time as a math tutor. Once or twice a week he came to the Brockhursts’ for a couple of hours to try to keep Bucky from flunking fifth-grade math. From what Carlos had heard, it was a pretty hopeless cause, but Gary kept trying because Bucky’s parents kept paying him.
Still standing on the wall, Muffy tipped her curly blond head from one side to the other and smiled her most dangerous smile. “Another clubhouse, huh?” she said. “Another big, old, super-secret clubhouse.” Her tone of voice was definitely sarcastic. Sarcasm was one thing that Muffy had an above-average talent for.
Watching Muffy, Carlos was trying to keep his shoulders from lifting in a nervous sort of twitch, when Bucky whirled around. Grabbing him and Eddy both by the fronts of their shirts, he jerked them toward each other so hard they almost bumped heads.
“Shh,” Bucky whispered. “Don’t mention the box. And don’t touch it till I get back. Okay? Just leave it right where it is until we decide what to do with it. Until all three of us decide, I mean.” Then he took off running across the Pit to where Muffy was waiting.
For a while after Bucky and Muffy had disappeared, Carlos and Eddy just went on standing there staring after them. Then, at the very same time, they turned and stared down at where the box was buried. Then Carlos sighed, grinned at Eddy, squatted down beside the hole, and began to brush away the dirt. Began—and then stopped. He looked up at Eddy. “Well, I found it,” he said.
Eddy nodded encouragingly. “Yeah, sure. You found it. Go ahead.”
When the box was partly uncovered, Carlos wiggled his fingers into the dirt until they were around the handles and pulled up—hard. A moment later the old tin box was sitting right there on the ground between them. Eddy reached out and jiggled the padlock.
“Can you open it?” Carlos asked. “You got any tools with you?”
Eddy, who really liked fixing things, usually carried a bunch of handyman stuff around with him in case something needed fixing. Carlos had seen Eddy fix everything from bicycles to wristwatches with stuff he carried around in his pockets.
Eddy nodded. “I got some stuff, but I don’t know if I can open this thing.” He reached in his pocket and brought out a small screwdriver and an even smaller pair of pliers.
It wasn’t easy. Eddy put the screwdriver into the padlock’s keyhole and turned and twisted. And when that didn’t work he began to use the pliers too.
“Wish we had the key,” Carlos said.
Eddy shrugged. “Probably wouldn’t work even if we had it. The whole thing is rusted together. I think we’ll just have to pry it apart.” Using the pliers to grab hold of the padlock, he began to twist it from side to side, but for quite a while nothing happened. It wasn’t until he’d tried three or four times, biting his lip and straining until his knuckles turned white, that there was a grating sound, a click—and the padlock fell apart. The mysterious tin box was open.
Buy The Box and the Bone Now!
A Biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Zilpha Keatley Snyder (b. 1927) is the three-time Newbery Honor–winning author of classic children’s novels such as The Egypt Game , The Headless Cupid , and The Witches of Worm . Her adventure and fantasy stories are beloved by many generations.
Snyder was born in Lemoore, California, in 1927. Her father, William Keatley, worked for Shell Oil, but as a would-be rancher he and his family always lived on a small farm. Snyder’s parents were both storytellers, and their tales often kept their children entertained during quiet evenings at home.
Snyder began reading and telling stories of her own at an early age. By the time she was four years old she was able to read novels and newspapers intended for adults. When she wasn’t reading, she was making up and embellishing stories. When she was eight, Snyder decided that she would be a writer—a profession in which embellishment and imagination
Still standing on the wall, Muffy tipped her curly blond head from one side to the other and smiled her most dangerous smile. “Another clubhouse, huh?” she said. “Another big, old, super-secret clubhouse.” Her tone of voice was definitely sarcastic. Sarcasm was one thing that Muffy had an above-average talent for.
Watching Muffy, Carlos was trying to keep his shoulders from lifting in a nervous sort of twitch, when Bucky whirled around. Grabbing him and Eddy both by the fronts of their shirts, he jerked them toward each other so hard they almost bumped heads.
“Shh,” Bucky whispered. “Don’t mention the box. And don’t touch it till I get back. Okay? Just leave it right where it is until we decide what to do with it. Until all three of us decide, I mean.” Then he took off running across the Pit to where Muffy was waiting.
For a while after Bucky and Muffy had disappeared, Carlos and Eddy just went on standing there staring after them. Then, at the very same time, they turned and stared down at where the box was buried. Then Carlos sighed, grinned at Eddy, squatted down beside the hole, and began to brush away the dirt. Began—and then stopped. He looked up at Eddy. “Well, I found it,” he said.
Eddy nodded encouragingly. “Yeah, sure. You found it. Go ahead.”
When the box was partly uncovered, Carlos wiggled his fingers into the dirt until they were around the handles and pulled up—hard. A moment later the old tin box was sitting right there on the ground between them. Eddy reached out and jiggled the padlock.
“Can you open it?” Carlos asked. “You got any tools with you?”
Eddy, who really liked fixing things, usually carried a bunch of handyman stuff around with him in case something needed fixing. Carlos had seen Eddy fix everything from bicycles to wristwatches with stuff he carried around in his pockets.
Eddy nodded. “I got some stuff, but I don’t know if I can open this thing.” He reached in his pocket and brought out a small screwdriver and an even smaller pair of pliers.
It wasn’t easy. Eddy put the screwdriver into the padlock’s keyhole and turned and twisted. And when that didn’t work he began to use the pliers too.
“Wish we had the key,” Carlos said.
Eddy shrugged. “Probably wouldn’t work even if we had it. The whole thing is rusted together. I think we’ll just have to pry it apart.” Using the pliers to grab hold of the padlock, he began to twist it from side to side, but for quite a while nothing happened. It wasn’t until he’d tried three or four times, biting his lip and straining until his knuckles turned white, that there was a grating sound, a click—and the padlock fell apart. The mysterious tin box was open.
Buy The Box and the Bone Now!
A Biography of Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Zilpha Keatley Snyder (b. 1927) is the three-time Newbery Honor–winning author of classic children’s novels such as The Egypt Game , The Headless Cupid , and The Witches of Worm . Her adventure and fantasy stories are beloved by many generations.
Snyder was born in Lemoore, California, in 1927. Her father, William Keatley, worked for Shell Oil, but as a would-be rancher he and his family always lived on a small farm. Snyder’s parents were both storytellers, and their tales often kept their children entertained during quiet evenings at home.
Snyder began reading and telling stories of her own at an early age. By the time she was four years old she was able to read novels and newspapers intended for adults. When she wasn’t reading, she was making up and embellishing stories. When she was eight, Snyder decided that she would be a writer—a profession in which embellishment and imagination
Similar Books
