by L. L. Samson
However! This is not one of those stories, I’m happy to report.
The gang emerged to the lights and microphones of news crews from miles around. The flashes from cameras blinded them a bit, and Madrigal spoke for them all, which was fine with Linus.
Poor Kyle was still waiting, twelve hours later, at the top of the stairs. The social studies teacher, Mr. Proctor, later explained to his boss, “We just couldn’t convince him to budge.”
“You did the best you could, Bob. Take the afternoon off. In fact—” she turned to the dirty, joyful group “—classes are canceled for the rest of the day!”
A great cheer erupted, and soon after Mr. Proctor ran into the cafeteria where the rest of the students were eating lunch, another cheer sounded.
“Maddie,” said Father Lou, “I’m so proud of you.”
“Well, thank you. And now I’m going to have a nice hot bath and put on some clean clothing. I suggest you all do the same. At seven o’clock tonight, we’re going to have a party!”
Walter bumped Linus’s shoulder with his own. “I could get used to this.”
“You said it.”
Ophelia drew up beside them. “We made it through.”
Linus circled his arm around his sister’s shoulder and drew her close to his side. “Miracles never cease.”
“Look!” Ophelia pointed to the top of the staircase where Tom and Kyle were laughing together. “It’s too bad he has to go back.”
“Does he?” Walter raised an eyebrow.
Cato Grubbs crossed his arms, obviously trying not to slap them all, he was so angry. His red face coordinated nicely with his gold vest. “No treasure. Nothing underground but dead bodies.”
“Which you were perfectly content to let us become,” said Ophelia.
“He threw that blasted book down at the page you marked, and there we were at the graveyard. No treasure in sight,” Cato complained.
Ophelia was having none of it. “We didn’t bring him over. You did. You could have just gone in, found the treasure, and come back out.”
Walter sighed, plopping down on the blue sofa. Push-ups could wait.
Tom entered the attic. “That shower is a wonderful thing.”
Ophelia glanced at Cato, hoping he would follow Tom’s lead. His ruffles were looking a little wilted and gray, and she wondered if she could get away with tucking a stick of deodorant in his pocket before he left.
“Why didn’t Tom disintegrate?” asked Linus.
“You’d like to know that, wouldn’t you?” If Cato had stuck out his tongue, he wouldn’t have looked any less like a five year old.
“Have done, Grubbs,” said Walter, the annoyance he felt in the tunnel not completely washed away.
Cato sat on Linus’s stool. “Oh, all right then. It’s nothing you can control anyway.” He rested his elbows on the table behind him. “It’s very simple. And it’s so very sappy as to be embarrassing.” He grimaced. “Sacrifice.”
“Sacrifice?” Linus shook his head.
“Love, boy! Love! It’s the strongest substance in the world, and it isn’t even found on the periodic table of elements. Sickening, isn’t it?”
Linus didn’t get it. “Why should an emotion make any difference to a chemical reaction?”
Ophelia understood. “A cake baked with love tastes better.”
“Precisely, cousin. It’s why someday you will be much greater than even myself, Linus.”
Oh brother, thought Ophelia.
“Your reasons for discovery will be more noble than my own.” He arranged a ruffled cuff, his jeweled rings winking in the sunlight from the trefoil window.
“What about Tom?” asked Ophelia. “Not that we want you to leave,” she assured the boy.
“The book is closed. I don’t know how to get him back.”
Ophelia grabbed Tom’s hand.
“He wouldn’t be the first one to stay,” said Cato.
Linus couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Cato stood with a groan. “Ask Portia. Tell her about that wedding dress you found. Cheers, then.”
Cato Grubbs, mad scientist at large, exited the room with a bow and a flourish of his hand.
“Tom?” Ophelia turned him to face her. “Are you okay?”
“From what you said, my life was over anyway, it bein’ the end of the book and all. I’ll just start a new one here. I reckon there’s nothing else I can do.”
“We’ll help you, mate,” Walter promised.
“We will,” said Linus.
Ophelia hugged him once more. “See, Tom? It’s like you said. Everything’s going to be all right.”
So there you have it, dear reader, another adventure come and gone. In case you were wondering, Birdwistell’s house possessed no tunnel. The fact that his sister dealt in French antiques was entirely coincidental, which just goes to show you that jumping to conclusions never pays. The tunnel actually led to Jonas Clark’s antique shop. And his sister Frances Clark-Sanderson attended various parties around Kingscross and scoped out possible antiques for removal. She was very good at finding and relieving people of their extra keys. Sometimes the truth makes the most sense. When Jonas Clark heard the news reports about the discovery of the loot down in the tunnel, he fled Kingscross with his dogs and took his sister with him. He’s still at large to this day. Rumor has it they fled to Argentina.
Unfortunately, Birdwistell is still available to sniff in your presence any time.
Madrigal Pierce brought up Aloysius’s bones and gave him a proper burial.
The emerald necklace Tom and Ophelia found belonged to Ronda, not Esmeralda. Yet Ophelia failed to utter a word about it, and Tom kept her secret.
The party at The Pierce School was, as the younger set says, a blast. And Walter made a good showing at the Kingscross 10K. Linus won the science fair and Ophelia’s essay on the Pierce family came in second place, and then bumped up to first when the winner was found to have committed plagiarism (claiming another’s words as one’s own).
What about Tom and Aunt Portia? Well, you’ll simply have to read the next book to find out. Talk about a hook!
Now, for heaven’s sake, go outside. Ride your bike! Visit your best friend. Get that heart pumping and your blood moving. You can’t sit around reading all day, can you?
THE END
Questions to Ponder
1. In the tunnels below Kingscross, Ophelia hoped to find a swimming pool, Walter hoped to find smuggled treasure. If you were to discover such a tunnel, what would you hope to find?
2. The three friends don’t seem to like Professor Birdwistell and Madrigal Pierce too much. How did their opinions of these two adults change during the course of the story?
3. Ophelia can’t stand the way Tom speaks, and at first she corrects him a lot. How does it feel to be corrected like that? Was she right to try to change him?
4. Will Linus ever figure out how the rainbow beaker works and what its purpose is? What do you think it does?
5. What are some of Tom’s good qualities? What are some of Tom’s bad qualities?
6. Would you want Tom Sawyer for a friend?
7. Bartholomew described Tom and Kyle’s friendship as being like “kindred spirits.” Do you have a friendship like that? How is it different than your other friendships?
8. Father Lou gave Tom a Bible even though he hadn’t earned it. What did this teach Tom? What did it teach Ophelia?
9. The Easterday twins and Aunt Portia are keeping the enchanted circle a secret from Uncle Auggie. What will happen when he finds out?
10. Were you surprised to learn that Cato Grubbs uses the tunnel system and can’t magically appear and disappear all over Kingscross? Were you disappointed?
11. If you could bring a fictional character through the circle and he or she never had to go back to Book World, who would you want to bring over and why?
12. What do you think Cato Grubbs was hinting at when he suggested that Ophelia ask Aunt Portia about
that old wedding dress?
13. Bartholomew writes that “jumping to conclusions never pays.” What does that mean? What conclusion did the four kids make about Professor Birdwistell? Did you believe he was guilty?
14. What surprised you about how Joe’s behavior changed throughout the book? Do you think he deserves a chance to go back and get a different ending to his life story?
15. Linus hacked into Birdwistell’s email account, Ophelia lied to Ms. Pierce about doing research for an essay contest, all three teens snuck into the tunnels more than once without permission, and then Walter made a bargain with Ms. Pierce so they wouldn’t be punished for it. Does the end result (trying to find out who was stealing antiques) make it okay that they did these things?
About the Author
L.L. SAMSON lives in Kentucky with chickens, children, and a cat, and has been writing for longer than anyone needs to know. Despite this, it’s difficult to find a pen in the house. Suffice it to say, L.L. has been reading even longer, loves to do it, and hopes you will too!
Other Books in the Enchanted Attic Series
Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Saving Moby Dick
Dueling with the Three Musketeers
ZONDERVAN
Wrestling with Tom Sawyer
Copyright © 2013 by L. L. Samson
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan e-books.
EPub Edition © JUNE 2013 ISBN: 9780310740582
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zonderkidz, 5300 Patterson Ave., S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Samson, L. L., 1964-
Wrestling with Tom Sawyer / L.L. Samson.
pages cm. — (Enchanted attic series; book 4)
Summary: When twins Linus and Ophelia and their friend, Walter, bring Tom Sawyer into the real world, Tom immediately starts trouble but when Ophelia, with whom he has fallen in love, is kidnapped, Tom is determined to save her.
ISBN 978-0-310-74057-5 (softcover)
[1. Space and time—Fiction. 2. Characters in literature—Fiction. 3. Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. Adventures of Tom Sawyer—Fiction. 4. Kidnapping—Fiction. 5. Books and reading–Fiction. 6. Brothers and sisters–Fiction. 7. Twins—Fiction. 8. Orphans—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.S1696Wre 2013
[Fic]—dc23 2013009465
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.
Cover design: Kris Nelson
Interior design: Ben Fetterly
Interior Illustrations: Antonio Caparo
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 /DCI/ 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.
