The 39 Clues Book 7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis
Authors: Peter Lerangis
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, YA), Children's Fiction, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Orphans, Brothers and sisters, Other, Children's stories, Children: Grades 4-6, Adventure stories (Children's, Code and Cipher Stories, Orphans & Foster Homes, Mysteries; Espionage; & Detective Stories, Family - Siblings, Juvenile Mysteries, Ciphers, Historical - Ancient Civilizations, Historical - Other, Family & home stories (Children's, Cahill; Dan (Fictitious character), Cahill; Amy (Fictitious character)
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least fifty yards, they would be totally exposed.
Below, Eisenhower was shouting at one of the players. Pushing him. But Hamilton was on the sidelines, combing his hair in a hand mirror. Preening.
The sun's reflection glinted from Ham's mirror. Dan recoiled, shielding his face with his hand. "The jerk."
The glare landed on Nellie. "Ow! Oh, thanks a lot. Let's get out of here."
"Wait," Amy said. "I think he's aiming it."
Dan became rigid. "Whoa. Hold still, Nellie. He's sending a message!"
"A what?" Nellie said.
"Dit-dit-dit, dah-dah-dah, dit-dit-dit," Dan muttered.
62
"The standard Morse code distress signal. Hamilton is sending Morse code! This is, like, so World War Two!"
He took his Shaka card from his pocket and gave it to Amy. "Hold this up. Try to catch the mirror message as best you can. I'll write down the letters."
"You know Morse code?" Nellie said.
"Duh," Dan replied.
By the time Dan got out a pencil and candy wrapper, the flares had stopped. But they began again as Amy held up the card.
Dan whispered as he wrote: "Dah-dah-dit ... dah-dah-dah... dah-dit... dah-dah-dah... dit-dah-dah... dan-dit-dit-dit ... dit ... dit-dah-dah ... dit-dah ... dit-dah-dit... dit..."
Hamilton abruptly put his mirror in his pocket and ran onto the field. The African players were teasing him in a mixture of English and some other language.
"What's it say?" Amy asked.
Dan showed what he'd written:
[proofer's note: there are a lot of dots and dashes between the following letters: GONOWBEWARE]
63
Dan read the letters. '"Gon ow be ware'?" he said.
"Urn, I'm just a stupid au pair," Nellie said, "but wouldn't that be, Go now. Beware?"
RRRROMMMMMM... CHCK! CHCK-CHCK-CHCK.
Amy looked up at the sound.
At the top of the ridge, about twenty yards farther in and well out of sight of the clearing, the yellow Yugo had pulled to a ragged stop in a clearing. The driver's window was begrimed with dirt.
A shiny two-tone dress shoe emerged from the car first, planting itself on the ground, followed by a pair of cream-colored linen pants.
"Greetings, my beloved niece and nephew," said Alistair Oh.
64
CHAPTER 12
"You're ... here!" said Amy. "How did you escape?"
"How did you find us?" Dan asked.
"How did you start the car?" said Nellie.
"All will be explained in the fullness of time, my dears." Alistair gestured urgently toward the door. "I suggest we enter the chariot and ride away from our well-muscled nemeses."
"I'll drive!" Nellie raced around to the driver's side.
"Let me," Alistair said, blocking her way.
Amy stepped forward, then stopped in her tracks.
Go now. Beware. That was the warning.
Hamilton doesn't mean "beware the Holts," she thought. He means "beware Alistair."
"No, Nellie!" Amy shouted. "Don't get in there."
Amy fixed Uncle Alistair in her vision. He was cocking his head to one side, his yellow silk scarf gently wrinkling with the motion.
"Where do you go when you leave us?" Amy asked.
"Amy ...?" Alistair said, wiping his forehead with a white handkerchief.
65
Amy took a deep breath and counted to three. It was a technique Mom had taught her. Sometimes that was all it took to check your heart against your brain. "Think about this, Dan. We open our hearts to him every time. He swoops in to save us. We give him whatever we find. Then he vanishes. What does he do with the information? And how did he and the Holts find us at the same time --in the middle of South Africa?"
Dan looked uncomfortably at Uncle Alistair. Nellie retreated from the car door.
"If you must know," Alistair said, looking nervously down the hill, "I was held in Indonesia under false pretenses, but I escaped. I gambled on the notion that you were marching to Pretoria, as it were, but most international flights come in to Johannesburg. I was able to convince some airline personnel to reveal flight lists to me. It took detective work among the rental-car people to find which car you took, but we Ekats are good at that. I hired a
Below, Eisenhower was shouting at one of the players. Pushing him. But Hamilton was on the sidelines, combing his hair in a hand mirror. Preening.
The sun's reflection glinted from Ham's mirror. Dan recoiled, shielding his face with his hand. "The jerk."
The glare landed on Nellie. "Ow! Oh, thanks a lot. Let's get out of here."
"Wait," Amy said. "I think he's aiming it."
Dan became rigid. "Whoa. Hold still, Nellie. He's sending a message!"
"A what?" Nellie said.
"Dit-dit-dit, dah-dah-dah, dit-dit-dit," Dan muttered.
62
"The standard Morse code distress signal. Hamilton is sending Morse code! This is, like, so World War Two!"
He took his Shaka card from his pocket and gave it to Amy. "Hold this up. Try to catch the mirror message as best you can. I'll write down the letters."
"You know Morse code?" Nellie said.
"Duh," Dan replied.
By the time Dan got out a pencil and candy wrapper, the flares had stopped. But they began again as Amy held up the card.
Dan whispered as he wrote: "Dah-dah-dit ... dah-dah-dah... dah-dit... dah-dah-dah... dit-dah-dah... dan-dit-dit-dit ... dit ... dit-dah-dah ... dit-dah ... dit-dah-dit... dit..."
Hamilton abruptly put his mirror in his pocket and ran onto the field. The African players were teasing him in a mixture of English and some other language.
"What's it say?" Amy asked.
Dan showed what he'd written:
[proofer's note: there are a lot of dots and dashes between the following letters: GONOWBEWARE]
63
Dan read the letters. '"Gon ow be ware'?" he said.
"Urn, I'm just a stupid au pair," Nellie said, "but wouldn't that be, Go now. Beware?"
RRRROMMMMMM... CHCK! CHCK-CHCK-CHCK.
Amy looked up at the sound.
At the top of the ridge, about twenty yards farther in and well out of sight of the clearing, the yellow Yugo had pulled to a ragged stop in a clearing. The driver's window was begrimed with dirt.
A shiny two-tone dress shoe emerged from the car first, planting itself on the ground, followed by a pair of cream-colored linen pants.
"Greetings, my beloved niece and nephew," said Alistair Oh.
64
CHAPTER 12
"You're ... here!" said Amy. "How did you escape?"
"How did you find us?" Dan asked.
"How did you start the car?" said Nellie.
"All will be explained in the fullness of time, my dears." Alistair gestured urgently toward the door. "I suggest we enter the chariot and ride away from our well-muscled nemeses."
"I'll drive!" Nellie raced around to the driver's side.
"Let me," Alistair said, blocking her way.
Amy stepped forward, then stopped in her tracks.
Go now. Beware. That was the warning.
Hamilton doesn't mean "beware the Holts," she thought. He means "beware Alistair."
"No, Nellie!" Amy shouted. "Don't get in there."
Amy fixed Uncle Alistair in her vision. He was cocking his head to one side, his yellow silk scarf gently wrinkling with the motion.
"Where do you go when you leave us?" Amy asked.
"Amy ...?" Alistair said, wiping his forehead with a white handkerchief.
65
Amy took a deep breath and counted to three. It was a technique Mom had taught her. Sometimes that was all it took to check your heart against your brain. "Think about this, Dan. We open our hearts to him every time. He swoops in to save us. We give him whatever we find. Then he vanishes. What does he do with the information? And how did he and the Holts find us at the same time --in the middle of South Africa?"
Dan looked uncomfortably at Uncle Alistair. Nellie retreated from the car door.
"If you must know," Alistair said, looking nervously down the hill, "I was held in Indonesia under false pretenses, but I escaped. I gambled on the notion that you were marching to Pretoria, as it were, but most international flights come in to Johannesburg. I was able to convince some airline personnel to reveal flight lists to me. It took detective work among the rental-car people to find which car you took, but we Ekats are good at that. I hired a
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