The Kidnapped King Read online

  “I really love your books!!! So keep writing and I’ll keep reading.”

  —Eddie L.

  “When we go to the library, I always look for your books. Thank you for writing such good books.”

  —Matthew A.

  “I’ve read most of your books and will start The Falcon’s Feathers tomorrow. Keep writing fast or I will catch up with you!”

  —Ryan V.

  “Your books have given me the idea that I want to be a mystery writer when I grow up.”

  —Mary T.

  “I know I speak for a lot of kids when I say I love your books!”

  —Maris S.

  “All three of my boys love [the A to Z Mysteries]. Eric and Mason read them over and over, then act them out. Graeme has heard the stories read many times by his brothers.”

  —Louise G.

  “You have changed my third grader from an I’ll read it if it is easy’ boy into a ’let’s go to the library’ boy. Thank you so much, and please, keep up the great work.”

  —Kathy B.

  —R.R.

  For Adrienne, Jim, Cal, & Ethan

  —J.S.G.

  “Done!” Dink said to himself, smiling. He had solved the last problem on his math paper. He wrote Donald D. Duncan at the top, then glanced up at the classroom clock: two-fifteen. In just twenty minutes, spring vacation would begin!

  “Class, please get ready for DEAR time,” Mrs. Eagle said. “Take out your books and find a cozy place to read until the bell rings, please.”

  DEAR stood for Drop Everything and Read. This was Dink’s favorite time of the day.

  Dink was reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. He had seen the movie, but he still loved the story. He took the book to the reading corner and flopped onto a beanbag chair.

  Josh and Ruth Rose joined him, sprawling on the carpet with their books. The classroom grew quiet, except for the clock’s ticking and the sound of pages being turned.

  Suddenly the room phone rang. Mrs. Eagle answered it, then walked to the reading corner. “Dink,” she said quietly, “you’re wanted in Mr. Dillon’s office.”

  Josh grinned at Dink and raised his eyebrows. “You’re in trouble!” he said.

  “Mr. Dillon wants me?” Dink asked. “Why?”

  Mrs. Eagle shrugged. “Hurry back,” she whispered.

  Dink put down his book and left the room.

  Walking down the quiet hall, Dink tried to figure out why the principal wanted to see him. He couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong!

  Outside Mr. Dillon’s office, Dink took a deep breath, then walked in. Mrs. Waters, the principal’s secretary, was sitting at her desk outside his door. She smiled. “Hi, Donald. You can go right in. And don’t look so scared!” she said. “Mr. Dillon doesn’t eat children!”

  Dink grinned, then opened the door to Mr. Dillon’s office. The first person he saw was his mother!

  She patted the empty chair next to hers, and Dink slid into it.

  There were three other people in the room: Mr. Dillon, a woman with yellow hair, and a kid about Dink’s age.

  The kid was dressed like someone in a movie. He had on a long dark blue robe and sandals.

  “Hi, Donald,” Mr. Dillon said. Mr. Dillon was shaped like a football. His hair was cut short and his eyeglasses gleamed under the lights.

  “Let me introduce my guests,” he said. He nodded at the woman with yellow hair. “This is Ms. Joan Klinker. And this,” he added, smiling at the boy, “is Sammi Bin Oz.”

  Dink mumbled, “Hi,” then stared at the boy.

  He was about Dink’s size and had black hair and dark skin. His eyes were the color of honey.

  “Sammi is from Costra,” Mr. Dillon said, “a small island country in the Indian Ocean. He’s come to the United States to learn English.”

  “I already speak English,” the boy said.

  He had a soft voice and an accent. Dink thought he looked and sounded kind of sad.

  “Actually Sammi will live here for a year,” Joan Klinker said. “I am his tutor. His parents want him to learn American customs.”

  Mr. Dillon looked at Dink. “Sammi will be in third grade with you. We thought you might want to show him around the school,” he said.

  Everyone looked at Dink. He felt himself blushing. His mother gave his hand a squeeze. “And Sammi will be staying with us for a few weeks, Dink,” she explained.

  “Your name is Dink?” Sammi asked.

  Dink nodded at the boy.

  “Dink,” Sammi repeated. “That rhymes with think and pink and…stink!”

  “Making rhymes helps Sammi remember new words,” his tutor explained.

  “Sammi can have the spare room,” Dink’s mother said. “With Daddy away on business, it’ll be nice to have a guest in the house. I hope Sammi will be friends with you and Josh and Ruth Rose.”

  Sammi giggled. “Rose rhymes with toes and nose!”

  Dink grinned. Wait’ll Josh and Ruth Rose meet him, he thought.

  Dink went back to class and handed a note to Mrs. Eagle. Since school was almost out, Mr. Dillon had given him permission to leave early.

  Dink filled his book bag, then whispered what was going on to Josh and Ruth Rose.

  Dink’s mother drove him and Sammi home to Woody Street. Sammi was quiet in the car. He kept turning around and looking out the rear window.

  “Ms. Klinker said she’d bring your luggage over in a little while,” Dink’s mother told Sammi.,“ Dink will help you get settled; then I’ll make you both a snack.”

  “Thank you very much, Mrs. Duncan,” Sammi said as Dink’s mom pulled into the driveway on Woody Street.

  Dink climbed out of the car with his book bag clunking against his shoulders.

  “Your room is next to mine,” he told Sammi, leading the way upstairs.

  Dink took Sammi into the guest room. There was a bed, a dresser, and a braided rug on the floor. A reading lamp stood on the table next to the bed.

  Sammi looked at the room quietly. “This is very nice,” he said.

  “Come on, I’ll show you my room,” Dink said. He and Sammi passed through the bathroom. On the other side was Dink’s bedroom.

  As soon as Dink stepped into his room, Loretta began squeaking and running around in her cage.

  “What is that?” Sammi shouted, hiding behind Dink.

  “Just my guinea pig,” Dink said. “Loretta’s real friendly. You want to hold her?”

  “I am allergic to fur!” Sammi said, peering into the cage. “Don’t let it out!”

  “Okay, I won’t,” Dink said.

  “Dink!” his mother called from downstairs. “Are you and Sammi ready for a snack?”

  “Are you hungry?” Dink asked Sammi.

  Sammi wrinkled his nose. “What are we having?”

  Dink pretended to think, then said, “Just the usual—rats’ ears on crackers.”

  Sammi stared at Dink. “You are joking?”

  “Yeah, I’m joking,” Dink said. “Come on downstairs.”

  Dink’s mother put a plate of peanut butter cookies and a quart of milk on the counter. Sammi inspected the cookies, then selected one.

  “You’re not allergic to cookies, are you?” Dink asked.

  Sammi shook his head and took a small bite.

  The doorbell rang, and Dink opened the door. Josh and Ruth Rose stood on the steps. Pal, Josh’s basset hound, sat at their feet.

  “We came to see if you and Sammi want to come out and play,” Ruth Rose said. She held a purple Nerf football in her hand. The ball matched her purple jeans and sweatshirt.

  “Hi, guys. Come on in,” Dink said.

  Josh made a beeline for the plate of cookies. Pal padded along behind him. His long pink tongue
hung out of his mouth.

  Sammi jumped onto a chair. “Keep it away!” he yelled. “I am allergic!”

  Dink’s mother put her hand on Sammi’s shoulder. “It’s okay Sammi. Josh, can Pal wait on the porch?”

  “Sure, Mrs. D. Come on, boy,” Josh said as he led Pal out of the room.

  “Help yourselves, kids,” Dink’s mom said, pouring four glasses of milk.

  Josh came back and grabbed two cookies. “Why’re you wearing your bathrobe?” he asked Sammi.

  “It is what we wear in my country,” Sammi said, sipping his milk.

  “I think it’s beautiful,” Ruth Rose said. “I wish I had one.”

  The doorbell rang again. This time it was Joan Klinker, Sammi’s tutor. She had come in a taxi with Sammi’s suitcases. Dink helped the driver carry them into the hallway.

  “Hi, Sammi,” she said. “How do you like this house?”

  “There are animals here!” Sammi said. “I am allergic, you know.”

  “I’m afraid we have a guinea pig,” Dink’s mother said.

  “Yes, and I saw the dog on the porch,” Joan Klinker said. “I hope Sammi’s allergies won’t be too much trouble.”

  Dink’s mother smiled. “I’m sure we’ll make out fine,” she said. “Dink, why don’t you kids take Sammi’s luggage up to his room before you go out to play?”

  “May I come, too?” Joan Klinker asked. “I’d like to look at the room where Sammi will stay. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. Dink will show you the way.”

  Dink and Josh lugged the suitcases up the stairs, then plopped them down on Sammi’s bed. Ruth Rose followed, with Sammi and his tutor right behind.

  Joan Klinker walked around the room. She inspected the windows and tested the locks. She rattled the handles on the doors to the bathroom and hallway. “Do these doors have locks?” she asked Dink.

  “Um, yeah, but we never use them,” he answered.

  “Is there a night-light?” she asked.

  Dink pointed to a small blue light sticking from a wall socket.

  Joan Klinker nodded. “I guess this will do,” she said. “Now may I see Sammi’s bathroom?”

  Dink showed Joan the bathroom he and Sammi would share.

  The woman checked out everything in the bathroom, then peeked into Dink’s room on the other side. “Who sleeps in here?” she asked.

  “Me,” Dink said. “My parents’ room is downstairs.”

  “Do they have their own bathroom down there?” Joan asked.

  Dink nodded as they walked back into Sammi’s room.

  Joan Klinker smiled at Dink. “This will be perfect!” she said. She patted Sammi on the head. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

  Sammi looked at her nervously. “Where are you going?”

  “To my hotel room,” Joan said. “But I’ll come back after dinner for your French lesson.” She took one more look around Sammi’s room, then left.

  “Do you play Nerf ball in your country?” Ruth Rose asked Sammi.

  Sammi shook his head. “What is Nerf?”

  “This,” Josh said, tossing the foam ball to Sammi, It bounced off him and fell to the floor.

  “Um, do you want to change?” Dink asked Sammi.

  Sammi stared at his suitcase. “Your mother said she’d unpack for me,” he said.

  “She will,” Dink said. “But for now, you can wear some of my stuff. Come on in my room.”

  The four kids trooped through the bathroom and into Dink’s room. Loretta began running around her cage.

  Dink found a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt in his closet. “These should fit,” he told Sammi.

  Sammi looked at the clothes but didn’t take them from Dink.

  “Who is going to dress me?” he asked.

  Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose stared at Sammi.

  “Um, what do you mean, who’s gonna dress you?” Dink asked.

  “In my country, my servants dress me and undress me,” Sammi said.

  “Yeah, right,” Josh said, grinning. “And my servants do my homework for me!”

  “Do you really have servants?” Ruth Rose asked Sammi.

  Sammi nodded. “I have five servants of my own. My father has twenty!”

  “Twenty servants!” Josh yelled. “Are you guys rich?”

  Sammi sat on Dink’s bed. “We are very rich,” he said. “My father is…”

  Sammi didn’t finish what he was going to say. Instead, he burst into tears.

  “Great, Josh, you made him cry!” Dink said.

  “I did not! I just asked him if he was rich!”

  Ruth Rose sat next to Sammi. “Why are you crying?” she asked.

  Sammi didn’t answer. Big tears rolled down his cheeks.

  Dink tossed the sweat clothes onto the bed. Then he ran into his bathroom and came out with a wad of tissues.

  “Here,” he said.

  Sammi took the tissues and wiped his eyes.

  “Do you miss your mom and dad?” Ruth Rose asked Sammi. “Is that why you’re crying?”

  Sammi took a deep breath and wiped at his tears. “I don’t know where my parents are,” he said. “They were kidnapped last week.”

  “KIDNAPPED!” the three other kids yelled.

  Sammi nodded. “My father’s enemies snuck into the palace and took him and my mother.”

  “Palace?” Josh said. “You live in a palace? What are you, a prince or something?”

  Sammi nodded. “Yes. My father is the king of Costra. I am Prince Samir Bin Oz. I will be king someday.”

  Sammi started crying again.

  No one said anything. Even Loretta stopped running around in her cage.

  Dink stared at Sammi. “You’re a prince?” he finally asked. “Does my mom know all this, Sammi? I mean, about your folks being kidnapped and everything?”

  The boy shook his head. “Only my tutor knows,” he said. “My parents were kidnapped at night. I was sleeping. The next day I was snuck out of the palace and sent here so I would be safe.”

  “Safe from what?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Sammi looked at her. His eyes were red and his nose dripped. “From the kidnappers,” he said.

  Just then, Pal started barking from the front porch.

  “They’re here!” Sammi cried. He jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom.

  Dink looked out the window. Pal was barking at a car. It was a taxi. Dink watched it turn the corner and disappear.

  “Come on out, Sammi,” Dink said. “It was just your tutor leaving.”

  Sammi stepped out of the bathroom. His eyes looked scared. “I am sorry,” he whispered.

  “No problem,” Dink said. “Why don’t we go down and play?”

  He pointed to the sweat clothes on the bed. “Do you really need help getting dressed?”

  Sammi took a deep breath and grinned. “No. I am in America now. I will learn to dress myself.”

  While Sammi changed, the other kids went outside and tossed the Nerf ball in Dink’s backyard.

  “It must be so cool to be a prince!” Josh said. “Just imagine ordering all those servants around!”

  Dink bopped him with the Nerf ball.

  “Josh, Sammi doesn’t care about all that stuff,” he said. “He misses his parents.”

  “I know,” Josh said, “but still, just think. He could get ice cream in the middle of the night by snapping his fingers!”

  Sammi came out dressed in Dink’s sweat clothes.

  Pal, tied to a tree, tried to lick Sammi’s foot as he walked by.

  Sammi jumped out of reach. “Is he trying to bite me?” he asked.

  Josh laughed. “Naw, he’s just saying hi,” he said. “Pal wouldn’t hurt a flea. Go ahead, pet him.”

  Sammi stepped closer and gave Pal a pat on his head. Then he sneezed.

  “I like him,” Sammi said. “But I am still allergic.”

  The kids taught Sammi the rules of touch football. They played until Dink’s mother called them in to e
at.

  Promising to come over the next morning, Josh untied Pal and headed for home.

  “Bye, Sammi!” Ruth Rose said. She cut through the hedge to her house next door.

  “Your friends are nice,” Sammi said. “Do you play together every day?”

  “Sure,” Dink said. “Don’t you play with your friends in Co…in that place you come from?”

  Sammi shook his head. “I have no friends. I stay in the palace and study with my tutors.”

  No friends? Dink stared at Sammi. He couldn’t imagine not having Josh and Ruth Rose to hang out with.

  “We better go wash up,” Dink said, looking at his dirty hands. “I hope you like burgers and fries.”

  “Burgersandfries?” Sammi said. “What is burgersandfries?”

  Dink grinned. “Hamburgers and French fries. French fries are skinny little potato slices. You dip them in ketchup.”

  Sammi let out a sigh. “Okay, I will try your food. Who will taste it for me?”

  “Taste it?” Dink asked. “Why?”

  “In my country,” Sammi explained, “my father’s enemies sometimes try to poison him. He has a servant taste our food to make sure it is safe.”

  Dink grinned at Sammi. “My mom’s a real good cook. She doesn’t use much poison at all!”

  Sammi’s eyes bugged out. “You are making a joke, right?”

  “Yeah,” Dink said. “But we have to tell her the truth about you, okay?”

  “Why?” Sammi asked.

  “Because it’s the way we do things,” Dink said. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here. Nobody will get you in Green Lawn.”

  During supper, Dink and Sammi told Dink’s mom the real reason why Sammi was in the United States.

  “Oh, Sammi,” Dink’s mom said. “I am so sorry. Thank you for telling me.”

  After they all had some ice cream, Dink and his mother helped Sammi unpack. Dink’s mother held up a long wooden box decorated with gold. “This is heavy, Sammi. What’s inside?” she asked.

  Sammi opened the lid and took out a shiny kaleidoscope. Its golden sides were encrusted with jewels.

  “This kaleidoscope has been in my family for many years,” Sammi explained. “It belonged to my grandfather’s grandfather and his grandfather! Now it is my father’s.”