18
Save the Expedition!
The storm brought the research ship into exactly the area
that Mr. Eisenbart had marked with a red “X” on his marine
chart. Somewhere in the vast expanse of water around
them swam a specimen of strange fish that they would
hopefully take home with them to study at the city
aquarium.
As Pepper stepped out onto the deck several hours
later, the team was standing around the ship’s
crane, soaked to the skin and completely
bewildered. “Did we run out of dessert or
something? Why do you all look so disappointed?”
“Well, you see,” began Mr. Eisenbart, “We can’t go
on a dive to find the fish. The crane that was to
lower the diving chamber into the sea and lift it
out again has stopped working. Just like every other
electronic device on board.”
“Even our radio is dead,” added the captain.
“Radiooooo deaaaad,” cawed the parrot on her shoulder in
agreement.
Pepper didn’t want to let the bad news spoil her mood. She had
spent a whole year scraping muck off panes of glass at the
aquarium so that she could come on this expedition.
She looked more closely at the crane, examining the joints and
wrinkling her forehead. No electronics? Well, so what … Surely
there are other ways to move the crane!
