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  Dunc kept walking. “Mr. Smith said the professor was a hypnotist. Now that we know, all we have to remember is not to look into his eyes.”

  “I really think I could handle that a lot easier from here.”

  “Look, Amos, there are Hercules’ tracks. They lead straight toward the mansion. He’s probably lying in the backyard munching on something right now.”

  “Yeah, the cat.”

  Dunc walked around to the back. A high iron gate was hanging open on one hinge. Dunc poked his head in and whistled softly. “Here, Hercules. Time to go home now.”

  “There he is.” Amos pointed under the porch. “Looks like they have him chained up.”

  Dunc chewed on his lip. “I guess we better go get him.”

  Amos considered the situation. “We could leave him. Mr. Smith said he’d be back today or tomorrow. He could come get him.”

  “We can’t leave him here. They didn’t even set out any water for him. Come on.” Dunc headed cautiously toward the back porch. He dropped down on all fours. “Here, boy. We’ve come to take you home. Come on out of there.”

  Hercules inched farther back. Dunc tried pulling on the chain. He couldn’t budge the big dog.

  Amos crawled under the porch and grabbed the dog’s collar. “Come out of there, you big hunk of guts. We’re risking our lives here.”

  The back door slammed. Amos froze. He saw Moose grab Dunc’s shirt front and raise him off the ground.

  “This is private property, squirt. What are you doing here?” the big man growled.

  Moose didn’t wait for an answer. He slung Dunc over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and started back into the house. Amos peeked over the edge of the porch in time to see Dunc mouth the words Go for help!

  • 11

  Amos counted to ten, quickly unchained Hercules, and scrambled out from underneath the porch. He and the dog both ran all the way to the junkyard.

  Breathlessly he fumbled in his pocket for the key to the house. Once he had the door open, he raced for the telephone and dialed the police.

  “Hello. This is an emergency.… No, I don’t want to be put on hold.” The phone line went dead. Amos dialed the number again. “There’s been a kidnapping at the old Grogan place. Okay, I’ll wait while you transfer my call.”

  Amos tapped the table. “Come on.”

  A gruff voice came on the line. “This is Sergeant Walker. What’s all this about a kidnapping?”

  “It’s my friend. He’s been kidnapped. Hurry.”

  “Calm down, son. First give me your name and location.”

  “It’s Amos. Amos Binder. And I—”

  “Binder!” The sergeant yelled in the phone. “Aren’t you the one who called a few weeks ago about seeing a terrorist down at Burger World?”

  “It was a simple case of mistaken identity. You see, I saw this poster at the post office and—”

  “And didn’t we have to send a car to the supermarket last week because you went crazy and wrecked half the store?”

  “That’s easy to explain too, Officer. I heard a telephone ringing and I was just trying to—”

  “And didn’t we just miss charging you with breaking and entering at … let me check … oh yeah, the Weatherbys’?”

  “That was me, but listen, Officer—”

  “Look, Binder. I don’t ever want to hear your name again. ’Cause if I do, you’re going to spend some time with the men in the white jackets down at the psycho ward of the county hospital. Do you understand me, son?”

  “I think so, but listen, Officer …”

  The phone line went dead.

  Amos looked at Hercules. “What are we going to do now? Dunc needs us and I can’t get any help.”

  The big dog barked at him, then turned and ran down the hall. Amos followed him into the bathroom.

  Hercules sat down and barked at the red suit hanging on the door.

  • 12

  “Look what I found nosing around on the back porch, boss.” Moose carried Dunc into the parlor still slung over his shoulder.

  Dunc raised his head in time to see the professor quickly throw a sheet over one of the open crates.

  “Put our young friend down, Moose.”

  The big man dropped Dunc on the marble floor.

  Dunc struggled to his feet. “Sorry to drop in like this. I was just looking for my dog. You’ve got him tied up out back.”

  “Your dog?” The professor raised one eyebrow. “I was under the impression that dog belonged to a certain nosey neighbor of mine.”

  “He does.” Dunc couldn’t help staring at the man’s misshapen face. He shook himself and looked at the floor. “I mean he belongs to Mr. Smith over at the junkyard. He asked me to keep an eye on him.”

  “Smith? Is that what he calls himself these days? No matter.” The professor played with the end of his mustache. “The question is, what shall we do with you?” He stared deep into Dunc’s eyes.

  Dunc quickly turned his head. “Nice place you have here, Professor. The decorating is coming along great. I hear sheets are in this year. Well, I’ll just be going now. Nice talking to you.”

  Dunc backed into a wall. Or what seemed like a wall. It was Moose. He felt himself being lifted off the ground again.

  “What you want me to do with him, boss?”

  The professor moved closer. His face was only inches away from Dunc’s. Dunc squeezed his eyes shut.

  “Drat!” The professor stomped around the room. “He knows about me, Moose. Take him upstairs and lock him in one of the bedrooms until I figure out what to do with him.”

  “Whatever you say, boss.”

  Moose started up the stairs but stopped when he heard furious barking coming from the back porch. “What now?” He walked back down and yanked the door open.

  “What the …” A bright yellow glow moved inside the house and then disappeared. Hercules leaped on Moose and knocked him backward. Dunc fell, slid across the floor, and landed under the staircase.

  Professor Brainard came running in from the kitchen. “What’s going on in here?”

  A coatrack floated mysteriously across the room and jabbed the professor in the stomach, forcing him to crouch down behind one of the crates. Then a sheet rose into the air and dropped over the professor’s head.

  “Now’s your chance. Run, Dunc!”

  Dunc stood up. “Amos, is that you?”

  “Who else?”

  “I thought you were going for help.”

  “I am the help!”

  “Oh.”

  They heard a loud yelp from Hercules. Moose was sitting on him.

  Amos picked up the lid of one of the crates and started after Moose. The muscle man swung his fist in the air but didn’t hit anything. Amos laughed. “You big ape. You couldn’t whip my grandmother.”

  Without warning, a yellow glow filled the room and Amos became visible. He felt a large hand on his shoulder. “It’s not nice to call people names, sonny.” Moose wadded Amos into a ball and tossed him across the room.

  Hercules snarled and grabbed the big man’s pants leg.

  Dunc ran over to see if Amos was all right. “Can you stand up?”

  Amos rubbed his head and watched Moose dragging Hercules, who still clung to his pants leg, across the room toward them. “Somehow I don’t think there’s much point to it.”

  The professor pulled the sheet off his head and stormed over to them. He gave Amos a look of disgust. “Well, if it isn’t Super Dud. What exactly did you think you were going to accomplish?”

  Amos looked down at the suit. It was a little large. Both pants legs were rolled up, one of his sneakers had come off, and the mask had slipped halfway down his face.

  “No need to answer,” the professor continued. “By the time I’m through with the two of you, even your own mothers won’t recognize you. Lock them up, Moose.”

  “I think not.”

  The professor turned. Six men were standing behind him. The one in front
flashed his FBI badge. “Cuff ’em and take ’em to the car, boys.”

  Mr. Smith stepped around the agents and patted Hercules on the head. He looked at the boys. “We went to the junkyard first and found your bikes and the hole in the fence. I thought it might be a good idea to check over here.”

  “Boy, are we glad you did.” Dunc helped Amos to his feet.

  Mr. Smith looked inside one of the large crates marked PRIVATE. He turned to the chief FBI agent. “It’s just like we thought. Brainard was getting ready to build his own nuclear weapons. And he was going to use this little town as his financial base.”

  Mr. Smith turned to the boys. “Thanks for taking care of things while I was gone. I know Herc can be a handful sometimes.”

  “No problem.” Amos patted the dog. “It was our pleasure, right, Dunc?”

  Dunc stared at him. “Are you okay, Amos?”

  Amos reached for his lost sneaker and straightened his mask. “By the way, I was just wondering if I could keep the suit for a while. Maybe just a couple of hours.”

  Mr. Smith rubbed his neck. “I don’t know, Amos. Like I said, I still don’t have all the bugs worked out of it.”

  “I’ll bring it right back just as soon as I’m finished. Promise.”

  Dunc cocked his head and folded his arms. “What do you need it for? They already have the crooks in custody.”

  Amos started for the door. “There’s this certain girl I know and I’d like to hear what she really thinks about me. If I were invisible …”

  A yellow glow started in the room.

  “Amos.” Dunc tried to grab him. “You can’t go around eavesdropping on Melissa Hansen.”

  The glow moved out the door.

  “Amos, you come back here.” Dunc raced to the door.

  “Amos, wait for me …”

  Be sure to join Dunc and Amos in these other Culpepper Adventures:

  The Case of the Dirty Bird

  When Dunc Culpepper and his best friend, Amos Binder, first see the parrot in a pet store, they’re not impressed—it’s smelly, scruffy, and missing half its feathers. They’re only slightly impressed when they learn that the parrot speaks four languages, has outlived ten of its owners, and is probably 150 years old. But when the bird starts mouthing off about buried treasure, Dunc and Amos get pretty excited. Let the amateur sleuthing begin!

  Dunc’s Doll

  Dunc and his accident-prone friend Amos are up to their old sleuthing habits once again. This time they’re after a band of doll thieves! When a doll that once belonged to Charles Dickens’s daughter is stolen from an exhibition at the local mall, the two boys put on their detective gear and do some serious snooping. Will a vicious watchdog keep them from retrieving the valuable missing doll?

  Culpepper’s Cannon

  Dunc and Amos are researching the Civil War cannon that stands in the town square when they find a note inside telling them about a time portal. Entering it through the dressing room of La Petite, a women’s clothing store, the boys find themselves in downtown Chatham on March 8, 1862—the day before the historic clash between the Monitor and the Merrimac. But the Confederate soldiers they meet mistake them for Yankee spies. Will they make it back to the future in one piece?

  Dunc Gets Tweaked

  Dunc and Amos meet up with a new buddy named Lash when they enter the radical world of skateboard competition. When somebody “cops”—steals—Lash’s prototype skateboard, the boys are determined to get it back. After all, Lash is about to shoot for a totally rad world’s record! Along the way they learn a major lesson: Never kiss a monkey!

  Dunc’s Halloween

  Dunc and Amos are planning the best route to get the most candy on Halloween. But their plans change when Amos is slightly bitten by a werewolf. He begins scratching himself and chasing UPS trucks—he’s become a werepuppy!

  Dunc Breaks the Record

  Dunc and Amos have a small problem when they try hang gliding—they crash in the wilderness. Luckily, Amos has read a book about a boy who survived in the wilderness for fifty-four days. Too bad Amos doesn’t have a hatchet. Things go from bad to worse when a wild man holds the boys captive. Can anything save them now?

  Dunc and the Flaming Ghost

  Dunc’s not afraid of ghosts, although Amos is sure that the old Rambridge house is haunted by the ghost of Blackbeard the Pirate. Then the best friends meet Eddie, a meek man who claims to be impersonating Blackbeard’s ghost so that he can live in the house in peace. But if that’s true, why are flames shooting from his mouth?

  Amos Gets Famous

  Deciphering a code they find in a library book, Amos and Dunc stumble onto a burglary ring. The burglars’ next target is the home of Melissa, the girl of Amos’s dreams (who doesn’t even know he’s alive). Amos longs to be a hero to Melissa, so nothing will stop him from solving this case—not even a mind-boggling collision with a jock, a chimpanzee, and a toilet.

  Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top

  To impress Melissa, Amos decides to perform on the trapeze at the visiting circus. Look out below! But before Dunc can talk him out of his plan, the two stumble across a mystery behind the scenes at the circus. Now Amos is in double trouble. What’s really going on under the big top?

  Dunc’s Dump

  Camouflaged as piles of rotting trash, Dunc and Amos are sneaking around the town dump. Dunc wants to find out who is polluting the garbage at the dump with hazardous and toxic waste. Amos just wants to impress Melissa. Can either of them succeed?

  Dunc and the Scam Artists

  Dunc and Amos are at it again. Some older residents of their town have been bilked by con artists, and the two boys want to look into these crimes. They meet elderly Betsy Dell, whose nasty nephew Frank gives the boys the creeps. Then they notice some soft dirt in Ms. Dell’s shed, and a shovel. Does Frank have something horrible in store for Dunc and Amos?

  Dunc and Amos and the Red Tattoos

  Dunc and Amos head for camp and face two weeks of fresh air—along with regulations, demerits, KP, and inedible food. But where these two best friends go, trouble follows. They overhear a threat against the camp director and discover that camp funds have been stolen. Do these crimes have anything to do with the tattoo of the exotic red flower that some of the camp staff have on their arms?

  Dunc’s Undercover Christmas

  It’s Christmastime, and Dunc, Amos, and Amos’s cousin T.J. hit the mall for some serious shopping. But when the seasonal magic is threatened by disappearing presents, and Santa Claus himself is a prime suspect, the boys put their celebration on hold and go undercover in perfect Christmas disguises! Can the sleuthing trio protect Santa’s threatened reputation and catch the impostor before he strikes again?

  The Wild Culpepper Cruise

  When Amos wins a “Why I Love My Dog” contest, he and Dunc are off on the Caribbean cruise of their dreams! But there’s something downright fishy about Amos’s suitcase, and before they know it, the two best friends wind up with more high-seas adventure than they bargained for. Can Dunc and Amos figure out who’s out to get them and salvage what’s left of their vacation?

  Dunc and the Haunted Castle

  When Dunc and Amos are invited to spend a week in Scotland, Dunc can already hear the bagpipes a-blowin’. But when the boys spend their first night in an ancient castle, it isn’t bagpipes they hear. It’s moans! Dunc hears groaning coming from inside his bedroom walls. Amos notices that the eyes of a painting follow him across the room! Could the castle really be haunted? Local legend has it that the castle’s former lord wanders the ramparts at night in search of his head! Team up with Dunc and Amos as they go ghostbusting in the Scottish Highlands!

  Cowpokes and Desperadoes

  Git along, little dogies! Dunc and Amos are bound for Uncle Woody Culpepper’s Santa Fe cattle ranch for a week of fun. But when they overhear a couple of cowpokes plotting to do Uncle Woody in, the two sleuths are back on the trail of some serious action! Who’s been making off with al
l the prize cattle? Can Dunc and Amos stop the rustlers in time to save the ranch?

  Prince Amos

  When their fifth-grade class spends a weekend interning at the state capitol, Dunc and Amos find themselves face-to-face with Amos’s walking double—Prince Gustav, Crown Prince of Moldavia! His Royal Highness is desperate to uncover a traitor in his ranks. And when he asks Amos to switch places with him, Dunc holds his breath to see what will happen next. Can Amos pull off the impersonation of a lifetime?

  Coach Amos

  Amos and Dunc have their hands full when their school principal asks them to coach a local T-ball team. For one thing, nobody on the team even knows first base from left field, and the season opener is coming right up. And then there’s that sinister-looking gangster driving by in his long black limo and making threats. Can Dunc and Amos fend off screaming tots, nervous mothers, and the mob, and be there when the ump yells “Play ball”?

  Amos and the Alien

  When Amos and his best friend, Dunc, have a close encounter with an extraterrestrial named Girrk, Dunc thinks they should report their findings to NASA. But Amos has other plans. He not only promises to help Girrk find a way back to his planet, he invites him to hide out under his bed! Then weird things start to happen—Scruff, the Binders’ dog, can’t move, Amos scores a game-winning touchdown, and Dunc knows Girrk is behind Amos’s new powers. What’s the mysterious alien really up to?