Free The Dragon's Eye by Dugald A. Steer Page B

paint, a whistle that was supposed to summon dragons, and a pair of binoculars that had a convenient compass set into the handle. After he had let us look at them — cautioning us not under any circumstances to blow the whistle — he pointed to the blackboard, which still had the diagram he had drawn showing how dragons breathe fire.
    â€œCan anyone remember how fire is produced?” he asked.
    Beatrice’s hand shot up. So did Billy’s, but it was a fraction of a second later.
    â€œWell, Beatrice?” said Dr. Drake.
    Beatrice smiled. This was obviously Q.T.B. in action.
    â€œThe dragon has a special pouch where it puts a piece of flint and a piece of iron something or other.”
    â€œPyrites,” said Billy and Dr. Drake at the same time.
    â€œIron pyrites. It uses them to make a spark, and the spark lights the flammable venom in its fangs.”
    â€œQuite correct,” said Dr. Drake. “Now I think it is time for a little visit to see Scorcher. But we must be careful.” And he looked at me. “Scorcher is quite recovered from his illness now, but you mustn’t get too close to him. While he is here, I think we can see how he is learning to produce fire. It is quite remarkable, given that he is so young.”
    We trooped over to the coal shed, and Dr. Drake, who had brought a lantern, unlocked the door. Being very careful not to open the door very wide, he went in first and soothed Scorcher with the same lullaby I had heard him use before, and then he called us in.
    Scorcher was sitting in a corner of the shed, looking rather sleepy. He was no longer in his cage, but instead was sitting atop the strangest pile of things imaginable. There were some rocks and pieces of coal, a lot of shiny silver knives, forks, and spoons, two old plates, and some pieces of broken mirror. Right on the top were a few of the glass beads that Emery had used to distract Jamal.
    â€œThis is the closest I could get to mimicking a dragon’s lair at short notice,” said Dr. Drake. “A baby dragon like Scorcher will still spend most of his time in his mother’s lair, eating and growing until he is big enough to start learning to fly.”
    From what I had seen at Dr. Drake’s Dragonalia, Scorcher was already learning to fly, but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to do anything much except look at him.
    Dr. Drake took a glass bead from his pocket and showed it to Scorcher, who immediately perked up and gave a little screech.
    â€œKeep back and watch,” he said.
    He pocketed the bead, and Scorcher immediately left the top of the pile and hopped over towards us.
    â€œNow,” said Dr. Drake. “Fetch!”
    He pretended to throw the bead over Scorcher’s shoulder.
    Scorcher raced back over to where he thought the bead had landed and sniffed for it. When he couldn’t find it, he became agitated. Pretty soon I saw him making a sort of strange movement with his jaw, and I guessed he was jiggling about a piece of flint and iron pyrites. Sure enough, when you knew what to look for, you could see the little sparks that he was making. I also saw a wisp of the same cloud of sulphurous smoke I had seen in Dr. Drake’s Dragonalia.
    Scorcher turned and looked right into my eyes as though asking me what had happened to the shiny thing that Dr. Drake had thrown. I couldn’t turn away, and I felt a sudden urge to go over to him. As I started going towards him, someone pulled me back, but I shook the person off. Beatrice shouted, and Scorcher started screeching loudly and flapping his wings. I can’t remember anything that happened after that until I came to outside. Beatrice and Dr. Drake were standing over me and the other children were standing nearby, looking worried.
    â€œWill he be all right?” demanded Beatrice. “What happened to him?”
    â€œI’m afraid that Daniel has undergone a small case of dragon hypnosis,” said