Free Desperation and Decision by Sophronia Belle Lyon Page B

me,
after all, Benny my boy," he hissed. "But somehow I don't think
we'll make it to Uncle Tom's. The chickens'll be so
disappointed."
    Benny and the Bank Robber 2: Doctor Dad
    A new marriage for Benny’s mother should be
a time of rejoicing. But why is Uncle Tom so angry? While
substitute teaching for his mother Benny meets twin girls who turn
his world upside down. A terrifying mystery at a private boys'
school in Detroit includes gambling, extortion and attempted
murder. Benny makes the mistake of trying to impress members of a
secret society, discovers he may have a double, and hopes to
survive a meeting with someone who may already have murdered to
enforce his will.
    from Chapter Fifteen -- "An Ultimatum"
    That night Benny took one more look through
his footlocker. Suddenly he noticed a slip of paper tucked into his
winter boots. He pulled it out and opened it.
    "The box is the key. Use it to unlock the
door to the cat." At the end was a symbol Benny recognized as the
Greek letter Omega. Jason and Joseph were both in the room when
Benny found the note. Joseph watched every move Benny made when he
found the note, though he tried clumsily not to show it. Jason read
the note over Benny's shoulder. Like lightning, Jason leaped across
the room and slammed Joseph down on the floor. He grabbed his
throat and Joseph squawked. He was a much bigger boy than Jason,
but he was not at all strong and could not get the furious boy off
of him.
    "You're the one who stole it!" Jason snarled.
"I knew it all the time. We want it back right now!"
    "Make him get off of me, or you'll be sorry!"
Joseph squealed to Benny.
    "Let him up, Jason," Benny ordered. "Joseph,
I guess you don't want to be expelled, do you? I just want my
cougar skin back. I don't want any trouble."
    "You can't prove I had anything to do with
that note or your -- cougar skin," Joseph said with an oath. "You
can tell me now what's in the box. Then they'll let you know what
they want next."
    Hope and the Knight of the Black Lion by Mary C. Findley
    (Also available in the "Illuminated
Version," echoing the style of a medieval manuscript. "Home to My
Father: A Knight's Tale," is a stand-alone excerpt from this
novel.)
    Seventeen-year-old-Hope rebels against
arranged marriage in medieval England. The earl’s handsome son
Robert tempts her to defiance. A mysterious knight appears to help
Hope find her missing family. Does Hugo Brun de March truly travel
on a Holy Quest?
    What is the a strange diary the Arab
Sadaquah gives Hope? When her protector is captured she discovers a
plot to subvert English law and justice.
    from Chapter Eleven
    "Sir Knight. I hear that thou wilt not say
thy name nor thy true business to anyone. "
    "It is a vow I have made, that Baron Cloyes
must be the first in England to know of these things. "
    "Man, thy story might turn my heart
completely to thy cause," Lord Godwin said.
    "It matters little now, my lord. " Sir Chris
coughed several times. "The earl has said I am to be made to
confess to the burning of the manor house. To that I cannot
confess, and so ... Lady Hope?"
    "Yes, Sir Chris?"
    "I am sorry I could not help you," he said
in a voice I could scarcely hear. "I am sorry, too, that you were
not persuaded to know Christ."
    Chasing the Texas Wind by Mary C. Findley
    Hamilton Jessup agrees a sham marriage with
socialite singer Maeve Collinswood. This beautiful spinster needs a
handsome wounded war hero husband to show off at Texas fundraisers.
Ham has no choice, but they both have secrets to keep from each
other.
    Ham was supposed to ignore her frequent
disappearances. Falling in love with her changed all that. His
discovery that their secrets are connected plunges both of them
into a race to outwit whoever is supplying arms to Mexico as the
countdown ticks away toward the Battle of Monterrey.
    from Part One, between June, 1844 and March, 1845
    "I wanted to lay your concerns to rest,
Ma'am," Ham drawled. "It was kind of you to call Doctor Evans,