostly white shapes clad in white robes, and it was from the open mouths of these spectral creatures that the singing was coming.

    And even as Trundle and Esmeralda and Jack gazed up in astonishment at the spectral choir, the singing changed tone, and the melody rose to new heights.
    That did it for the lizards. Throwing their hands up to the sides of their heads, they turned tail and fled, many of them dropping their cudgels and falling over one another in their rush to get away.
    In a few hectic moments all the lizards were gone, swallowed up in the mist. And no sooner were the lizards routed than the piercing singing came to a halt, and a strange silence descended over the valley.
    â€œWell now,” breathed Jack. “That was curious, but I’ve never been so glad of a song in my entire life!”
    â€œWho are they?” wondered Trundle. “ What are they? Do you see their eyes?”
    â€œI do,” said Esmeralda. “Bright red eyes, every one of them.” She frowned. “Jack, you’ve traveled all over the Sundered Lands. Have you ever seen the like before?”
    â€œI have not,” said Jack. “Very uncanny they are. Like phantoms.”
    â€œYou think they’re ghosts?” gasped Trundle. “I mean, I’m glad they frightened the lizards off . . . but I’m not keen on the idea of ghosts .”
    â€œWe’re about to find out what they are,” said Esmeralda. “Here they come.”
    She was right. Many of the pale animals were making their way down the hillside toward them. Trundle stood his ground as the odd assortment of gliding creatures thronged around them. There were foxes and rabbits and pigs and sheep and cats and weasels and badgers and bears, all staring at them with their glowing eyes, all silent and all with