Free Josh and the Magic Vial by Craig Spence Page B

trinkets in there, pretending they were Long John Silver’s treasure. In that box were all kinds of baubles suitable for his plan, showy things that weren’t worth much.
    Sneaking downstairs, Josh listened for any signs of activity. The hallway and kitchen were deserted. His father was still at work, his mother probably out in the yard pruning, or weeding, or doing whatever gardeners do. He darted into his parents’ room and made for the dresser. The jewelry box stood open, its felt-lined compartments brimming with earrings, broaches, pins, necklaces.
    â€œVery small,” Josh muttered.
    All the items looked too big. Endorathlil would be able to tell without close inspection that they were imitations. He dug down to the bottom of first one compartment, then another. At last he found what he was looking for, a ring that might have been gold, which was decorated with a tiny bit of glass that might have been a diamond. Josh pocketed it and hurried out of the room, his heart thumping.
    â€œBye, Mom!” he shouted, clattering down the porch steps, headed for the street.
    â€œWhere are you going, Josh?”
    â€œJust out. I’ve been cooped up all day.”
    Mrs. Dempster looked at him suspiciously. She had put on jeans and the frayed flannel shirt she wore when gardening. She swept a strand of hair from her face then sighed. “Be home for dinner, okay,” she said.
    â€œOkay,” he answered, trotting out of the yard before she could think of anything else.
    â€œAnd you be careful!” she called after him.
    â€œYes Mom,” he replied in his stop-babying-me tone.
    Lil’s wasn’t shuttered up anymore. The blinds were raised and he could see inside, to where she sat, dozing at her counter. There didn’t seem to be anyone with her. “Good,” Josh thought. The last thing he needed was a bunch of Conky McDougal’s boys to deal with. If they were around, he’d have to call the mission off. As it was, his doubts had grown with every step on the way there. Stealing was not an activity Josh was accustomed to. He felt sick at heart.
    But she had stolen from him, hadn’t she? He had a right to get back what belonged to him. Josh’s resolve hardened. He would demand she give back the blood, hair, and nail clippings she had taken against his will, and if she refused — as she would — then he would carry out his plan.
    Striding forward, he pushed open the door. The crone bolted upright, then glared. When she recognized him, she contorted her face into a horrible grin, and said in her cracked voice, “Why Master Dempster! What a pleasant surprise.”
    â€œHi,” he said, listening for any sounds from the back room.
    â€œWhat brings you back to my humble shop?” she frowned. Then her eyes brightened. “Perhaps you’ve come to buy something.”
    â€œNo, Lil,” he said. “I’ve come to pick something up.”
    She looked puzzled. “But you took all your things the other day. I’ve nothing here that belongs to you.”
    â€œI think you do,” he insisted.
    He showed her the puncture mark on his arm. “I thought I was dreaming at first,” he said. “But then I found this. You took some blood from me.”
    â€œWhat?” she squawked.
    â€œAnd some nail clippings,” Josh continued.
    â€œHave you gone mad!” she sputtered.
    â€œAnd some hair.”
    â€œGet out, you little scalawag. What are you up to? Are you trying to blackmail me by making up some cock-and-bull story? Get out, I say, before I call the police myself . . . and here I thought you were such a nice young man.”
    â€œI didn’t expect you to hand them over for nothing,” Josh said. “I’m prepared to pay.”
    â€œEh?” Endorathlil stopped her railing, and eyed him shrewdly. She would never turn over what he had asked for, but he was sure she would try to bilk him out of what