Megan Stine_Jeffery & the Third-Grade Ghost 03 Read Online Free PDF Page A

that,” said Mrs. Becker. “I’ll stay home.”
    “But it’s Toboggan Sunday, Mom. You don’t want to miss it,” Jeffrey said. He looked angrily at Wendy.
    “Your father’s waiting,” Mrs. Becker said in her “get going” tone of voice. “And don’t forget the Thermos of hot chocolate.”
    Outside, Jonathan checked out the antique wooden toboggan. It was tied to the roof of the snowy car. It was almost eight feet long, varnished smooth on top, and waxed smooth on the bottom. The front end of the toboggan curved around like a backward
C
. Two ropes, one on each side, ran the length of the toboggan.
    “The ropes are for holding on to,” Jeffrey explained.
    “I know that,” Jonathan said quickly.
    “I forgot. You know everything,” Jeffrey said.
    “But I never hold on,” Jonathan said defiantly. “I ride ’em like a roller coaster. Holding on is for wimps.”
    Jeffrey scrunched down in the front seat. He was getting tired of this. Every conversation with his cousin ended with the word
wimp
. Jonathan sounded like he was pointing a finger straight at Jeffrey.
    “You’d hold on if you went down the Monster Smash,” Jeffrey muttered.
    “What’s the Monster Smash?” Jonathan asked.
    “It’s a really steep hill—that’s the
monster
part. Then at the bottom there are lots of trees real close together. That’s the
smash
. You can’t slow down,” Jeffrey said.
    “Sounds great,” Jonathan said excitedly. “I dare you to go down it with me.”
    “Forget it, guys,” said Mr. Becker, starting the car. “Neither one of you is going down
that
hill. And I mean it.”
    When they arrived at the golf course, it was already crowded. The sledders and skiers stayed on Number Two and Number Three hills. But on thelong Number One Hill, the snow had been packed down hard. It made a superslick run just for toboggans. Number Four, just in front of a thick woods, was the Monster Smash.
    Jeffrey, Jonathan, and Mr. Becker waited their turn at the top of Number One and then rode the toboggan together. The ride was fast and the wind stung their cheeks. Jeffrey was so happy he yelled the whole way down. Everyone held on tightly to the ropes. They did it over and over until the hot chocolate was all gone and Mr. Becker was tired. Then he went to talk to another parent while Jeffrey and Jonathan rode some more.
    As soon as Mr. Becker was gone, Jonathan looked over toward Number Four Hill, the Monster Smash. “Let’s go for it,” he said.
    “My dad says no,” Jeffrey said.
    Jonathan made a face. “Do you always do
everything
your
daddy
says?”
    “Only on days when I’m supposed to get my allowance,” Jeffrey joked. “Do you know what would happen if we wrecked my dad’s toboggan? If we lived through the accident, we’d never see the outside world again. We’d be grounded for life.”
    “I’m really scared.” Jonathan sounded bored. He looked again at the steep hill. And so did Jeffrey. “Don’t you want to?” Jonathan asked.
    Jeffrey shook his head.
    “You and me—two cousins! We’ll go down it together.” Jonathan’s hand became a toboggan zipping down a hill and his mouth became the wind.
“Zwoosh!
Two cousins!”
    Jeffrey liked the way Jonathan said “two cousins.” Maybe they could be friends after all. Besides, secretly he’d always wanted to ride the Monster Smash. He turned to check. His father was still talking.
    “Come on,” Jonathan said with a big smile.
    The two boys tugged on the toboggan and hurried to the top of the Monster Smash. They had the hill all to themselves. Down below, they saw the enormous pine trees. They also saw broken pieces of toboggans and smashed-up sleds. Jeffrey’s heart was pounding.
    “I’ve got a plan,” Jonathan said. “You get on in front. I’ll give us a push and then hop on behind you.”
    Jeffrey nodded his head quickly. He was breathing too fast to talk. He sat down on the toboggan.
    “One… two… three!” Jonathan shouted, and then