Hunter Moran Digs Deep Read Free Page B

Maybe we’ll be goodhearted and pay Mrs. Wu twenty cents today.
    As soon as lunch is over, we head out. The leaves will just have to wait awhile.
    Fred is tethered to the gate in front of the library.
    â€œWhat’s he doing here?” Zack mutters as we circle around him, and inside, Mrs. Wu is not happy to see us.She holds out her hand and we give her the dollar. “Now we’re getting somewhere,” she says. “Only fifteen more, or so.”
    Before we can ask for change, she slips the dollar into her drawer and slams it shut.
    We know what it’s like to be poor.
    Desperately poor.
    I’ll be so glad to get Lester’s treasure. We’ll pay Mrs. Wu the rest of it. She’ll be babbling with gratitude.
    We tiptoe away from her desk, mouths closed. That’s another thing. Mrs. Wu doesn’t want to hear us talking. She’s in love with silence.
    â€œDo we want a book on school?” I whisper.
    Zack shakes his head. “How about a book on Lester?”
    I give him a high five. What a brain he has!
    The history section is all the way in back. Even Mrs. Wu with her X-ray eyes won’t be able to see us. After all, we don’t want the whole world muscling in on our treasure.
    We get ourselves over there and nearly fall over Steadman, who has a book the size of an encyclopedia in his hand.
    â€œWhy don’t you find a picture book?” Zack asks. “There are some great ones . . .”
    Steadman sighs and holds up his hand. “Fred is great at pictures. He needs words.”
    And here comes Linny.
    â€œDid you find what you were looking for?” Mrs. Wu asks.
    Linny pats her book. “All about skiing lessons.”
    Zack and I look at each other. As if we had more than an inch of snow every winter.
    â€œTime to go, Steadman,” Linny says as Mrs. Wu scans her book. She sees us and frowns. “You’re supposed to be raking leaves.”
    We ignore her, and as soon as she and Steadman head for the front—Steadman lugging his book in both hands—we sink down under the NEWFIELD sign.
    I rear back. The shelf is empty. Completely bare and a little dusty.
    Someone’s been here before us.
    â€œI don’t know what we’ll do if we don’t get that treasure,” Zack says.
    â€œWe’ll have to run away before Pop sees all those leaves.”
    Zack shakes his head. “Leaves! What about the birdhouse falling apart in his man cave?”
    I swallow. But then I see something that might save our lives. I lean forward.
    â€œWhat’s that girl’s name?” I ask, snapping my fingers. “The one who shelves books for Mrs. Wu?”
    â€œEmma.” And then he sees what I see. Emma’s not too good at putting books away. Stuck on the shelf marked MEDIEVAL HISTORY is a thin book called
Lester and Mabel Tinwitty
.
    There’s a great feeling in my chest. We’re on our way to riches.
    â€œThe first thing to do with the money is to buy aniPhone,” I tell Zack. “We’ll have to notify the school that we won’t be back.”
    Zack grins. “Sister Appolonia will have a heart attack on the spot.”
    â€œBut we’ll be gone. On our way to Tahiti. We’ll take the whole family with us,” I say, feeling generous.
    â€œI’ll send Sister one of those things you put around your neck,” Zack says.
    â€œA lei,” I say. “But that’s Hawaii.”
    â€œAfter we settle Pop’s birdhouse, we’ll go there, too. In our own helicopter.”
    â€œThe main thing,” I tell Zack, “is to do something great for Mom.”
    â€œMotorcycle lessons, something like that,” Zack agrees. “She needs to relax.”
    We slip the book off the shelf and lean back. Out the window we can see the leaves falling. So what!
    I open the book as Zack leans over my shoulder, and we begin to read.
    First is the story of Lester’s childhood. By the