Magic Tree House #50: Hurry Up, Houdini! (A Stepping Stone Book(TM))

man. He didn’t know what else to say.
    “Don’t worry, Mr. Dewey, we’ll help,” said Annie.
    “Thank you!” cried Mr. Dewey. “I’ll look for Houdini outside!”
    Mr. Dewey hurried away. Mr. Wilson called to his crew and told them to put the rabbits and birds back in the hidden compartments of the table.
    “Let’s talk,” Jack said to Annie. They slippedinto their dressing room, and Jack closed the door.
    “I know you said yes only because Mr. Dewey was losing his mind,” said Jack. “But I don’t see how we can do this.”
    “Well, if we go on at nine, we’ll have five good minutes,” said Annie.
    “I know, but what if Houdini’s still not here after five good minutes?” said Jack.
    “Maybe we could hold their attention some other way,” said Annie. “We could at least try.”
    “Hmm.” Jack thought for a moment. “Actually, maybe we can get away with doing the same tricks we did before,” he said. “Now that we know how they work, they shouldn’t be that hard. We know how to push on the tops of the hats. We know about the hidden compartments in the table. We know about the opening in the ring.”
    “Yeah … right. Right, easy,” said Annie. “You can keep doing card tricks, and I can keep throwing the rings around.”
    Mr. Wilson opened the door, and sounds from the audience filled the room. Jack could hear feetstamping and people chanting, “Hoo-dee-nee! Hoo-dee-nee!”
    “Everything’s back onstage,” said Mr. Wilson. “Ready to tame the lions?”
    Jack still felt the confidence that came from being a great magician. “Showtime!” he said.
    “No problem!” said Annie.
    Jack and Annie left the dressing room and followed Mr. Wilson through the backstage area.
    “Dewey’s out on the avenue, looking for Houdini,” said Mr. Wilson. “Take your places, and I’ll pull the curtain.”
    Jack and Annie strode onto the stage and stood in front of the table. Jack looked at his pocket watch. It was nine o’clock.
    The curtain rose to great fanfare. The audience clapped and cheered. It took a moment for everyone to realize they were looking at Jack and Annie again. After a stunned silence, some people started booing and hissing.
    Jack stepped forward. He tipped his hat and laughed his jolly laugh. “What a terrible surprise,eh?” he shouted. “You didn’t know Jolly Jack is the secret identity of the Great Houdini, did you?”
    More booing and hissing.
    “Seriously, folks, I understand your disappointment,” said Jack. “But the world’s greatest magician is preparing himself backstage right now to give you the best show you’ve ever seen. So please allow Jolly Jack and the Amazing Annie to entertain you for a few more minutes!”
    The audience quieted down, but then someone yelled, “We want Houdini!”
    “Take it outside, pal!” said Jack. “So do we!”
    The audience laughed.
    Jack turned to Annie. “The wand, sister dear.”
    Annie expertly dropped the wand down her sleeve into her hand. The cymbals crashed. But this time, there wasn’t much applause.
    Annie gave the wand to Jack. As he placed his hat over the hidden compartment on the table, he secretly pushed down on the trapdoor. Jack then waved the wand around the brim of the hat. He opened his mouth to speak—but suddenly,
horribly
, he couldn’t think of anything to say!
    Holding the wand in midair, Jack turned to Annie. She looked confused, too. Their hour of being great stage magicians had ended. The magic was over.
    Some people yelled from the audience. Jack felt embarrassed and self-conscious. He couldn’t believe he was trying to perform magic in front of a gazillion people. It was like a nightmare! He couldn’t move or speak!
    Annie rushed over. She reached into Jack’s hat and pushed down on the top. Out jumped the rabbits—one, two, three! But this time, Annie couldn’t catch them, and they jumped to the floor and hopped around the stage.
    The audience laughed and booed.
    Annie put her hat over the second trapdoor and pushed down on the top. Out flew the birds. They circled above the table while Annie grinned foolishly. “See? Magic doves … again,” she said. The stagehands came out and tried to gather up all the creatures.

    The audience booed.
    The musicians didn’t know what to do. They played random violin squeaks, drum sounds, and trumpet wails.
    Jack grabbed the deck of cards. “Um … are there still some cardplayers here?” he said. He thrust out his arm. Instead of