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Chip jumped from one boat to the other.  Miller! he howled, his eyes
searching the stacked cartons.  You come out right now! Arms flailing, he
knocked over a large corrugated carton in the stern. There sat Rudy and Mike,
blinking in the sudden sunlight. Chip loomed over them, furious and dripping
wet.
 Oh, hi, said Rudy genially.  Has it been raining?
 Miller! What are you two doing here?
 I don t suppose you d believe me if I said we were being kidnapped,
suggested Rudy.
 All right, Miller! said Chip through clenched teeth.  You re going to pay
for this!
 Work detail? asked Rudy.
 Work detail! bellowed Chip.  Five more days! And kitchen duty! Today and
tomorrow! Now get off this boat! Move!
As Chip was quick-marching Rudy and Mike off the boat towards the dining hall,
Frank was running along beside him.
 Don t you think you re being a little hard on them? he asked in an
undertone.  I mean, if you ve been punishing them a lot, maybe that s why they
want to run away.
 Ha! exclaimed Chip.  If this keeps up, the next person running away from
here will be me!
 I don t suppose he d be willing to give us that in writing, Rudy commented
to Mike.
 Can it, Miller! snapped Chip.  Now both of you-get in there and grab some
breakfast. And when you re finished, report to the kitchen. The staff will put
you to work. He turned to Frank.  Maybe a little potato peeling will show him
who s boss around here!
* * *
 Why, said Rudy3 scraping the abundant leftovers from a stack of plates,
 don t they just take our food and throw it straight into the garbage? That
would eliminate the middle man.
 That s enough out of you, growled the chief cook.  Keep working. The sooner
you finish the work, the sooner you get out to join your cabin and have some
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fun.
Rudy looked at Mike.  We re in no hurry, he said.
 Well, we are, said another cook.  We re not going to stay here overtime on
your account. We work hard, you know. It s not easy cooking for a bunch of
kids who don t like anything.
 Maybe they d like something if everything didn t look and taste like putty,
commented Rudy mildly.
 Well, if you don t like it, howled the chief cook,  why don t you just take
a boat and leave?
Instantly Rudy began to scrape and stack dishes with model efficiency. Taking
his cue from Rudy, although he wasn t quite sure why, Mike too began to work
quickly. In five minutes they were finished. Rudy grabbed Mike by the arm and
began dragging him across the compound towards the dock.
 Hey! protested Mike.  Where are we going?
 You heard the man, said Rudy.  He distinctly said we should take a boat and
leave.
 But we can t! cried Mike.  We promised not toj take any more boats!
 Without official permission, Rudy added.  But now we have official
permission from the chief cook himself.
 But 
 Well, is it or is it not official permission? Rudy asked defiantly.
 I don t know  Mike began.
 Well, Rudy interrupted,  suit yourself. I m going. He continued to run
towards the dock.
 But they ll see us! They ll catch us! Mike protested, keeping pace.
 Maybe, said Rudy.  And maybe not. There must be a dozen guys out there in
boats. Maybe they won t notice us.
The two jumped into a motor boat. Rudy was just casting off when they heard
the sound of running feet, and a familiar voice howled,  Miller! You come back
here!
Chip caught the mooring line just as the motor roared into action and the boat
tore away from the dock. With a terrified howl the counsellor, still clutching
the rope, flew in a three-metre arc through the air before belly-flopping with
a huge splash into the water.
Rudy gunned the boat to full speed.
 Rudy, stop! screamed Mike.  He s still back there! We re towing him!
Rudy glanced quickly behind them. There was Chip, kicking up a spray like a
cabin cruiser. Instantly he cut the motor.  That, he said in disgust,  is the
only clone in the world who can water-ski on his face.
 What are we going to do? gibbered Mike.  He s going to kill us!
Chip swam up to the edge of the boat and climbed on board.  Take it back to
the dock, he gasped.  Now!
Obediently Rudy turned the boat around, steered it up to the dock and threw
the rope to Frank, who had witnessed the incident and was grimly waiting.
 What s all this? shouted the head counsellor.
 When Chip fell in the lake, explained Rudy,  we stopped our boat and came
back to pick him up. It was, in essence, the truth, with a few important
points left out.
Chip threw back his head and emitted a horrible roar,  You saw what happened!
he screamed at Frank.
 So did I, said Rudy.  Your take-off was great, but your landing was a little
rough.
 Shut up, Miller! cried Chip.  You re in big trouble now! You promised Mr.
Warden and you promised me not to take a boat without permission!
 I had permission, said Rudy earnestly.  Official permission.
 Yeah? snarled Chip.  Who from?
 The chief cook. He said if we didn t like it here we should take a boat and
leave. And we don t like it here, so we took a boat and left. At least, we
tried to. He eyed Chip accusingly.
 That s it, Miller! That s it! You know darn well that wasn t permission to
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take off. Nobody gets permission to take off. You are stuck here, Miller!
Here! And me with you! You can either try to make the best of it and maybe
have some fun, or you can be an idiot. He paused, gasping for breath.  We are
not going to force you to play anything. You can sit around and rot for all we [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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