5 Clamming Up!

Chapter 5 CLAMMING UP! "Giant clam!" Andrew swam around a bend, and there was Judy. One of her legs was trapped between two huge shells. The top of each shell was covered with rubbery blue skin. Clack! Clack! Clack! Judy looked frightened. "Don't worry about the Crab-Mobile," said Andrew. "It's way too big to get in here." kk… kkk… kkkkk…

"If ya mud puppies think ya got away," growled Soggy Bob through their headphones, "ah've got some big little surprises waitin' for ya!" Awk! "Burpp gets to ride in the Egg- Mobile!" squawked the parrot. Judy pounded her fists on the clamshell. "Help me get out of this stupid clam! Now!" Judy pushed one lip of the clamshell and Andrew pulled the other. But the clam wouldn't budge. "Whew!" said Andrew. "This is an awfully strong clam." meep… "Got idea," said Thudd from the pocket of Andrew's Bubble Duds. He pointed to little black spots on the edge of the clam's bright blue skin. "Giant clam got eyes," said Thudd. "Can see light and dark. When giant clam see Oody's shadow, it close shell. Who got mini-flashlight?" "I do," said Judy, pulling a flashlight out of her front pocket.

meep… "Shine light on clam," said Thudd. "Clam get lotsa light, clam open up." Judy snapped on the flashlight and shined it on the clam. It began to open! "Well, thank you!" said Judy as she pulled her leg out. "I don't know what Burpp is up to," said Andrew. "But we'd better find a place to hide."

They swam deeper into the narrow passageways of the reef. It was a maze with branching paths. Awk! squawked Burpp. "Roses are red, octopuses are blue, lots of scary things are waiting for you!" Awk! Andrew pointed to a dark crack in the reef wall. It was almost hidden by waving coral fans. "We can hide here," he said. Judy wedged herself into the crack. Andrew squeezed in after her. FLOOOM! A giant egg, tall as a person, zoomed by the crack. There was a round window at the front of the egg. At the bottom of the egg were two huge metal bird claws. And inside the egg was Burpp. "The Egg-Mobile is kind of neat!" said Andrew. "Hey, Burpp!" yelled Soggy Bob. "Ya see anythin' yet?" Awk! "Not yet," said Burpp. "But I'll find them."

"Ah suspect yer just havin' fun zoomin' around at top speed," said Soggy Bob. "Ah want ya to look into every nook and cranny. Start from the beginnin'!" Awk! "All right, Boss," squawked Burpp. FLOOOM! The Egg-Mobile zoomed past in the opposite direction. "Listen," said Andrew. "It will take Burpp a long time to look into all the cracks in the reef." Andrew peeked out into the main passageway. "We can pile up rocks out there," he said. "When Burpp comes zooming through again, maybe the Egg-Mobile will become a scrambled Egg- Mobile! "Then we can use the compass I found to circle back to the Crab-Mobile. We'll sneak up from behind and get the Water Bug." Judy shook her head. "Another Bug-Brain special," she said. "What if Burpp sees the wall and just goes over it?" Andrew scratched his head.

meep… "Drewd and Oody pile rocks," said Thudd. "Thudd look for something." "Thudd," said Andrew, "I can't let you wander around on the reef. You could get eaten by a fish or something." meep… "Thudd not good fish food," said Thudd. "Gotta go!" Thudd pushed himself out of Andrew's pocket and jumped onto the coral. Even though he was wearing his Bubble Bag, he scrambled away quick as a crab.