Snyder, Zilpha Keatley Read Online Free PDF Page A

tell.”
    Then, just at the beginning of September, with school only a few days away, came that exciting day when began. April and Melanie and Marshall were on their way home through the alley when, by the sheerest luck, Melanie noticed the loose plank. It had moved stiffly, that first time, with a reluctant rusty yelp and they peeked through into the hidden and deserted yard. It was fascinating-so weed-grown and forgotten and secret, but then came the most unbelievably wonderful part of all.
    There she was, waiting for them in the shed, Nefertiti, the beautiful queen of ancient Egypt, like a magical omen, or, as April put it, “a beautiful messenger from out of the ancient past.” There had to be something terribly out-of-ordinary about it. Why, it had only been a few days before that they had read
    all about her and admired a picture of her lovely sculptured head. And there it was, almost like magic. Very much like magic, in fact-and that’s the way was, from the very beginning.
    But even didn’t stop the beginning of school from arriving with all its problems. So, when April lost one of her eyelashes that first day in Egypt, Melanie couldn’t help feeling a little relieved, although she wouldn’t have said so. But then, there it was on Security-and the problem was just as complicated as ever. It was the next morning that Melanie finally got up nerve enough to talk to April about it.
    April was helping Melanie dry the dishes so they’d be ready to leave for Egypt sooner. “Are you going to wear your eyelashes to school?” Melanie asked with careful casualness.
    But April turned quickly, and with her face all shut up the way it was with other people. “Sure,” she said. “Why not?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t think anybody else at Wilson wears them.”
    April’s chin went up and her lips thinned. “Am I supposed to care what the kids at a little old place like Wilson School wear?”
    Melanie could see that she wasn’t going to get anywhere so she let the subject drop. But before the dishes were finished she had started making a drastic
    plan. April just couldn’t wear those eyelashes to school on the first day. She was going to be hard enough to integrate even without them.
    As soon as Melanie had finished her chores they were free to head for Egypt. Since it was Saturday Melanie’s parents were both at home, but Mr. Ross always had to study and he was only too glad for the girls to get Marshall out from underfoot. Just outside the apartment door April stopped with her finger to her lips.
    “Shh,” she warned, “we must proceed with caution. We may be being watched.”
    “Who’s watching?” Marshall said, looking around.
    “The enemies of Egypt. Who were those worst enemies, Melanie?”
    “The Syrians,” Melanie whispered.
    “Yeah, they’re the ones. The Syrians. Their spies are everywhere.”
    With elaborate caution they made their way out of the back door of the Casa Rosada and down the alley. They went the wrong way first and took evasive action through a garage and around a stack of garbage pails. Then they crawled through a piece of cement pipe and started to make a run for it; but they had to go back for Marshall who was still in the pipe, all tangled up in Security’s legs. When they finally arrived at the fence they were out of breath.
    “All clear?” Melanie asked looking both ways.
    “Yes, for the time being,” April breathed. “But they almost had us. That was a close call back there in the tunnel.”
    “Close,” Melanie agreed, “but we fooled them.” With that they shoved Marshall through the hole in the fence and crawled in after him.
    The Evil God and the Secret Spy
    WHEN APRIL AND MARSHALL AND MELANIE SQUEEZED back through the fence for the second time they found everything just as they left it. They started out by pulling the rest of the dead weeds and stacking them in one corner of the yard. While Marshall stood guard halfway down the alley to see if anyone