Jack: Book One in the Trilogy, the Battle Begins

One, Two, Three, Charge! Part 18

We waited and watched like lions about to spring. Jack picked out of a little burlap bag he was carrying a large smooth white stone as round as an apple and twice as big. The time was getting nearer and Jack pulled out two handkerchiefs and gave one to me.

"Tie this one around your head," he said.

His fingers caressed the white stone like it was one of his favorite things in the whole world. I remembered it was the same stone that was missing from master's rock collection he kept in the classroom, the one that Mike got blamed for because Jimmy Swanson said Jack told him he saw it in Mike's tree house.

"Okay, we gotta do this!" said Jack. "We run to the door. I'll bang on it three times - three is the Midnight Raiders' signal for danger and possible doom but the very first thing we do is you stick the note usin' the tack on the door. Stick it in real good. Whittemore has to get that note. Look I wrote a new one because our plans changed."

I read it and it surprisingly was printed real neat:

"Dere Masta Witmor

You betta get on your nees right now before the hol class and say yor sory to Mike or yul git the black mark on your windo pane.

The Midnite Raders

"Remember, stick it on real good and I'll take care of the bangin'. Then we run like the dickens around the corner around the other side and go in different directions home and go right to bed. But crawl under the windows of the school cuz, believe me, when I bang on that door, every kid in that place is goin' to have their eyes glued to the windows and doors and we can't be seen. So crawl and crawl fast like you was in the army and the enemy is at your heels. Got it?"

"Yeah, no sweat," I said. "Let's do it."

"Okay then. On three. One. Two. Three! Charge!" Jack said.

"We hightailed it across the road, me with my note and tack and Jack with his big white rock gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the magnolias. We catapulted to the bottom of the first window and crawled fast as black racer snakes to the door and then I pinned the note but it was the wrong side so Jack said pin it the other way around, then the wind blew it away but I grabbed it in the air and turned back and pinned it to the door good and tight. It looked pretty and official sitting there waiting for master to read it.

"Read it and weep!" Jack said.

And Jack slammed the door - bang, bang, bang - so hard with the rock I thought he was going to break the door in and then we dove under the next window just like soldiers would and even faster for my money and two seconds later we had cleared it and we started to head back home when Jack said:

"No, wait! We've gotta see the expression on his face. Quick follow me."

And having no time to consider I just obeyed. I ran and dove over the hedges across the street hoping no-one saw us.