Hurry Up, Houdini! by Osborne Mary Pope

Author:Osborne, Mary Pope [Osborne, Mary Pope]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780307980472
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-07-23T04:00:00+00:00

As the orchestra played, Mr. Wilson guided Jack and Annie through the backstage area. “Watch out, kids,” he said. “Like I said before, it’s a tough crowd out there tonight.”

Jack smiled confidently. No crowd is too tough for us, he thought.

Hank and Butch set the table with Jack and Annie’s props center stage behind the closed curtain. The stage was lit with a soft rosy light.

“Places!” called Mr. Wilson.

Jack and Annie nodded and calmly took their places in front of the table. They heard a long drumroll, then a cymbal crash. They heard Mr. Dewey speaking to the audience from in front of the curtain:

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Great Houdini show! I have a very special and wonderful surprise for you this evening. As you may know, the Bambini Brothers were scheduled to be our opening act. But instead, it will be your great good fortune to welcome a truly remarkable pair of young illusionists. These master magicians have performed in theaters all around the world, and tonight they are here to perform for you! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jolly Jack and the Amazing Annie!”

A trumpet blasted, the curtain rose, and the crowd clapped and whistled as Jack and Annie stepped into a yellow spotlight.

Looking out at the audience, Jack chuckled like a seasoned performer. His heart pounded, but not with fear. It pounded with an excitement that made him want to do his best.

“Good evening, friends!” Jack shouted over the applause. “They call me Jolly Jack because nothing brings me greater joy than entertaining folks like you! And they call my sister Amazing Annie because—” Jack held his gloved hand out toward Annie.

“I love to amaze you with my amazing ability to amaze you!” Annie shouted.

The cymbals crashed. The crowd laughed.

“Do not let our youthful appearance fool you!” Annie went on. “My brother and I have traveled the globe to discover mysteries both ancient and modern!”

Jack took off his top hat and turned it toward the crowd. “I direct your attention to my hat,” he said. “As you can see, the inside is quite ordinary. But strange things happen with this hat, especially when I touch it with a wand given to us by an Arabian princess.”

Jack looked around. “Oh, dear, I seem to have forgotten my wand.”

Annie stepped forward. She swept her right arm in front of her—and presto! A wand appeared in her hand! Jack knew that when she waved her arm, she had simply allowed one of the hidden wands to slip from her sleeve.

The cymbals crashed.

The crowd cheered.

Annie grinned triumphantly and bowed.

While Annie was distracting everyone, Jack casually put his hat upside down on the velvet tabletop, over one of the hidden trapdoors. As he set the hat down, he pressed on the trapdoor and it flapped open.

“Thank you, Amazing Annie!” Jack called.

Annie handed Jack the wand, and he stepped back and waved it around the brim of the top hat.

The crowd grew quiet.

In a deep, mysterious voice, Jack intoned, “Zoom-bally-win-doo-chee-gone-hay!

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