Philip and the Fortune Teller (9781619501317) Read Online Free

home safely?”
    “You don’t have to, Dad. We’ll be okay.”
    “No, I agree with your father. He’ll pick you
up after. Decide where you’ll meet.” His mother turned and went
back to whatever she’d been doing.
    Philip’s father pointed up and said, “Word
has come down. So where shall I meet you, and when?”
    Philip had been afraid of this but expected
it. He and Emery never imagined they’d be allowed to walk home
alone late at night in the dark. They’d figured the circus would
last about two hours, and it began at seven-thirty.
    “Can you meet us at ten? There’s a big cotton
candy and peanut stand just as you go into the sideshow part.” If
his father agreed, he and Emery would have half-an-hour on their
own after the circus ended.
    “Ten o’clock at the cotton candy booth. I’ll
be there.” His father lifted up his newspaper, and his face
disappeared behind it.
    Yes! Philip cried silently. He went to
the phone and called Emery to tell him their plan was working!
     
~ * ~
    The next day Philip and Emery hung around
each other’s houses, nervously awaiting the evening. They stayed
away from the old woman’s house, in case she spent the day rocking
on her porch. When they went home for dinner, they promised to meet
again at six-fifteen. That’s when the toughest part of the plan
would kick in.
     
~ * ~
    “You got some rocks?” Philip asked as he and
Emery walked speedily toward Van Kirk Street.
    Emery patted his pocket. “I got ‘em.”
    “It’s awful light out.”
    “Don’t worry. It won’t take us long. Once we
break the window, we head on over to the circus real quick. She
can’t get a window fixed at night. No glass-fixing store will be
open. We come back after the circus when it’s dark, go in, and find
the box. 6482. You got the flashlight, right?”
    Philip produced a small flashlight two inches
long and as thick as two of his fingers.
    “You sure it works?” Emery asked. “Turn it
on.”
    Philip flicked the switch, and the light came
on.
    “I even brought an extra battery in case the
one inside burns out. I don’t know how long it’s been in
there.”
    The boys quieted as they turned onto Van Kirk
Street. When they approached the old woman’s house, they crossed
the street, angling toward the bushes next to the garage. When they
reached the bushes, they hunkered down, hoping no one could see
them. From where they knelt, they could see the old woman’s house
clearly.
    “Give me the rocks,” Philip whispered. “You
be the lookout. Okay, I’m gonna break the window.” He stood and
took a step.
    “Witch! Window!” Emery whispered in a
panic.
    Philip paused and turned to Emery. “Which
window? What do you mean which window? The window right there; the
one in the door by the doorknob.”
    “Witch! Door!” Emery cried louder in even
greater panic.
    “Which door? What is wrong with you? There’s
only one door. Right there. Right there. You see another door?”
    “She’s coming?”
    “Who’s coming?”
    “Stop talking. The witch is coming.
Hide!”
    Philip peeked around the garage so he could
see what Emery saw—the old woman hobbling across her lawn in their
direction.
    “Oh!” Philip cried. “Why didn’t you tell
me?”
    “I did tell you! She looked out the window; I
said witch, window. She came out the door; I said witch, door. You
didn’t listen. You kept talking and asking stupid questions.”
    “You didn’t make it clear. You said witch
window, and I thought you said which window.”
    “I did say witch, window! Never mind
now. We gotta hide.”
    Philip looked around. “We have to crawl
further under. Go get under more. Go, under the bushes.”
    The boys dove deeper into the bushes and
wriggled on their stomachs as far as the bushes permitted. They
faced the garage and breathed as quietly as they knew how.
    They saw the long swishy black dress of the
woman and heard her fussing with the side door of the garage. They
heard her talk to