Kids to the Rescue!

by Carole Moore Copyright 2001-2002

Part One

Lily Chin looked out over the water from the small park in downtown Swansboro, an oceanfront town on the North Carolina coast. Several fat ducks trailed her, hoping for another bite of the sandwich she carried. Lily broke off a few pieces of bread and tossed it to the ducks, then turned to look at the water.

She was just finishing her lunch when someone came up behind her and put their hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?" a mysterious voice asked. Lily just laughed. She knew it was Ben and – unless she was mistaken – his best friend, Jamal.

"Ben!" she said and turned around to see her two friends. Ben had also brought his sister with him. At nine, Beth was two years younger than the boys and Lily was surprised to see her. She knew Ben and Beth didn't play together very often because they argued so much.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?

Here's a little extra help in case you don't understand what these underlined words mean.

  • Mysterious: Very hard to explain or understand.
  • Orders: Instructions.
  • Ordinary: Average or not distinguished in any way.
  • Organization: A number of people joined together for a particular purpose.
  • Official: Approved by someone in authority.
 

Jamal

Beth

Ben

"I'm babysitting." Ben looked miserable.

"I'm not a baby!" Beth said. "Mom said I could go with you, worm-breath." Then she stuck out her tongue at Ben.

"Just what I need – a spy," Ben said. Lily smiled.

"Speaking of spies, I've received new orders from Headquarters," she told the boys. During the school year, Lily read a book about a spy organization called the OSS, which operated during World War II. Many ordinary citizens were members of the OSS and collected information that helped the United States and its allies to win the war. Lily was so impressed she decided to become a spy herself, even if there wasn't much for a spy to do in Swansboro.

"I have permission to bring you along this time," she told the boys. "We spies stay pretty busy during the summer, so I'll need all the help I can get."

"What kind of mission is it, Lily? The last time I went on one with you, I ended up grounded for two weeks," Ben said.

"This one is going to turn out much better. Take my word for it," Lily said. Jamal shrugged.

"I guess I'm in," Jamal said.

"Me, too," Ben agreed.

"And me," said Beth. They all turned to look at her.

Ben shook his head. "Nobody asked you."

"You have no choice, toad-face. Mom said you have to take me," Beth gave her brother a large grin.

"Maybe I have to take you, but I don't have to like you," Ben said. "Little kids get hurt on important missions, so stay out of our way. What's happening, Lily?"

"Well, you know the old house everyone says is haunted?" They all nodded.

"I have it on good authority that two spies are living there. Our mission is to stake out the haunted house," Lily said.

"Stake? Like the kind you put on a barbecue?" Beth asked.

"No, silly. That's s-t-e-a-k. This is s-t-a-k-e. A stake out is official spy talk for watching something. And we're going to watch the haunted house!" Lily told her.

Be sure to read the rest of this page, then click on to Part Two of "Kids to the Rescue!"

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT:

Ben and Beth were brother and sister and they argued a lot. Why do you think kids from the same family fight? Do you argue with your brother or sister? What can you do about it?

DID YOU KNOW?

Have you ever heard of the OSS? In 1941, the United States joined England, Russia (called the Allied nations) and other nations in fighting a worldwide war against Germany, Italy and Japan (the Axis nations). This was known as World War II. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was an organization formed by the U.S. to gather information about the Axis war effort. The OSS used ordinary citizens (many of whom were women) in its efforts and expanded its mission to include sabotage, which means their operatives also did things such as secretly blow up railroad tracks. That kept the Axis powers from moving men or equipment by rail.

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