Philip and the Sneaky Trashmen (9781619502185) Read Online Free Page B

Emery.
“You’ve been talking to your friend Leon, I’ll bet.”
    The boys didn’t answer.
    “ Okay. I can use this. I
try to make a little money fixing things and selling them to the
recycle store in the mall . . .”
    “ Pete’s Repeat shop,” said
Philip.
    “ Right. Come look over your
stuff.”
    Mr. Sorino carried the two plastic bags
with him as he led the boys into the former garage. Someone had
already emptied Philip’s bag out onto the table. Philip and Emery
began their inspection, as Mr. Sorino put the new bags on a table,
stood back, and watched.
    “ You want this Furby?”
asked Emery.
    “ No, it doesn’t
work.”
    “ How about these two
trains?”
    “ No, my mother threw the
tracks out long ago.”
    “ How about this peanut
butter and jelly sandwich? It’s got ants on it.”
    Philip tossed Emery a scornful look and
finished his search in silence.
    Philip held up a few toys before
sliding them into his pockets. “Just these couple things, Mr.
Sorino. You can have the rest.”
    “ Thanks, boys . . . I don’t
even know your names.”
    “ Philip.”
    “ Emery.”
    “ Thanks, Philip. Thanks,
Emery. This is very nice of you.”
    “ Glad to help,” said
Philip. He and Emery exchanged a rapid glance, and Philip knew they
were thinking the same thing. Where were their dollar
bills?
    Mr. Sorino continued to talk to them.
“If you want to—you don’t have to, of course, but if you want to—if
you find out that anyone threw away a TV or something big like
that, I can fix that stuff up and get a pretty good payment for
it—if I can get it to work.”
    “ We know where a TV’s
thrown out,” Emery blurted.
    Philip followed suit. “Yeah, and a sofa
and a big table—the kind you put in the dining room.”
    Mr. Sorino’s eyes opened wide. “Now,
that would be helpful.”
    “ You have to get the stuff
quick,” said Philip said. “It’s trash day. They’ll take it away
today.”
    “ Don’t worry about that.
Can you get me the addresses where you saw that? Make a list of
what’s thrown away and put the address next to it. Can you do
that?”
    “ Sure,” said
Philip.
    “ Easy,” Emery
agreed.
    Mr. Sorino reached into his pocket and
pulled out some bills. “Here’s a dollar for each of you. You bring
me that list, and I’ll give you each another dollar.
Okay?”
    “ You bet,” said Philip. The
boys took the money and left.
    As they walked, Emery said, “You think
he told Leon to do what he told us? Make a list like
that?”
    “ I don’t know, but we
better go make ours fast, in case he did. My Aunt Louise is coming
to stay for a couple days, so I gotta stay out of the way. I’ll
have lots of time.”
    “ And since we only have to
write down addresses and what we saw, we can go all over the
neighborhood to look for stuff.”
    “ We gotta do it before the
trash truck comes. Let’s get a pen and some paper at your house.
We’re gonna be rich!”
    The boys gave a whoop and charged down
the street.

Chapter
Seven
     
    About half an hour into their search,
Emery cried, “Look! There’s Leon.”
    At the far end of the block, Leon
pulled his red wagon and turned the corner.
    “ What do you think he’s
doing?” asked Philip.
    “ If he’s got his wagon,
he’s probably looking for stuff for Mr. Sorino.”
    “ Let’s go see.”
    Philip and Emery tore down the street.
When they turned the corner, they saw the red wagon, but no
Leon.
    “ Where’d he go?” asked
Emery.
    The boys stood and waited. A moment
later, Leon walked into view, leaving the porch of the house where
his wagon stood. He carried something. Philip and Emery exchanged a
glance.
    “ Hey, Leon,” Emery
called.
    Leon put what he carried into his wagon
and waved. “Hi, guys.”
    “ What are you doing, Leon?”
asked Emery.
    “ Asking people for broken
stuff. Look at this neat clock the lady gave me.” The wooden clock
had cracked glass on its face and only one hand. “I’m gonna give it
to Mr.