Philip and the Haunted House (9781619500020) (7 page)

Philip shrugged. “I hope so. He better. I’ll
ask.”

They stayed silent for a while.

“
What do you want to do?” Emery
asked.

“
I don’t know.”

“
At least we already finished our
stupid project,” Emery said. “I’ll bet everyone else in class is
working on it like crazy this weekend.”

“
Mr. Ware said we could improve
it.”

“
It’s improved enough already,” said
Emery. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Want to watch one
of those movies your dad bought?”

“
You mean one of those Abbott and
Costello movies? Yeah, okay. We liked the one about Frankenstein
and Dracula he made us watch.”

“
Good. They’re pretty funny,” Emery
agreed.

“
I’ll get the movies. They’re
upstairs.”

Despite pestering his father for two
days for news about Walter, Philip had nothing to share with Emery
on either Saturday or Sunday, and the first thing Emery said on
Monday morning as he and Philip walked to school was, “So, did your
dad tell you anything
yet?
He
must have told you something by now, right?”

“
No! He won’t tell me
anything!
He gives me a funny smile
and says not to worry about it. It’s really making me mad. I asked
him so many times he sent me to my bedroom at eight o’clock last
night.”

“
That’s mean, not telling us what
happened to Walter. We have a right to know, don’t we?”

“
Nobody thinks so but me and
you.”

“
Oh, well. At least we have an easy day
today. We already reported on our beautification
project.”

“
I want to know what happened to
Walter,” Philip said defiantly.

“
Me, too,” Emery agreed, and the boys
kept walking.

They reached school and their day began the
same as ever; reading, math, and gym. At lunch they stood in the
warmest spot they could find in the schoolyard and discussed
Walter, and after lunch the class prepared to report on their
projects. Philip and Emery slumped down in their seats, their
consciences clear, their work done, content to see their classmates
suffer through their reports.

As Mr. Ware announced that Kevin would report
on his project first, Mr. Greif, the principal, walked into the
classroom.

“
Afternoon, Mr. Ware. I understand your
class is giving their ‘Neighborhood Service’ reports this
afternoon.”

“
That’s right.” The class could see the
principal’s visit puzzled Mr. Ware. “Something has come to my
attention. Something your class has done during this project that
deserves to be recognized.”

Everyone in the class immediately thought of
their classmate Wilson, the super-student. Everything he did seemed
to deserve special attention, and they all wondered what he’d done
now.

The principal gestured to the classroom door.
Philip and Emery bolted upright in their seats as Walter walked
into the room.

He looked different—a lot cleaner; his hair
and beard were neat and even; he even wore new-looking clothes.

“
This is Walter Benson,” Mr. Greif
said. “Walter is going to tell you his story.”

Walter cleared his throat. He looked at
Philip and Emery and smiled.

“
I’m sure you know who Philip and Emery
are, your classmates.”

Everyone’s head turned toward the two boys
who sat next to each other. They didn’t know whether to be
embarrassed or thrilled by the attention.

Walter told the story of how he met the two
boys.

Philip and Emery could feel the excitement in
the class as everyone learned how they’d snuck into the empty house
and befriended Walter.

“
I’ve had an awful lot of bad luck,”
Walter continued. “I won’t bother you with all that, but I had no
home, not much money, not much food, not much… hope. These two
boys, your friends, figured out a way to give all of that back to
me. Philip’s dad talked to me and finally put me in touch with the
real estate agent responsible for the house I mentioned. Seems he’d
always wanted someone who could take care of the different houses
he was trying to sell. Fix them up. Or, as the boys did, keep the
lawn neat and presentable. Now that job belongs to me. He gave it
to me, and I’m going to work hard at it. Plus, the real estate
agent knows a woman who wants to rent a tiny apartment above her
garage. It’s not very big, but it’s enough for me, and with my new
job, I can afford it.” He moved his gaze to the two boys. “Philip
and Emery, you’re welcome there any time.”

“
Well, Mr. Benson, you’ve told us quite
a story,” said Mr. Greif. He turned to face the class. “Philip,
Emery, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of any students from
our school than I am of you both at this moment, and you should be
proud of yourselves. Mr. Ware, what do you think? A+ for helping
the neighborhood?”

“
A++, Mr. Greif. Their original project
was good. But this... it’s terrific. Way to go, guys.” Mr. Ware
gave them a thumbs-up.

Walter waved to them as the principal led him
from the classroom, and Philip and Emery spent a very pleasant
afternoon basking in the unspoken but very noticeable admiration of
their classmates.

Chapter Fourteen

Philip pounced on his father the moment he
returned home from work. “Dad, you didn’t tell me anything. How did
Walter get a job? How did he end up at school today?”

“
Whoa, whoa. Slow down.” Philip watched
his father hang his coat in the hall closet. “Come, come,” his
father said, waving him into the living room. “Now, one question at
a time.”

“
How did Walter end up in my classroom
this afternoon? And what happened to him over the
weekend?”

“
That’s two questions, but you were
right. Walter seemed like a very nice fellow. So when I bundled you
off to school on Friday, I got him to tell me a little of his
history. He used to work over in McClaron’s, the big department
store that went out of business.”

“
Wow! So how’d he end up living in an
empty house?”

“
When the store closed down, the
company that took it over didn’t offer him another job, and
afterwards he simply had a long string of bad luck. So, I thought
of Mr. Schilling, the real estate agent.”

“
I know who you mean.” The drudgery of
lawn mowing filled Philip’s mind for a moment.

“
Well, I thought since he jokingly said
he’d like to hire you to keep the houses he sold in good order, he
might seriously consider hiring Walter. So on my way to work on
Friday, I took Walter to meet him, and Walter told his story to Mr.
Schilling, but Mr. Schilling checked out the facts.”

“
What facts?”

“
Oh, about whether Walter really worked
at McClaren’s or not. Was he a good worker? Some other stuff.
Finally, Mr. Schilling called me and said everything checked out.
Walter, it seems, is a truthful man.”

“
I told you he was okay.”

“
I remembered your telling me your
class did their reports this afternoon, so I called Mr. Greif, told
him the story, and he agreed you and Emery deserved some
recognition for what you did for Walter.”

“
But I didn’t do anything. All I did
was tell you about him.”

“
Well, you wanted to keep Walter out of
trouble, didn’t you? You could have told Walter to avoid the house
for a while and not told me. It seems
you’re
an honest fellow, too, Flipster. I hope
you weren’t too embarrassed today. Walter called me and told me how
it went. He said you and Emery were blushing.”

“
We were really surprised. Mr. Greif
waved his hand at the door, and Walter appeared like
magic.”

“
So, anyway, let me go say hello to
your mother.”

“
Dad, can I run down to Emery’s. He’s
been asking me every day what happened to Walter.”

Mr. Felton glanced at his watch. “Okay, be
back by dinner, though, or your mother will start singing to
you.”

“
I will. Oh, Walter said he was getting
some apartment over some garage, and we were invited anytime we
wanted. Where is it?”

“
Two blocks over. Horrocks
Street.”

“
Wow, so close.”

“
Don’t make a nuisance of yourself. And
don’t forget. Walter will be busy working at his new job.” Mr.
Felton smiled.

Philip smiled back.

“
Oh, Dad. Did they ever catch those
robbers?”

“
Not that I know.”

The loot hasn’t been found
yet
, Philip thought.
It’s
still out there.

“
One other thing,” Mr. Felton said. The
smile left his face. “There will be no more traipsing about in
empty, abandoned houses. At all. Understand?”

Philip had been waiting for that. He
nodded.

“
Good. Then this will all have a happy
ending. Be back in time for dinner.”

Philip rushed for his jacket and charged out
the door. He couldn’t wait to tell Emery the rest of Walter’s story
and remind him about the missing loot—still out there someplace
waiting to be found—maybe even by them!

The End

About the Author

John Paulits is a former teacher in New York
City. He has published seven other children’s novels, several about
Philip and Emery; a collection of horror short stories, OLIVER
MUNCING, EXORCIST; as well as three adult science fiction novels,
HOBSON’S PLANET, BECKONING ETERNITY and LANYON FOR HIRE. His
previous Gyspy Shadow book, PHILIP AND THE SUPERSTITION KID, was
voted best children’s novel of 2010 in the Preditors and Editors
readers poll. PHILIP AND THE HAUNTED HOUSE is his third chapter
book with Gypsy Shadow and follows PHILIP AND THE ANGEL.

Learn more about John here:

Website: http://www.johnpaulits.com/

Facebook:
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