The Magician's Bird by Emily Fairlie Page B

addressed to you, incidentally.Well, both of us, I guess.”
    Laurie carefully unfolded the paper and looked at it. It was a note.
    ----
    TO THE KIDS WHO FOUND THE TREASURE.
    I need your help. You have information that can help me. I have information that can help you. Name the time and place, and we can meet.
    Signed,
A Friend
----
    â€œUm, no?” Laurie felt really weirded out. She didn’t care how much this person was “a friend,” there was no way she was meeting them. “How about never? How about the time is never and the place is nowhere on earth?”
    Bud nodded his head. He had his whole crazy face going on. “Yeah, I’m not about to meet that person.”
    â€œIt’s too bad it doesn’t say Buck and Loni, because then we’d know it was Candy Winkle,” Laurie said.
    â€œYeah, or that creepy man or one of the other tour weirdos.”
    â€œIt’s probably just Calliope trying to mess with our heads,” Laurie said. “No way am I falling for that.”
    Misti groaned. “Come on, guys, really? You don’t want to know what this is about? For real?”
    Laurie shook her head. “Yeah, I’m fine not knowing. No problem there.”
    â€œReally?” Misti’s jaw dropped. “REALLY?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Misti grabbed the paper. “Well, does it say anything else? Sheesh, you guys!”
    She read the note and then turned the paper over in her hands. “See? There’s more!” Misti thrust the paper at Laurie.
    Laurie took it with two fingers, like it was a stinky dead thing. The note was written on the back of a flyer from a carnival that was set up on the edge of town, out near the SuperFoods parking lot.
    â€œIt’s just a flyer.” Laurie looked at it in a detached sort of way. It didn’t look like it had anything to do with them. Her parents never let them go to carnivals like that, so there was no connection there. Her dad had seen the chain on one of those spinny rides break once, and the person in the seat had gone flying off and almost hit the Tilt-A-Whirl. Luckily, he’d landed on the bouncy castle and didn’t end up getting that hurt, but still, Laurie’s parents weren’t taking any chances. Laurieshrugged and handed the flyer to Bud.
    ----
    FOR TWO WEEKS ONLY
    Amazing Rides! Games of Skill!
Entertainment for the whole family!
Tilt-A-Whirl—OF DEATH
Yo-Yo Ride—OF DOOMTeacup Ride—OF WONDER
Shows four times daily, featuring:
Juanita and Her Amazing
POODLE ACROBATS!
Big Al and His Amazing Statues OF ICE!
Tiny Phil the QUICK-CHANGE ARTIST!
Rosalita and Her AMAZING VOICE!
Limited Engagement!
Follow Route 3 past the Tastee Freez,
then turn left.
DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS
AMAZING EXPERIENCE!
----
    â€œI hear it’s amazing,” Bud deadpanned. Laurie snickered. The people who had made the flyer definitely needed a dictionary. Or at least a thesaurus. Maybe for their next birthday.
    â€œGood grief, you guys,” Misti huffed, standing up and stomping away.
    Laurie and Bud watched her in silence. Then Laurie shivered. “This really freaks me out, Bud.”
    Bud ripped up a piece of grass. “Yeah, me too.”
    Misti stormed into the school without any good reason for being there. She really hoped nobody would stop her and ask what she was doing, because she didn’t even have a fake answer. And in the mood she was in, she’d be liable to yell or something, and end up with detention before the school year even started.
    She headed into the entryway of the school and walked slowly down the hall, checking out each and every piece of art. She’d gone through three times before she was sure she was right. That dancing frog painting had to be the screen. It was so obvious when you knew what to look for. She’d thought it was just a lousy painting, but all that mess in the background was there to hide the fact that the frog was