Free Dunc and the Haunted Castle by Gary Paulsen

Amos Binder was in his room reading a letter from his cousin, T.J. Tyler.
    … so my dad rented this really old castle for the summer. He has some research to do here in Scotland and he brought me with him. That’s where you guys come in. He doesn’t have much time to spend with me so he says he’d be glad to fly you over to keep me company. What do you say?
    Sincerely, T.J.
    P.S. Weird things are going on around here.
I could use some help.
    “What do you make of that?” Amos handed the letter to Duncan—Dunc—Culpepper, his best friend for life.
    Dunc studied the letter. “That last part’s kind of mysterious. Sounds like he needs us.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. I guess I’d be willing to give up my date with Melissa to go to Scotland.”
    “Amos, you don’t have a date with Melissa.”
    Melissa Hansen was the light of Amos’s life. As far as Amos was concerned, no other girl compared to her. Melissa gave Amos about as much thought as she gave an ant crawling on the sidewalk. Actually, she’d probably give more thought to the ant.
    “Not officially,” Amos said. “But she tried to call last night to ask me to the youth club dance.”
    “What do you mean, she
tried
to call?”
    “The phone rang while I was in my room composing a letter to Dear Abby about the incredible injustice of a person being grounded for the rest of his life just because of a small accident involving their dad’s power saw and the garage door.”
    “Wait a minute,” Dunc said. “You never told me you were grounded!”
    Amos shrugged. “It didn’t last long because after the phone call I’m no longer grounded. Now I’m up for adoption.”
    “What did you destroy this time?”
    “Nothing. For once, I didn’t ruin anything.”
    “Your parents want to farm you out, and you didn’t mess anything up? Are you sure?”
    Amos nodded. “It was like this. When the phone rang, I knew it was Melissa. Her ring has that rare three beats to a pulse.”
    Amos claimed he could tell Melissa’s ring from anybody else’s. Dunc knew it was impossible, not only because his research indicated that Amos’s phone rang the same way every time but because Melissa Hansen wouldn’t call someone who didn’t rate any higher than an ant.
    “Anyway,” Amos continued, “I had to get it on that all-important first ring. So I headed for the nearest phone.”
    “Which was in?”
    “My sister’s room. She just got one installed for her birthday.”
    “So far it doesn’t sound so awful.”
    Amos slapped his knee. “That’s what I said. Too bad my sister and the other cheerleaders didn’t see it that way.”
    “Cheerleaders?”
    “Yeah. How was I supposed to know they were all in there trying on new uniforms?”
    Dunc raised one eyebrow.
    “I really didn’t see a thing. Honest. You know how I am when it comes to the telephone. Pure concentration.”
    “Right. Did you get to the phone?”
    “Yes and no. Things sort of went crazy in there. Girls were running everywhere. Amy was yelling names at me that I can’t repeat. And the rest of them started throwing things. Have you ever been hit full in the face with an electric hair dryer?”
    Dunc shook his head and tried not to smile. “No, I can’t say I have.”
    “I was knocked out cold. When I came to, I had the telephone wrapped around my head and two pom-poms stuck up my nose. One in each nostril. I barely escaped with my life. And of course Amy made it sound to my parents like I was the original peeping Tom or something. Needless to say, my folks think my going to Scotland is a wonderful idea.”
    Dunc turned his attention back to the letter. “Does T.J. still quote his Ethiopian grandmother?”
    Amos nodded. “In his last letter he wrote ‘The moon is only small if you sit on a duck.’ I’m still trying to figure that one out.”
    Dunc smiled. “T.J.’s a character. Has he invented anything new since we saw him last?”
    “The last I heard, he was working on