9 Tsunami!

Chapter 9 TSUNAMI! "We can't let the Time-A-Tron get away!" yelled Andrew. He shoved the half-eaten sandwich into his pocket and pushed through a tangle of vines. "Noop! Noop! Noop!" said Thudd. "Gotta climb tree!" "That's nutso!" said Judy. "We're losing the Time-A-Tron and you're telling us to go climb a tree?" meep… "Tsunami coming!" said Thudd. "Giant wave made by earthquake! Tsunami wave can be hundred feet high!"

"Holy moly!" said Andrew. Judy looked up. "Are these trees tall enough to keep us from getting washed away? Will the trees get washed away?" "Just climb!" said Beeper. He was already ten feet up a tree. It swayed as he climbed higher. "Beeper's tree is too skinny for all of us," said Andrew. He found a fatter tree and started climbing. "Hurry up," said Judy, following him. The tree trunk was like the skin of a pineapple. The scaly bark kept snagging Andrew's pajamas. There were no branches to hang on to. Andrew looked down. The beach and the ferns looked far away. Andrew felt dizzy. meep… "Hurry!" squeaked Thudd. "Water coming!" On the horizon, Andrew saw a thin, dark line. It was getting wider and nearer by the second.

Andrew and Judy were only halfway up the tree. "Move it, Andrew!" yelled Judy. "Wait a minute," said Andrew. "I've got to keep Thudd from getting wet." The last time Thudd had gotten wet, his thought chips had gotten soggy. He had been in very bad shape. Andrew hung on to the trunk with one hand and searched his pockets for a Bubble Bag. He'd invented the Bubble Bag to keep Thudd dry. "Uh-oh," said Andrew. "I can't find my Bubble Bags. But I do have this."

He pulled out the bag with the half-eaten sandwich inside. "Why are you stopping?" Beeper yelled from his tree. "I'm going to use the sandwich bag to protect Thudd," said Andrew. "He can't get wet." "Just don't dump my sandwich," said Beeper. "You can squeeze Thudd in on top of the bread." "Okay" said Andrew. Quickly, he stuffed Thudd in with the sandwich and tucked him back in his pocket. Andrew and Judy scrambled up to the long, brushy branches at the top of the swaying tree. The dark line on the horizon had become a huge wall of water rolling toward the shore. The nearer it got, the higher it got. "The water is as high as the trees!" cried Judy. "Hang on!" said Andrew. KRAAAAAAAASHHH! The water slammed into their tree. It was cold and hard. Andrew closed his eyes, held his breath,

and clung tight to his branch. He felt the water dragging powerfully at the tree, bending it. Suddenly the tree jerked loose! The wave swept them back into the forest. Andrew pushed his head between his arms to keep from being scratched by branches. Then the wave began to go down and move in the opposite direction. It was dragging them back toward the beach. Andrew lifted his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of orange. Beeper's T- shirt! Beeper was still up in his tree on the edge of the forest. He was pointing and yelling. Andrew couldn't hear every word, but he thought he could make out "Time-A-Tron!"