Thea Stilton and the Legend of the Fire Flowers (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 15)

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Thea Stilton and the Legend of the Fire Flowers (Thea Stilton Graphic Novels Book 15) Page 5

by Thea Stilton


  Her friends nodded in excitement.

  “So you think Professor Crusterson is

  helping Sharkfur

  hide

  something?” Renani

  asked.

  “Until now, our suspicions were

  based only on Professor Van Kraken’s data.

  MOVE THOSE TAILS!

  100

  But we finally have something more — a

  connection!” Paulina exclaimed.

  “SO? What do we do now?” asked

  Colette.

  “Before we do anything, let’s talk to Ekana,”

  Violet suggested. “It’s possible he doesn’t

  have anything to do with this whole situation,

  but he may have other

  important

  information.”

  “Great idea,” said Pam. “All right, then,

  what are we waiting for? Let’s move those

  tails

  !”

  The Thea Sisters and Renani jumped back

  into the SUV and headed to the resort. But

  they were in such a hurry, they didn’t notice

  that someone was watching them. . . .

  Once they were back at the resort, the Thea

  Sisters said good-bye to Renani and headed

  straight for Ekana’s office. Before entering,

  they made sure that Sammy Sharkfur was

  nowhere in sight.

  YOU’VE SEEN TOO

  MANY MOVIES!

  Unfortunately, explaining their theory to

  Ekana was no

  easy

  task. In fact, when

  he heard the mouselets’ story, he started

  laughing.

  “So, let me make sure I’ve got this straight,”

  he said. “You’re asking me to believe that

  Sammy and a famouse scientist are

  deliberately deceiving all the rodents

  on the island, including me? And that Sammy

  built the resort in a dangerous spot,

  even though he knew that the volcano could

  wipe it out?!

  HA, HA, HA!

  Mouselets,

  you’ve seen too many disaster movies!”

  Ekana got up from his desk and led the

  Thea Sisters to the door. “Now, if you’ll

  excuse me, I have a lot to do today, and it’s

  getting late,” he declared.

  But Paulina was determined to get him to

  listen. “What if we’re right? What if your

  grandfather is right, too? We’re just

  trying to protect you from Sammy’s shady

  business.”

  Ekana was caught off guard. He looked

  confused.

  Nicky went a step further. “What if Mauna

  Loa

  erupts

  ? The fate of all the resort’s

  guests is in your paws! Don’t you think that

  it’s worth investigating to see if there’s any

  truth

  to our suspicions?”

  Ekana weighed their words thoughtfully.

  After a moment, he sighed and agreed.

  “Oh, all right. Tell me what you have in

  mind.”

  Violet smiled with relief. “Okay, now

  we’re cooking with cheese! Tonight we’ll

  return to the observatory and look for

  proof. If Professor Crusterson and

  Sammy Sharkfur are working together to

  cover up

  a possible eruption,

  we’ll discover the truth!”

  The Thea Sisters left Ekana’s office

  feeling satisfied. But once again, they didn’t

  realize someone was watching them. . . .

  night

  Colette, Nicky, Pamela, Paulina, Violet, and

  Ekana waited for dusk to return to the

  observatory. Renani offered to drive them

  again in his SUV.

  As the SUV bumped along the mountain

  trail, Ekana shook his snout and mumbled

  skeptically. “Mauna Loa about to erupt?

  What a load of goat cheese . . .”

  A few minutes later, they pulled up to the

  entrance of the national park. Renani

  parked the SUV, and the group continued

  toward the observatory on paw.

  Inside it was totally dark, except for the

  lights from the seismographs and the

  computers over where the

  team was

  working.

  THE HUNT FOR

  PROOF

  The group snuck

  into the room they’d

  visited that morning.

  Quiet as mice, they

  began to rummage

  around the desks and

  the files, searching for

  documents that might

  reveal the truth about

  the possible eruption.

  Colette, Nicky, Pam,

  Paulina, Violet, Ekana, and Renani looked

  thoroughly. But there didn’t seem to be

  anything unusual. Paulina examined the

  charts from the seismographs, but they all

  seemed normal, without any peaks that

  would indicate imminent

  danger

  .

  seismograph

  A seismograph is an instru-

  ment that is used to record

  details about earthquakes.

  The seismograph detects

  the ground’s movement

  and represents it on a

  graph (seismogram) as a

  series of waves and peaks.

  Since volcanic eruptions

  can cause earthquakes,

  scientists use seismographs

  to monitor volcanic activity.

  “Everything seems to be in order here!”

  said Pam,

  puzzled

  . “We’ve got to be

  missing something. . . .”

  “See? What did I tell you?” protested

  Ekana. “Let’s go! We’ve already broken

  the law, coming in here without permission

  looking for who knows what!”

  While Ekana and Pam argued, Paulina

  thing

  wires

  ducked under the desks and began sifting

  through the

  that fed into the

  computers.

  “Check this out!” she exclaimed. She

  pointed to a BOARD on the ground. Her

  friends huddled around to get a better

  look.

  “This explains why none of the researchers

  of the observatory have noticed anything

  suspicious!” exclaimed Paulina

  triumphantly.

  “What explains it? I’m still lost,” said

  Colette. “As far as I know, that

  could

  be a CD player, or even a fur

  dryer!”

  Paulina laughed. “This

  is a digital selector — a

  device that gathers all

  the information from the

  seismographs and ‘selects’ which information

  will be sent to which computer.”

  Colette stared at her blankly. So

  did Nicky, Pam, Violet, Ekana, and Renani.

  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to spell it

  out for us, Paulina,” said Nicky. “It’s like

  you’re talking in

  Feline

  and we’re all

  squeaking Rodentese.”

  “Let me just look at one thing, and then I

  can explain it more clearly,” said Paulina,

  delving

  into the mess of cables and

  electrical leads.

  After untangl
ing a few wires, Paulina stood

  up and grinned with satisfaction. “Just as I

  suspected!” she exclaimed triumphantly.

  “The selector is linked to George Crusterson’s

  computer!”

  Everyone was hanging on her every word,

  especially Ekana, who watched her with a

  worried expression on his snout.

  “Using this

  device

  , Crusterson is able

  to filter the information coming from the

  observatory’s instruments through his

  computer,” Paulina explained, disconnecting

  the selector. “He’s been deciding what

  information about Mauna Loa’s

  volcanic

  activity passes through to the other

  computers!”

  SURPRISE!

  “That explains why the other researchers

  don’t know about the possible eruption!”

  Nicky said. “Professor Crusterson stopped

  them from monitoring the volcano’s actual

  activity! He filtered all the data

  coming in so they only saw what he wanted

  them to see!”

  Ekana was squeakless.

  Paulina sketched in

  the plot’s details. “So it

  went like this,” she

  guessed, looking

  Ekana squarely in the

  eye. “Sammy Sharkfur

  convinced you to become

  his partner so he could

  build his resort and take

  advantage of your land’s magnificent

  view of the volcano.”

  “There was just one problem,”

  continued Pam. “He had to

  silence any rumors about

  potential eruptions!”

  “So Sammy bribed the head

  of the observatory, George

  Crusterson, to hide the data

  showing the

  volcano’s

  activity,” Colette put in.

  “And as long as the observatory didn’t pick

  up any volcanic activity, none of the

  newspapers would ever know about the

  danger!” concluded Violet.

  Ekana was about to respond in disbelief

  when someone clicked on the light and

  started applauding.

  clap

  clap

  clap

  H

  e

  y

  !

  B

  u

  t

  .

  .

  .

  O

  h

  ,

  n

  o

  !

  W

  e

  l

  l

  d

  o

  n

  e

  ,

  y

  o

  u

  l

  i

  t

  t

  l

  e

  s

  n

  o

  o

  p

  s

  !

  H

  e

  h

  ,

  h

  e

  h

  ,

  h

  e

  h

  !

  Sammy Sharkfur was standing in the

  doorway. He stared at the Thea Sisters, his

  eyes sparkling with sinister intention.

  Professor Crusterson and the two fake police

  officers were next to him.

  “Nice work, you little snoops!” he declared.

  “You really stuck your snouts into my

  business.”

  Ekana pointed a paw at him threateningly.

  “You . . . you . . . you wretched ratfink! You

  fooled me, and you tricked all of Hilo!”

  Sammy brushed away Ekana’s paw. “You

  are so naïve that it wasn’t even fun fooling

  you!” he sneered.

  Ekana darted toward him, but one of the

  SEVEN WITNESSES

  TOO MANY

  fake police officers

  blocked

  him while

  the other grabbed his paws and pinned them

  behind his back.

  “Don’t waste your time attacking me,

  partner,” Sammy said mockingly. “You see

  these two gentlemice? They work for me!”

  “Of course they do!” Paulina said. “I’ll bet

  they aren’t even

  real

  police officers!”

  “Another brilliant deduction, my dear

  mouselet,” Sammy said. “You’ve really

  managed to surprise me!”

  “You have no idea how much information

  you can get by posing as a police

  officer,” said one of the thugs.

  The thug who was holding Ekana let go

  and pushed him toward the mouselets.

  “Though I must admit that you were pretty

  sharp to spot us,” he snapped.

  “Do you realize that you’ve put the entire

  population of Hilo in danger? How

  can you be so reckless?” demanded Paulina.

  Sammy laughed uproariously. “Listen

  to this rodent! ‘The entire population’! Why

  should I care about the population? I’m

  afraid this adventure is over now. From this

  moment on, you and your friends are just

  seven witnesses too many!”

  The two thugs grabbed Nicky, who was

  closest to them.

  “Get your paws off her, cheddarface!”

  Renani SHOUTED, jumping forward.

  Ekana rushed forward to give him a paw,

  but Sammy was quicker. He tripped

  his partner, who stumbled toward the ratlet.

  They both fell to the ground in a heap.

  The two fake cops regained control of the

  situation. Within a few moments, the Thea

  Sisters, Ekana, and Renani were bound and

  gagged

  .

  “Where should we put them, boss?” the

  first thug asked.

  “Leave them in the basement,” said

  Professor Crusterson. “No one ever goes

  down there, and if they

  scream

  , the

  walls are soundproof.”

  “Good idea,” said Sammy. He grinned at

  the Thea Sisters. “Your new accommodations

  won’t be quite as deluxe as the resort’s!”

  Professor Crusterson and his thugs led the

  prisoners

  Thea Sisters, Ekana,

  and Renani toward a

  small

  door. The

  were forced to scurry

  downstairs into a

  windowless basement

  room. Once they were

  inside, the two fake

  police officers bound

  their feet along with

  their paws. Then they

  shut off the lights and

  slammed the door

  behind them.

  darkness enveloped

  the room. The Thea

  Sisters and their friends

  were trapped!

  Colette, Nicky, Pamela, Paulina, Violet,

  Ekana, and Renani felt lost. They tried to

  wiggle and whimper, but with their snouts

  shut tight, they couldn’t communicate with

  one another. And they couldn’t see anything

  about the room they were locked in.

  Escape truly seemed impossible!

  “If only I could get my paws free!” thoughtr />
  Nicky, tugging her paws and feet

  with as much force as she could muster. She

  tried dragging herself across the ground

  toward one of her

  friends, but all she

  did was knock herself

  against the walls and

  get bruises all over

  PRISONERS!

  save them!

  her tail.

  “It’s useless. We’ll never be able to get out

  of here!” she thought, disheartened.

  The others made similar escape attempts.

  But everyone soon realized that it was

  impossible. They were bound too tightly.

  Just when they were losing all hope, they

  heard the sound of a latch opening.

  Suddenly, a ray of light shone through the

  dark room.

  “Are you all right?” asked a husky voice.

  The Thea Sisters immediately recognized

  that squeak: It was Nahele! Ekana’s

  grandfather had come to

  Using his cane, Nahele slowly descended

  the stairs and began to untie the prisoners.

  “I had a feeling Sammy Sharkfur was up to

  something, so I waited near the observatory.

  I saw you arrive first, and then him. The rest

  sighed

  you know,” the old mouse explained.

  The mouselets

  in relief. It was ironic

  that no one had believed this kind rodent,

  yet he had been right all along!

  As soon as Ekana was free, he stood up

  and gave Nahele a hug that was both grateful

  and apologetic.

  “Grandfather, you must forgive

  me. I should’ve listened to you. Sammy

  Sharkfur is nothing but a slimy sewer rat. I

  was too naïve — just a

  ratlet

  playing at being a businessmouse!”

  Nahele shook his snout

  understandingly. “It’s

  normal for you to want to

  find your way, Ekana,” he

  said. “But sadly the world

  is full of rodents without

  consciences.

  The important thing is to

  stand by your values and

  know when to admit your

  mistakes. And that’s just what you are

  doing now!”

 

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