The Swiss Family RobinZOM (Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

him there before. But she didn’t slow down either. She pushed Lightning harder.
    The two animals bumped against one another, mostly due to Ernest’s own attempt to knock Liz off course. Clementine was ahead of Lightning by a beak. Lightning grunted with the effort, legs pumping as hard as they could.
    “Don’t push Lightning so hard!” Ernest said.
    “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Liz said.
    “Lightning isn’t going to make it!” Ernest said.
    Liz looked down at the froth spreading across the zebra’s back.
    “She can take it,” Liz said.
    “I hope so,” Ernest said, and he stood up in his stirrups and rocked Clementine’s bodyweight into Lightning. The bump knocked Lightning off her stride, losing her rhythm.
    “You’re a worse cheat than your father!” Liz said as she slipped behind him.
    “From the woman who benefited from a false start!” Ernest said.
    He turned to look ahead. Bill was right in front of him. In the far distance, hazy like a mirage, Ernest could make out the finish line. Bill pushed the goats hard. He had a length of wood like a fishing rod held in front of him, hanging just out of reach of the goats. The goats seemed to covet it more than their own lives as they drove the chariot faster than Ernest thought they were capable of.
    Ernest pulled up behind Bill’s chariot, the dirt and muck kicked up by the wheels. Clementine gwek ed in outrage, causing Bill to turn his head slightly. Now he knew they were there. Ernest swung Clementine out from behind the chariot and alongside Bill. Ernest leaned in as low as he could. The ostrich’s head was two feet higher than Bill’s.
    The rod had a thick wedge of grass, roots and leaves on the end of it. The goats, incensed by the luscious prize, powered their legs as fast as they could go, barely touching the ground before striding again. But they were hindered by their physiology. As fast as they might be able to run, they were no match for an ostrich. One of Clementine’s strides was worth five of the little goats’.
    “You can’t fight evolution!” Ernest said. “Clementine was built for speed!”
    “You’re right,” Bill said with a sly smile. “But one thing trumps evolution.”
    Ernest held his breath. He couldn’t bring himself to ask what.
    “Cunning,” Bill said, and he moved the clutch of foliage at the end of his rod over to one side, in front of Clementine’s beak.
    She caught the scent of it. Her eyes widened, her tongue poking out. She pecked at the grass. The goats caught the blades that flittered down to them. Then Bill made thrusting motions, and a handful of grass and roots fell onto the racetrack.
    Ernest’s eyebrows rose in alarm.
    “No!” he gasped.
    “Ta-ta!” Bill said, pulling ahead.
    Clementine’s strides shrank as she slowed. Ernest jerked forward, smacking into Clementine’s thick neck. She spun and turned on the spot, feet kicking up dust. Liz ran past as Clementine headed in the opposite direction. Clementine bent down and pecked at the roots and leaves on the ground, guzzling it down. Ernest pulled on the reins to no avail.
    “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Jack said as he swung overhead in the vines. “That’ll teach you!”
    “Teach me what?” Ernest said. “There’s nothing to learn from this!”
    His eyes returned to Clementine, who was busy snapping up the roots.
    “Except to never trust Father,” Ernest said. He turned to Clementine. “You might as well eat all of it. We’ve got no chance of winning now anyway.”
    There was a loud roar, like a dinosaur on the loose, somewhere down the straight. The foliage erupted, and a loud crack like a cannon exploding echoed over the island. A dozen flocks of birds took flight. A tree that had been precariously leaning over fell and broke across the beach, the leafy top slamming into the sea. Bill and Liz skidded to a stop before it.
    There was a clip-clopping sound behind Ernest. He turned to find Fritz on Lightfoot’s back, making slow but