The Case of the Rock 'n' Roll Dog by Martha Freeman

goodness,” Mom said.
    â€œAn excellent solution,” Dad said.
    â€œWill Mr. Bryant be cleaning the dog bed, too?” Tessa asked.
    â€œThat would be a negative,” Dad said. “In fact . . . girls? I believe you promised.”
    â€œIt’s Nate’s turn,” Tessa said.
    â€œ
Me!?”
said Nate.
    â€œAren’t you forgetting
nice?”
said Tessa.
    â€œOh, fine,” said Nate. “Where’s the stuff I need?”
    â€œWe’ll show you,” Tessa said.
    â€œWe’ll even help,” I said, “but only this once.”
    Like I said, Hooligan had been dozing. But now, for mysterious doggie reasons, his eyes blinked open.
    â€œUh-oh,” I said. “Don’t anybody make a sudden—”
    But it was already too late.

AFTERWORD:

    JOHN Philip Sousa is known as “the March King” because he composed so many famous marches, including America’s official national march, “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
    Sousa’s family lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and his father played trombone in the Marine Band. Sousa’s first instrument was violin, and he became an apprentice member of the band in 1868 when he was thirteen years old. As a young man, he moved to Philadelphia, but in 1880 he returned to the Marine Band to take over as its director. He had the job for twelve years.
    The Marine Band had been founded in 1798, but under Sousa’s direction it became more professional and more popular than ever before. When Sousa retired from it in 1892, the baton was presented to him at a farewell concert at the White House. It is embellished with the eagle, globe and anchor emblem of the United States Marine Corps, and engraved withthe words:
John Philip Sousa. Presented by Members of the U.S. Marine Band as a token of their respect and esteem
.
    John Philip Sousa’s successful musical career continued until he died in 1932. Later, his daughters, Jane and Helen, donated the Sousa baton back to the Marine Band. As the fictional Colonel Michaels explains, it is kept in the band’s library and used only for special occasions like the change of command ceremony when a new director takes over.
    For more on The President’s Own United States Marine Corps Band, visit the band online at, www.marineband.usmc.mil .
    For more on the White House, including floor plans, photographs and historical information, visit www.whitehousemuseum.org .
    I am indebted to Master Gunnery Sergeant D. Michael Ressler, historian of the U.S. Marine Band, for generously sharing his “Historical Perspective on The President’s Own U.S. Marine Band, Playing America’s Music Since 1798,” for showing me the Sousa baton and for his patience in answering my questions. I am also grateful to my friend Elizabeth Bryant Ottarson for giving me a tour of Washington, D.C., providing further details and reading this manuscript. Any errors are, of course, my own.

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