فصل چهل و نهم

chapter-49

“Must be right near here,” said Kyle as the robot skidded sideways about two yards.

“Makes sense,” said Abia. “We are dealing with the same time period, the early 1970s. Benjamin Bean stole Mr. Lemoncello’s whoopee-cushion-doodle idea for the Krinkle brothers right after Family Frenzy became his first surprise hit.” “The record you seek is on the third shelf,” said the robot.

“Awesome,” said Kyle.

The robot lengthened its forklift arms.

Into an empty space.

“There is nothing there,” said Abia.

“The material you just requested has already been requested by another patron,” said the robot in an entirely different voice.

“That sounds like the reference librarian,” said Abia. “Ms. Waintraub.” Researchio’s head rotated and one of his green LED headlamps flickered as it turned into a holographic projector. A shorter version of the research librarian, maybe two feet tall, appeared on the floor in front of Kyle, Abia, and Miguel.

“What’s going on here?” Kyle demanded.

Abia propped her hands on her hips and bent down as if she were scolding a garden gnome. “We need that other box! The one about Benjamin Bean. Quit being obstinate, Ms. Adrienne Waintraub!” “I’m sorry,” said the hologram in her matter-of-fact way. “As I stated previously, the material you requested has already been checked out by another patron. There are no other copies of the materials you seek anywhere in this library or, for that matter, the known universe. Kindly request it again at a later date.” “Oh, man,” said Miguel. “This is why I like real librarians. They’re search engines with a heart. This one’s just a machine!” “You forgot to mention how much more efficient I am,” replied the hologram.

“Who took the box?” Kyle asked the holographic librarian.

“I am not at liberty to divulge that information.”

“When did they request it?” demanded Abia.

“It is due back in twenty-three hours and fifty-five minutes.” “There’s a one-day research limit on stack items,” said Miguel.

“That means it was just checked out five minutes ago!” said Abia.

“Correct,” said Ms. Waintraub with a very un-holographic wink.

“The Krinkle brothers!”

Miguel spun around and shone his flashlight up toward the ceiling, illuminating the tracks of the bin transport system.

“This is a new contraption Mr. Raymo installed a couple weeks ago,” said Miguel. “The robots place the requested cartons into one of the big blue bins over there. A chain between the tracks hauls the bins up the wall. Then they shuttle along the rails like cars on a roller coaster, disappear through that hole, and eventually pop up right underneath the reference desk.” “There,” said Kyle, pointing his flashlight at a cardboard box slowly rising up the wall. It was tucked into a bright blue plastic bin, which was being towed by a thick chain set between two tubular tracks. There were empty blue bins crawling up the wall, every three feet, right behind it.

It was so close.

There was no way Kyle was going to let the Krinkle brothers get their hands on it before he did.

“Hurry,” said Abia. “If we take the stairs, we might be able to intercept the carton the instant it appears underneath the reference desk.” “Wait,” said Kyle. “There’s a faster way. Those bins look big enough to sit in!” “True,” said Miguel. “Because some of the cartons down here are humongous.” Kyle dashed over to the wall in his drone slippers.

“What are you doing now, Kyle Keeley?” cried Abia.

“Going on a quick roller-coaster ride! Meet me upstairs, you guys, under the reference desk. Bring the shoebox. And my sneakers, too!” Kyle clicked his heels together three times.

“Take me up to the blue bin right below that brown box!” He floated up the wall, swung around, and plopped his butt into a bin already climbing the incline.

When the conveyor belt finished its ascent, the bin tilted backward. Kyle felt like an upside-down turtle in a blue plastic shell. He wiggled around and forced himself into a sitting position, his head barely missing the ceiling by about two inches.

He could see the carton he needed riding along in the bin right in front of his.

He tried to lean forward, reach out, and grab it. But it was too far away.

That’s when he saw the big drop.