17-THE LUCKY CHARM

THE LUCKY CHARM Just then, Benjamin began squeaking. "I have a magnet, Uncle Geronimo!" he cried. He proudly held up his lucky charm. It was a refrigerator magnet shaped like a small piece of cheese. I'm not sure why Benjamin thought the magnet was lucky, but he carried it with him everywhere. He brought it with him to Squeaking School, to the dentist, and even when he got his fur cut at Sniprat the Barber. Thea stuck the lucky charm to the compass. Then she checked the needle.

"There!" she said, satisfied. "From now on, the compass will point toward Ho-hum Island!" We decided to hide in a huge silver trunk filled with maps. Seconds later, I heard a noise. I lifted the trunk's lid just enough to spot Tomcat Jack. He took one look at the compass and began bouncing around like a basketball with whiskers. Meeeeooooowwwww!!! "We are off course! Hurry, everybody to their posts!" he screeched.