leave a bunch of kids to starve? On a desert island? In the past?”
“It wasn’t a desert island,” said Sam, neatly counting his stack of bills, “and I’d have come back for you. I just wanted a little booty and some respect.”
“Respect from who?” asked Henry.
“Why, my father’s old sea dog friends. They stop in periodically to dig holes in the yard to see if they can find Blackbeard’s treasure. They eat my food and laughat my books and get their big swashbuckling boots all over my good rugs. Ha! I’d show them!”
Henry could understand this desire and felt for Sam, but all the same, this behavior was out of line. “Too bad it isn’t your wall,” he said. He turned to the vault wall and added, “Home, please.”
In a blink, they were back in the field in the shadow of the wall.
Sam eyed Henry up and down. “You’re no fun, and anyway, who says it’s
your
wall?” Then he turned to the wall and said, “The bank!”
They were back in the bank in a flash, and Sam’s greedy fingers were scrabbling around in another bag.
“It’s our wall because we found it first!” said Henry, and then to the wall he said again, “Home!”
Instantly, they were back in the field, only now, Sam had two bundles of bills.
“In that case,” said Sam, “I found it too—right after you did. You aren’t the first people in the world to find it, you know!” He stuffed the money in his shirt and turned back to the wall. “The bank!” he said.
They were back in the bank, and Sam was rooting in a bag of coins on the shelf beside him.
Henry sighed. In a tired voice he said, “Home, please!”
They were back in the field just as before, only this time, Sam had been holding onto the burlap sack the money was in, so he had the entire bag with him! With the weight of all the money, the bag was incredibly heavy and it fell sharply to the ground, spilling gold and silver coins all over the grass. Sam laughed in delight. “Look at all that!”
Henry was feeling funny from all of the switcheroo-ing. “Please stop?” he begged. “Please? We aren’t getting anywhere, and this could go on all day.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Sam. “I’m getting somewhere. I’m getting rich.” He kicked at the pile of coins but did not take his hand from the wall. “Okay,” he said to the wall with a greedy grin, “now I want to be in the biggest bank in the history of the world!”
Instantly, they were in the biggest bank in the history of the world. Only it wasn’t quite what Sam had bargained for. He meant to arrive in the biggest bank in the history of the world as he knew it, but the history of the world is long and extends in both directions. Suddenly Sam found himself in a very strange place: a highly secure, high-tech, ultramodern bank vault!
Under their hands, a metal wall looked to Henry like it was made of some kind of futuristic metal. It felt solid but looked like mercury, like a silvery flowingriver. Laser beams crisscrossed the walls in roving strands of multicolored light. The walls were not simple shelves full of bags of coins, bars of gold, and stacks of bills. Instead, they were tightly sealed, airtight compartments full of strange vials and boxes and lights. Henry thought they looked like spaceship refrigerators.
Sam blinked. This did not look like any bank he’d ever known. He had no idea what to steal, but he eyed the lasers with wonder.
Henry had seen enough adventure movies to know not to move a muscle, but Sam had not. Intrigued by his strange new surroundings, he reached out to touch a thin darting beam of light. He succeeded but recoiled with a shriek!
Flashing lights burst into action like ten thousand fire trucks, and there was a sudden noise like a million screaming cats: meee-OW, meee-OW, meee-OW, meee-OW, meee-OW! The sirens and lights split the air, and with a whimper and a wail, Sam let go of the wall and crumpled to the ground.
This was just what Henry had been waiting
“It wasn’t a desert island,” said Sam, neatly counting his stack of bills, “and I’d have come back for you. I just wanted a little booty and some respect.”
“Respect from who?” asked Henry.
“Why, my father’s old sea dog friends. They stop in periodically to dig holes in the yard to see if they can find Blackbeard’s treasure. They eat my food and laughat my books and get their big swashbuckling boots all over my good rugs. Ha! I’d show them!”
Henry could understand this desire and felt for Sam, but all the same, this behavior was out of line. “Too bad it isn’t your wall,” he said. He turned to the vault wall and added, “Home, please.”
In a blink, they were back in the field in the shadow of the wall.
Sam eyed Henry up and down. “You’re no fun, and anyway, who says it’s
your
wall?” Then he turned to the wall and said, “The bank!”
They were back in the bank in a flash, and Sam’s greedy fingers were scrabbling around in another bag.
“It’s our wall because we found it first!” said Henry, and then to the wall he said again, “Home!”
Instantly, they were back in the field, only now, Sam had two bundles of bills.
“In that case,” said Sam, “I found it too—right after you did. You aren’t the first people in the world to find it, you know!” He stuffed the money in his shirt and turned back to the wall. “The bank!” he said.
They were back in the bank, and Sam was rooting in a bag of coins on the shelf beside him.
Henry sighed. In a tired voice he said, “Home, please!”
They were back in the field just as before, only this time, Sam had been holding onto the burlap sack the money was in, so he had the entire bag with him! With the weight of all the money, the bag was incredibly heavy and it fell sharply to the ground, spilling gold and silver coins all over the grass. Sam laughed in delight. “Look at all that!”
Henry was feeling funny from all of the switcheroo-ing. “Please stop?” he begged. “Please? We aren’t getting anywhere, and this could go on all day.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Sam. “I’m getting somewhere. I’m getting rich.” He kicked at the pile of coins but did not take his hand from the wall. “Okay,” he said to the wall with a greedy grin, “now I want to be in the biggest bank in the history of the world!”
Instantly, they were in the biggest bank in the history of the world. Only it wasn’t quite what Sam had bargained for. He meant to arrive in the biggest bank in the history of the world as he knew it, but the history of the world is long and extends in both directions. Suddenly Sam found himself in a very strange place: a highly secure, high-tech, ultramodern bank vault!
Under their hands, a metal wall looked to Henry like it was made of some kind of futuristic metal. It felt solid but looked like mercury, like a silvery flowingriver. Laser beams crisscrossed the walls in roving strands of multicolored light. The walls were not simple shelves full of bags of coins, bars of gold, and stacks of bills. Instead, they were tightly sealed, airtight compartments full of strange vials and boxes and lights. Henry thought they looked like spaceship refrigerators.
Sam blinked. This did not look like any bank he’d ever known. He had no idea what to steal, but he eyed the lasers with wonder.
Henry had seen enough adventure movies to know not to move a muscle, but Sam had not. Intrigued by his strange new surroundings, he reached out to touch a thin darting beam of light. He succeeded but recoiled with a shriek!
Flashing lights burst into action like ten thousand fire trucks, and there was a sudden noise like a million screaming cats: meee-OW, meee-OW, meee-OW, meee-OW, meee-OW! The sirens and lights split the air, and with a whimper and a wail, Sam let go of the wall and crumpled to the ground.
This was just what Henry had been waiting
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