The Mysterious Disappearence of Leon Read Online Free PDF Page A

Carillon, but an expert on horses knows many tales.

    “Would you like to hear about Christmas Bells?”
    The twins shrugged their shoulders. This was no hour to be choosy.
     
    “Well, as you probably know, all famous race horses have famous parents; but not Christmas Bells. That big black stallion was by a nothing, out of a nothing.”
     
    The twins were confused by Mrs. Carillon’s jargon, but they were too tired to interrupt.
    “Christmas Bells was a beautiful horse, but the least bit of exercise left him huffing and puffing. In his first race he not only came in dead last, he walked to the finish line.
    “Mr. Hall, his owner, who used to be a famous jockey, was going to sell that lazy horse, when one day he noticed a strange gleam in his eyes. He decided to race Christmas Bells one more time, with he, himself, in the saddle (or ‘him up,’ as they say).”
     
    Mrs. Carillon was so involved in her story she didn’t notice that the twins had fallen asleep.
    “Christmas Bells stepped wearily onto the track. His odds were 50 to 1. His head was bowed low; and it looked as if he might not have the strength to drag himself to the post. His odds went up to 100 to 1.
     
    “They’re off!” shouted Mrs. Carillon, startling the twins out of their peaceful slumber. They looked about, and finding everything all right, closed their eyes again.
     
    “Christmas Bells was the last horse out of the gate. He was twenty lengths back at the first turn, and even more as he neared the far turn. Then, all of a sudden, miracle of miracles, that big black stallion lifted his head, flared his nostrils, and with a fantastic burst of speed, passed horse after horse after horse down the home stretch. And when there was only daylight between him and victory, Christmas Bells broke stride, took two quick little dance steps, turned to look at the people in the stands, then galloped across the finish line.
     
    “He won!” shouted Mrs. Carillon. Tina opened one eye and shut it again.
    “And ever since that amazing day, Christmas Bells has won every. . .” Mrs. Carillon yawned and saw that her children were fast asleep. She covered them with blankets and went to bed.

5 * Old Friend, New Friends

    Settling Down
    They found a large Fifth Avenue apartment with a terrace overlooking Central Park, but Mr. Banks said it was too expensive. “You’d have to own General Motors, not just a soup factory, to afford that one.” They moved into a smaller apartment, with no terrace, on Park Avenue.
    Mrs. Carillon bought a purple-flowered sofa, purple-flowered chairs, purple-flowered drapes and wallpaper. Her clothes blended in so well with the furniture that the twins had to look twice to be sure she was there.
    The twins refused to have purple rooms. “Pink and orange,” Tina insisted. Tony couldn’t decide what color he wanted for his room. “Anything but purple, and not pink and orange, either.” Mrs. Carillon chose red and blue, which looked like purple when she squinted her eyes.
    They interviewed dozens of cooks and finally hired Mrs. Baker, a small-boned, thin-lipped woman with mouse-brown hair twisted into a tight bun. She could prepare any dish except soup.
    Spring had arrived once again. Mrs. Carillon enjoyed her afternoons feeding the seals 21 in the Central Park Zoo. She still looked much the same and dressed the same, but she was beginning to smell of fish.
    The twins loved New York and their apartment and Mrs. Baker’s good cooking. And they had made quite a few friends at school, thanks to Tina’s whopping lie.
    Tina’s Whopping Lie
    One afternoon, soon after they had moved into their apartment, Tina and Tony found themselves among a group of bragging classmates.
    Jordan Pickney said his father was a famous actor and had just gotten a big part on a television show.
    Rosemary Neuberger said that when she was little she got lost at the circus in Madison Square Garden and had to sleep with the elephants.
    Mavis Bensonhurst said