Read Wildfire Run for Free Online Page B

should be enough time to work out the program for the robot. Once we download it, the robot has plenty of its own battery power.”
    â€œWhat are we going to get the robot to grab?” Theo asked.
    â€œThe kit came with some plastic balls. We can just use those. And I was thinking about your idea of the sound sensor. I have a whistle we can use with it.” Luke rummaged around in the drawer of his nightstand. “Someday I’m going to use it to train Comet to do tricks.”
    Hearing his name, Comet crawled out from under the bed and put his head on Luke’s foot.
    â€œAre you coming too?” Luke said, scratching the spot behind Comet’s ear that made the dog’s back foot thump. “Are you done acting like a scaredy-cat?” Comet sat up and barked once, thumping his tail.
    â€œDo the agents have to come up in the tree house too?” Theo asked. “That would feel weird.”
    â€œNo, they’ll just stay close enough to see us.”
    â€œOkay,” Theo said. He had gone back to his notebook, checking off items on a list. “I thinkwe have what we need.” He pulled out his pocket watch and wrote down the time. Theo checked the watch constantly. Luke had given up teasing him about it. Theo’s uncle had given it to him, claiming it once belonged to Orville Wright, who used it to time one of Wilbur’s early flights. Luke wasn’t sure he believed that, but Theo did.
    â€œLet’s go. Come on, boy.” Comet barked again and then followed after them out the door. In the hall Luke said to Adam, “We’re ready.”
    â€œSpeeder is on his way to the tree house.” Isabelle spoke into the microphone attached to her wrist.
    â€œSpeeder?” Theo said to Luke.
    â€œSpeeder is me,” Luke explained, embarrassed. “Everybody has a code name, and they gave me that when I was a little kid. Adam, can’t we change it?”
    â€œMaybe,” Adam said. “I’ll have to talk to Sal. Maybe we could change it to ‘Monkey,’ since you’re always climbing trees. Or maybe we could change it to ‘Drummer,’ since you drive everyone crazy with your drumming.”
    â€œYou’re just jealous you can’t do it,” Luke said. “Listen to this.” He beat out a complicated pattern on the wall.
    â€œYou’re right, I can’t do that,” Adam said. “You beat me in drumming talent.”
    â€œWho’s on duty after you?” Luke asked. “We want to roast marshmallows tonight.”
    â€œBrian and the new guy, Grant, were supposed to be on duty.” Adam grinned. “Don’t tease Brian about this when he gets back, but the earthquake made a lamp fall over in his room, and Brian tripped on it getting out of bed. He’s down in Hagerstown getting an X-ray. He may have broken his wrist.”
    â€œHe won’t be happy about that,” Luke said.
    â€œNo, he won’t,” Adam agreed. “I don’t know who’ll be teaming up with Grant yet. I don’t know about the marshmallows either. The fire danger is so high we aren’t supposed to have any open flames.”
    â€œYou told me the chefs here can make anything,” Theo said. “Do you think we could do ice-cream sundaes?”
    Here was a reason Theo would definitely want to come back. “Sure,” Luke said. “They have all sorts of toppings and flavors, just like a real ice-cream place.” Luke remembered going to an ice-cream place one time, and even with all the photographers taking his picture, it had been great.
    â€œNice.”
    Outside, gusts of wind made the heat worse, like hot furnace blasts of air.
    Theo whistled when he saw the tree house. “That’s big. How many kids can fit in there?”
    â€œI don’t know. I’m the only one who has ever been up in it, besides the agents and the crew who built it.” Theo was the first person Luke