Horrible Harry and the Dungeon by Suzy Kline Page A

Mackle made an important announcement. “Don’t forget about this final stage of the butterfly. It needs time to dry its wings before it flies, so don’t anyone jostle the net cage or touch a wing.”
    â€œYes, Miss Mackle,” we all said.
    â€œWhat’s the good news?” Mr. Cardini asked as he stood in the doorway.
    â€œLook!” the class shouted.

    â€œYour first butterfly! Bravissimo!” Mr. Cardini said. “What a miracle of life!”
    Suddenly, the school secretary’s voice came over the intercom. “Mr. Cardini?”
    The principal went over to the silver box and pressed it once. “Yes?”
    â€œMr. Skooghammer just arrived. Shall I take him down to the Suspension Room?”
    Everyone in Room 2B was pin quiet.
    â€œYes,” Mr. Cardini replied into the silver box. “I’ll get the two fifth-grade boys who will be joining him.”
    â€œThe first two prisoners!” Harry whispered.
    I nodded. “I wonder what Skooghammer looks like.”
    â€œI’ll find out,” Harry whispered back.
    One minute later, Harry raised two fingers. That means, May I go to the bathroom, please?
    Miss Mackle frowned. “Can’t you wait until I take the whole class down in fifteen minutes?”
    Harry got out of his chair and jumped up and down. “It’s a real emergency.”

    Mary made a face. “Harry will never get a bean. He’s so gross!”
    As soon as Miss Mackle gave Harry a nod, he took off.,
    While the rest of the class watched a second butterfly hatch, I watched the doorway. I couldn’t wait for Harry to come back and tell me about Mr. Skooghammer and the Dungeon.

Mr. Skooghammer

    I almost didn’t recognize Harry when he showed up at the door. His hair was standing on end.
    His eyes were bugged out.
    When he walked over to his desk, he was shaking.
    I looked back at the class. They were still watching the painted ladies.
    Harry plopped down in his seat next to me.
    â€œI saw him.”
    â€œMr. Skooghammer?”
    â€œMr. Skooghammer.”
    Harry’s head clunked on the desk like a dropped bowling ball.
    I looked at Harry’s hair. It was wet. “What happened?” I asked.
    When Harry turned his head, I noticed how big his black pupils were.
    Just when he opened his mouth to speak, Miss Mackle made an announcement. “It’s time now for our science clubs.”
    â€œWhat happened?” I repeated in a whisper.

    â€œI’ll tell you later....”
    I made a face.
    I wanted to find out about Mr. Skooghammer now.
    Song Lee, Mary, and Ida pushed their desks near the butterfly net. They were in the Butterfly Club.
    Sidney and Dexter moved to a table for their Eagle Club. They had a huge framed picture of an eagle that Sidney brought from home.
    Harry and I moved to the round table. We had twenty pages of notes about snakes. We were the Snake Club. Miss Mackle was waiting for us with her clipboard. It was our turn for a teacher visit.
    â€œWhy is your hair wet?” she asked Harry.
    â€œI was hot so I cooled off a little.”
    â€œYou know you’re not supposed to get your hair wet in the boys’ bathroom sink.”
    â€œI didn’t.” Harry half smiled. “I got it wet in the drinking fountain.”
    â€œHarry!” Miss Mackle exclaimed. “I’m losing my patience with you and your antics.”
    I tried to change the subject. “See all the notes we took? Twenty pages.”
    Miss Mackle flipped through our folder. “Boys, I appreciate your hard work, but it’s not necessary to copy every word out of the book. Be choosy. Copy only the facts that you think are really important about snakes.”
    When Miss Mackle moved on to the Dolphin Club, I scooted my chair closer to Harry’s. “Give me the scoop about Skooghammer.”
    â€œHe has a red beard.”
    â€œYeah?”

    â€œHe’s young and