The New Year Dragon Dilemma by Ron Roy Read Free Book Online Page A

look!” Ruth Rose said.
    The sign Burk was leaning on said CABLE CAR STOP .
    “He’s gonna get on a cable car!” Josh said.
    Just then they heard a rattling noise. A cable car was headed down the street, slowing. Burk raised an arm, and the car stopped. They saw him leap on.
    “We have to get on, too!” Dink said. “Let’s go!”
    “But he’ll see us!” Josh said.
    “Not if we get on the back,” Dink said. “See, there’s a little platform. Run!”
    The kids sprinted and jumped onto the cable car just as it began moving. The car was crowded, and they hid behind a bunch of tourists with cameras and maps clutched in their hands.
    “Can you see him, Josh?” Dink asked.
    Josh was the tallest of the three. Standing on tiptoes, he peeked frombehind his sketchbook over the heads of the tourists. “He’s standing right by the front door,” he said.

    The car sped along, swerving and clattering as the underground cable pulled it up the hill along its route. It stopped twice for new passengers. Whenthe car stopped a third time, the group of tourists clambered off, talking in a language the kids didn’t understand.
    “He’s getting off, too!” Josh whispered.
    The kids hopped off the rear of the car, keeping their eyes on Burk’s back as he headed into the fog.
    “Where the heck are we?” Josh asked.
    “I think I know,” Ruth Rose said. She bent over and picked up something. “Look at this.” She was holding a flower blossom.
    “This is where the parade was last night!” Dink said.
    “Look at the ground,” Ruth Rose said. “There are blossoms everywhere. They fell off the floats.”
    Burk walked slowly through the fog. The kids followed him, their footsteps muffled by the dampness.
    He stopped in front of a building thesize of Dink’s school back home—it was the warehouse where they’d seen the dragon!
    “What’s he doing?” Dink asked.
    Burk had walked up to the door. The kids watched him pull something from his pocket. They heard a click, then a rattling noise.
    “That sounded like a lock,” Ruth Rose said.
    “Yeah, and I’ll bet Dink’s Laptop Guy gave him the key,” Josh said.
    Burk disappeared inside the building.
    “Come on,” Dink said.
    Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose scurried quietly to the door. An open padlock dangled from a hasp.
    The kids peered into the building. The floats sat in the darkness like sleeping giants. On top of the closest truck bed, Dink saw an oversized tiger, crouching in a jungle setting. He could smell theflowers that made up the tiger’s orange and black body.
    “This is where they keep the floats,” Josh whispered.
    Along one wall lay the dragon. Its two-hundred-foot length was only partly visible in the dim light. Dink thought it looked asleep. He had liked the dragon better when it was dancing along in the parade.
    “This place is creeping me out,” Josh said.
    The three kids stepped inside. Josh pulled the door partly closed behind them. He folded his sketchbook and used it to wedge the door open a couple of inches.
    “What’re you doing?” Dink whispered.
    “I hate dark places,” Josh said. “My pad will let in a little light.”
    They stood to let their eyes adjust. Looking around, Dink saw no windows. Then he felt a hand grab his arm. RuthRose pulled Dink down and whispered in his ear, “Look over by the dragon. I think I saw a light.”

    Tiptoeing, the kids headed toward that side of the massive space. As they drew closer, they could see Burk crouched by the dragon’s head. In one hand, he held a flashlight. The other hand was inside the dragon’s mouth.
    “What’s he—”
    Dink stopped Josh from speaking. As quietly as possible, he drew his cell phone from his pocket. Getting down on his knees, Dink crawled toward the dragon. When he was as close as he dared go, he aimed the phone’s camera lens at Burk’s back.
    Burk pulled something from the dragon’s mouth. It was a round object, the size of a tennis ball. He turned his light