Spiders on the Case by Kathryn Lasky Read Free Book Online Page A

Bell said.
    â€œI know. You have to go past the sacred texts, then take a left.”
    â€œSacred texts — we might run into Mom. She’s got a thing about prayer books.”
    When they arrived a few minutes later, Jo Bell exclaimed, “Good grief! There are a lot of pop-up books.”
    â€œWouldn’t Julep be in one that is already opened on the reading tables? I mean, what’s the sense of messing about in a folded-up pop-up book?” Buster said.

    â€œTrue.” They made their way to the reading tables at the end of the fourth row of stacks.
    â€œMy goodness, it’s like a miniature world here, isn’t it?” Jo Bell wondered aloud as she looked at the books spread out on a large table. The first thing she noticed were the red and white stripes of the three-ring circus tent. In the center ring were paper animals, elephants whose trunks could wag and tigers who prowled. The second ring had half a dozen clowns, one riding a pony. Another could be made to jump through a hoop. The third ring was Julep’s favorite, for this ring belonged to the aerial artists. Tiny little paper people swung on trapezes no thicker than splinters and pranced on tightropes made of thread. It was here that they spied Julep swinging out among the frozen paper figures.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” Jo Bell called. “I thought you were in Egypt — the pyramids.”
    â€œI was. I just came over for a break. But why are you here?” Julep asked.
    â€œIt’s a long story,” Jo Bell replied.
    â€œA sad story,” Buster added.
    â€œIs Mom okay?” Julep blurted out. “Did she get squished or —” Julep began to tremble.
    â€œMom’s fine! It’s nothing like that.” Jo Bell felt terrible. Suddenly, Julep seemed so tiny and defenseless. “Oh, Julep, I didn’t mean to worry you!”
    â€œWell, what’s so sad?” Julep asked with visible relief.
    â€œSomeone is cutting pages out of books, stealing maps. There are crooks in the library.”
    â€œWhat?” Julep gasped.
    And so Jo Bell and Buster told the story of Agnes Smoot and Eldridge Montague.
    â€œIt seems,” Julep said slowly when they had finished, “that the problem is getting Tom’s attention. Finding a way to tell him since he doesn’t speak spider.”
    â€œExactly,” Jo Bell replied. “But he does speak hieroglyphics.”
    â€œNo one speaks hieroglyphics,” Julep corrected. “It’s a language for writing only. Writing in pictures.”
    â€œDo you know how to write it?” Buster asked.
    â€œUh, well, just my name and a few other letters, that’s all,” Julep replied.
    â€œCan you show us?” Buster asked.
    â€œSure!” Julep suddenly seemed to grow to twice her size. No one ever asked her opinion about anything. Most of the time, her older brother and sister reminded her how babyish she was. This was definitely a non-pre-K moment, and Julep intended to make the most of it.
    She immediately cast another dragline to the tightrope and began her ascent. Then, in the dim shadows of the big tent, Julep began her own aerial ballet. She embroidered the air with silken shapes of birds and snakes, reeds and crouching lions.

    â€œThat’s your name?” Jo Bell’s voice quivered with amazement.
    â€œYep, but I’m not done.”
    Julep continued her inscriptions, and five minutes later, another word appeared.
    â€œTwo words!” Buster exclaimed.

    â€œWhat does it say?” Jo Bell asked.
    Her little sister looked down at her and burst out with a vibration that shivered the silk threads under the big top and set the paper figures aflutter.
    â€œJULEP RULES!”

J o Bell glanced at the remaining silverfish twirling slightly in the still air of the display case. Edith had just finished an addition to their regular web that extended from the southeast corner of the case to