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0f9a3ee
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If I had something valuable, I'd keep it in my pocket where I could keep an eye on it," Michael said. "Sure," said Wendy. "With all the holes you have in your pockets, that would be a real safe place."
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Carole Marsh |
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723f78a
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I I know where it is, she thought. Then she whipped around and said loudly, "But I need your help." Stacy blushed. She had said the words loud enough that everyone in the great room had turned to look at her. Quickly she ducked her head and sat down on the sofa with the others. "Help with what?" Michael asked, giggling. "Making a fool of yourself?"
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Carole Marsh |
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be54cfd
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Remember, there are a lot of things to be careful about, both here and at Biltmore House. You don't want to get into any trouble." Stacy figured she meant for them not to break anything like a valuable antique or some old person's leg, by running through the lobby."
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Carole Marsh |
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4292aad
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This table once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte," he said. "You mean the Napoleon we read about in our history book?" Staci asked. "The guy with his hand under his coat scratching his bellybutton?" Wendy added."
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Carole Marsh |
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690bb85
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There are two hidden doors in the paneling of the Billiard Room. But they're not really secret panels. They were just there for the men guests to go from the Billiard Room to the Smoking Room with ease." Secret doors so the men could sneak off and smoke? If she tried that, her mom would bowl her down the alley for sure, Stacy thought."
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Carole Marsh |
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5de1960
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Good grief," Michael said as he sat down in one of the 64 enormous upholstered chairs. "My feet don't even think about touching the floor." "This table is longer than the bowling alley," Trent said. He shielded his eyes with his hand and peered down the long wooden table as though he couldn't see the other end. "If you wanted someone to pass you the salt shaker it would take thirty minutes for it to get here," Wendy agreed."
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Carole Marsh |
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dfde5ee
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Every night instead of watching television, Sandburg would read to his family." "I sure hope Mom doesn't start that," Michael muttered."
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Carole Marsh |
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ac4fc0f
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Let's write ourselves a better ending than this.
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Carole Marsh |
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604815f
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Grant said, "I think I like the idea of hanging my stockings twice! But I would not like to run into Old Buck...and get bucked, or something."
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Carole Marsh |
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6fe3fae
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It took all of us," they admitted in unison. "Except me," said Dennis. "But I was decapitated." "You do mean incapacitated, I hope," Mother said. "How were you boys planning to spend summer vacation?" she added. The boys exchanged glances of dismay. Dennis pretended to go back to sleep. "Earning money to pay for the damage?" Jeremy guessed. "Close," said Mother. Briefly, the boys had hope. "Now re-punctuate that sentence with a period inste..
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Carole Marsh |
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d8fa773
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He kept saying weird things to me in Elizabeth English." "Like what?" Christina asked. "Like 'Me thinks I never forget a face,'" Mimi said. "Me thinks that makes no sense," said Grant."
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Carole Marsh |
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ee4f7f7
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When the guide led the others upstairs, they strayed behind. Michele looked frustrated at the velvet ropes blocking the doors to the rooms. "We've got to get in those closets!" she said urgently. Overhead she could hear the footsteps of the people proceeding from one side of the house to the other. She wondered which room had the head. She wanted to be the one to find it. "We don't have much time," Brian said, as the muffled footsteps clomp..
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Carole Marsh |
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2f964f3
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They each closed their closet doors and scampered down the staircase. The guide was just about to close the heavy front door when they reached the downstairs hall and hurried breathlessly out the door. "Thought I'd lost you two," the guide said. "Are you coming down into the basement kitchen with us?" "No thank you," Michele said, "but we enjoyed our tour." It was surely an acting job to say that, she thought."
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Carole Marsh |
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7ad1b6a
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Their motto was You Don't Have to Come Back . . . You Just Have to Go Out.
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Carole Marsh |
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cddc5d3
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They all fell onto the sand, then huddled up beneath the long wings of the hang glider. "Think we could borrow this thing for a little while?" Christina asked. "Think we could all go to jail with your Papa for stealing airplanes?" Alex retorted."
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Carole Marsh |
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01c0833
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I still don't believe it," Christina said. "I shook hands with the president." "You shook--that's what you did!" Alex teased her. "Your hand was shaking like a leaf."
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Carole Marsh |
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00f1b61
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The others climbed into the back of the truck with the pitchforks and the pinestraw, leaving Stacy all alone in the front with the man. She sat as close to the door as she could and held the handle tight in case she had to jump out or something. Suspiciously, she looked at the big paper bag on the seat between them. The man, still frowning, put the truck into gear. With a jolt, they started off. Before they had gone very far he slammed on t..
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Carole Marsh |
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41d542d
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That surely must be what happened," she said to Brian. "A caretaker found the head and returned it and . . ." ". . . and you can be in the play," Brian finished for her. "I sure hope so--then we can quit this wild goose chase and eat lunch. Besides, I wish I could see you stumble around up there forgetting your lines," he teased." --
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Carole Marsh |
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02ad7f1
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Michael had awakened first and raced down to the creek. Now he sat proudly in the center of the others holding a dripping brown bottle in his hands. "Let me open it," Brian said impatiently, but Michael continued to pick determinedly at the cork. "Hurry it up brother," Michele urged. Jo Dee giggled nervously. The cork spurted from the bottle's neck with a wet hiss. The roll of paper inside was twisted tightly and slipped right out. Brian gr..
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Carole Marsh |
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6c6badc
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Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Michael. "You to put your clothes on," said Jo Dee laughing. "Yo ho ho!" Michael jumped up. "Wait for me!"
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Carole Marsh |
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306917f
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Can we take these outside under the trees and look at them?" Michele asked. "And let the little ones read in here?" she added in a motherly tone. She could hear Brian groan under his breath at her play-acting. But it worked, she thought, biting her tongue so she wouldn't get tickled."
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Carole Marsh |
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dc4bc4c
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It's too hot to sit in the glebe. Let's sit over here." Now it was Michele's turn to look around for something she didn't know what was. Brian laughed. "That's the glebe," he said, pointing to the house next door to the library. The paint was peeling off the walls in big, ugly blotches. "Could have fooled me," Michele said, determined not to ask what she hoped he would volunteer. "A glebe was land set aside by the Lord Proprietors to encour..
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Carole Marsh |
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5b726b2
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They both found the pages they were looking for and began reading aloud together at the same time. "Blackbeard . . ." Michele laughed, "You go first."
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Carole Marsh |
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3a8592c
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The next morning a squawking Fuzzbucket awoke Michele from her tossing and turning. Her head hurt from dreaming a series of chasing, getting-caught, getting-away dreams. She felt exhausted and not ready to hear about anymore crises from the three kids standing at the foot of her bed. "Michael! Move that drippy bottle," she grumbled. "It's a clue," Michael told her. "Big deal," Michele said, feeling ill at her brother and more ill at herself..
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Carole Marsh |
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b67b914
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By the way," Ben added with a wink, "I was looking out my window about midnight last night and could'a sword I saw you two running in and out of the shadows like a pirate was chasing you." " ?" said Brian, with a nervous laugh. "You know John wouldn't let us be out that late," Michele assured him in her best acting manner. "Why he'd restrict us for a week," she added for good measure. "Not if he didn't know . . . not if he didn't know!" Ben..
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Carole Marsh |
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bfa751b
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Michael and Jo Dee had given up long ago. They had brought the bottle and clue along and were playing "drop the mystery clue in the bottle." As far as Michele was concerned, they might as well drop it back in the ocean."
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Carole Marsh |
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64bedb0
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Is everything ok?" "I'm getting old and gray trying to keep up with them," John teased with a wink. "Things are fine," Michele said. "We've learned a lot about Bath and pirates and have been swimming a lot, and they have the neatest little library here, but . . ." Michele stopped and slumped down in a heap on the floor by her Mother's feet. ". . . but they haven't found that missing head yet?" Mother finished. "Exactly!" Michele said. "Jus..
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Carole Marsh |
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f696ebc
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Brian looked at Michele and shrugged. Michele shook her head back at him. They both looked at Jo Dee. Here they were on the verge of finding the head, Michele pondered, and they were at the mercy of a ten-year-old. "Have you got that item covered?" she asked Jo Dee, hopefully."
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Carole Marsh |
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6882e5d
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Suddenly, Michael, who was leading the way tripped, sprawling across the upstairs landing. His face turned red. Jo Dee laughed, "It must work!" she said. "What works?" Michael groaned, rubbing his knee. "The guide said this little top step was shorter than the rest so that when the men came in late at night from the tavern they would trip and fall and wake up their wife who would know how late it was." "Good idea," said Michele. "I think so..
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Carole Marsh |
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95b84d7
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The lid slipped off and out popped another slip of paper, along with several small, sticky black circles. "Spots . . . beauty spots!" she cried. Michael climbed out from under the bed and inspected the black spot on the tip of his sister's finger. "They look like ugly spots to me," he said. "Ladies used to wear these on their face to be pretty," Michele said. Jo Dee pressed her finger to Michele's and carefully plastered the spot on her che..
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Carole Marsh |
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38773e7
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The legend says a man named Jesse Elliot was horse racing. He must have had a bet or something, 'cause he shouted to his horse, " "You said a bad word," Michael interrupted. "It's OK when you're quoting someone else, silly," Brian argued."
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Carole Marsh |
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c93e86c
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In their rush to eat breakfast, Michael sloshed cereal down the front of his tee shirt. Jo Dee spilled her juice. Michele just puddled with her grits and eggs, while Brian gobbled his food like he was in a contest. "What's with you kids?" John asked impatiently. No one answered. "After you clean up the kitchen, I want someone to sweep the deck and walk, someone to feed Tideriggings and the other two to go to the store for me." "We can't," M..
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Carole Marsh |
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9b4a99f
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Then Brian stopped so quickly that she had to grab her hand brakes to keep from plowing into him." "Hey, you want me to bump my head against a tree, too?" she asked."
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Carole Marsh |
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57447ce
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Cap'n, who ran the boat dock when he wasn't asleep on the pure with a bottle of beer in his hand, was just pushing off in his dinghy to check his crab pots. Michele decided he didn't know much about kids or he would have asked them if they had permission to head out to sea at dusk. Of course it was hard for them to ask John when he had gone to Belhaven to pick up some people who had come over on the ferry from Ocracoke to see the play.
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Carole Marsh |
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e6ab997
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Suddenly, she jumped up and waved frantically toward the boat vanishing in the twilight. She doubted Cap'n would even remember he had brought them, much less to pick them up. And no one, knew they were here on this uninhabited island in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. "Cap'n, come back!" she cried. Her words were lost in the threatening wind. But he just waved, and she figured he thought she was waving good-bye. And she probably was--for..
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Carole Marsh |
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d91da56
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Brian! Brian!" Michele screamed into the dark jungle of green behind her. Holding her stomach with one hand, Jo Dee propped herself up to see what Michele was hollering about. Brian streaked out of the woods, the oar raised menacingly over his head. He looked like a pirate was chasing him. "Snake?" he asked. "No, yuck!" Michele said. "Look! Look . . . the clues make up a map!" "Treasure?" asked Brian hopefully."
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Carole Marsh |
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538b155
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You'd better come back to Bath with me. It can be right spooky here at night when the moon is out, much less in a snarling storm." "Have you spent the night on Plum Point before?" Brian asked, suspiciously. "Sure, some college buddies of mine came down one weekend and we brought our sleeping bags out here. One of them told us a lot of good pirate stories. I'm afraid we were lazy and didn't even look for treasure. I do enough digging all day..
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Carole Marsh |
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1c17b98
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Be sure and check Teach's Hole," Mother advised. "I wish they would put teacher in a hole," said Michael." --
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Carole Marsh |
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9cb457a
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You kids be good, now, you hear," Mother said, hugging each of them tightly, even Jo Dee and Brian. "And try and solve this mystery--and I mean it" she warned, looking Michele straight in the eye. Michele and Brian exchanged guilty glances. "I'll keep a sharp lookout on this crew," John assured her. " even sound like a pirate," Mother teased. " the pirate," Michael said, swishing his cardboard sword through the air. "I'll protect us al..
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Carole Marsh |
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9583c0a
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You mean you have to pay money to go in these old places?" marveled Michael. "Of course," said Jo Dee. "That's how they help pay for the restoration of the houses, silly." "Let's go," Brian said. "I know a shortcut." He turned quickly and led them through the backyard past an old stone well, the kitchen building, a gnarled scuppernong grapevine that looked as if it were as old as the house itself, the herb garden, and a small outbuilding. "..
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Carole Marsh |
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574f113
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As Michele lifted one bare-toed foot over the side she squealed. A crab had escaped from one of the pots and was scurrying around the bottom of the boat. "Super choice," she said to Brian. "Stranded on a pirate island or eaten alive by a crab."
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Carole Marsh |
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e42da63
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They didn't bother to explain to Ray about the mystery and how they had thought he was the one who had caused so much trouble. Michele just couldn't think of a way to explain all that fast enough. So, with a mumble of "thank you's" and "play," they hustled Jo Dee and Michael through the wet bushes toward the theater. " " Ray called after them in a baffled voice. "Is that all you kids think about--playing?"
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Carole Marsh |
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0e4c3ad
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When they reached the theater, Mr. Tankard greeted them grouchily. "The rain's stopped just in time. Full house tonight, kids. Do you know what evil eyes I've gotten trying to save four seats on the front row for you? Where in the world have you been?" The four of them coughed and stuttered and mumbled at him. "Oh, tell me later," he said exasperatedly."
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Carole Marsh |
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d4a5c2a
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Michael stuffed a fistful of popcorn into a yawn. How could he eat at a time like this, Michele wondered.
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Carole Marsh |