[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] Jacob twisted away as Skin-and-Bones's arms lunged for him and clawed at his clothing. He let the reins drop and put his arms up to protect his neck. The bony arms were clutching at him now, and he could barely struggle against their deathly grip. The horses pranced and galloped wildly down the road. Jacob felt the sharp, bony fingers closing around his neck. He felt his breath coming in short, desperate gasps. Skin-and-Bones had her face pressed up against his. Jacob pulled together all the life he had left in his body. With a burst of strength he tore away the hands from his neck. Skin-and-Bones reeled back, still grinning her horrible smile. Once again, she lunged for his throat, but Jacob caught her bony wrists in his hands. He wrenched her out of her seat and threw her over the side of the buggy. With a bloodcurdling scream, Skin-and-Bones fell onto the road. Jacob slumped back in the buggy, half conscious, and let the horses run down the road to Platkill. "Jacob Cooper, is that you?" a voice was saying. Jacob opened his eyes to see his friend looking at him with worried eyes. "Jacob, what's the matter?" his friend asked. "The horses brought you here, but you were unconscious. Are you sick?" "Skin-and-Bones," Jacob mumbled. "What nonsense are you talking?" his friend exclaimed. "Skin-and-Bones," Jacob repeated. "She tried to kill me." "Did you hear that superstitious old story?" his friend asked, pulling him to the ground. "The local people tell that to frighten travelers." Jacob rubbed his eyes and looked up at the moonlight. Had it all just been a dream? Then he looked at his friend and saw the expression of horror on his face. Jacob followed his friend's eyes to the side of the buggy. There, dangling from the hook that had caught it as she fell, was the white, bony hand... of Skin-and-Bones. The Snake Charmer Lucy Morris sat on the veranda of her parents' house outside the village of Kampur. Servants came and went, adding ice to her lemonade or fetching her a book or treat. Still, Lucy's mouth was set in a pout. She didn't like this foreign place. Her father had come here to do research for three years, but only one month had passed, and to Lucy, it had seemed like an eternity. The heavy, humid heat made Lucy feel faint. The strong, spicy smells of the food made her lose her appetite. And the insects that scurried about the house Page 36 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html made her scream in terror. Lucy sat on the veranda pouring out all her anger into a letter she was writing her friend back home. Slowly, as she wrote, she became aware of a sound she hadn't heard before. It was a tune, a low, whining tune being played on a flute of some kind. Lucy didn't know how long the music had been playing, but once she was aware of it, she could hear nothing else. She threw down her pen and paper and got up from the big wicker chair where she had been sitting. Then she walked to the end of the veranda that was near the road. The house sat on a dusty, seldom-traveled road that led to the nearby village. Lucy peered down over the veranda railing and caught her breath at what she saw. On the ground was an old man, dressed in rags, moving back and forth as he played the flute that was making the hypnotic music she heard. The song repeated itself over and over again in high, whining notes. Lucy was about to call to the man to go away when she noticed the basket sitting in front of him. From a hole in its top, a sinister, flat-headed snake was swaying back and forth to the music. Lucy screamed when she saw the snake. She had a deathly fear of snakes. The man glanced up at her with his dark eyes and then went on playing the song for his cobra. Lucy ran back into the house and demanded that the servants tell the man to leave at once. But the servants shook their heads and muttered that it would bring bad luck to them. Lucy wished her mother and father were at home, but they were gone for three days on a research trip. So Lucy ran back out to the end of the veranda and shouted to the old man to go away. For a moment, he seemed not to hear her. But Lucy kept shouting and motioning to him. Then suddenly he stopped moving and playing the flute and stared at her with his bottomless, black eyes. The cobra suddenly stopped swaying and turned to look at Lucy, too. The snake's evil-looking eyes seemed to be memorizing her face. Lucy shrank back in fear and ran into the house. Once again, the insidious music began. The music kept up through dinner and into the evening. When Lucy went to bed, she could still hear the song of the snake charmer's flute. In her mind, she could see the cobra swaying back and forth to the music. After hours of tossing and turning in the hot air, she finally fell asleep. When Lucy woke up, she noticed a change in the air. It was silent. The music had stopped. Lucy ran to her window that looked out onto the road. Looking back up at her from the ground was the snake charmer. When he saw her face he took up his flute and began to play. The music wound its way through the window into Lucy's brain. At breakfast she threw a temper tantrum and demanded that the servants get rid of the snake charmer. But once again, they refused. They tried to tell her that such a man had strange powers, but she wouldn't listen. She went to the back of the house as far away from the music as she could get. Lucy stayed inside the house all morning and all afternoon. But still she could not escape the snake charmer's song. Before dinner, she walked out onto the veranda and called to the man. Page 37 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html "I will give you money," she said, "if you'll just go away. What is it you want?" The man played his song for several more minutes. Then he stopped and looked up at her. "Something that belongs to you," he said, showing chipped, yellowed teeth. "A lock of your golden hair." Just then, the cobra reared its head toward Lucy. She shrank back and ran into the house, shutting the door tightly behind her. But the music started up again, like a mad tune in her brain. Lucy spent another restless night, tossing and turning, and covering her head with a pillow to keep out the sound of the music. She woke so late the next morning that the snake charmer had already started playing by the time she got up. Lucy wasn't sure she could stand it any longer. She sat down in front of her mirror and started to brush her long, blonde hair. Then she remembered the snake charmer's wish. She picked up a lock of her hair and thought how she would hate to cut it. But if that would get rid of the man and his horrible music, perhaps it would be worth losing. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl blacksoulman.xlx.pl