Snyder, Zilpha Keatley by The Egypt Game [txt] Page A

middle of the yard in what was obviously meant to be the Egyptian walk. Then he faced the group, cleared
    his throat, and in a phony voice he said, ” ‘What’s Happening in Egypt’-a very official report by Tobias Alvillar, Secret Agent.”
    Toby was pretty funny all right, but no one laughed but Ken. April was thinking a horrible thought. If they knew about the Egyptian walk, how much else did they know? Up until then she’d been thinking that the fence was too high to look over-and they couldn’t have seen very much while they were scrambling over it. She ran to the loose board and looked out into the alley. When she pulled her head back in, Melanie guessed the awful truth before she heard it.
    Taking Melanie aside, April whispered, “There are boxes piled up out there. They could have been watching forever! Shall I punch them now?”
    Melanie shrugged hopelessly. “Go ahead if you want to. But it won’t do any good. I think we might as well-leave the country, or something.”
    Elizabeth had followed Melanie and listened to April’s horrible news. Now all of a sudden she said, “I have an idea.”
    Both the bigger girls looked surprised. Elizabeth wasn’t the kind of person you expect to come up with ideas in an emergency. But the situation was desperate so April and Melanie listened.
    When Elizabeth finished whispering, April shook her head gloomily. “It’ll never work,” she said.
    “Well, we may as well try it,” Melanie said. “It
    can’t make things any worse.”
    The enemy watched cautiously as the girls returned to face them. For a few seconds April and Melanie couldn’t think of a way to get started, and the five of them just stood there staring at each other. Melanie spoke first.
    “We don’t have permission to be here from the Professor, or our folks or anybody.”
    Toby grinned. “So what else is new?” he said.
    April’s fists clenched but she forced herself to open them. “We’ll be in terrible trouble if you tell on us,” she said in as pitiful a voice as she could manage. To her ama/cmcnt she noticed that the look the two boys exchanged was just the tiniest bit confused. And Kamata and Alvillar were two guys who weren’t easy to confuse. Warming to her theme, she went on, “We’ll probably get beaten and everything.”
    There was no doubt about it, the enemy had faltered for a few moments, but they managed to regroup.
    “We’re crying,” Ken said. “See the tears.”
    “Yeah. We’ll come to your funerals,” Toby said.
    Just then Elizabeth pushed her way between April and Melanie. Everyone looked at her in surprise-she’d probably never spoken to a sixth grade boy before in her life, but now she looked as if she meant to. “Please,” she said, in a feathery little voice. “Please don’t tell on us, and we’ll let you play, too.”
    April cringed. It was such a corny, baby thing to say. She had a crazy urge to grab Elizabeth and drag her out of wisecrack range, before she got hurt. But seconds passed and nobody pounced. April un-squinched her eyes. Strangely enough, the boys were looking confused again. More confused than ever. Elizabeth was looking shyly hopeful, like an un-spanked puppy.
    Then Ken blinked his eyes like someone coming to after a whack on the head. “Come on, Tobe, let’s get out of here,” he said. And then, to no one in particular, “Maybe we won’t fink on you guys. You never can tell. Maybe we just won’t be in the mood for finking. Huh, Tobe?” But Toby only nodded absently. Ken picked up Toby’s T.V. head and jammed it into his hands. “Come on, Tobe,” he said. “We’ve got to get back before my dad misses me.”
    But Toby appeared to be thinking. He nodded again slowly and then walked around the girls to the temple. He looked for a moment at each altar and then around the yard. When he carne back his eyes had a faraway look.
    , “Okay,” he said. “Okay. We don’t rat, and we get to join the game. Is it a deal?”
    “Join the