2. The Strange Note

Chapter 2 The Strange Note Bradley sold the rest of his tickets at the senior center. His friend Mr. Neater lived there, and he introduced Bradley to each guest. Almost everyone said, "I haven't seen a circus in years!" And just like that, Bradley's pockets were stuffed with dollar bills. He was the first one home, too. He found a note on the kitchen table. Hi, boys. Dad's running errands. I've taken Josh to buy new sneakers. Be back in a jiffy.

Love, Mom Bradley smiled. He liked the word jiffy. He ran upstairs, almost stumbling over pal, who was sleeping outside Bradley's bedroom door. In his room, Bradley dropped fifty crumpled dollar bills all over his neatly made bed. That's a lot of money! Bradley told himself. I'd better hide it. Bradley's brother Josh had told him about the burglar in Green Lawn a few years ago. Josh and his friends Ruth Rose and Dink had helped catch him. Ruth Rose was Nate's big sister, and Dink was Lucy's cousin. Bradley knew he shouldn't hide the money in his piggy bank. That was the first place a burglar would look! Then he spied the empty shoe box that the one hundred tickets had come in. It's perfect for all these dollar bills, he thought. He grabbed the box off Brian's bed. When Bradley took the lid off, he saw a crumpled paper on the bottom. He took the paper

out and put his money into the box. Flopping on his bed, Bradley smoothed out the paper. He smiled. It was a drawing of a circus elephant standing on its hind legs. Monkeys were hanging on the elephant's ears, trunk, and tail. A parrot sat on top of the elephant's head. In the four corners of the picture were small drawings of acrobats. They were swinging, tumbling, and walking on high wires. Two of the acrobats were older people, a man and a woman with white hair. There were two drawings of a third acrobat, a younger one with short, dark hair. Bradley noticed small rips in the paper, near the elephant's hind legs. He turned the picture over. On the back, someone had written a note in pencil. Bradley read it: Dear Mr. Wood, I hope you like this picture. Can you help me? I hate being an acrobat!!! I want to

Bradley couldn't read the rest of the note. The words had been blackened out by dark pencil scribbles. Whoever did the scribbling must have been pushing the pencil down hard. In places, it had poked through the paper. I wonder who wrote this note, Bradley thought. And who's Mr. Wood? And who scribbled out those final words? Bradley crossed the room and tacked the picture to his bulletin board. Pal shuffled into the room and put his paws up on Bradley's bed. He sniffed the shoe box. "Where should I hide this money?" Bradley asked Pal. Pal flopped down on the floor and closed his eyes. "You're no help," Bradley muttered, looking around his room. Maybe in the closet? He stepped inside just as the bedroom door swung open. Brian burst into the room, chased by Lucy and Nate. "I'm first!" Brian cried. "You cheated!" Nate yelled. "Did not. You're just slow," Brian retorted. "I'm fast and I'm first!"

Bradley stepped out of the closet. "No, bro. You're slow and you're second," he announced. "I'm fast and I'm first!" "What're you doing here?" Brian demanded. "You're supposed to be selling tickets." "Sold them all," Bradley said. He opened the shoe box and showed them the stack of dollar bills. "No way!" Brian yelled. "Yes way," Bradley said. He dropped the box of money on his bed. "How'd you guys do?" "I sold all mine!" Lucy said. She pulled a wad of bills out of her shorts pocket. "The people in Green Lawn sure are nice!" "Me too," Nate said. "When I got to Howard's Barbershop, a bunch of guys were waiting to get their hair cut. Everyone wanted tickets. I could have sold a million more!" The three kids turned and looked at Brian. "I still have two left," he said. "Plus the three I'm selling to Josh, Mom, and Dad."

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