Magic Tree House #50: Hurry Up, Houdini! (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) Read Online Free PDF

water, and wild thyme. He stuck the cork back into the bottle and put the bottle into the pocket of his pants.
    Jack gave Annie a big grin. He felt like a new person. The crowd wasn’t scary anymore. In fact, he could hardly wait to get on the stage and show them what he could do.
    “Okay!” Jack said, clapping his hands. “I’d better put on my costume!” He grabbed the extra tuxedo and slipped behind a dressing curtain.
    As he changed his clothes, Jack realized that everything was slightly too big. But it didn’t bother him. Not at all. He rolled up his pants cuffs and the sleeves of his shirt and jacket, and then stepped out from behind the curtain.
    “You look just like a real magician!” said Annie.
    “Of course,” said Jack, looking in the mirror and straightening his bow tie, “for that is exactly who I am. And so are you.” He looked around the room. In the corner was a table on a pedestal. The top was covered with black velvet trimmed with gold fringe.
    “Now let us prepare for our show. First we’ll put the rabbits and doves in the hidden compartments of that table,” he said.
    “Yep,” said Annie. “No problem.”
    Jack and Annie began preparing their props quietly and expertly, as if they’d done it a thousand times before. Jack picked up the rabbit cage and set it on the table. He pressed a small trapdoor in the middle of the velvet-covered tabletop, and the door flapped down.
    “Here you go, bunnies,” said Jack. He lifted the three small rabbits out of their cage and placed them comfortably in one of the table’s hidden compartments. “See you soon.”
    While Jack took care of the rabbits, Annie handled the birds. She opened a second small door onthe tabletop and carefully placed the two white doves into another secret compartment. “They look happy in there,” she said.
    Jack set the deck of cards in the center of the table. Annie hid the two wands inside the sleeves of her tuxedo jacket.
    Jack pulled his pocket watch from his pants. “Eight-fifteen,” he said.
    Annie smiled. “We have fifty minutes of magic left,” she said.
    Jack slipped the watch into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. Annie arranged the silver rings on top of the table.
    A knock came at the door and Mr. Wilson looked into the room.
    “Ready? Jolly Jack? Amazing Annie?” the stage manager asked.
    This time, the roar of the crowd did not alarm Jack in the least. In fact, it thrilled him. “Yes, indeed, Mr. Wilson! Thank you!” he said with a jolly laugh.
    “If you’d be so kind, Mr. Wilson, please set our table center stage,” said Annie.
    “Hank! Butch!” Mr. Wilson shouted. Two stagehands immediately appeared. They picked up the table and carried it out of the dressing room. When the stage crew was gone, Jack and Annie pulled on their white gloves.
    “You sure you feel okay about doing this?” Annie asked.
    “Totally.” Jack smiled at her. He tightened his gloves and wiggled his fingers. Then he put on his top hat. “Let’s go, my dear,” he said, leading the way out the door. “It’s showtime!”

A s the orchestra played, Mr. Wilson guided Jack and Annie through the backstage area. “Watch out, kids,” he said. “Like I said before, it’s a tough crowd out there tonight.”
    Jack smiled confidently.
No crowd is too tough for us
, he thought.
    Hank and Butch set the table with Jack and Annie’s props center stage behind the closed curtain. The stage was lit with a soft rosy light.
    “Places!” called Mr. Wilson.
    Jack and Annie nodded and calmly took theirplaces in front of the table. They heard a long drumroll, then a cymbal crash. They heard Mr. Dewey speaking to the audience from in front of the curtain:
    “Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Great Houdini show! I have a very special and wonderful surprise for you this evening. As you may know, the Bambini Brothers were scheduled to be our opening act. But instead, it will be your great good fortune to welcome a truly remarkable