Free The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

that his victim had escaped yet again, his heavy boots grinding the old wooden ladder rungs, his breath coming in grunts as he runs into the house, rushes up the narrow staircase, and throws his meaty shoulder against the door until it shivers open. Molly, startled, sitting up in bed, her face white and scared. And Horst smiling—
    Stop. I don’t want to think this anymore, Miri pleaded with her mind. She rolled over and burrowed her face into her pillow. Stop. But her mind wouldn’t stop. She pictured all of the empty pages after July 22, 1935. What had happened on July 23?

CHAPTER
9
    M IRI HAD DECIDED to wake at the break of dawn to begin her search for a pair of Molly’s glasses, but dawn came and went, and Miri slept on. When she finally opened her eyes, she found Nell and Nora peering at her silently, their hot little faces nearly touching hers. It was their favorite way to wake her up.
    “Go away!” groaned Miri. “I must have told you a thousand times not to do that.”
    “We didn’t do anything,” Nell said, climbing into the bed.
    “We’re the quietmost sisters,” Nora nodded, grabbing hold of Miri’s nightgown and pulling her way under the covers.
    “Oh, let go of it, Nora. You’ll rip it.”
    “You let me in,” commanded Nora.
    “Okay, okay.” Miri rolled into the center of the bed to make room for her sisters and they snuggled against her, one little blond head on each side.
    “Mommy says we’re supposed to be nice to you,” offered Nell. She kissed Miri’s arm. It tickled.
    “Mommy says we’re not good enough when you take care of us, but I am,” said Nora.
    “I am, too,” said Nell confidently.
    Miri giggled. They were pretty cute sometimes.
    “Even though you hit Ray with a shovel, he has to be nice to you, too. Mommy said,” announced Nora. “And Robbie, too. But he says he’s not going to. Don’t tell Mommy.”
    “And Mommy says when Daddy comes home, she’s going to take you to the beach, just you and Mommy,” Nora said, proud of all her information. “And we can’t go. And Daddy will have to take care of us.”
    Miri looked at her sister. “She said that?”
    Nell and Nora nodded together.
    “When’s Daddy coming home?”
    The two girls replied with identical shrugs. Miri sat up. She didn’t want to go to the beach with her mother—well, she did, but not yet. First she had to get back to Molly. “Get up, kids,” she said, throwing back her sheet. “I’ve got to get busy.” Her sun-shaped clock informed her that it was ten in the morning. “Jeez,” she muttered. “It’s late.”
    Miri clattered downstairs, leaving Nell and Nora in her bed arguing over which one was a kitty. She planned to grab something to eat and begin her search for Molly’s glasses immediately, but when she got to the kitchen her mother was standing at the stove. “Hi, bunny!” she called. “I’m making you some French toast!”
    Most of the time Miri loved French toast, but this morning it was just another obstacle to her plans. Still, she thought, looking at her mother’s cheerful face, there’s a lot to be said for staying on Mom’s good side. So she smiled gratefully, sat down at the kitchen table, and munched her way through two enormous slices of French toast and an orange. Chew and swallow, chew and swallow.
    “Now, Miri, what would you like to do today?” asked Mom.
    Miri gulped. “Um, Mom? This morning I think I’m going to do some work getting my room the way I want it.” She knew that her mother loved any plan that began with I’m going to do some work, and sure enough, her mother beamed. “And this afternoon maybe we could go get me some new glasses?” She blinked in what she hoped was a pathetic way.
    “That sounds good, honey.” Her mom smiled extra enthusiastically. “While we’re in town, we can go to the paint store and pick out some paint for your room. And Miri, when Daddy gets home next Tuesday, I thought you and I could take a little trip down to