1 Pond dipping

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Chapter One POND DIPPING Connor dipped his net into the pond and scooped up a big clump of algae. Long green strands of the tiny plants trailed down. It looked like Connor had caught a watery monster. I guess I have, he thought. After all, too much algae would block out the light, and the other plants in the pond would die. Connor had spent the morning clearing

up the water. The pond was at the end of his backyard, on the other side of the white picket fence. The leaves of the pecan trees gleamed in the warm Missouri sunshine. Connor dropped the algae onto the bank. He was about to scoop out another clump, when he noticed something wriggling inside the net. A tadpole! "Hey, there!" said Connor. "Are you going to grow into a bullfrog? Or maybe a leopard frog?" Gently, he lowered the net so the tadpole could escape. He watched it swim away, kicking its tiny back legs. It joined a large group of tadpoles beside some reeds.

Hold on, Connor thought. They're hanging out in a shoal... Those probably aren't frog tadpoles—I think they're toads! Connor loved everything about the water. His mom thought he would be a marine biologist when he grew up and study the plants and animals in the sea. "We'll have to take a vacation to the coast one day," Mom had said at breakfast. "Wouldn't it be amazing to see the ocean?"

Connor touched the compass badge on his chest. His mom didn't know that Connor had seen lots of oceans already... When he'd scooped out the last gloopy blob of algae, Connor propped his net against the wooden fence. It was hot now. The sunshine shimmered on the wheat fields that surrounded his house. Connor made his way indoors. He washed his hands at the kitchen sink, then went to the pantry to get himself a granola bar. There was a postcard tacked to the pantry door. It said, "I Love Missouri Science Fair!" Connor had won first prize in the competition for growing coral in a tank. As he reached for the door handle, he stopped in surprise. A glowing shape had appeared next to the postcard.

It was a circle with a needle in the center. Around the outside were the letters N, S, E, and W. A compass! A compass that matched the badge on Connor's T-shirt... Connor grinned. The Secret Explorers have a new mission! he thought. Excitement tingled through him as he stepped through the door. The shelves of food were gone, and instead there was a dazzling white light. Connor's heart thudded. Wind whipped against his face, as if he were traveling really fast... A moment later, the light faded. Connor was standing in a large, familiar room. Light from the rows of computer screens flickered on the black stone walls. Objects stood on