Ch7-Hurry Up, Houdini!

CHAPTER SEVEN Harry Up,Houdini! "Well, my dear," said Annie, "we did it!" "We were brilliant!" said Jack. Smiling, they pulled off their white gloves and grabbed their top hats. Hank and Butch quickly appeared and carried away their table and props. "Good show! Good show!" they said.

"Thanks, guys," said Jack, pulling off his bow tie. "What time is it?" Annie asked. Jack pulled out his pocket watch. "Eight-fortyeight," he said. "Our timing was perfect. We even have seventeen minutes of magic left over!" "And Houdini should be in his dressing room now, since he goes on at nine," said Annie. "While we're still great magicians, should we try to talk to him? Maybe even show him a trick or two?" "Yes!" said Jack. Jack and Annie hurried off the stage. When they reached the dressing rooms, they found Mr. Dewey outside Houdini's door. He was pacing up and down, wringing his hands. "He's not here!" he cried. "He's not here!" "Who?" said Jack. "Houdini?" said Annie. "Who else?" shouted Mr. Dewey. "He's not here! N-O-T! H-E-R-E!" "Where is he? What happened to him?" asked Jack. "Who knows?" cried Mr. Dewey. "All I know is that this is a disaster! The hooligans will demand

their money back! And probably tear the theater apart! I'm facing ruin! Disgrace! All is lost!" The stage door banged open, and Mr. Wilson rushed in. "No sign of him outside, Boss," he said. "Ohhh, Wilson!" cried Mr. Dewey. "We're doomed! We're doomed!" Mr. Wilson nodded grimly. Jack looked at his pocket watch. "Ten to nine," he said. "He could still make it in time." Mr. Dewey raised his arms in the air, as if calling out to Houdini wherever he was. "Hurry up, Houdini! Hurry up!" he cried. Then he buried his head in his hands. Oh, brother, thought Jack. Mr. Dewey was nuts. But where was Houdini? He and Annie needed him, too—or they'd never learn a secret of greatness from him. "Listen, kids, if he's not here by nine, you'll have to go back out," Mr. Wilson said to Jack and Annie. "Back out where?" said Jack. "Onstage," said Mr. Wilson. Mr. Dewey looked up. "Yes!" he cried. "You said you knew hundreds of tricks! Just keep

performing till he shows up—if he shows up! Hold the crowd till he comes. Hold 'em if he doesn't come! Save me! I'll pay you!" "No, no, you don't have to do that," said Annie. "We're happy to help." "Annie, stop!" Jack whispered. "Our magic hour's almost up." He looked back at the theater owner. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't go back out there." "You must! You must!" said Mr. Dewey. "They love you! Go out and save my theater! Save my life! Please!" "Whoa, take it easy," Jack said, trying to calm the hysterical man. He didn't know what else to say. "Don't worry, Mr. Dewey, we'll help," said Annie. "Thank you!" cried Mr. Dewey. "I'll look for Houdini outside!" Mr. Dewey hurried away. Mr. Wilson called to his crew and told them to put the rabbits and birds back in the hidden compartments of the table. "Let's talk," Jack said to Annie. They slipped into their dressing room, and Jack closed the door.

"I know you said yes only because Mr. Dewey was losing his mind," said Jack. "But I don't see how we can do this." "Well, if we go on at nine, we'll have five good minutes," said Annie. "I know, but what if Houdini's still not here after five good minutes?" said Jack. "Maybe we could hold their attention some other way," said Annie. "We could at least try." "Hmm." Jack thought for a moment. "Actually, maybe we can get away with doing the same tricks we did before," he said. "Now that we know how they work, they shouldn't be that hard. We know how to push on the tops of the hats. We know about the hidden compartments in the table. We know about the opening in the ring." "Yeah… right. Right, easy," said Annie. "You can keep doing card tricks, and I can keep throwing the rings around." Mr. Wilson opened the door, and sounds from the audience filled the room. Jack could hear feet stamping and people chanting, "Hoo-dee-nee! Hoo-dee-nee!"

"Everything's back onstage," said Mr. Wilson. "Ready to tame the lions?" Jack still felt the confidence that came from being a great magician. "Showtime!" he said. "No problem!" said Annie. Jack and Annie left the dressing room and followed Mr. Wilson through the backstage area. "Dewey's out on the avenue, looking for Houdini," said Mr. Wilson. "Take your places, and I'll pull the curtain." Jack and Annie strode onto the stage and stood in front of the table. Jack looked at his pocket watch. It was nine o'clock. The curtain rose to great fanfare. The audience clapped and cheered. It took a moment for everyone to realize they were looking at Jack and Annie again. After a stunned silence, some people started booing and hissing. Jack stepped forward. He tipped his hat and laughed his jolly laugh. "What a terrible surprise, eh?" he shouted. "You didn't know Jolly Jack is the secret identity of the Great Houdini, did you?" More booing and hissing.