Between Two Ends by David Ward Read Free Book Online Page A

his fault! Argh! Right back into the thick of it the moment I’m back.”
    Yeats leaned as far from the shelf as his limbs would allow.
    â€œShut it yerself, Bones,” challenged Skin, the peg-legged pirate.
    â€œHelp,” gasped Yeats.
    Bones eyed him up and down and grimaced. “I suppose we’ll have to, now.”
    Skin drew his sword. “Ye were in!” he accused Yeats. “Swear it! It weren’t me. Ye was reading! Ye can’t see or hear us when ye is reading.” He stomped his peg leg angrily.
    â€œI … I stopped reading,” Yeats whispered. “I was looking at the letters.”
    â€œIt
was
yer fault,” Bones said to the fiery Skin. Bones eased Skin’s sword down.
    Then Skin raised the weapon again swiftly. “Pick up that book and start reading!”
    His heart pounding, Yeats managed, “Why?”
    â€œImpudence! Scurvy dog! Dirty … er … dirty … er …”
    â€œRat?” Yeats offered.
    â€œRat!” Skin spat and pointed his sword at Yeats’s nose.
    â€œPut that away!” Bones ordered. He scratched his unshaven chin. “Skulls and crossbones, I need to think! I carry the brains for us both. When it be time for muscle I’ll let ye know. We’ve precious little time afore someone else walks in.”
    Yeats glanced furtively, expecting some new specter from the bookstacks. “Who?”
    â€œYer own meddling kind, that’s who!” Skin said. “I shouldn’t wonder if old Sutcliff makes an appearance at any moment.”
    â€œMr. Sutcliff?”
    â€œI’ve had trouble with him.” Skin shifted uncomfortably. He made a little circle in the dust with the end of his peg. “He knows about us.”
    â€œWhat happened?” asked Bones.
    â€œHe spies on me! He caught me whistling a few times and singing a sea chantey. But I never—I swear it on my granny’s boots—I never granted him a wish!” The pirate clapped his hands over his mouth the moment the words were out.
    There was a long pause. “That weren’t a wise thing to say, partner,” Bones said with a grimace.He slapped his forehead. “Not surprising, mind ye, since ye’ve got as much wit as a stone!”
    Intuitively Yeats pounced. He gripped the closest pirate, who happened to be Bones, around the waist. The pirate thrashed his legs and pounded his little fists on Yeats’s finger.
    Yeats raised him level to his eyes yet far enough away so that he could not be poked by the pirate’s sword. “A wish?” he demanded. “I get a wish?”
    The pirate scowled back, then threw up his hands. “Open yer hand, landlubber! I can’t run for it. Ye’ve asked the golden question. Now I’ve got to answer.” He shot an angry look at his partner and said, “Ye be one of the finest idiots I’ve known.” Skin hung his head.
    Hesitantly Yeats opened his fist. Removing his hat, Bones sat heavily on Yeats’s palm.
    â€œA fine fix we’re in again,” he grumbled.
    â€œWell?” prodded Yeats. He rose to his knees and took a better look at the pirate. “You know about my dad, don’t you? And Shari. You’re the magical … whatevers … Gran and Dad talked about.”
    â€œBookends,” said Bones. “We’re bookends. And don’t get yer hackles up.” He rested his hand on his sword.
    Yeats snorted. “Try it. I don’t care if you’re made of metal. I’ll kick you across the room like a football.”
    â€œSimmer down, codfish!” said Skin. “Ye be as flighty as a … er … as a …”
    â€œPigeon,” Yeats filled in.
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œListen, you metal clowns,” Yeats growled. “I want to help my dad. My family’s falling apart. So, if you’re the cause of it, and you know how to fix it, tell me now!” He raised his