Dunc and the Haunted Castle Read Online Free

There’s an outstanding view of the … wall from here. I may stand here all afternoon.”
    “Don’t be dumb—what’s wrong with your head?”
    Amos let out an exasperated sigh. “Maybe you and T.J. should go on to town without me. I’ll just stay here and enjoy the view.” He rolled his eyes in Mrs. Knox’s direction.
    T.J. pushed by Dunc. “What’s the holdup?”
    Dunc shrugged. “Amos wants to stay here.”
    Mrs. Knox picked up her dusting supplies and stormed off into the kitchen. “A body can’tget no work done around here with all this commotion.”
    T.J. looked up at Amos. “Want us to bring you anything from town?”
    “Get up here!”
    Dunc scratched his head. “But I thought you said—”
    “I’ll give you two seconds to get up here. Then I’m going to wiggle out of this coat and strangle both of you.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were stuck?” Dunc pulled on the statue.
    Amos jerked his coat out of the crack. “All this time I thought you two were so smart.” He stomped down the stairs. “My dog Scruff has more brains in his little toe.” He headed out the door mumbling to himself. “My goldfish could out-think both of you put together. A rock has more intelligence.…”
    “What’s wrong with him?” T.J. asked.
    “Who knows. Sometimes he gets like this. Don’t worry. It never lasts long.”
    Amos was almost to the bridge when they caught up with him.

“You call this a town? There’s not even a traffic light! Where’s the mall? The arcade?”
    “It’s a fishing village, Amos,” T.J. said. “About all they have are a few shops, a couple of pubs, and a fish market.”
    Amos sniffed the air and nudged Dunc. “Does this place remind you of anything?”
    Dunc crinkled his nose. “The waterfront back home. I hope the people are nicer.”
    “Tell me again why we’re here?”
    “We’re looking for clues. Anything that might tell us what’s going on up at the castle.”
    “Do we have to look for clues on an empty stomach?” Amos asked.
    “There’s a place across the street thatmakes pretty good food.” T.J. pointed at a sign that said “Macdonald’s.” “The menu is sort of limited, though.”
    “Are you kidding?” Amos snorted. “We have those at home. I eat there all the time.”
    “But Amos, it’s not—”
    Amos wasn’t listening. He crossed the street and looked inside the door. The room was dark, and there were several steps leading down to the main floor. One side of the room was a bar. The other side had a few empty tables.
    Amos took a step back. He looked at T.J. “Are you sure this is the right place?”
    “I’m sure.” T.J. led them to a table. “This is definitely Macdonald’s. Rosie Macdonald’s.”
    When they were seated, a woman wearing a white cup towel for an apron came over to their table. “What’ll it be, gents?”
    Amos cleared his throat. “I’ll have a double cheeseburger, fries, a large chocolate shake, and—”
    The woman grinned. “That’ll be one order of fish and chips.” She rolled the r’s in the word
order
. “How about you two?”
    “We’ll have the same.” T.J. turned to Amos. “I told you the menu was limited.”
    Dunc leaned over the table. “Don’t look now, but I think we’ve been followed.”
    T.J. and Amos turned around. Mr. Smith, the grounds keeper from the castle, was coming down the steps.
    “I said don’t look.”
    “I knew he’d turn up,” T.J. said. “He’s everywhere. I haven’t been able to make a move without him following me.”
    Mr. Smith walked over to the bar. He whispered something to Rosie and handed her a piece of paper. Without looking around, he turned and left the building.
    “That was strange,” T.J. said. “Usually he stays right with me.”
    Dunc watched Rosie working behind the counter. “I wonder what was on that piece of paper.”
    “That’s not hard to figure,” Amos said. “He placed an order to go.”
    Dunc shook his head. “He didn’t wait for