Escape to Witch Mountain Read Free Page B

had scampered only as far as the corner of the windowsill when the door was thrust open and Mrs. Grindley entered.
    The matron saw the black cat on the instant. “Scat!” she cried, and seized the first book in reach and hurled it. It curved curiously and struck the wall, and Winkie vanished outside.
    “Who let that animal in here?” Mrs. Grindley asked.
    “It just came in,” Tony replied.
    “And who opened the window?”
    “I did, ma'am. It's hot in here.”
    “I'm not concerned with the heat. Close that window this instant, and lock it.”
    Tony did as he was told.
    “Now, young man,” she began, “suppose you tell me what you two are up to, and how you managed to get in.”
    “B-but it's a library, isn't it?” Tony said defensively. “We always come in here to get books to read.”
    “Through a locked door?” The matron's voice was icy.
    “It wasn't locked when I came here,” Tony insisted.
    “Don't lie to me. I locked the door last night, and I haven't unlocked it since. You must be using a skeleton key to get in. Where is it?”
    “We don't have one, ma'am. Honest!”
    “I know better.” She began to search them.
    The search was thorough, and there were tense moments when Tony held his breath, fearful that the matron would discover the five dollars hidden in his billfold, or worse, the bulk of the money in the star box. The discovery would have been disastrous, for heknew she would never accept the truth. As for entering the library, he hadn't lied, for the door had been open. Only, Tia had opened it before he arrived. That was another thing he knew better than to try to explain to anyone.
    If it was right to open a door, Tia could always manage it. All she had to do was turn the knob, and any lock would yield. But she'd learned very early that if it was wrong to open it, then the door wouldn't budge. Of course, the police hadn't agreed that it was right, that time they'd caught Tia way in the back of a grocery where she'd gone to take the kitten out of a trap. In the first place, they hadn't believed it possible for anyone to hear a kitten crying that far away, through a closed door. On top of it, the store had already been robbed a couple times. They'd made it rough for Tia, but it hadn't changed how she felt. She'd do anything for animals.
    Mrs. Grindley, intent upon her search for a key, overlooked the money. Failing to find any object even resembling a key, she stepped back and surveyed them. Tony could sense her baffled anger.
    “I don't know what it is,” she said, “but there's something about you two I don't understand. I'll be glad when I can get rid of you. In the meantime, I'm locking this place up and I never want to catch either of you in here again. Now get out.”
    There were tears in Tia's eyes as Tony followed her out to the playground. The library, he knew, was the only thing that made Hackett House bearable for her. As for himself, it didn't matter too much. The world was a tough place. You had to see it for what it was, and keep fighting it, or it would beat you down.
    At the moment, his main worry was how he was going to get in touch with Father O'Day. The only telephone in Hackett House was in Mrs. Grindley's office, and inmates were not allowed to use it except in an emergency. The nearest public telephone was in apharmacy two blocks away. He had hoped to get permission to go there, but the matron would never give him permission now. He would have to sneak out tonight.
    He sat down unhappily in the shade of the building and took out his harmonica. For a while, sure there was no one around to notice him, he passed the time by making pebbles bounce across the playground like rubber balls. Then he saw that Tia was watching a taxi that had stopped by the sidewalk on the other side of the fence. All Tia's attention was on the passenger that had stepped out and was now paying the driver. She was staring at the man as if she were seeing a ghost.
    “What's the matter?” he