Read Online The Mysterious Disappearence of Leon by Ellen Raskin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ellen Raskin
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her seals.
Tony knew what they were going to do, but he wasn’t going to tell Mr. Banks that they would remain in the city because he had to repeat history in summer school. He quickly changed the subject.
“Mr. Banks, can you think of a word beginning with a ‘C’ sound?”
“C.P.A. That means certified public accountant.”
“What about a word ending in ‘al’?”
“Leg al ,” answered Mr. Banks.
“How do you spell it?”
“Young man, what do they teach you in that school?”
“How about ‘I’?”
“You should say: ‘How about me?’ What do they teach... ?”
“What word can you think of with a ‘new’ sound in it?”
Mr. Banks, for once, didn’t mind being interrupted. He enjoyed showing off his quick wit. “Internal Revenue Service,” he answered. “That’s the income tax bureau.”
Tony shook his head over the excess of syllables, but Tina thought Mr. Banks proved his point well. If Noel’s message was about money, then surely he must be dead.
“Another pork chop, Tony?” Mrs. Carillon asked.
“What’s for dessert?”
“Camembert cheese.”
“Another pork chop, please.”
Mrs. Carillon looked at her watch. “Good heavens, I’ve almost missed the racing results.”
“Racing results?” shouted the horrified Mr. Banks. “Have you taken up gambling on top of everything else?”
Mrs. Carillon, transistor radio to her ear, didn’t hear the question. Tina allayed Mr. Banks’ fear.
“She doesn’t gamble. She just loves the horse Christmas Bells and Seymour. . .”
“He won! He won!” Mrs. Carillon turned off the radio, all smiles. “Mark my word, Christmas Bells is a shoo-in to win the Triple Crown.”
Summer in New York
Christmas Bells won the Triple Crown.
The sea lions in Central Park grew so fat their keeper had to eliminate regular feedings.
Tina became the busiest baby-sitter in the building. Although too absorbed in her books to keep a close eye on the accident-prone children, she disinfected their wounds and applied gauze and tape bandages with a near professional skill.
Most of all, Tina enjoyed sitting with the Stein baby. The infant slept throughout the evening, and Dr. Stein never locked his bookcases. Tina had difficulty with the technical language in the medical books, but she was fascinated by the gory pictures and case histories. She even collected some words for Tony’s chart: ce cum and se cretion, 30 hospit al 30 and spin al , i odine 30 and i sotope, 30 neu trophil 30 and nu cleus. 30
By the end of August Tina had earned enough money to place an ad in every Iowa and Idaho newspaper on her list.
WANTED: INFORMATION ON WHEREABOUTS OF NOEL CARILLON. WIFE DESPERATE. REWARD!! WRITE TINA CARILLON 802 PARK AVE. N.Y. N.Y.
Tina had no reward money. She would leave that up to Mr. Banks, when the time came.
Tina worried about Mr. Banks and his frequent visits. He was their dinner guest two to three times a week, and he always had papers to be signed. Maybe he was cheating Mrs. Carillon out of her share of the soup business. Maybe he was planning to marry her for her money. On the other hand, Mr. Banks was so stingy that maybe he just wanted a free meal.
“How can you stand him?” Tina would ask every time Mr. Banks created a scene.
Mrs. Carillon’s answer was always the same. “He really is a very nice man. He just frets over us so much that it upsets him.”
Tony preferred the company of Mr. Kunkel, and he knew that Mrs. Carillon did, too. She smiled a lot when he was around. Tuesdays and Saturdays were Augie Kunkel nights; and Tony was always prepared with a few more words for his chart.
“List 3-4: ov al , snowb all , sand al , scand al .”
“Cymb al ,” said Augie Kunkel.
“List 4: call, hall , squ all ,” said Tony. “List 5: mine, n i ne, w i ne.”
“I thought of ‘hall’ twenty years ago,” Mrs. Carillon said. “But ‘wine’ is a good word. Noel was so genteel.”
Tony added word after word, following Mr.
Tony knew what they were going to do, but he wasn’t going to tell Mr. Banks that they would remain in the city because he had to repeat history in summer school. He quickly changed the subject.
“Mr. Banks, can you think of a word beginning with a ‘C’ sound?”
“C.P.A. That means certified public accountant.”
“What about a word ending in ‘al’?”
“Leg al ,” answered Mr. Banks.
“How do you spell it?”
“Young man, what do they teach you in that school?”
“How about ‘I’?”
“You should say: ‘How about me?’ What do they teach... ?”
“What word can you think of with a ‘new’ sound in it?”
Mr. Banks, for once, didn’t mind being interrupted. He enjoyed showing off his quick wit. “Internal Revenue Service,” he answered. “That’s the income tax bureau.”
Tony shook his head over the excess of syllables, but Tina thought Mr. Banks proved his point well. If Noel’s message was about money, then surely he must be dead.
“Another pork chop, Tony?” Mrs. Carillon asked.
“What’s for dessert?”
“Camembert cheese.”
“Another pork chop, please.”
Mrs. Carillon looked at her watch. “Good heavens, I’ve almost missed the racing results.”
“Racing results?” shouted the horrified Mr. Banks. “Have you taken up gambling on top of everything else?”
Mrs. Carillon, transistor radio to her ear, didn’t hear the question. Tina allayed Mr. Banks’ fear.
“She doesn’t gamble. She just loves the horse Christmas Bells and Seymour. . .”
“He won! He won!” Mrs. Carillon turned off the radio, all smiles. “Mark my word, Christmas Bells is a shoo-in to win the Triple Crown.”
Summer in New York
Christmas Bells won the Triple Crown.
The sea lions in Central Park grew so fat their keeper had to eliminate regular feedings.
Tina became the busiest baby-sitter in the building. Although too absorbed in her books to keep a close eye on the accident-prone children, she disinfected their wounds and applied gauze and tape bandages with a near professional skill.
Most of all, Tina enjoyed sitting with the Stein baby. The infant slept throughout the evening, and Dr. Stein never locked his bookcases. Tina had difficulty with the technical language in the medical books, but she was fascinated by the gory pictures and case histories. She even collected some words for Tony’s chart: ce cum and se cretion, 30 hospit al 30 and spin al , i odine 30 and i sotope, 30 neu trophil 30 and nu cleus. 30
By the end of August Tina had earned enough money to place an ad in every Iowa and Idaho newspaper on her list.
WANTED: INFORMATION ON WHEREABOUTS OF NOEL CARILLON. WIFE DESPERATE. REWARD!! WRITE TINA CARILLON 802 PARK AVE. N.Y. N.Y.
Tina had no reward money. She would leave that up to Mr. Banks, when the time came.
Tina worried about Mr. Banks and his frequent visits. He was their dinner guest two to three times a week, and he always had papers to be signed. Maybe he was cheating Mrs. Carillon out of her share of the soup business. Maybe he was planning to marry her for her money. On the other hand, Mr. Banks was so stingy that maybe he just wanted a free meal.
“How can you stand him?” Tina would ask every time Mr. Banks created a scene.
Mrs. Carillon’s answer was always the same. “He really is a very nice man. He just frets over us so much that it upsets him.”
Tony preferred the company of Mr. Kunkel, and he knew that Mrs. Carillon did, too. She smiled a lot when he was around. Tuesdays and Saturdays were Augie Kunkel nights; and Tony was always prepared with a few more words for his chart.
“List 3-4: ov al , snowb all , sand al , scand al .”
“Cymb al ,” said Augie Kunkel.
“List 4: call, hall , squ all ,” said Tony. “List 5: mine, n i ne, w i ne.”
“I thought of ‘hall’ twenty years ago,” Mrs. Carillon said. “But ‘wine’ is a good word. Noel was so genteel.”
Tony added word after word, following Mr.
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