Free The Odds Get Even by Natale Ghent

big failure.”
    “There’s still the Invention Convention and the ghost at the mill.”
    “I’m grounded for life,” Boney said.
    “You’ve been grounded for life before,” Squeak reminded him.
    “My aunt fainted twice.”
    “She fainted three times over the parachute caper.”
    “True…”
    “What are we going to do about Itchy’s dad’s costume?” Squeak asked.
    Boney leaned his chin in his hand. “I have to get it to Mr. Martini’s or Itchy will never speak to me again. If he hadn’t left that stupid old tire at the bottom of the tree, things might have ended better.”
    “Uh, yeah…”
    “Anyway, I’m going to wait until my aunt and uncle are asleep, then sneak out and bike the costume over to the cleaners.”
    There was a pause as Squeak considered Boney’s new plan. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
    “It’s our only hope. If Itchy’s dad comes home from his show and finds his spare Elvis costume missing, Itchy is going to run away and join the circus.”
    “It’s too bad we don’t have a robot,” Squeak said. “We could send it to the cleaners with the Elvis costume instead. That way, nobody would get in trouble.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well,” Squeak sighed, “joining the circus might notbe so bad. Itchy likes animals. At least, he’s always eating animal crackers in class…”
    There was a sudden flurry of footsteps outside the bedroom door.
    “Got to go!” Boney whispered, throwing the towel over the Tele-tube and leaping into bed. He turned off the light and shut his eyes as though asleep.
    The door to his room flew open. His uncle stood frowning in the doorway, his long shadow stretching across the floor. He surveyed the room, then closed the door with a click.
    BONEY WAITED until he was sure his aunt and uncle were asleep before slipping from bed. He pushed his feet into his sneakers then crept across the room. Opening the door a tiny crack, he shut it just as quickly. His uncle had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV. He could see him from the top of the stairs.
    Boney checked the alarm clock beside his bed. It was after ten o’clock. Itchy’s father was due home at midnight. That left less than two hours to get the costume to the cleaners and return it. Boney scratched his head. He had to get out. But how?
    He eyed the window, where the Tele-tube lay concealedbeneath the towel. He would have to get out that way, he decided. There was no other choice with his uncle sleeping on the couch in the living room.
    Boney uncovered the Tele-tube. “Squeak, are you there?” he whispered.
    There was a soft rustling at the other end of the line.
    “I’m here,” Squeak’s sleepy voice answered.
    “There’s a slight glitch in the plan,” Boney reported. “Uncle is snoring on the couch. I’m going to Plan B.”
    “What’s Plan B?” Squeak asked.
    “Operation Window.”
    “As in… climbing out the window?”
    “Roger that.”
    “I’m not sure I like the smell of this,” Squeak said. “It sounds very prickly.”
    “It’s not prickly at all,” Boney countered. “I have to save Itchy from the circus.”
    “It seems rather drastic. Our windows are quite a ways up.”
    “It’s getting late,” Boney said. “I have no choice.”
    “Boney…” Squeak’s cautious voice filtered through the tube. “Be careful.”

CHAPTER TEN
SAVING ITCHY FROM THE CIRCUS
    B oney pulled a sweater over his T-shirt, emptied his piggy bank into his pockets, filled his Triple-X Turbo Blaster water gun that he’d got for his birthday the year before with water from the large glass next to his bed, folded the stained Elvis costume into a pillowcase, and unlocked the window. Raising the sash slowly, Boney was careful not to disconnect the Tele-tube from its housing in the frame.
    He stuck one leg over the sill, dangling it tentatively over the ledge. He paused, gathering his courage. The air felt cool against his skin. Bending forward, he pushed his head and shoulders through the