by Matt Solomon
He just stared at it. “No way.”
“It’s a college education. Or something good. You decide.”
Charlie took the gold and once again felt its cool weight in his hand. He felt weird accepting the reward; he’d never been in it for the money. Maybe he’d give it to his mom as a peace offering. He figured he had some time to figure out the right thing to do with it.
“Want a ride?” asked Tim.
“Where we going?”
“Home. You got school this week, and Mom’s already plenty mad at me about the whole thing. Plus, I’m thinking about staying in Richland Center for a while.”
“For real?”
Tim reached down and helped Charlie to his feet. “Carnival life is tough, Charlie. Greasy food all the time, weirdos, never seeing your family. Most guys don’t do it for more than a few seasons. Besides, I finished what I signed up for. With your help, of course.”
Charlie nodded. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave the beach. He watched Parran and Tiger helping Hank into one of the SUVs. Soon the shore would be deserted again. “Bruce will be okay, right? Wherever we sent him off to?”
“Heck to the yeah! From what I understand, the place is a freaking paradise. Everything a giant could want.” He saw the look on Charlie’s face. “Well, you know. Almost everything.”
Tim pointed just up the beach, where his truck was waiting. The two of them walked across the sand in silence. Charlie took one last look out at the gulf, breathed in warm salty air, then swung the heavy metal door open and climbed inside the truck. It smelled like elephant ears. Tim turned the key and the engine started with a loud bang. Charlie laughed. There was no way Tim’s rusty old ride could make it all the way to Wisconsin, but what was one more adventure at this point?
The truck snaked its way through the quiet streets of Grand Isle, then onto a lonely stretch of highway headed north. Charlie stared out the window.
“You think I’ll see him again sometime?”
Tim didn’t answer right away. “No. I don’t think so.”
Charlie nodded. It was the answer he expected.
Tim turned on the radio and found a station that blasted the kind of weird rock he liked. Charlie leaned his head against the cool glass of the passenger window, watching the strange Louisiana terrain, lush and otherworldly, fly past.
He was headed back to his old life in Richland Center, yes. But the past few days had taught him that the world was bigger than he’d ever thought possible. And he knew he still had a lot more to see.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Collectively, Matt & Chris would like to thank: Victoria Skurnick and everyone at Levine/Greenberg/Rostan Agency, Liz Szabla & Anna Roberto at Feiwel and Friends, Drew Niles, Amanda Veith, Joe Garden, Jeff Perry, John Urban, Frugal Muse Books & The Onion.
Chris would like to thank: Heather Sabin, Todd & Heather Pauls, Carter & Jackson, Camilla, Dennis, Linda, Andy, Megan, Doug, & Kathy Smith, Joe, Jan, & Kira Sabin, Matt & Shandra Fink, Alex & Kyonghui Wilson, Jerard & Calli Adler, Blake Engeldorf, Tom & Meghan Hendricks, Chris Briquelet, Ryan & Katy Pettersen, Mark & Keri Brathwaite, Rich & Kerri Modjeski, Dan & Amy Turner, Marc Schwarting, Rob & Max Wheat, Angela Keelan Martinez and Jesus, Brooke, & Shelly Dobbs, Tori Dobbs, Jym Britton, Win Sager, Dave Danielson, Adam Goodberg, Chris & Becky Henkel, Mark Murray, Mark & Karen Kampa, Shawn & Allison Quinn, Anita Serwacki, Joe Nosek, Doug Moe, Jim Johnson, Neil Spath, Tom & Lena Oberwetter, Rich Hamby, Kirk & Gabriela Bosben, Bill Jackson, Cracked.com, and as always—everybody at the Village Bar.
Matt sends giant hugs to Katy, Jake, Ben, and Sammi. Sky-high fives to Joe and Greeg, Judy Santacaterina and Matt Swan, the Prom Committee and all alums of Madison CSz, Jay, Yi, and Tha, Ken, Jill, Roo, and #2, Julie, Ted, and Jack, Colleen, Maddie, and Emma, Michele Laux, the Nygores, Kate Kollman, Patricia Ohanian Lundstrom, Halsted Mencotti Bernard, Paul and Meghan, John Roach, the Mothership Connection, and childhood friends everywhere.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Matt Solomon was the co-author of Deck Z: The Titanic, a Junior Library Guild and Scholastic Book Club selection. He is a regular contributor to The Onion. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin. You can sign up for email updates here.
Chris Pauls has been a contributing writer for The Onion for over a decade. He also co-authored the novel, Deck Z: The Titanic with Matt Solomon. Chris lives in Middleton, Wisconsin. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
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
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Copyright
A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK
An Imprint of Macmillan
THE GIANT SMUGGLERS. Copyright © 2016 by Chris Pauls & Matt Solomon. All rights reserved. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
ISBN: 978-1-250-06652-7 (hardcover) / 978-1-250-06653-4 (ebook)
Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
First Edition: 2016
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eISBN: 9781250066534
