Free The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge by Brad Strickland Page A

whispered conversation before Rose Rita left for home. “Keep an eye on them,” urged Rose Rita. “I want to be sure they got the book.”
    â€œIt didn’t walk off,” responded Lewis. “Uncle Jonathan must’ve picked it up with the rest of the mail.”
    â€œWatch anyway,” said Rose Rita, and she left.
    Though he felt like a spy in his own home, Lewis did settle in to watch his uncle and Mrs. Zimmermann.
    Nothing happened until the following Wednesday. At lunchtime, Uncle Jonathan said, “Lewis, why don’t you and Rose Rita go to the movies this evening? There’s a dandy new Gene Autry western on.”
    â€œI don’t like singing cowboys too much,” hedged Lewis.
    His uncle smiled. “Well, I’m having some people over, and I’m afraid you’d be bored out of your mind here. At least it will be cool in the theater.” When Lewis still looked doubtful, his uncle added, “Tell you what. You go to the movies, and one day soon we’ll have Rose Rita over and I’ll put on a private show about the Battle of the Nile, or maybe Trafalgar.” Lewis knew that Jonathan meant he would cast one of his wonderful illusion spells. They were just like Technicolor movies, except they were three-dimensional and you could actually take part in them.
    Reluctantly, Lewis agreed to go to the movies. But when he called Rose Rita, she said, “This is it. I’d bet a dollar to a moldy doughnut that the Capharnaum County Magicians Society is meeting at your house this evening. We have to find out for sure if your uncle found the book. Think of a way.”
    Immediately, Lewis thought of one possibility. The house at 100 High Street had an extra-special feature: a secret passageway. It wasn’t very long, and it wasn’t even very practical. The secret passage led from behind a cupboard in the kitchen to a space behind a bookcase in the study. No one knew why it had been built in the firstplace, but it was an ideal spot for two snooping kids to hide. The trick would be getting into the passage without being caught.
    That afternoon Jonathan gave Lewis five dollars. “You can get a hamburger and soda and still have enough left for the movie,” he said. “Since you’ll be coming back after dark, wear something light colored and be sure to walk facing the traffic.”
    It seemed to Lewis that his uncle was being especially fussy. Usually he trusted Lewis to remember things like that, for Jonathan knew his nephew had a lot of common sense. Rose Rita came over at five o’clock. Mrs. Zimmermann and Uncle Jonathan were puttering around in the kitchen, making hors d’oeuvres for the guests. Lewis called, “We’re going now!”
    â€œBe careful, you two!” his uncle shouted back. “Have a good time.”
    But instead of leaving the house, Lewis and Rose Rita ducked into the study. The one tricky thing about the secret passage was that, on the study end, the latch was on the outside, not the inside. Lewis released the catch and swung a large section of the built-in bookcase open. It moved silently on unseen hinges, and Lewis and Rose Rita walked into the passageway.
    It was cramped and dark inside. As Lewis pulled the bookcase section back into place, he heard Rose Rita begin to gasp for air. He remembered how she was afraid of closed-in spaces. “Are you okay?” he asked.
    Rose Rita took several deep breaths. “I will be. Thisisn’t so bad. It’s more like a little room than—than anything else. And I can see light around the edges of the door.”
    For a few minutes they stood shoulder to shoulder. Gradually Rose Rita’s breathing calmed down. Now and then she looked through a small peephole into the study. “Tell me when they show up,” said Lewis.
    â€œAre you sure they’ll meet in there?” asked Rose Rita.
    â€œThat’s where the Magicians Society always