Deep Trouble by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online

She stared out at me blankly with
those sea-green eyes.
    Alexander reached up and unlatched the screen top. I handed him the cookie,
and he dropped it into the tank.
    The mermaid watched it falling toward her through the water. She made no
attempt to grab it.
    By the time it reached her, it was soggy. It fell apart in the tank.
    “Yuck,” I said. “Even I wouldn’t eat it now.”
    The mermaid pushed the soggy cookie pieces away.
    “Maybe Dr. D. will have something she likes when he gets back,” said
Alexander.
    “I hope so,” I said.
    Alexander began to set up his equipment. He put a thermometer inside the
tank, and some long white plastic tubes.
    “Oh, man,” Alexander mumbled, shaking his head. “I forgot my notebook.”
    He hurried back down to the lab.
    I watched the mermaid float sadly in her tank, with all the tubes coming out
of it. She reminded me of the fish down in the lab.
    No, I thought. She’s not a fish. She shouldn’t be treated this way.
    I remembered how she had fought the shark.
    She could have been killed, I thought. Easily. But she fought the shark,
anyway, just to help me.
    The mermaid cooed. Then I saw her wipe away the tears that had begun to run
down her face.
    She’s crying again, I thought, feeling guilty and miserable. She’s pleading
with me. I put my face against the glass, as close to hers as I could get it.
    I’ve got to help her, I thought.
    I put a finger to my lips. “Ssshhh,” I whispered. “Stay quiet. I have to work
quickly!”
    I knew I was about to do something that would make Dr. D. very angry.
    My uncle would probably never forgive me.
    But I didn’t care.
    I was going to do what I thought was right.
    I was going to set the mermaid free.

 
 
17
     
     
    My hand trembled as I reached up to unlatch the screen at the top of the
tank. The tank was taller than I was. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d get the
mermaid out of there. But I had to find a way.
    As I struggled to pull the screen off, the mermaid began to squeal, “Eeee!
EEEEEE!”
    “Sshh! Don’t make any noise!” I warned her.
    Then I felt a hand grab me by the arm. I gasped, startled.
    A deep voice asked, “What are you doing?”
    I turned around to see Alexander standing behind me.
    I stepped away from the tank, and he let go of my arm.
    “Billy, what were you doing?” he asked again.
    “I was going to let her go!” I cried. “Alexander, you can’t keep her in
there! Look how unhappy she is!”
    We both stared at the mermaid, who had slumped to the bottom of the tank
again. I think she knew that I had tried to help her—and that I had been stopped.
    I caught the sadness on Alexander’s face. I could tell he felt sorry for her.
But he had a job to do.
    He turned to me and put an arm around my shoulders. “Billy, you’ve got to
understand how important this mermaid is to your uncle,” he said. “He’s worked
his whole life for a discovery like this. It would break his heart if you let
her go.”
    He slowly led me away from the tank. I turned back to look at the mermaid
again.
    “But what about her heart?” I asked. “I think it’s breaking her heart
to be stuck in that fish tank.”
    Alexander sighed. “It’s not ideal, I know that. But it’s only temporary. Soon
she’ll have plenty of room to swim and play in.”
    Sure, I thought bitterly. As an exhibit at the zoo, with millions of people
gawking at her every day.
    Alexander removed his arm from my shoulders and rubbed his chin.
    “Your uncle is a very caring man, Billy,” he said. “He’ll do his best to make
sure the mermaid has everything she needs. But it’s his duty to study her. The
things he can learn from her could help people understand the oceans better—and take better care of them. That’s important, right?”
    “I guess so,” I said.
    I knew Alexander had a good point. I loved Dr. D., and I didn’t want to spoil
his big discovery.
    But, still, the mermaid shouldn’t have to suffer for science, I