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A silvery voice began to sing, high-pitched and mocking: A tiskit, a tasket, a will in a wicker basket. I found it, I found it...
But who is that? Johnny Dixon had thought he was the only one who knew that H. Bagwell Glomus's will was hidden in his deserted mansion. As he plunges on, a snowstorm rages outside and thunder echoes through the unlit rooms. Months earlier Johnny had pieced together clues to the location of the will and he had been intrigued. But now he is more than intrigued; he is desperate -- so desperate he'll risk everything. Suddenly lightning flashed and Johnny sees he is not alone. Something not quite human is coming toward him...
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First appearance by my main man, "Fergie"!
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"Camp Chocorua"...say that five times fast without flubbing...
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She thinks I'm gonna smash it, he said to himself. He had half a mind to knock the vase over and then catch it quickly before it broke, just to see what Mrs. Woodley would do. But most of all he wanted to get out of this creepy hotel as quickly as he could.
Johnny hurried across the lobby, down the front steps, and out into the autumn sunshine. As he crossed the common he thought about the phone conversation he had just had. He felt frustrated, but in an odd way he also felt relieved. He was glad to know that Gramma's operation was over, and that it had been a success. As for the puzzle business, it was true that the professor had not taken him seriously, but at least he had said what he wanted to say. And maybe the professor was right after all. Maybe Johnny should just forget about Staunton Harold and the Glomus will, shove the whole stupid mess out of his mind.
Mr. Brentlinger's station wagon was parked outside the post office, but Mr. Brentlinger was not there. Probably he was still shopping or chewing the fat with some friend of his. Johnny started to get into the car and wait for him, but as soon as he opened the car door, he noticed something lying on the seat. It was a small square of heavy white paper with ragged edges. Carelessly Johnny picked the paper up and turned it over. What he saw was an old-fashioned black-and-white woodcut. It showed some young men drinking in a tavern. Outside the tavern door stood a skeleton. It held a spear up over its head, and it looked like it was getting ready to throw the spear at the young men. Underneath the picture was a little two-line poem, printed in old-fashioned lettering. It read:
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly courtesy Jonathan Abucejo. |
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This is the second book in the Johnny Dixon series.
This is the first book to feature Byron "Fergie" Ferguson.
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| Did you know: the Glomus estate, Staunton Harold, and surrounding grounds in Kancamagus Center, New Hampshire are based on a real and similarly-named manor house in Leicestershire, England? |
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| Statistics |
Author: John Bellairs (45)
Published: November 1983
Publishing history
Chapters: 16 | Pages: 168
Awards | Reviews | Annotations |
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| Adaptations |
There are no known adaptations of this work. |
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| Allusions |
None known. |
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| Dedication |
For Candice, a fellow writer and a good friend.
Candice Ransom: I wrote to John via his publisher in 1978. I'd been a big fan of The Face in the Frost and the first Johnny book. I was just starting to write full-time. I sent John, of all things, a recipe for Indian pudding. He wrote back and we began our friendship by letters. John was my first contact with a "real writer." While he didn't influence my career that much (we wrote vastly different things), he made me realize that "famous writers" were real people, with real problems and real lives. He kept me grounded and laughing at the same time. I wish I had had a chance to reciprocate and dedicate one of my books to John, but he left us too soon. |
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