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

way!” Mr. Dewey hustled Jack and Annie through the theater lobby and into a large auditorium. The auditorium had rows and rows of floor seats, as well as box seats and a balcony. Electric lights cast a peach-colored glow over a stage framed by a red curtain.
    “Is that where we’ll perform?” Annie asked.
    “No way! No way!” Jack whispered to her.
    “Yes! That very stage!” boomed Mr. Dewey.
    In the orchestra pit, a violinist was making squeaky sounds, a drummer was setting up his cymbals, and a trumpet player was practicing on his horn.
    “Do they play tonight?” said Annie.
    “For the Houdini show,” said Mr. Dewey. “But if you like, I’m sure they can accompany your routine, too.”
    “Yes! I like!” said Annie. She turned to Jack. “Did you hear that? We get music!”
    “Annie, I didn’t agree to do this,” Jack said under his breath. He was fuming.
    “Come along to your dressing room,” said Mr. Dewey.
    Jack didn’t move. But Annie skipped down the aisle after Mr. Dewey.
    “I didn’t agree, Annie!” Jack yelled from the back of the auditorium. The clashing cymbals drowned out his voice. “Annie, come back!” he yelled louder.
    But Annie followed Mr. Dewey through a door to the backstage area.
    “Darn her!” said Jack, and he hurried down the aisle. He slipped through the door marked BACKSTAGE and stepped into an empty hallway.
    “Where did she go?” Jack muttered. He heard voices. He walked down the hall to the backstagearea, where he found Mr. Dewey talking to a bald man with a clipboard.
    “There he is!” said Annie, pointing at Jack.
    “Meet Jolly Jack!” Mr. Dewey said to the bald man. “Other half of the famous brother-and-sister team Jolly Jack and the Amazing Annie!”
    “These little kids are filling in for the Bambinis tonight?” the bald man asked.
    “We’re not so little,” said Annie, “and we’ve been stage magicians for years.”
    “Excuse me. My sister’s made a mistake. We can’t do this,” said Jack. “We … we don’t have our costumes. We don’t have
anything
!”
    “Not a problem,” said Mr. Dewey. “The Bambinis left all their props and costumes behind.”
    “See?” Annie said to Jack.
    “But—” started Jack.
    “I’m turning you over to Mr. Wilson, our stage manager, now,” said Mr. Dewey. “Good luck! I have to tell Mrs. Crenshaw to open the doors and let the hordes inside. The show will go on!” Mr. Dewey then disappeared down the hall.
    “You kids better know what you’re doing,” said Mr. Wilson, shaking his head. “Saturday-night crowds can be pretty wild.”
    “Don’t worry,” Annie said with a grin. “Our magic act can get pretty wild, too.”
    Jack couldn’t believe her! She had completely taken over their whole mission!
    Mr. Wilson laughed. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad you’re so confident, Amazing Annie. Come with me. Your dressing room is next to Mr. Houdini’s.”
    “Cool! Is Mr. Houdini here now?” Annie asked as they followed Mr. Wilson.
    “Nope, he won’t get here before eight-thirty,” said Mr. Wilson. He led them down the hallway and opened a door.
    “Here you go.” The stage manager waved Jack and Annie into a small room. “See, the Bambinis left behind all their stuff. Use anything you need. You can wear their costumes, too. Both guys were kind of short.”
    “It all looks great,” said Annie.
    On the dressing table were wands, cards, silverrings the size of dinner plates, top hats, bow ties, and white gloves. Strewn over a chair were tuxedos, shirts, and vests.
    “Oh, wow. Look!” said Annie.
    On the floor were two cages. One held three white rabbits. The other held two white doves.
    “They’re so cute!” said Annie. “What are they doing here?”
    “They’re part of the act,” said Mr. Wilson. He looked puzzled. “Most magicians use doves and rabbits. You don’t?”

    “Oh, sure,” Annie said quickly. “Absolutely, we do.”
    “This is crazy,” said Jack. “We can’t just use the Bambinis’ animals and birds and costumes and props. What—what if they come back?”
    “They won’t be back,” said Mr. Wilson. “Dewey’s threatened to call the police. They’ve stolen from the theater twice now. After the show, Mrs. Crenshaw’s going to take the birds and rabbits home to her kids.”
    “Oh, nice!” said Annie.
    “You have thirty-five minutes,” said Mr. Wilson, looking at his pocket watch. “You’ll go on at fifteen minutes after eight and do a