“He probably thought you were trying to get him kicked out of the house.”
It was Friday morning, and the two boys walked to school as Philip brought Emery up-to-date.
“But I wasn’t.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before you went there?”
“Last night you were over your aunt’s, and I had to do something before the real estate agent took strangers in the house. I didn’t know how early the agent guy would show up today. I thought about calling you this morning, but then I thought we might not have enough time before school started, so I set my alarm and got up at seven o’clock, woke up my dad, and talked him into going to the haunted house.”
“So what happened when your father saw Walter?”
“He started talking to him. He told Walter not to worry. He told him I said nice things about him.”
“Was your father mad we snuck in the house?”
“Well, that sort of got pushed out of the way because of Walter.”
“Man, just when we find a great place… but what happened?”
“So my dad invited him to our house.”
“To your house! Inside? Is he there now?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s your father gonna do?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know!”
“No. My father chased me out and told me to go to school.”
“Boy, I’d love to know what’s happening to Walter. I like him.”
“Me, too. My dad’ll probably tell me tonight.”
“When he does, call me right away.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
“So did he tell you yet?” were Emery’s first words. He rushed to Philip’s house as soon as he could Saturday morning.
Philip’s glum face told him the answer. “No. Nothing last night and he already went out this morning.”
“No! How could he not tell you? What did he say? Did you ask him?”
“Yes, I asked him. Of course I asked him. Ten times I asked him. He only said Walter was being taken care of.”
“Did he say it... how did he say it? ‘Taken care of.’ He didn’t mean he’d get punished, did he? Like in jail.”
“No, I don’t think so. My dad smiled kind of funny.”
Emery looked confused.
Philip shrugged. “Like he made a joke or was hiding something.”
Emery slumped into one corner of his sofa. Philip slumped into the other corner.
“Grownups never tell you anything,” Emery grumbled. “You think your dad will tell you anything today?”
Philip shrugged. “I hope so. He better. I’ll ask.”
They stayed silent for a while.
“What do you want to do?” Emery asked.
“I don’t know.”
“At least we already finished our stupid project,” Emery said. “I’ll bet everyone else in class is working on it like crazy this weekend.”
“Mr. Ware said we could improve it.”
“It’s improved enough already,” said Emery. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Want to watch one of those movies your dad bought?”
“You mean one of those Abbott and Costello movies? Yeah, okay. We liked the one about Frankenstein and Dracula he made us watch.”
“Good. They’re pretty funny,” Emery agreed.
“I’ll get the movies. They’re upstairs.”
Despite pestering his father for two days for news about Walter, Philip had nothing to share with Emery on either Saturday or Sunday, and the first thing Emery said on Monday morning as he and Philip walked to school was, “So, did your dad tell you anything yet? He must have told you something by now, right?”
“No! He won’t tell me anything! He gives me a funny smile and says not to worry about it. It’s really making me mad. I asked him so many times he sent me to my bedroom at eight o’clock last night.”
“That’s mean, not telling us what happened to Walter. We have a right to know, don’t we?”
“Nobody thinks so but me and you.”
“Oh, well. At least we have an easy day today. We already reported on our beautification project.”
“I want to know what happened to Walter,” Philip said defiantly.
“Me, too,” Emery agreed, and the boys kept walking.
They reached school and their day began the same as ever; reading, math, and gym. At lunch they stood in the warmest spot they could find in the schoolyard and discussed Walter, and after lunch the class prepared to report on their projects. Philip and Emery slumped down in their seats, their consciences clear, their work done, content to see their classmates suffer through their reports.
As Mr. Ware announced that Kevin would report on his project first, Mr. Greif, the principal, walked into the classroom.
“Afternoon, Mr. Ware. I understand your class is giving their ‘Neighborhood Service’ reports this afternoon.”
“That’s right.” The class could see the principal’s visit puzzled Mr. Ware. “Something has come to my attention. Something your class has done during this project that deserves to be recognized.”
Everyone in the class immediately thought of their classmate Wilson, the super-student. Everything he did seemed to deserve special attention, and they all wondered what he’d done now.
The principal gestured to the classroom door. Philip and Emery bolted upright in their seats as Walter walked into the room.
He looked different—a lot cleaner; his hair and beard were neat and even; he even wore new-looking clothes.
“This is Walter Benson,” Mr. Greif said. “Walter is going to tell you his story.”
Walter cleared his throat. He looked at Philip and Emery and smiled.
“I’m sure you know who Philip and Emery are, your classmates.”
Everyone’s head turned toward the two boys who sat next to each other. They didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or thrilled by the attention.
Walter told the story of how he met the two boys.
Philip and Emery could feel the excitement in the class as everyone learned how they’d snuck into the empty house and befriended Walter.
“I’ve had an awful lot of bad luck,” Walter continued. “I won’t bother you with all that, but I had no home, not much money, not much food, not much… hope. These two boys, your friends, figured out a way to give all of that back to me. Philip’s dad talked to me and finally put me in touch with the real estate agent responsible for the house I mentioned. Seems he’d always wanted someone who could take care of the different houses he was trying to sell. Fix them up. Or, as the boys did, keep the lawn neat and presentable. Now that job belongs to me. He gave it to me, and I’m going to work hard at it. Plus, the real estate agent knows a woman who wants to rent a tiny apartment above her garage. It’s not very big, but it’s enough for me, and with my new job, I can afford it.” He moved his gaze to the two boys. “Philip and Emery, you’re welcome there any time.”
“Well, Mr. Benson, you’ve told us quite a story,” said Mr. Greif. He turned to face the class. “Philip, Emery, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of any students from our school than I am of you both at this moment, and you should be proud of yourselves. Mr. Ware, what do you think? A+ for helping the neighborhood?”
“A++, Mr. Greif. Their original project was good. But this... it’s terrific. Way to go, guys.” Mr. Ware gave them a thumbs-up.
Walter waved to them as the principal led him from the classroom, and Philip and Emery spent a very pleasant afternoon basking in the unspoken but very noticeable admiration of their classmates.
Chapter Fourteen
Philip pounced on his father the moment he returned home from work. “Dad, you didn’t tell me anything. How did Walter get a job? How did he end up at school today?”
“Whoa, whoa. Slow down.” Philip watched his father hang his coat in the hall closet. “Come, come,” his father said, waving him into the living room. “Now, one question at a time
.”
“How did Walter end up in my classroom this afternoon? And what happened to him over the weekend?”
“That’s two questions, but you were right. Walter seemed like a very nice fellow. So when I bundled you off to school on Friday, I got him to tell me a little of his history. He used to work over in McClaron’s, the big department store that went out of business.”
“Wow! So how’d he end up living in an empty house?”
“When the store closed down, the company that took it over didn’t offer him another job, and afterwards he simply had a long string of bad luck. So, I thought of Mr. Schilling, the real estate agent.”
“I know who you mean.” The drudgery of lawn mowing filled Philip’s mind for a moment.
“Well, I thought since he jokingly said he’d like to hire you to keep the houses he sold in good order, he might seriously consider hiring Walter. So on my way to work on Friday, I took Walter to meet him, and Walter told his story to Mr. Schilling, but Mr. Schilling checked out the facts.”
“What facts?”
“Oh, about whether Walter really worked at McClaren’s or not. Was he a good worker? Some other stuff. Finally, Mr. Schilling called me and said everything checked out. Walter, it seems, is a truthful man.”
“I told you he was okay.”
“I remembered your telling me your class did their reports this afternoon, so I called Mr. Greif, told him the story, and he agreed you and Emery deserved some recognition for what you did for Walter.”
“But I didn’t do anything. All I did was tell you about him.”
“Well, you wanted to keep Walter out of trouble, didn’t you? You could have told Walter to avoid the house for a while and not told me. It seems you’re an honest fellow, too, Flipster. I hope you weren’t too embarrassed today. Walter called me and told me how it went. He said you and Emery were blushing.”
“We were really surprised. Mr. Greif waved his hand at the door, and Walter appeared like magic.”
“So, anyway, let me go say hello to your mother.”
“Dad, can I run down to Emery’s. He’s been asking me every day what happened to Walter.”
Mr. Felton glanced at his watch. “Okay, be back by dinner, though, or your mother will start singing to you.”
“I will. Oh, Walter said he was getting some apartment over some garage, and we were invited anytime we wanted. Where is it?”
“Two blocks over. Horrocks Street.”
“Wow, so close.”
“Don’t make a nuisance of yourself. And don’t forget. Walter will be busy working at his new job.” Mr. Felton smiled.
Philip smiled back.
“Oh, Dad. Did they ever catch those robbers?”
“Not that I know.”
The loot hasn’t been found yet, Philip thought. It’s still out there.
“One other thing,” Mr. Felton said. The smile left his face. “There will be no more traipsing about in empty, abandoned houses. At all. Understand?”
Philip had been waiting for that. He nodded.
“Good. Then this will all have a happy ending. Be back in time for dinner.”
Philip rushed for his jacket and charged out the door. He couldn’t wait to tell Emery the rest of Walter’s story and remind him about the missing loot—still out there someplace waiting to be found—maybe even by them!
The End
About the Author
John Paulits is a former teacher in New York City. He has published seven other children’s novels, several about Philip and Emery; a collection of horror short stories, OLIVER MUNCING, EXORCIST; as well as three adult science fiction novels, HOBSON’S PLANET, BECKONING ETERNITY and LANYON FOR HIRE. His previous Gyspy Shadow book, PHILIP AND THE SUPERSTITION KID, was voted best children’s novel of 2010 in the Preditors and Editors readers poll. PHILIP AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE is his third chapter book with Gypsy Shadow and follows PHILIP AND THE ANGEL.
Learn more about John here:
Website: http://www.johnpaulits.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=750790110
Philip and the Haunted House (9781619500020) Page 5