"And then I saw it--the Shadow." The speaker\'s eyes appeared to snap. Johnny Thompson leaned forward in his chair. "It glided through the fog without a sound." The voice droned on, "Not a sound, mind you! We had a small boat with powerful motors. I stepped on the gas. Our motors roared. We were after that shadow." "And then?" Johnny Thompson whispered. "For all I know," the black-eyed man murmured, leaning back in his chair, "we might have cut that shadow square in two. Anyway, that\'s the last we saw of it for that day. "But think of it!" he exclaimed after a second\'s pause. "Think of the thing just disappearing in the fog like that!" He was a romantic figure, this man Blackie. The boys of Matanuska Valley in Alaska loved this gathering of an evening about the red-hot stove in the store. And no part of the evening\'s entertainment was ever half so thrilling as Blackie\'s stories. "It was spring then," Blackie added, "late May, when the salmon run was on." "It was a whale after salmon, that shadow," someone suggested. "No, sir!" Blackie fairly shouted. "It was too fast for a whale! Some sort of Oriental craft, I shouldn\'t wonder. Though how they\'d make it go without a sound is beyond me. "Ah well," he sighed, "I\'ll be rid of these by spring." He kicked at the crutches beside his chair. "Then I\'ll be after \'em again, those bloomin\' Orientals and their gliding shadows." "You going back into the Coast Guard Service?" Johnny asked eagerly. "I sure am!" Blackie agreed heartily. "Boy! That\'s the life! A speedy boat with two or three airplane motors in her hull, a good crew, plenty of gas, the wide open sea and enough trouble to keep your eyes open day and night. Man! Oh, man!".............. Views: 116
Paul Chowder, the poet protagonist of Nicholson Baker's widely acclaimed novel The Anthologist, is turning fifty-five and missing his ex-girlfriend, Roz, rather desperately. As he approaches the dreaded birthday, Paul is uninspired by his usual artistic outlet (although he's pleased that his poetry anthology, Only Rhyme, is selling "steadily"). Putting aside poetry in favor of music, and drawing on his classical bassoon training, Paul turns instead to his new acoustic guitar with one goal in mind: to learn songwriting. As he struggles to come to terms with the horror of America's drone wars and Roz's recent relationship with a local NPR radio host, Paul fills his days with Quaker meetings, Planet Fitness workouts, and some experiments with tobacco. Written in Baker's beautifully unconventional prose, and scored with musical influences from Debussy to Tracy Chapman to Paul himself, Traveling Sprinkler is an enchanting, hilarious—and very... Views: 116
Roald Amundsen was the most successful polar explorer of his era using sledges, dogs, skis, and ships. He is mainly remembered for being the first man to reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911. What is less often remembered is that he was also the first man to reach the North Pole on May 12, 1926, as the leader of the Amundsen-Ellsworth-Nobile expedition in the airship Norge. His involvement in aviation from his experiments with man-lifting kites in 1909 to his death in 1928 while flying from Norway to Spitsbergen has not been the subject of a detailed study until now.From Pole to Pole explores Amundsen's enthusiasm for flight from the moment he read about Blériot's flight across the English Channel in an airplane. In June 1928 Amundsen and five companions took off in a search and rescue flight for the missing airship Italia and were never seen again. The only traces of the men and their aircraft were a tip float and an empty fuel tank which... Views: 116
Henrik Magnusson is supposed to be immortal, but a mysterious ailment leaves
the vampire king near death, and not even the blood of the Proffered, human virgins
trained to serve the elite, can sustain him. Then he rescues a beautiful young woman
from his enemies, and is filled with blood lust and desire he hasn’t felt for centuries.
Photographer Kaira Sorenson’s life takes a nightmare turn when she’s attacked by
blood-thirsty creatures—and saved by a vampire. She should be afraid of Henrik, but she
can’t deny her intense attraction to this regal, enigmatic being—nor the fact that her
blood may be his only salvation. Now she must decide if she’s willing to be his
forever... Views: 115
A day in the life of the world’s newest hero.Video games. Homework. High school. Bullies. Detention. Crushes. Secrets. Other dimensions. Monsters. Super powers.The end of the world.Lucas Ryan is on the edge of an epic journey. One that will test his friendships, reveal a hidden secret and challenge his young heart. Prepare yourself for an adventure wrapped in music, imagination and sacrifice.You will believe. Views: 115
