Free Ghost Town at Sundown by Mary Pope Osborne Page B

with several tombstones.
    â€œThat’s creepy,” said Annie.

    â€œYeah,” said Jack. He took a deep breath. “What’s our riddle say?”
    Annie held up the ancient scroll. She unrolled it. Then she and Jack read together:
    Out of the blue,
my lonely voice
calls out to you.
Who am I? Am I?
    Jack pushed his glasses into place and read the riddle again to himself.
    â€œThere must be a mistake,” he said. “ ‘Am I?’ is written twice.”
    â€œWell, I don’t hear any voices now,” Annie said as she looked out the window.
    There were no human sounds at all—only the buzzing of flies and the whistling of the dry wind.
    â€œLet’s look at the book,” Jack said.
    He opened the book. The pages were yellow with age. He found a picture of the town and read the words beneath it out loud:
    In the 1870s, Rattlesnake Flats was a rest stop for the stagecoach that carried passengers from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Fort Worth, Texas. When the creek dried up, everyone left. By 1880, it was a “ghost town.”
    â€œWow, a
ghost
town,” said Annie, her eyes wide.
    â€œLet’s take a quick look around,” said Jack. “So we can leave before dark.”
    â€œRight,” said Annie. “Let’s hurry.” She started down the rope ladder.
    Jack put the old book into his pack. Then he followed Annie down the ladder.
    They stood by the tree and looked about. Tumbleweeds blew across the dry ground.
    Suddenly something jumped past them.
    â€œYikes!” they both said.
    But it was just a rabbit—a lone, long-legged rabbit hopping past them.
    â€œHey, he’s just like that rabbit we saw at home,” said Jack.
    â€œYeah, that rabbit must have been a sign of things to come,” said Annie.
    The rabbit hopped across the prairie and out of sight.
    â€œI’d better take notes,” said Jack.
    He reached into his backpack and took out his notebook and pencil.
    He wrote:

    â€œWhat’s that sound?” said Annie.
    â€œWhat sound?” asked Jack.
    â€œThat rattling sound!” said Annie.
    Jack looked up. “
What
?” he said.
    â€œThere!” Annie pointed to a rattlesnake. Itwas about a hundred feet away. It was coiled up and rattling.
    Jack took one look at the snake and ran. Annie ran, too. They ran past the graveyard and right into the ghost town.
    â€œI guess that’s why this town is called Rattlesnake Flats,” said Annie when they stopped.
    Jack looked around. The town was hardly big enough to call a town. There was one unpaved street and a few old buildings.
    It was quiet, too quiet.
    â€œLook, a store,” said Annie.
    She pointed to a building. The faded sign said GENERAL STORE . “Let’s look inside. Maybe the answer to the riddle is in there.”
    Jack and Annie stepped onto the porch. The wooden boards creaked loudly. The doorhad fallen off its hinges. They peeked inside.
    The air was thick with dust. Spider webs hung from the ceiling.
    â€œMaybe we shouldn’t go in,” said Jack.
    â€œBut what if the answer’s here?” said Annie. “Let’s just take a quick look.”
    Jack took a deep breath. “Okay.”
    He and Annie tiptoed into the store.
    â€œLook,” said Annie. She picked up a pair of rusty spurs.
    â€œCareful,” said Jack. He poked at other stuff in the store—an old feed sack, a rusted tin cup, a faded calendar dated 1878.
    â€œOh, wow,” said Annie. She held up two cowboy hats. She put one on and handed the other one to Jack. “For you.”
    â€œIt’s too dusty,” said Jack.
    â€œJust blow on it,” said Annie.
    Jack blew on his hat. A cloud of dust rose up. Jack sneezed.
    â€œJust try it on!” said Annie.
    Jack put the hat on. It nearly covered his eyes.
    â€œBoots!” said Annie. She pointed to a row of cowboy boots on a shelf. “There are even some small ones, like our