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Authors: Betsy Byars
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grip on the air mattress. His whole body was set to give the biggest pull of his life. He did this at the very moment when the Phantom released itself, just bounced up into the air.
The Phantom sailed up, over Junior’s head, and onto the ground. Junior went down hard. The resulting bang as Junior struck the tin roof of the henhouse was like an explosion.
The chickens reacted immediately. There were instant shrieks of alarm and shrill cries. Within five seconds it seemed to Junior that a minimum of one thousand hens were flapping their wings and shrieking at the top of their lungs.
A dog began to bark at the house.
“The lights are on!” Vern yelled.
Ralphie saw a figure in the upstairs window. “It’s old man Benson,” he cried, “and his shotgun!”
The window was thrown up. The barrel of the shotgun came out. Maggie, Ralphie, and Vern bolted for the cornfield.
“We’ll be back,” Maggie cried over her shoulder.
Junior watched them go, and the sight of them disappearing into the rows of corn was the worst thing he had ever seen in his life. Even Maggie’s words brought him no comfort. He knew they would never come back. He never would have if he had gotten away.
Junior had always hated to be left behind, but there was something terrible and final about this particular desertion. In desperation, he looked down at the ground. It was a long way down. He could jump, but the last time he had done that, he had broken his legs.
Somebody tell me what to do, he begged.
It was old man Benson who made the decision for Junior. Old man Benson came out in the yard with his shotgun.
Junior flattened himself against the roof. Old man Benson crossed the yard and looked at the Green Phantom. He walked around it. He kicked it with his foot. The Phantom responded with a light bounce.
Old man Benson walked around the yard like a soldier on patrol. He looked behind the barn. He circled the henhouse. Junior did not breathe. Then old man Benson went to the house and sat down in a rocking chair on the porch. Junior knew the double-barreled shotgun was across his knees.
“Who was it?” his wife called.
“Some kids.”
“What were they after?”
“Some fool thing.”
“Come back to bed.”
“I’ll set out here awhile. One of them said they’d be back.”
Junior let out all his breath in a long, hopeless sigh. He knew then that he would be spending the rest of his life on the roof of old man Benson’s henhouse.
CHAPTER 16
Left, Abandoned, and Deserted
“Are you telling me that you left your own brother on the top of a chicken house?”
Vicki Blossom had been sitting on the porch steps for over two hours, staring up at the night sky. She had wanted to see the Green Phantom so that she could truthfully tell Junior how beautiful it had been. At the same time she had been listening for the telephone.
As the hours passed, however, and the phone did not ring and she did not see the Phantom, her feeling of doom had increased. By the time she saw the kids running up the road, she knew the worst had happened.
She stood up. She made a quick head count. There were only three children running up the road. Junior was not one of them.
Vicki Blossom could not move for a moment. She just stood there waiting with a heart of lead for the bad news. Even so, it stunned her.
“You left Junior on the roof of a chicken house?” she asked again.
The living room light was behind Vicki Blossom, so the children could not see her face, but none of them particularly wanted to. The way she was standing and the fury in her voice said it all.
Maggie was the oldest of the Blossom children, so she had felt it was her responsibility to break the news, to gasp out the original “Mom, Junior’s on the roof of old man Benson’s chicken house.”
Vern said, “We didn’t do it on purpose, Mom.”
“Your own brother?”
Maggie hung her head in shame. This was the first time in weeks that her mother had been disappointed in her.
The Phantom sailed up, over Junior’s head, and onto the ground. Junior went down hard. The resulting bang as Junior struck the tin roof of the henhouse was like an explosion.
The chickens reacted immediately. There were instant shrieks of alarm and shrill cries. Within five seconds it seemed to Junior that a minimum of one thousand hens were flapping their wings and shrieking at the top of their lungs.
A dog began to bark at the house.
“The lights are on!” Vern yelled.
Ralphie saw a figure in the upstairs window. “It’s old man Benson,” he cried, “and his shotgun!”
The window was thrown up. The barrel of the shotgun came out. Maggie, Ralphie, and Vern bolted for the cornfield.
“We’ll be back,” Maggie cried over her shoulder.
Junior watched them go, and the sight of them disappearing into the rows of corn was the worst thing he had ever seen in his life. Even Maggie’s words brought him no comfort. He knew they would never come back. He never would have if he had gotten away.
Junior had always hated to be left behind, but there was something terrible and final about this particular desertion. In desperation, he looked down at the ground. It was a long way down. He could jump, but the last time he had done that, he had broken his legs.
Somebody tell me what to do, he begged.
It was old man Benson who made the decision for Junior. Old man Benson came out in the yard with his shotgun.
Junior flattened himself against the roof. Old man Benson crossed the yard and looked at the Green Phantom. He walked around it. He kicked it with his foot. The Phantom responded with a light bounce.
Old man Benson walked around the yard like a soldier on patrol. He looked behind the barn. He circled the henhouse. Junior did not breathe. Then old man Benson went to the house and sat down in a rocking chair on the porch. Junior knew the double-barreled shotgun was across his knees.
“Who was it?” his wife called.
“Some kids.”
“What were they after?”
“Some fool thing.”
“Come back to bed.”
“I’ll set out here awhile. One of them said they’d be back.”
Junior let out all his breath in a long, hopeless sigh. He knew then that he would be spending the rest of his life on the roof of old man Benson’s henhouse.
CHAPTER 16
Left, Abandoned, and Deserted
“Are you telling me that you left your own brother on the top of a chicken house?”
Vicki Blossom had been sitting on the porch steps for over two hours, staring up at the night sky. She had wanted to see the Green Phantom so that she could truthfully tell Junior how beautiful it had been. At the same time she had been listening for the telephone.
As the hours passed, however, and the phone did not ring and she did not see the Phantom, her feeling of doom had increased. By the time she saw the kids running up the road, she knew the worst had happened.
She stood up. She made a quick head count. There were only three children running up the road. Junior was not one of them.
Vicki Blossom could not move for a moment. She just stood there waiting with a heart of lead for the bad news. Even so, it stunned her.
“You left Junior on the roof of a chicken house?” she asked again.
The living room light was behind Vicki Blossom, so the children could not see her face, but none of them particularly wanted to. The way she was standing and the fury in her voice said it all.
Maggie was the oldest of the Blossom children, so she had felt it was her responsibility to break the news, to gasp out the original “Mom, Junior’s on the roof of old man Benson’s chicken house.”
Vern said, “We didn’t do it on purpose, Mom.”
“Your own brother?”
Maggie hung her head in shame. This was the first time in weeks that her mother had been disappointed in her.
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