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years.
    Suddenly, the mermaid flipped her tail and disappeared under the water.
    Startled, I searched around for her. She had left without a trace—not a
ripple, not a bubble.
    Where did she go? I wondered. Is she gone, just like that? Will I never see
her again?
    I rubbed my eyes and looked for her again. No sign of her. A few fish darted
past me.
    She had disappeared so instantly, I began to think I had dreamed her up after
all.
    Just then, I felt a tiny pinch on my foot.
    “Ouch!” I yelled, quickly pulling away. I began to panic. The shark was back!
    Then, behind me, I heard a small splash and a whistlelike giggle. I turned
around.
    The mermaid smiled mischievously at me. She snapped her fingers in a pinching
motion.
    “It was you!” I cried, laughing with relief. “You’re worse than my little
sister!”
    She whistled again and slapped her tail against the surface of the water.
    Suddenly, a dark shadow fell across her face. I raised my eyes to see what it
was.
    Too late.
    A heavy net dropped over us. Startled, I thrashed my arms and legs. But that
only tangled them more in the rope.
    The net tightened over both of us. We were thrown together.
    We struggled helplessly as the net jerked us up.
    The mermaid’s eyes widened and she squealed in terror.
    “EEEEEE!” she cried.
    We were being pulled up out of the water.
    “EEEEEEE!” The mermaid’s frightened wail rose like a siren, drowning out my
feeble cries for help.

 
 
15
     
     
    “Billy—I don’t believe it!”
    I gazed up through the holes in the net and recognized Dr. D. and Sheena.
They struggled to pull us aboard the dinghy.
    Sheena stared down at me and the mermaid in amazement. Dr. D.’s eyes were
wide, and his mouth hung open.
    “You’ve found her, Billy!” he said. “You’ve actually found the mermaid!”
    “Just get me out of this net!” I cried. Somehow, I didn’t feel so great about
capturing the mermaid anymore.
    “The zoo people were right,” Dr. D. muttered to himself. “It’s unbelievable.
It’s astounding. It’s historic….”
    We landed in a heap on the floor of the dinghy. The mermaid squirmed beside
me in the net, making sharp, angry clicking noises.
    Dr. D. watched her closely. He touched her tail.
    The mermaid flapped it hard against the bottom of the boat.
    “Is there any way this could be a hoax?” he wondered aloud.
    “Billy—is this one of your dumb tricks?” Sheena demanded suspiciously.
    “It’s not a trick,” I said. “Now will you get me out of this net? The ropes
are digging into my skin.”
    They ignored me.
    Sheena gently reached one finger through the net and touched the scales on
the mermaid’s tail. “I can’t believe it,” she murmured. “She’s really real!”
    “Of course she’s real!” I cried. “We’re both real, and we’re both very
uncomfortable!”
    “Well, it’s hard to believe anything you say,” Sheena snapped. “After
all, you’ve been talking about sea monsters ever since we got here.”
    “I did see a sea monster!” I cried.
    “Quiet, kids,” said Dr. D. “Let’s get our discovery back to the sea lab.”
    He started the dinghy’s motor and we roared back to the big boat.
    Alexander stood on deck, waiting for us. “It’s really true!” he cried
excitedly. “It’s really a mermaid!”
    Sheena tied the dinghy to the side of the Cassandra while Dr. D. and
Alexander hoisted me and the mermaid aboard.
    Dr. D. opened the net and helped me out. The mermaid flopped her tail and got
herself even more tangled in the net.
    Alexander shook my hand. “I’m proud of you, Billy. How did you do it? This is
amazing.” He gave me a vigorous pat on the back. “Do you realize this is the
greatest ocean find of the century? Maybe of all time?”
    “Thanks,” I said. “But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t find her— she found me.”
    The mermaid flopped violently on deck. Her squeals became higher-pitched,
more frantic.
    Alexander’s face fell.