The Magician's Bird Read Online Free PDF Page A

now,” Laurie said. “We’ve got the hole.”
    Misti nodded and tentatively crept down the stairs. “Yeah, for now. But unless I’m wrong, we’re going to need to fix that hole so that no one notices it, right?”
    Laurie caught her breath. She didn’t even want to think about what Betty Abernathy would say if she saw it. “Right.”
    â€œAnd we’ll still want to get down here, right? I mean, unless it’s horrible, with deadly fungus and bloated corpses or something.” Misti looked at Bud. “Did you see any?”
    â€œBloated corpses?” Bud looked pale. “Nope, not so far.” He was really glad he hadn’t thought of bloated corpses when he was making his mental list.
    Misti picked up a piece of wood that had fallen with Bud. “I’ve got a hot glue gun at home. I bet we can make it look okay. We’ll just need to make sure we don’t forget and step on it.”
    â€œYeah, okay,” Laurie said. She wasn’t one hundred percent sure that essentially booby trapping the floorof the shed was a great idea, but she wasn’t going to argue now. Not when there were secret passageways to explore. “Where does that go, Bud?” She pointed down the passage. “Did you go down there?”
    â€œYeah.” Bud grinned. “It goes to the door to the secret room.”
    Laurie’s eyes gleamed. “That’s awesome. What’s inside?”
    Bud shrugged. “Beats me, I don’t know. I didn’t look.”
    â€œYou didn’t look? How could you not look? It’s a secret room!”
    â€œI waited for you! Good grief, try to be a good guy . . . ,” Bud muttered.
    â€œThat’s really cool of you,” Laurie said, smacking him lightly on the arm. She meant it, too. She didn’t know if she would’ve been able to resist at least one peek inside. “Thanks, Bud.”
    Misti nodded. “That’s probably where the bloated corpses are.”
    â€œProbably.” Bud grinned. He would’ve grinned bigger if he’d been sure Misti was joking.
    â€œWell, we’ll see soon. Come on, let’s go!” Laurie grabbed Bud’s penlight and bounced down the passageway without a second glance.
    Laurie was already at the door by the time Bud and Misti caught up to her. The penlight beam was bouncing up and down on the door as Laurie waited impatiently for them to catch up.
    â€œThis is it, right?” she said, still bouncing in frustration.
    Bud nodded.
    â€œThen let’s go!” Laurie reached out and turned the doorknob.
    ----
    Things to Consider Before Blindly Walking
Through a Strange Door
by Laurie Madison, rising seventh grader
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  1. How to split up the loot we find. Three ways?
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  2. Maybe gold items to Misti, diamonds and jewel-encrusted things to me, and other stuff to Bud.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  3. Or maybe make decisions like that after we’ve seen the loot.
    ----
    Things to Consider Before Blindly Walking
Through a Strange Door
by Misti Pinkerton, rising seventh grader
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  1. Try not to step on the bloated corpses.
----
    The door swung open, and Laurie, Bud, and Misti peered inside. It was kind of an anticlimax, though, since all they could really see was a tiny patch of red where the penlight was shining on something just inside the room.
    â€œWell, this stinks,” Laurie said finally. “What is that red thing? Can you see anything?” She took a few steps into the room and shone the flashlight around. “It looks like, what? Furniture or something?”
    Bud followed her into the room and took a few steps past her into the blackness. “Ow!” he yelped. “What the heck is that?”
    â€œWhat?” Laurie pointed the flashlight in the direction of Bud’s legs, but all she saw was a blur of khaki as Bud jumped back.