by Gary Paulsen
A Mysterious Letter
“Look, Amos. There’s the girl who knocked you over.” Dunc pointed to a beautiful dark-haired skater in a crimson costume. “I wonder who she is.” He reached into his pocket for the program. As he did, a small gray envelope fell out.
Amos picked it up and flipped it over. “What’s this? Could it possibly be that Dunc, the boy genius, has a love letter?”
“Cut it out. It’s not mine. I must have picked it up by mistake somewhere,” Dunc said. He snatched it out of Amos’s hand and read it aloud.
Dear Brave American,
You are my only hope. Please help me. Room 502.
Your servant,
Kim Su-Yong
OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY:
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THE COOKCAMP, Gary Paulsen
THE VOYAGE OF THE FROG, Gary Paulsen
THE BOY WHO OWNED THE SCHOOL, Gary Paulsen
THE RIVER, Gary Paulsen
THE MONUMENT, Gary Paulsen
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS, Thomas Rockwell
CHOCOLATE FEVER, Robert Kimmel Smith
BOBBY BASEBALL, Robert Kimmel Smith
YEARLING BOOKS are designed especially to entertain and enlighten young people. Patricia Reilly Giff, consultant to this series, received her bachelor’s degree from Marymount College and a master’s degree in history from St. John’s University. She holds a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra University. She was a teacher and reading consultant for many years, and is the author of numerous books for young readers.
For a complete listing of all Yearling titles,
write to Dell Readers Service,
P.O. Box 1045, South Holland, IL 60473.
Published by
Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers
a division of
Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036
Copyright © 1997 by Gary Paulsen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.
The trademarks Yearling® and Dell® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
eISBN: 978-0-307-80403-7
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
•1
Duncan—Dunc—Culpepper was in his garage installing a new state-of-the-art speedometer on the handlebars of his bike.
“Pass me that wrench.”
Amos Binder, Dunc’s best friend for life, was slumped on a bench staring out the window. He let out a long, deep sigh and, without looking, handed Dunc a tool from the red box on the floor.
“I asked for a wrench, Amos, not a hammer. What’s wrong with you, anyway? You’ve been moping around all morning.”
“Melissa.” Amos rested his chin on the back of the bench and sighed again.
Dunc knew that Amos was crazy in love with a girl named Melissa Hansen. He also knew that if he asked Amos any more questions he would have to hear all about her—for the ten zillionth time. Dunc fished the wrench out of the toolbox and continued working.
“She called me last night,” Amos said.
“Hand me the pliers.”
“At least I’m pretty sure it was her. I can always tell by the cute way her phone makes my phone ring,” Amos said, not moving.
Dunc rolled his eyes and got the pliers himself. Amos had this funny idea that deep down Melissa wanted to be his girlfriend and was just hiding her true feelings. Amos was also convinced that even though she had never so much as breathed in his direction, at any moment she was going to break down and call him.
Dunc put the tools back in the box and wiped his hands on a rag. “Well, that about does it. Want to take it out for a test ride?”
“She’s probably heartbroken.”
Dunc threw one leg over his bike and started to push off. “You coming?”
Amos didn’t move. “It’s really too bad I disappointed her like that. Maybe I should send her flowers or something. What do you think?”
The bike wheels rolled back and forth. Finally Dunc stepped off, leaned his bike on its kickstand, and sat down on the bench. “All right, Amos. I’m positive I’ll regret asking this—what happened?”
“Like I said, Melissa called me last night. Only I didn’t quite make it to the phone and I know she’s depressed about it. I hope she doesn’t do anything drastic. It was all Amy’s fault.”
Amy was Amos’s older sister. She was constantly trying to talk their parents into moving away while Amos was down at the mall or over at Dunc’s house. Once she answered an adoption ad in the newspaper and sent the people Amos’s picture. The couple sent the picture back with a nice letter saying they had decided not to adopt after all.
“Amy had one of her stupid boyfriends over,” Amos continued. “And she told me that if I came downstairs while he was there, she’d chop me into little pieces and feed me to Scruff.” Scruff was the Binder family’s Border collie.
“Anyway, there I was, minding my own business up on the roof, when—”
“Wait a minute. What were you doing on the roof?” Dunc asked.
“How else was I supposed to hear what Amy and that geek were saying?”
“You were eavesdropping?”
“Let’s just say I was gathering incriminating evidence for use at some future date.”
“I don’t get it. How could you hear anything they were saying from the roof?”
“Easy. All I had to do was tie a rope to the TV antenna and lower myself headfirst down the fireplace chimney. The tricky part was holding the tape recorder low enough to pick up their voices.”
“Oh. Did you get anything you could use for blackmail?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t listened to the tape yet. The recorder sort of got lost as I was flying around the living room.”
Dunc raised one eyebrow and waited.
Amos shifted on the bench. “See, just as I was all set to have control over Amy for life, the phone rang. Of course I knew it was Melissa calling to ask me if I wanted to come to her skating party.”
“Of course. The one she’s having this Saturday?”
Amos looked sharply at Dunc. “How did you know about it?”
“She sent me an invitation. Herman Snodgrass said she invited everybody in school. Didn’t you get one?”
“No. Like I said, she was calling to invite me personally.”
“Right. You were explaining why you were flying around the room.”
“Oh yeah. The phone rang that Melissa-type ring I was telling you about and I started for it because you know how she likes for me to get it on that all-important first ring.”
That statment had always baffled Dunc. He could never figure out why Amos was so sure Melissa wanted him to answer the phone on the first ring when as
far as Dunc knew she had never called Amos.
“I figured if I climbed out of the chimney, ran across the roof, slid partway down the drainpipe, crawled up the trellis and through my parents’ bedroom window, I could answer it with plenty of time to spare. Only I didn’t count on the antenna breaking off when I was halfway out of the chimney. When it busted, I dropped like a rock to the bottom of the fireplace. The antenna’s still stuck in there.”
“Did Amy catch you?”
“No, but her boyfriend, who wrestles grizzly bears for a living, did. He grabbed the rope and swung me around the living room until I barfed up everything I’ve eaten since I was four. Then he tossed me in the broom closet and pushed the bookshelf in front of it. I’d probably still be there, except my dad needed his snow boots.”
“That’s rough. Did anybody answer the phone?”
“Amy did. She told my parents some ridiculous story about the principal of our school calling to say I’d won two tickets to the Winter Junior Championships. She’ll do anything to get rid of me.”
“Amos, I entered your name in that ticket contest.” Dunc sat up. “You must have won!”
•2
“This is so great.” Dunc stared out the window of the bus. “I’m glad my parents decided I could go with you. Almost every country in the world will be represented at the Junior Championships.”
“Hrummp.” Amos folded his arms and slid down in the seat.
“What’s the matter with you? This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Aren’t you happy you won the contest?”
“No. I would much rather be back home at Melissa’s skating party.”
“I hate to bring this up, Amos, but you never actually got an invitation.”
“Are you trying to make a point?”
Dunc decided to take a different approach. “Think of it this way, Amos. In the future, Melissa won’t wait until the last second to invite you like she obviously did this time. Maybe she’ll stop taking you for granted.”
Amos thought about it. “You think that’s what she’s doing?”
“I’m sure of it. Your going to the Junior Championships instead of her party will teach her a lesson. When you get back home, she’ll probably grovel at your feet for forgiveness.”
Amos’s face brightened. “You think?”
“No doubt about it. Now let’s forget about Melissa for a while and concentrate on having a good time. This pamphlet”—Dunc took a glossy white piece of paper out of the folder in his lap—“says you get an ice-skating lesson from a top athlete and your picture taken with the winning bobsled team.”
“That should impress Melissa.”
Dunc frowned. “I thought we were going to think about other things, like having a good time.”
“You have fun your way and I’ll have fun mine.”
Dunc looked back at the brochure. “We’re also invited to a get-acquainted party for all the athletes.”
“Did you bring your camera?”
“Sure. Why?”
“I thought maybe Melissa might like some autographed pictures of me and some of the stars.”
•3
“What’s first on the schedule?” Amos was sitting in the freshly painted lobby of the winter sports complex trying to read over Dunc’s shoulder.
“Ice-skating.” Dunc folded the itinerary and stuffed it into his pocket. “I still can’t believe we’re here. And the best part is, they’re actually letting us stay on the same floor as the Canadians.”
Amos cocked his head to one side. “I worry about you sometimes.”
“Seriously, Amos. We’re talking history here. Some of the athletes you meet today will be future world champions.”
“Whatever. When are we supposed to be there?”
Dunc looked at his watch. “If we want to get good seats, we better go now. Here’s a map. The skating rink is through these doors to the left.” He led the way across the lobby and out the double doors.
The complex was constructed like a miniature town. It was fully self-contained, and several temporary stores and restaurants lined the sidewalks.
“Stop!” Amos grabbed the back of Dunc’s coat. “Check it out.” He pointed to the sign on one of the stores.
“Video Games Paradise? Amos, we don’t have time for that right now. The boys’ free skate is about to begin.”
Amos threw his shoulders back and started for the store. “Well, pardner, you go ahead. But I’m sticking with a real man’s sport. By the way, can you loan me some money? I’m a little short.”
Dunc shook his head. “I left my extra cash in my suitcase. I guess you’ll just have to come with me and watch the skating after all.”
Amos shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled. “Are you sure you don’t even have one lousy quarter?”
“Scout’s honor.”
“No good. You’re not a Scou—”
A young Korean girl rushed between them, pushing Amos off the path. He fell backward just as a large security guard rode by on his bicycle. The guard crashed sideways into a light post. Amos scrambled to his feet and tried to help the guard up. “Sorry, Officer. It was a total accident. You see, this strange girl ran by and—”
“Save it.” The red-faced guard crawled to his feet and picked up his dented bicycle. He took out his citation pad. “Do you know the penalty for assaulting an officer, kid?”
Amos paused. “No, but if you hum a few bars I’ll give it a try.”
The guard started writing.
Dunc stepped in front of Amos. “Officer, I’m really sorry about this. But in all fairness you should know that they only let him out of the institution once a month.”
The guard looked puzzled. “Institution?”
Amos pulled on Dunc’s sleeve. “Institution?”
Dunc stood on his tiptoes and whispered something in the guard’s ear.
The guard stepped back and looked at Amos. “I see what you mean.” He ripped up the ticket. “Okay, I’ll let it go this time. But you better keep an eye on him. He looks dangerous.”
“I will. Thanks, Officer.” Dunc dragged Amos down the sidewalk. “That was a close one.”
“What did you tell him?” Amos asked.
“Nothing much.”
“Dunc.”
“Okay, I said you were in intensive psychotherapy and that it was time for your medication. And if you didn’t get it really soon there was no telling what you might do next.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“No problem. Hurry up now. We don’t want to be late.”
“Speak for yourself.”
•4
“That twirling stuff doesn’t look all that tough.” Amos watched the last male skater spinning in a tight circle below them. The skater jumped into the air, missed his landing, and came down hard on his backside. Without stopping his program, the boy got up and flew right into the next jump. This time it was flawless.
“I didn’t know you could skate.” Dunc looked at Amos. “In fact, I was wondering how you were going to manage at Melissa’s party even if she did decide to invite you.”
“Details. After these guys give me a few pointers tomorrow, I’ll be so good Melissa will want me to go skating with her every weekend.”
“It’s a lot harder than you think. These athletes spend years in training. Some of them don’t even get to live with their families. They almost never get to do regular stuff. They spend all their time practicing with coaches. In a way it’s kind of sad.”
“I don’t know. Except for having to wear those tight pants, it might be worth it to get away from Amy for a while,” Amos said.
The crowd applauded thunderously as the boy received his scores. He left the ice, and the girls came on to warm up.
“Look, Amos. There’s the girl who knocked you over.” Dunc pointed to a beautiful dark-haired skater in a crimson costume. “I wonder who she is.” He reached into his pocket for the program. As he did, a small gray envelope fell out.
Amos picke
d it up and flipped it over. There was no writing on the outside. “What’s this? Could it possibly be that Dunc, the boy genius, has a love letter?”
“Cut it out. It’s not mine. I must have picked it up by mistake somewhere,” Dunc said.
“Sure. I believe you. You shouldn’t try to keep these things from your best friend, you know.” Amos ripped it open and frowned. “Looks like it’s written in some kind of code.”
Dunc snatched it out of Amos’s hand and read it aloud.
Dear Brave American,
You are my only hope. Please help me. Room 502.
Your servant,
Kim Su-Yong
“Who in the heck is Kim Su-Yong?” Amos asked.
Dunc pointed to the Korean girl on the ice. “The program says it’s her. She represents North Korea in the games and she’s the same girl that ran past us outside the skating rink earlier. She must have stuffed this note in my pocket when she knocked you down. Hmmm.”
“No, don’t make that hmmm noise.”
“Why?”
“I haven’t known you since we were born for nothing. I know what that stupid sound means. It means you think you have some mysterious case to work on. Well, I have a news flash for you. I’m on vacation.”
“What about this?” Dunc held up the note. “We can’t just pretend we didn’t get it.”
“Why not? It’s not so hard. I do it in school all the time. The teacher says, ‘Where’s your homework, Binder?’ And I go—‘What homework?’ Then she says—”
“This is different, Amos. This girl sounds like she’s in trouble.”
“Let her go to the police. There are plenty of them around here.”
“She wrote to us for a reason. Come on. Let’s go downstairs and wait for her to finish performing. We’ll talk to her when she comes off the ice.”
Amos watched Dunc walk down the aisle and shook his head. “Just once I’d like to go someplace where we actually wind up minding our own business.”
•5
Amos stretched out on one of the beds in their room. “Too bad Security wouldn’t let you go downstairs at the skating rink. I guess that means you’ll have to forget all about Kim Su-Yong and the weird letter and everything. Want to go down to Video Games Paradise and drop a few quarters before the get-acquainted party? Maybe I could get them to take one of my traveler’s checks.”
