Lost in the Tunnel of Time Read Online Free Page A

day full of river memories came to an end.

SATURDAY MORNING DAWNED COOL AND BRIGHT. Rico headed down the street toward Ziggy’s house. “Hey, Rico!” shouted Jerome from across the street. “My grandma brought doughnuts for us!”
    â€œGreat! I’m starving. My mom quit buying doughnuts when she went on a diet. We have a house full of healthy food!”
    They stopped in front of Rashawn’s house. His dog, Afrika, slept on the front porch. He glanced at the boys, wagged his tail once, and went back tosleep. Rashawn hurried through his front door and tossed Afrika a dog biscuit as he jumped down the steps, two at a time. Afrika lifted his head, sniffed the biscuit, and seemed to ignore it, but he put his paw over it before he went back to sleep.
    â€œYour dog is so lazy!” said Jerome.
    â€œHe’s a retired police dog,” explained Rashawn. “He spent his whole life chasing bad guys and finding missing people. He’s like Mr. Greene—just sitting around and dreaming about the past. He’s allowed to relax now.”
    Just then Ziggy yelled to them from the end of the driveway, standing at the edge of his backyard. “Hurry! Come back here! I have something to show you.”
    The three boys rushed across the street and followed Ziggy around the corner of his house, down a path, to their clubhouse hidden in the back corner of his huge, tree-filled backyard. Breathless and laughing, the boys glanced over to see Afrika, asleep in the front of the clubhouse.
    â€œHow did he get here before we did?” asked Jerome.
    â€œHe knew where we were headed. He just took a shortcut,” explained Rashawn proudly. “I told you he was a police dog. He’s really smart.”
    â€œYeah, when he’s not asleep!” teased Rico.
    â€œSo what’s the big surprise, Ziggy?” asked Jerome.
    â€œI found a clue to a secret from the past, mon!” replied Ziggy excitedly.
    â€œWhat secret?”
    â€œA clue? To what?”
    Ziggy said with mock seriousness, “We must first go inside and have an official meeting of the Black Dinosaurs. I say the password today is ‘Mysterious’!”
    Ziggy was always forgetting the official password, and the other three always had fun watching him try to remember it. “I bet he can’t even remember his own password,” Rashawn whispered to Rico and Jerome.
    Rico opened the door of the clubhouse. As he entered, each boy touched the huge, black plastic dinosaur that was hanging inside. Dusty leavescovered the floor, and a slightly chilly breeze blew through the holes in the walls that served as windows.
    â€œLooks like we need to sweep up a little,” said Rashawn.
    â€œLooks to me like we need to spray for bugs!” Jerome replied quickly. “It’s been a while since we’ve been here and spiders may not know they’re not welcome!”
    â€œWe can do all that in a few minutes, mon,” cried Ziggy. “Let me show you what I have!”
    Rico couldn’t wait any longer. “Show us!” he pleaded.
    â€œFirst, tell me the password,” Ziggy demanded.
    â€œThat’s easy,” said Jerome. “It’s ‘Ghost.’”
    Ziggy roared with pleasure. “Finally! Someone besides Ziggy forgot the password!”
    â€œI know,” Jerome said with a grin. “I was just messin’ with you, Ziggy. Isn’t the word ‘Mustard’?”
    â€œIt’s ‘Mysterious,’” Rico called out cheerfully. “Now what do you have to show us?”
    Ziggy pulled a folded sheet of paper from hisback pocket. He slowly unfolded it, smoothed it out, and placed it on the card table that Jerome’s grandmother had given them. “It’s a map!” he whispered.
    â€œA treasure map?” asked Jerome hopefully.
    â€œNo, mon, a map of secrets!” replied Ziggy mysteriously. He now had their full attention. The map on