better if he stayed. Heâd be forced to take the Child-Calming Menthol Drops, and heâd be rendered listless and dull, guaranteed! And Dr. Fromler, battling gale force winds, was still after his teeth.
Oyster held tight to the edge of the bucket and jumped for the black hole of the basin. The sink basinâs drain widened so that Oyster and Leatherbelly slid through, then fell into darkness. Dr. Fromler and Mrs. Fishback charged the sink basin. And Oyster, bucket in one hand, Leatherbelly in the other, could see theirhorrified faces, peering down into the drain.
Oyster wedged his bottom into the silver bucket. The bottle of Child-Calming Menthol Drops in one pocket, the small map of his imagination in the other, Leatherbelly in his lap, Oyster was carried off somewhere by the bucket. He and Leatherbelly sailed through darkness.
C HAPTER 5
T HE S ILVER B UCKET IN THE W ELL
(B ONELAND W EST OF THE P INCH -E YE M OUNTAINS )
O yster heard the distant, rustling voices again.
âGet him, Hopps!â one said.
âNo, no, there. Hold steady!â said another.
Then the bucket slammed down so hard that Oyster and Leatherbelly shot out. They both ended up sprawled across a floor. It took a moment for Oysterâs eyes to adjust. He was on his stomach in a small room filled with cans and barrels marked FIGS: REFRIGERATE . It was dusty and dark. Leatherbelly looked at Oyster as if it had been Oysterâs idea to fall through a dentistâs sink into darkness, fly in a silver bucket, and land in this cluttered room.
Oyster rolled onto his back and looked up. Two faces loomed over him. One of the faces was small and sweet with blinky eyes. He was smiling as he said, âI think weâve got ourselves the right one, donât you?â
The other face, which had a deflated look as if it had once been fat and dimpled, wore a curdled expression, and its beady eyes stared at Oyster suspiciously. âIâm not so sure,â he said.
âOh, Hopps,â the happy face said. âItâs the boy! It is!â
âListen, Ringet, we canât jump ahead of ourselves.â
So these were the voices that Oyster had heard through the glove compartment. He stared up at them. He wanted to be the boy they were looking for. Hewanted to think that all of the strange thingsâthe Awful MTDs, the Mapkeeper, the chocolate on the broom handle, and the silver bucketâwere leading to something. But Oyster had trouble believing that he really could be the boy they were looking for. âIâm just Oyster from the nunnery,â he found himself saying. He was just Oyster who got in the way and who wasnât worth the trouble.
âOyster?â Hopps repeated. âThat doesnât help!â
âItâs the boy!â Ringet went on.
âHow do you know, Ringet? How do you know anything?â Hopps said.
âI just do!â Ringet answered. âHe was near the spot you left him! He didnât wander too far maybe because he knew weâd be coming back for him.â
âIâm not allowed to wander far away, ever,â Oyster said. âIâm not allowed outside the nunnery gate except for certain reasons.â
Hopps ignored Oyster and lit into Ringet. âI told you that I donât really remember where I left him. Thatâs the problem!â Hopps said, rearing back and poking Ringet in the chest. âAnd if you breathe a word of that, Iâll kill you, Ringet. I will, and we wonât be friends anymore!â
It was clear now that the two men were very small, with broad chests and short legs. They wore earrings all the way up their ears and had furry cheeks but barechins. They both had a good number of dark moles on their faces. They wore flat, circular caps.
âI wonât tell,â Ringet said. âIâve already promised! I havenât even told Oli or Marge or anyone on the Council! But, butââand here it seemed like
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