Sleepy Hollow Sleepover

by Ron Roy

  He heard air escaping from the tire. He hoped that the two crooks didn’t hear the hissing noise.

  When the tire was flat, Dink shoved the knife into his pocket. He removed the tin can and began to lower the plywood. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw something interesting: the yellow rope Ace and Goose had used to secure the tarp over the mechanical horse. It was in a loose pile near the truck’s rear tire.

  Dink reached an arm out of the hole and grabbed the rope. He tied one end of the rope to the truck’s bumper. He yanked on it to tighten the knot. Then he dropped the rest of the rope down into the hole.

  He lowered the plywood. “Hank, I’m coming down,” he whispered.

  Dink felt Hank’s hands leave his knees. “I’ve got you.”

  A few seconds later, Dink was kneeling on the damp floor of the hole. Once again, he felt blind.

  “What did you see up there?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “They’re counting the money,” Dink said. “There’s an old house and a yard. Hank, your truck is red now.”

  “What’s with the rope?” Hank asked.

  “I tied it to the truck,” Dink said. “I thought maybe you could climb up the rope, Hank. Then you could pull us out.”

  “Awesome!” Josh said. “This is better than TV!”

  “It might work,” Hank said. “Where are those guys? Will they see me?”

  “I don’t think they will,” Dink said. “They’re over by the house. Your truck is between this hole and them.”

  “Okay, I’m tying a loop in the end of this rope,” Hank said. “After I’m up, you kids can put your feet into the loop, and I’ll pull you up, one at a time.”

  Hank tugged the rope tight, then began climbing, hand over hand, with his legs and feet helping him.

  Dink heard him grunting. He remembered trying to climb a thick rope in gym class. It wasn’t easy!

  A moment later, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose saw daylight as Hank moved the plywood. They saw him scramble up and out onto the barn floor.

  Dink found the end of the rope and held out the loop. “Who’s going first?” he asked.

  “You go,” Ruth Rose said. “You did all the work.”

  “No, let Josh go,” Dink said. “He’s the strongest, so he can help Hank pull us up.”

  “I think Ruth Rose should go first,” Josh said. “She’s afraid of the dark.”

  “I am not afraid of the dark, Joshua Pinto!” Ruth Rose said. She thrust the loop at him. “Go on up.”

  Dink figured Josh was just being nice. Everyone knew Josh hated dark places. “Go, Josh!” he said.

  Josh stuck a foot into the loop. The rope became taut as Hank hauled up the extra length. Josh held on to the rope with both hands. Dink and Ruth Rose watched as he rose toward Hank.

  “Your turn,” Dink said after they saw Hank lift Josh out of the hole.

  “Are you sure?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Dink grinned. “I love dark, smelly places,” he said.

  Then Ruth Rose followed Josh up. Dink could hear Hank’s deep breaths as he hauled on the rope, now carrying Ruth Rose’s weight.

  For the last time, the looped end of the rope fell at Dink’s feet.

  But before Dink could put a foot into the loop, the yellow rope came slicing through the air, landing on Dink’s head and shoulders. It was no longer tied to the truck’s bumper!

  Dink stared straight up. Who had untied the rope—or cut it—and dropped it down into the hole? Where were Josh and Ruth Rose and Hank?

  Suddenly Dink heard a man’s voice shout. Then he heard more yells. Surely that was Ruth Rose’s loud scream!

  Dink thought he heard cars arriving.

  There were thudding footsteps on the barn floor. And more yelling—this time Dink was sure it was Josh.

  Then came silence.

  Dink stared at the escape hole above his head. He saw dust floating in the sunlight. He heard only a lonely birdcall, then nothing.

  Dink sat on the damp floor. He held the rope in his hands. He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them he would see Hank’s face looking back at him.

  He heard footsteps and looked up. Part of the light was blocked by a man’s head and shoulders.

  “Dink?” a familiar voice said. “Your friend Josh tells me maple walnut is your favorite ice cream. Why don’t I send a ladder down for you, then we’ll go get some?”

  Dink grinned. “Thanks, Officer Klevor,” he said.

  A few hours later, Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were on their way back to Connecticut. Dink’s father drove slowly through town, heading for the highway.

  “Look, the bank is closed,” Josh said, pointing out the window.

  “Yes, they need to hire a new teller,” Dink’s father said. “Miss Bonnie is behind bars with her brother, Ace, and Goose.”

  “I’m glad you had your cell phone with you, Mr. Duncan,” Ruth Rose said.

  “Me too,” he said. “I knew the call was coming from your cell phone. So when I heard a man’s voice, I was shocked. I was able to hear everything Ace and Goose said, even after they put you in the hole. I drove to the police station with my phone to my ear!”

  “How much money did they hide inside the horse?” Josh asked.

  “Officer Klevor told me it was about a half-million dollars,” Mr. Duncan said.

  The three kids gasped.

  “Did they find the money we threw away?” Josh asked.

  “Some of it,” Dink’s father said. He smiled. “I’ll bet a lot of people will be finding money for quite a while.”

  Just then Dink saw three familiar kids on the sidewalk. “Dad, can you stop for a minute?” he asked.

  Dink’s father pulled over.

  “It’s those kids we met last night,” Dink said. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose climbed out of the car.

  Candy and her two brothers ran up to them. “Hi, you guys!” she said. “Guess what I just found?” She held up a fifty-dollar bill. “It was just lying by the side of the road!”

  “Boy, are you lucky!” Ruth Rose said.

  “We’re gonna make her split it with us,” Adam said. “Right, Andy?”

  The other boy nodded. “It’s the only interesting thing that happened in this boring town. I can’t wait to get back home.”

  “We’re leaving, too,” Josh said, poking Dink. “Nothing ever happens around here.”

  The six kids slapped high fives and said good-bye to each other. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose got back in the car, and Dink’s father pulled away from the curb.

  “Will they have to return the money?” Dink asked his dad.

  “Probably, if the bank decides to let the public know how the money got thrown out of the truck,” he said. “Speaking of which, there may be a reward for you three.”

  “Really?” Josh said. “Awesome!”

  “Dad, did the police say if they found the wagon horses?” Dink asked. “They ran away last night during the fire.”

  Dink’s father nodded. “Yep, all three horses are back with their owners,” he said. “And the farmers all had insurance, so they’ll get money to buy new wagons.”

  “This is the best Halloween I have ever had!” Dink said, smiling.

  “It was the scariest, that’s for sure,” Ruth Rose said.

  “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Josh said.

  Dink’s father looked at Josh in the rearview mirror. “What’s that, Josh?” he asked.

  “Who was riding the horse we saw out our window last night, before the hay wagon came?” Josh asked. “You know, the headless dude.”

  “Gee, Josh, I have no idea,” Mr. Duncan said.

  “Maybe it was one of the town cops,” Ruth Rose said. “Officer Klevor pretended to lose his head on the wagon, remember?”

  “I asked Officer Klevor when we were at the police station,” Dink said. “He told me the headless horseman wasn’t one of his officers.”

  “Then who was it?” Josh asked. “A ghost?”

  N
o one in the car said anything. Mr. Duncan pulled onto the highway and headed for home.

  Did you find the secret message hidden in this book?

  If you don’t want to know the answer, don’t look at the bottom of this page!

  Answer:

  THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN RIDES ON

  If you like the

  you might want to read

  GHOST HORSE

  by George Edward Stanley

  Emily got out of bed. She ran to the window and pulled back the curtains. In the moonlight, she could see the beautiful white horse!

  Emily pinched herself. “Ouch!” Now she knew she wasn’t dreaming. The beautiful white horse was really there!

  He started walking toward her window. But the closer he got, the paler he got.

  Emily gasped. She could see through the horse!

  “You’re … you’re a ghost!” she whispered.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2010 by Ron Roy

  Illustrations and map copyright © 2010 by John Steven Gurney

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Random House and the colophon and A to Z Mysteries are registered trademarks and A Stepping Stone Book and the colophon and the A to Z Mysteries colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web!

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at

  www.randomhouse.com/teachers

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Roy, Ron.

  Sleepy Hollow sleepover / by Ron Roy ; illustrated by John Steven Gurney. — 1st ed.

  p. cm. — (A to Z mysteries super edition ; #4)

  “A Stepping Stone book.”

  Summary: Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are enjoying Halloween fun in Sleepy Hollow, New York, but when unplanned spooky things start happening, they investigate whether a real headless horseman might be to blame.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89829-7

  [1. Mystery and detective stories. 2. Halloween—Fiction. 3. Robbers and outlaws— Fiction. 4. Sleepy Hollow (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Gurney, John Steven, ill. II. Irving, Washington, 1783–1859. Legend of Sleepy Hollow. III. Title.

  PZ7.R8139Sl 2010

  [Fic]—dc22

  2009052930

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.0