Read We Are Not Eaten by Yaks for Free Online Page B

cable installed in the apartment.”
    â€œNonsense!” a voice from the crowd shouted.
    No one could see where the voice came from.
    â€œLies!” the voice called again, and everyone looked down to see Sir Edmund as he stepped into the conversation, wagging his finger into the air.
    He wore a black tuxedo with a frilly ruffled shirt. His jacket had decorative bands on the shoulders, like a military officer’s, and he wore a gold medal on his chest emblazoned with an emblem of a scroll locked in chains. The chains were encrusted with jewels and they sparkled right into the children’s eyes.
    â€œYour children have seen too many movies.”
    â€œI agree with you,” said Dr. Navel, “but I do wonder why they would make this up. I have never known them to imagine anything at all before.”
    â€œBecause they are brats,” Sir Edmund said. “And they believe too much in fiction. It must run in the family,” he sneered. “This document could not possibly be from the Lost Library of Alexandria. The tablets are as lost as the library itself. And there is no such place as Shangri-La. If you believe in this foolishness, you are as foolish as your foolish children.”
    â€œI do wonder,” said Dr. Navel, turning back to the mountain climber. “If this is indeed a Lost Tablet from the Great Library of Alexandria, how did it get into Tibet? Who are these shamans my wife mentions? And who was chasing her? And, of course, where are the rest of the Lost Tablets? What do her drawings mean? Where is Shangri-La? So many questions . . .ʹ
    â€œExcuse me!” Sir Edmund called up at Dr. Navel. “I said you are a fool!”
    â€œYes,” Dr. Navel replied, “I heard you. I have more important things to do right now than worry about your opinion of me.”
    â€œHe also threatened to kill you!” Oliver called out, but none of the adults reacted. Threats were nothing new at the Ceremony of Discovery.
    â€œDo you really think Shangri-La could be real?” Professor Eckhart asked.
    â€œWhy not?” said Dr. Navel, thinking out loud. “The legend says that there is a secret place somewhere in Tibet called Shangri-La. It is an earthly paradise, hidden and protected from the evils of the world. The monks of Shangri-La safeguard all the wisdom of the universe so that, if humanity ever falls into ruin, all will not be lost. It is possible, I suppose, that when the Great Library was destroyed, some wise scholar could have secreted the tablets away to Tibet. A secret city would be the perfect place to hide a Lost Library.”
    â€œThis is what I believe,” added Choden Thordup excitedly.
    â€œThis is ridiculous,” Celia said to her brother. “There’s a real plot to kill Dad and all these explorers can think about is a stupid library catalog and a made-up place hiding a stupid library. I’m missing Love at 30,000 Feet for this?”
    â€œNo,” Oliver said. “You’re missing The World’s Greatest Animal Chases Three. And what if this helps Dad find Mom?”
    â€œWhat if the Codex of Zanzibar last year helped Dad find Mom?” Celia answered tartly. “Or the trip to the Golden Sarcophagus of Peru or the trek through New Zealand or the deep-sea exploration over winter vacation? There are always clues and they never lead anywhere except to missing our shows and you getting bitten by lizards.”
    Celia’s eyes had welled with tears. Oliver’s too. He didn’t like it when his twin sister scolded him. But he couldn’t help thinking she was right. Except this time, the page had their mother’s handwriting on it, didn’t it? That clue had to mean something more than any of the others had. But something felt wrong about it. He couldn’t figure out what it was, but something just didn’t feel right.
    â€œSomething just doesn’t feel right,” Celia said. As annoying as