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

her,” said Dr. D. “She must
be trying to contact them with underwater sounds.”
    Poor mermaid, I thought. She’s calling to her friends. She wants to be
rescued.
     
    I went to my cabin after supper and stared out of the little porthole.
    An orange sun sank slowly into the purple horizon. A wide carpet of gold
light shimmered in the rolling ocean waters. A cool breeze blew in through the
porthole.
    I watched the sun drop into the ocean. The sky immediately darkened, as if someone had turned off a lamp.
    The mermaid is up there all alone, I thought. She must be so frightened. A
prisoner. Trapped in a fish tank in the dark.
    The door to my cabin suddenly burst open. Sheena bounded in, panting, her
eyes wide.
    “Sheena!” I scolded angrily. “How many times do I have to tell you to knock
first?”
    She ignored me. “But, Billy!” she gasped. “She’s escaped! The mermaid
escaped!”

 
 
18
     
     
    I leaped off my bed, my heart pounding.
    “She’s not there!” Sheena cried. “She’s not in her tank!”
    I darted out of the cabin, up the hatch, and out on deck.
    Part of me hoped she really had escaped to freedom. But part of me wished she
could stay forever—and make my uncle the most famous scientist in the world
and me the most famous nephew of a scientist!
    Please let her be okay, I thought.
    Up on deck, my eyes adjusted to the evening darkness. Tiny lights glowed all
around the edge of the boat.
    I squinted across the deck at the giant fish tank.
    I ran so fast, I nearly toppled overboard. Sheena was right behind me.
    “Hey—!” I cried out when I saw the mermaid floating listlessly in the
water, her green tail shimmering faintly in the fading light.
    It took me a few seconds to realize that Sheena was laughing. “Gotcha!” she
shouted gleefully. “Gotcha again, Billy!”
    I groaned long and loud. Another one of Sheena’s stupid tricks.
    “Good one, Sheena,” I said bitterly. “Very clever.”
    “You’re just mad because I fooled you again. You’re so easy to trick.”
    The mermaid raised her eyes to me, and a faint smile formed on her pale lips.
“Looorrrooo, looorrrooo,” she cooed at me.
    “She really is pretty,” Sheena said.
    The mermaid is hoping I’ll let her go now, I thought. Maybe I should….
    Sheena could help me, I decided. It would be easier with two of us.
    But would my sister cooperate? “Sheena—”I began.
    I heard footsteps behind us. “Hey, kids.” It was Dr. D. “It’s almost
bedtime,” he called. “Ready to go below?”
    “We never go to bed this early at home,” Sheena whined.
    “Maybe not. But I bet you don’t get up so early at home, either. Do you?”
    Sheena shook her head. We all stood at the tank and watched the mermaid in
silence. She gave her tail a little flick and settled back down at the bottom of
the tank.
    “Don’t worry about her,” Dr. D. said. “I’ll check on her during the night to
make sure she’s all right.”
    The mermaid pressed her tiny hands against the glass wall of the tank. Her
eyes pleaded with us, pleaded with us to set her free.
    “She’ll feel better once she gets to Marina Zoo,” Dr. D. said. “They’re
building a special lagoon just for her, with a reef and everything. It’ll be
exactly like the lagoon off Ilandra. She’ll be free to swim and play. She’ll
feel at home.”
    I hope so, I thought. But I didn’t feel so sure.
     
    The Cassandra rocked gently on the waves that night, but I couldn’t
fall asleep.
    I lay on my bunk, staring at the ceiling. A pale beam of moonlight fell
through the porthole and across my face. I couldn’t stop thinking about the
mermaid.
    I tried to imagine what it would feel like to be trapped in a glass tank for
a whole day. It probably wouldn’t be that different from being trapped in this
tiny cabin, I thought, glancing around. My cabin was about as big as a closet.
    It would be terrible, I thought, fiddling with the collar of my pajama top. I
pushed open the