Free Magic Tree House #50: Hurry Up, Houdini! (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) by Mary Pope Osborne Page B

time.”
    “Thanks,” said Jack. He took the gold ring and slipped it onto his finger.
    “Just make sure you keep checking to see if it’s glowing,” said Annie.
    “Don’t worry, I will,” said Jack. According toMerlin, the Ring of Truth would glow only when Jack and Annie discovered a true secret of greatness.

    Annie picked up the tiny bottle. She and Jack stared at its swirling contents. “Wow,” she breathed. “Merlin’s magic mist.”
    Jack repeated the words of Camelot’s magician: “Mist gathered at first light on the first day of the new moon on the Isle of Avalon.”
    “Good memory,” said Annie.
    “Who wouldn’t remember
that
?” said Jack. “If we take a sniff, we can be great at anything we choose for one hour.”
    “That’s so cool,” said Annie.
    “Yeah,” said Jack. He had loved becoming a great horse trainer on their last mission. “I wonder what talent we’ll have this time. And where will we go?”
    Annie pointed at a booklet that was lying in the shadows. She picked it up and handed it to Jack.
    “Coney Island, I think,” she said.
    Jack read the title:

    “Coney Island. Isn’t that in New York?” said Annie.
    “Yep. Look, there’s a note inside,” said Jack. He pulled out a piece of parchment from the booklet. He read aloud:
    Dear Jack and Annie
,
    Thank you for successfully completing your first mission to find a secret of greatness. Now on your new mission, I would like you to learn a second secret—this time, from the Great Houdini
.
    —M
.
    “Oh, man, the Great Houdini!” said Jack.
    “What did he do?” said Annie.
    “Dad told me about him,” said Jack. “He could escape from anything! Chains, ropes, locks, handcuffs, prisons. He was amazing!”
    “Was he a criminal?” said Annie.
    Jack laughed. “No, he was a performer—the greatest escape artist who ever lived,” he said. “He performed his act all over the world. I can’t believe we’re actually going to meet him!”
    “So where do we find a person like that?” asked Annie.
    “Coney Island!” said Jack, holding up the booklet.
    “Oh, yeah, duh,” said Annie. “So make the wish and let’s go!”
    “Okay!” said Jack. He put Merlin’s message and the magic mist into his backpack. Then he pointed to the words
Coney Island
on the booklet. “I wish we could go there!”
    The wind started to blow.
    The tree house started to spin.
    It spun faster and faster.
    Then everything was still.
    Absolutely still.

J ack heard people laughing and shouting. A brass band was playing a lively tune. He and Annie looked out the window. The tree house had landed in a cluster of trees. High above the trees were towers, turrets, domes, and spires.
    “Are those castles?” asked Annie. “Did we land in the Middle Ages?”
    “Definitely not,” said Jack. “Look at our clothes.” In the dim light inside the tree house, Jack could see that he was wearing knee-length pants, a long-sleeved shirt, high socks, and lace-upboots. His backpack was now a leather bag.
    “You’re right,” said Annie. She was wearing a sailor dress and a pair of boots. “These are like the clothes we wore when we went to San Francisco.”
    “Yep, in the early 1900s,” said Jack. He reached into one of his pockets and took out a watch on a chain. “Look, I have a pocket watch now instead of a wristwatch. And”—from the other pocket, Jack pulled out a handful of coins—“a bunch of pennies!”
    “Just pennies? That’s all?” said Annie.
    “Don’t worry,” said Jack. “I once read that a penny in 1900 was worth the same as a quarter in our time.”
    “Cool, we’re rich,” said Annie with a laugh.
    “Here, take some,” said Jack. He gave Annie half of his handful of coins.
    “Thanks,” Annie said, dropping the pennies into the pocket of her dress. “Okay! Let’s find out what’s going on here!” She headed down the ladder. Jack slung his bag over his shoulder and followed her.

    Jack and Annie stepped down into