The 39 Clues: Cahill Files: Silent Night by Riley Clifford Read Free Book Online Page B

the Cahill family and get away with it.
    On the far side of the river, the major and Marie helped Rupert shimmy down the last support beam without making a splash. Knee-deep in icy rushes, they crouched and waded toward shore. Spotlights shone down from the factory and swooped around, casting light on corners that wanted to stay in shadow.
    There was a moment on the German side of the river when all three Cahills looked at one another with expectation.
    “Right, then,” said the major. “Guess I’m going this way,” he said, pointing around toward the north wall. Marie and Rupert made no motion to go with him.
    “You can’t expect us to follow,” said Rupert. “No one except you, Major, can climb a wall. And no one but Marie can speak German enough to get through the door. We’ll do what I say, and we’ll find a better way in. It was stupid to come this far without a plan!”
    “Shhh!”
    Two soldiers rounded the corner, joking with each other and laughing. The trio ducked deep into the rushes, trying to hold as still as possible. Rupert’s belly rolled. Not only were they so close — they were
laughing
? What could they possibly have to laugh at?
    “What are they saying, Marie?” said the major.
    Marie squinted while she listened. “Do you know the difference between the alphorn and the recorder? The alphorn burns longer.”
    “What?”
    “It is funnier in German.”
    “Shh!”
    They hunched down lower, until the voices faded.
    “On three,” said the major, “we make a run north.”
    “Non!”
said Marie. “You are not listening. You will be caught; your way is
stupide
,
bestiale
.”
    Rupert squinted. “What’s that?” he said, pointing. It was a grate at the bottom of the factory with a ditch running through it and down to the river. “We’ll go in that way. It’s not guarded at all.”
    Both Marie and the major looked where he was pointing.
“Peut-être,”
said Marie.
    “On three,” the major said again.
    “
Je ne veux pas.
I will go that way,” said Marie, and she pointed back toward the grass.
    “What will you do that way?” asked Rupert. Marie pulled her shawl over her head.
    “I have come to find my brother,” she said.
“Hast du ihm gesehen?”
She was very convincing as a German farm girl, but Rupert still shook his head. It wouldn’t work.
    “Fine!” spat the major. “Let’s just everyone do things their own way. And then we’ll see who was right. Yes?”
    “Oui. C’est ci bon.”
    “Wait a minute,” said Rupert. Even
he
knew that wasn’t a good idea, and he was typically all for getting all of the glory for himself. But the major was not listening.
    “One,” said the major. “Two. Three!”
    Marie slipped off to the right, disappearing seamlessly into the darkness. The major hefted himself up onto the bank and took off at a jog. Rupert’s stomach flopped again. He was alone. He usually did well alone. But he felt, in this moment,
vulnerable
. There was no one to look to, no one to fall back on. And though he was loath to admit it, even to himself, Rupert had always relied on other people being there to catch him. But now it was just him — and whatever happened to him was his responsibility. He had to do something. He couldn’t stay there in the wet. So he went his own way, creeping up the bank of the river toward the ditch and the grate. Up against the factory wall, the weeds were soggy and high, and the ground was boggy. He tried not to take very deep breaths, and only through his mouth — the smell was something awful.
    The grate itself was rusty and old — he shook at it, and it wobbled back and forth in his hands. If they’d brought bolt cutters or some other sort of tool, they could easily break the old crossbars and slip in.
    But then, goose bumps swept over Rupert’s neck and arms. He could feel them, even through the layers of his uniform and the soggy coat and his scarf. It was a prickle, like someone was watching him from behind, from down by