Kids to the Rescue!

Part Three

The kids spent the next three days watching the house. Nothing very interesting happened. The Rulers went shopping for groceries, but otherwise didn't venture outside. Once when they came out, the kids pretended to be playing hopscotch on the sidewalk. The kids waved and said "Hello" but the Rulers ignored them. Another time, Beth pretended to be looking for a lost kitten and knocked on their door. Mrs. Ruler opened it and asked what she wanted.

"I'm looking for my kitten," Beth said, "She's black with white paws. Have you seen her?"

"No," the woman said, then shut the door in Beth's face. Beth stomped back over to where the other three were hiding in the bushes.

"Boy is she mean!" Beth said. Lily nodded.

"That's because she's a spy," Lily said.

"Well, I don't like her a bit," Beth said and stuck her tongue out at the house. The kids watched the place a little longer, but eventually grew weary and decided to call the mission off. Who wanted to spend the whole summer sitting in scratchy old bushes watching a broken down house?

"What'll we do tomorrow?" Jamal asked.

"Let's go swimming," Beth said.

"Or crabbing," Ben said. "My mom has a whole bag of chicken necks for us to use. I'll get her to thaw them tonight and tomorrow we can have crabs for dinner. And if we run out of chicken necks, we can always use Beth for bait."

Beth made a face at the boys and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

"Sitting in bushes all day sure can make a girl nasty," she said.

"What's your excuse when you're NOT sitting in bushes all day?" Ben asked.

Beth jumped up, her fists balled up, but just then a long, dark car pulled into the driveway and a woman climbed out. They ducked back into the bushes, while Lily wrote a description of both the car and woman.

Roger Ruler opened the door. The woman handed him an envelope, which he took, then he handed the woman a smaller envelope and she left.

Later, the kids discussed what they had seen. They were at Ben's and Beth's Uncle Will Stanley's bait and tackle shop. He was a former U.S. Navy SEAL. The SEALS are highly trained divers who belong to a special unit. They are used for many secret missions. The kids liked Uncle Will. He always gave them drinks and snacks from the machines inside his store.

"What to you think that was all about?" Jamal asked.

"I don't know," Lily admitted. "But I told you that eventually something would happen. I'll bet she was delivering microfilm."

"What's microfilm ?" Beth asked.

"It's like taking really small pictures of something, you moron," Ben said. "But that envelope was way too big to hold microfilm."

"Maybe. And maybe they were just trying to throw us off. I'll bet that when we find out what it is, we'll save the world!" Lily said.

What will the kids find out next? Click here to find out!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?

Venture: This word has two meanings. It can refer to a risky or dangerous project if used as a noun. As a verb it means to go on a risky or dangerous project.

Eventually: Finally or at last.

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Many times you can tell what a word means simply by looking at the "prefix." A prefix is a word part that is added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. One prefix is "pre" – which means "before." Can you think of words that have "pre" as a prefix?

The word microfilm has a prefix, too. It is "micro." Some words that have 'micro" as a prefix are "microwave" and "microscope." What do you think the prefix "micro" means?

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT:

One of the best things about living near the coast like Lily and her friends, is the variety of delicious seafood that's available. What is your favorite seafood and how many different types of seafood can you name?

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