Fabulous Five 019 - The Boys-Only Club Read Free

tall. Is it still there?
    Katie looked over her shoulder at the two-story house where
she and her mother lived. Before the owners had it covered with aluminum siding
three or four years ago, it had been wood, but the boards were starting to rot
and split. The roof was brown shingle and had been as long as Katie could
remember. She couldn't tell if it was the same house Gwyneth had written about.
    My room was on the second floor in the back , and I
could look out the window and see my favorite tree. You'll know which tree it
is I'm talking about because you found this box under it. The tree has a swing
that I used to play in when I was little , and when Tommy comes over , he pushes me in it sometimes.
    Katie's room was on the second floor at the back. She looked
up. High overhead on a branch that was far too high for a swing now hung two
tattered pieces of rope.
    Mrs. Goddard , my teacher, says someone may find a
time capsule a long time after the person who made it is dead. That kind of
makes my skin crawl.
    It made Katie's skin crawl, too, to think about it. She
closed the notebook and put it and the other things back into the box. She
wanted to read the rest of what Gwyneth had to say, but she didn't want to do
it kneeling in the backyard. She quickly planted the tulips in the hole where
the time capsule had been, and went into the house.
    "What's that, sweetheart?" asked Willie as Katie
moved some papers and set the metal box on the corner of her desk.
    "It's a time capsule."
    Willie's eyebrows arched. "A what?"
    "A time capsule. Can you believe it? I found it buried
under the tree out back where I planted your tulips."
    "Oh? Let's see."
    Katie went through the items one by one, telling Willie
about each in turn. She could see the interest building in her mother's eyes as
she explained about the porcelain doll, the pictures, the lace handkerchief,
the rubber teether, and the blue-green marble. Finally, she came to the
notebook, which she had intentionally left for last.
    "And Gwyneth Plum wrote this," she said, handing
it to her mother.
    Willie slowly thumbed through the pages. "This is interesting. It just might make a good article I can sell to the paper. Would
you mind if I did one after I finish what I'm working on?"
    "That's a great idea," replied Katie.
     
    Later, in her room, Katie took the notebook out of the box
again and flopped on her bed to continue reading.
    What should I tell you about me next? Well , I kind
of go with Tommy Rawls , although we've never been alone. Mama wouldn't
allow that. He's really cute. I'm going to put a picture of him in my time
capsule.
    Tommy made me mad the other day , though , and
I'm not speaking to him. I told him I wanted to be a doctor when I grow up , and he said that colleges don't let girls in medical school so I might as
well forget it. He said it was because girls couldn't understand all the
scientific things they teach. I said , girls are as smart as boys , and
he said it was a proven fact that they aren't.
    "Darn!" Katie exclaimed. "Don't put up with
that, Gwyneth. You're as good as he is any day of the week."
    Well , I told Tommy that it wasn't true. There were , too , girls in medical school , although not as many as men.
People don't give girls the chance to show how smart they are. I also told him
I didn't want to speak to him again until he changed his attitude. Boys are so
immature.
    Way to go!" cried Katie. Her opinion of Gwyneth Plum
was soaring, and now she didn't want to put the notebook down. Katie had heard
about women having to fight for the right to vote, to be paid the same as men,
and to be treated like more than just housekeepers. In fact, she had read that
at one time if a woman was married and inherited money or property from her
parents, it automatically belonged to her husband. But she hadn't thought about
what it would be like to be a girl way back then. This was like talking to
another kid just like herself who had lived through it.
    "Katie!