by Gary Paulsen
He was almost out when the door burst open. Adolf grabbed Dunc’s arm. “Where’s the other one?”
“What other one?”
“Don’t get smart with me, kid! Where’s your friend?”
“Dunc!” Amos screamed. “I’m stuck up here! I can’t move!”
Adolf reached up into the fireplace. He grabbed Amos’s foot and pulled his tennis shoe off. “Come out of there, you little runt!”
Amos was wedged in tight. He could just see over the top of the chimney. He saw Mr. Wiggleston walking across the exercise field with a deputy sheriff.
“Over here!” Amos yelled. “Help!”
•13
They were home. Amos was stretched out on the bed watching Dunc unpack.
“I still can’t believe we pulled it off,” Dunc said. “That gang of crooks has been into black marketing since their days in the war together. It kind of gives you a good feeling to know they’re behind bars.”
Amos arranged the pillows. “Right now, there are only two things that give me a good feeling. One is being able to lie on this bed. Just because I want to. The second is not being stuck in that stupid chimney.”
“That was bad. Especially when that forest ranger grabbed your legs to pull you down. You should have had your belt tighter.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Those pants came right off.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It wouldn’t have been so awful, except they finally ended up pulling you out from the top.”
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“Who would have guessed that the whole camp would turn out to watch?”
“Dunc!”
“I can understand how you feel. If a couple hundred people saw me covered with soot, running around on a roof in my underwear, I might be a little upset too.”
“Are you through?”
“I’m only trying to sympathize with you. Tell you what a bad deal I thought it was.”
Amos sat up. “You’ve told me. Now, if we never talk about that dumb camp again, it will be too soon.”
“I just need to tell you one more thing.”
“Only one?”
Dunc held up his hand. “I promise.”
“Okay. But only one.”
“We got a letter from Mr. Wiggleston.”
“That’s nice.”
“He was so grateful to us that he sent us a reward.”
“Really? How much?”
“It’s not money.”
Amos started to lie back down. “Well, if it’s not money, what is it?”
“He gave us five free summers at camp.”
Downstairs the front door slammed and Dunc turned around.
Amos was gone.
Be sure to join Dunc and Amos in these
other Culpepper Adventures:
The Case of the Dirty Bird
When Dunc Culpepper and his best friend, Amos, first see the parrot in a pet store, they’re not impressed—it’s smelly, scruffy, and missing half its feathers. They’re only slightly impressed when they learn that the parrot speaks four languages, has outlived ten of its owners, and is probably 150 years old. But when the bird starts mouthing off about buried treasure, Dunc and Amos get pretty excited—let the amateur sleuthing begin!
Dunc’s Doll
Dunc and his accident-prone friend Amos are up to their old sleuthing habits once again. This time they’re after a band of doll thieves! When a doll that once belonged to Charles Dickens’s daughter is stolen from an exhibition at the local mall, the two boys put on their detective gear and do some serious snooping. Will a vicious watchdog keep them from retrieving the valuable missing doll?
Culpepper’s Cannon
Dunc and Amos are researching the Civil War cannon that stands in the town square when they find a note inside telling them about a time portal. Entering it through the dressing room of La Petite, a women’s clothing store, the boys find themselves in downtown Chatham on March 8, 1862—the day before the historic clash between the Monitor and the Merrimac. But the Confederate soldiers they meet mistake them for Yankee spies. Will they make it back to the future in one piece?
Dunc Gets Tweaked
Dunc and Amos meet up with a new buddy named Lash when they enter the radical world of skateboard competition. When somebody “cops”—steals—Lash’s prototype skateboard, the boys are determined to get it back. After all, Lash is about to shoot for a totally rad world’s record! Along the way they learn a major lesson: Never kiss a monkey!
Dunc’s Halloween
Dunc and Amos are planning the best route to get the most candy on Halloween. But their plans change when Amos is slightly bitten by a werewolf. He begins scratching himself and chasing UPS trucks: He’s become a werepuppy!
Dunc Breaks the Record
Dunc and Amos have a small problem when they try hang gliding—they crash in the wilderness. Luckily, Amos has read a book about a boy who survived in the wilderness for fifty-four days. Too bad Amos doesn’t have a hatchet. Things go from bad to worse when a wild man holds the boys captive. Can anything save them now?
Dunc and the Flaming Ghost
Dunc’s not afraid of ghosts, although Amos is sure that the old Rambridge house is haunted by the ghost of Blackbeard the Pirate. Then the best friends meet Eddie, a meek man who claims to be impersonating Blackboard’s ghost in order to live in the house in peace. But if that’s true, why are flames shooting from his mouth?
Amos Gets Famous
Deciphering a code they find in a library book, Dunc and Amos stumble onto a burglary ring. The burglars’ next target is the home of Melissa, the girl of Amos’s dreams (who doesn’t even know that he’s alive). Amos longs to be a hero to Melissa, so nothing will stop him from solving this case—not even a mind-boggling collision with a jock, a chimpanzee, and a toilet.
Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top
In order to impress Melissa, Amos decides to perform on the trapeze at the visiting circus. Look out below! But before Dunc can talk him out of his plan, the two stumble across a mystery behind the scenes at the circus. Now Amos is in double trouble. What’s really going on under the big top?
Dunc’s Dump
Camouflaged as piles of rotting trash, Dunc and Amos are sneaking around the town dump. Dunc wants to find out who is polluting the garbage at the dump with hazardous and toxic waste. Amos just wants to impress Melissa. Can either of them succeed?
Dunc and the Scam Artists
Dunc and Amos are at it again. Some older residents of their town have been bilked by con artists, and the two boys want to look into these crimes. They meet elderly Betsy Dell, whose nastly nephew Frank gives the boys the creeps. Then they notice some soft dirt in Ms. Dell’s shed, and a shovel. Does Frank have something horrible in store for Dunc and Amos?
