1 An exciting experiment

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Chapter One AN EXCITING EXPERIMENT "Almost... done..." said Cheng, leaning over the model volcano he had made. He was gluing pieces of brown and gray paper to the sides so they would look like rock. Outside his kitchen window, the Beijing traffic honked and bicycle bells jangled. Cheng's little sister, Mei, was watching him. Cheng glued the last bit of paper in place.

"It's finished!" Mei said. He grinned. "Now for the fun part!" Cheng filled a plastic bottle with a mixture of baking soda, dish-washing liquid, and water. He lifted up the cardboard volcano and tucked the plastic bottle underneath, so that the open bottle top peeped out of the crater at the top. Then he took some vinegar and mixed it up with some red food coloring in a small cup. "You can do this part," he told Mei with a smile. "Be careful, though!" Mei poured the red liquid carefully into the volcano bottle, just the way Cheng showed her. Right away the contents of the bottle started fizzing and bubbling, filling the little kitchen with hissing sounds.

And then… it erupted! Red liquid shot up and flooded down the sides of the cardboard volcano. Mei squealed with delight. "Lava is so cool!" she said. "I know!" said Cheng, laughing. "It's not real lava, of course. Real lava is molten rock, which comes out of a split in the Earth's crust." For a moment, Cheng imagined a real volcano: the roar of the explosion, the glowing lava, the rotten-egg stink of the

sulfur gases. Maybe one day I'll see a volcano up close, he thought. Mei skipped off to do her homework. Cheng began refilling the volcano. It took a few moments before he realized something was glowing nearby. A circle with a needle in the center, burning as bright as lava on the front door of the house. Cheng read the letters N, S, E and W shining around the edges of the circle, and whooped. It was the compass symbol of the Secret Explorers! He touched the glowing compass badge on his T-shirt, which matched the symbol on the door, and grinned to himself. The Secret Explorers symbol only appeared when there was a mission. And Cheng was so ready for a mission.

He put his hand against the door and pushed. Right away, the door swung open. Cheng walked into a dazzling white light that made his eyes water. A strong wind rippled over his body, making his T-shirt flap against his skin. For a moment, Cheng felt as if he was flying through the air like a bird. The light faded away and the wind dropped. Cheng was back inside the Exploration Station! Glass cases stood around the room,