Bumpy Ride Ahead! Read Online Free

not.”
    “Have so.”
    “Have—”
    “Mattie!” Mom called from the kitchen. “Would you tuck Ada and Perry into bed while I finish cleaning up in here? There’s still some of that sticky pickle juice on the floor that I missed before.”
    Mattie wished she didn’t have to tuck her little brother and sister into bed. “Why don’t you take care of Perry while I see to Ada?” Mattie asked Mark.
    He shook his head. “Mom asked you to do it, not me.”
    “I know, but I want to read awhile before I go to bed,” Mattie said. “If I have to tuck both Ada and Perry in, it’ll take too long.”
    “It won’t take you any longer to tuck them in than it did to comb your hair and brush your teeth while I waited out here in the hall.” Mark opened the bathroom door and quickly stepped inside.
    “I wish I were Mom and Dad’s only child,” Mattie mumbled as she tromped up the stairs.

C HAPTER 3
A Day with Grandpa and Grandma
    The following Saturday, Mark and Mattie were invited to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa Miller. Mark hoped he and Grandpa would do something fun together—maybe go fishing or take a walk in the woods. However, he was disappointed when Grandpa announced that he and Grandma would be taking the twins to some yard sales today. Mark thought going to a yard sale would be boring, but at least it was a better way to spend a Saturday than selling produce at their roadside stand and not making any money.
    As they traveled down the road in Grandpa and Grandma’s buggy, Mark’s eyes grew heavy. He’d stayed up later than usual last night, first in the basement looking for the cricket, which he’d had no luck in finding. He had spent more than an hour in the basement, looking in every nook and cranny, behind all the jars on the canning shelf, and even in Mom’s washing machine. Mark thought it would be awesome if he’d caught the big insect and kept it in his room overnight, listening to it chirp. The last time he’d done that, with the ones he’d caught and put in the aquarium, it was a full-blown chorus as each cricket seemed to try and outdo the other with its musical song.
    Then, when Mark had finally given up on the cricket, he’d gone back to his room, searching for big words in the dictionary. He’d found two new ones that he liked really well. They were
extravagant
and
conscientious.
Now he just needed to wait for the right time to say one or both of these big words.
    Feeling the buggy’s rocking movement and hearing the steady
clippety-clop
of the horse’s hooves made Mark even sleepier. His head lulled against the seat, and he closed his eyes. Pretty soon he was fast asleep. He’d only been sleeping a few minutes, however, when Mattie bumped his arm.
    Mark’s eyes snapped open. “What do you want, Mattie? Couldn’t you see that I was sleeping?”
    “Sorry for waking ya, but I was wonderin’ if I could borrow your catcher’s mitt when we get home. Thought I might ask Calvin or Russell to throw the baseball to me so I can get better at catching.”
    Mark shook his head. “My friend John Schrock gave me that catcher’s mitt for my birthday, so I don’t think it’d be right if I loaned it out.”
    “I doubt that John would care.”
    Mark said nothing—just closed his eyes again and tried to sleep.
    Mattie tapped his arm. “I have another question.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Did you feed Twinkles this morning?”
    “Now why would I wanna do that?” Mark asked. “Twinkles is your hund, not mine.”
    “I know, but when you went outside to give Lucky her breakfast, I asked if you’d feed Twinkles, too.” Mattie nudged his arm again. “Remember, Mark?”
    “‘Course I remember.”
    “So did you feed her or not?”
    He shook his head.
    “How come?”
    “’cause it’s your responsibility to take care of your hund, and you oughta be conscientious enough to do it.”
    Mattie’s forehead wrinkled. “Consci—what?”
    “The word is
conscientious.
It