"Hurry up. Push the 'down' button." Hannah peered up and down the hall. "Let's get out of here before everyone gets up. And besides, this bird cage is getting heavier by the minute."

Not in as much of a hurry as her older sister, Katie pushed the button and said, "I really don't think we should be doing this."

The elevator sighed open and Hannah hustled in with her awkward burden. She pushed the button so fast, Katie jumped in just before the door closed.

In the lobby, Hannah breathed easier as she looked around. There was no sign of anyone they knew from other apartments, who might question their unusual early morning activity.

Rain soaked their hair and dribbled down their necks while they shivered at the nearest bus stop. Three buses splashed by before one marked 'Coliseum' came to a grinding halt. Wet and grumbling people jostled their way up the bus steps. Hannah threw her raincoat over the cage, handed it to Katie and whispered, "Go straight to the back." She shoved her in with others who had already paid their fare and planted herself where the bus driver couldn't see Katie.

Fumbling in her jeans, Hannah said to the driver, "Wow! It sure is teeming out there. Does that make it harder to drive the bus? I don't think I would like being a bus driver. Especially a school bus. Sometimes the kids get so loud and don't listen to the driver. Did you ever drive a school bus?"

"Young lady," said the driver, his lips twitching, "I would enjoy talking to you when I don't have to stick to my schedule. Fare, please."

Hannah pulled coins and tokens out of her pocket. "Oh, sure, sorry. How much to the Coliseum?"

"How old are you?" asked the driver in a bored voice.

Before answering, Hannah looked out of the corner of her eye to see where Katie was. She had made it!

She let out her breath and said, "I'm twelve and my sister who is already sitting down, is nine."

"Three tokens." Now, go sit down so I can get started."

"I'm really scared," whispered Katie when Hannah plopped next to her in the back seat." I'll bet you anything that animals aren't allowed on city buses."

"Don't worry about it." Smiling, she poked Katie in the ribs with her elbow. "We can take a taxi home with the money we win at the pet fair."

Katie grinned weakly. "We'll be in humongous trouble when the folks find our note. Do you think they found it yet? How about Eric when he discovers we borrowed Buddy? Do you think he'll be real mad at us?"

Nodding, Hannah pushed her wet, red hair behind her ears. "Not for long. He'll be cool when we give him our prize money toward his electric wheelchair."

"Do you really think we'll have the smartest parrot in the contest? Will he talk when he's supposed to?"

"Of course," said Hannah. And I know he'll whistle "Yankee Doodle" real loud and hard." She peeked under the green cage cover. "Hi, how ya' doing?"

"Buddy wants a pretzel. Buddy wants two pretzels," answered a high, demanding voice.

Everyone's head snapped around and thirty pairs of eyes stared. A boy in a cowboy hat knelt backwards on his seat, trying to see what was happening.

The man in the seat in front of them stood up and came closer. Dirty and wearing a soaked and rumpled long, black coat, his face made Hannah take a quick breath. She pulled back. Her skin crawled when he asked, "What'cha got girls?"

As he yanked the cover off the cage he glared at them through narrowed eyes. "Where'd ya get him?" he hissed through yellow, broken teeth. "He looks exactly like mine someone stole."

"Our Gramps bought him for our crippled brother for his birthday," answered Hannah in a shaky voice. Katie nodded so hard her blond bangs bounced.

"Yeah, I bet. Just hand him over to me right now, and I won't call the
police on ya'."

Moving so fast Hannah couldn't stop him, the man's grimy hand pulled a squawking, screeching Buddy out of his cage. "Ouch! Come here you dumb bird," he yelled when Buddy bit him and flew away.

"Driver! Help!" screamed a woman when he landed on her shoulder. "Stop this bus right now!" Buddy flew again.

The bus lurched to a stop. Hannah caught Buddy just as he landed on the boy's cowboy hat and the red-faced man dove for him.

"Can I touch him? Does he talk?" asked the boy.

"What s going on here, girls?" questioned the driver, grabbing the man by his collar.

When wide - eyed Hannah spluttered out their story, he burst out laughing at the last part. "Sam owning a parrot! Never!" His eyes shooting daggers, the driver ordered, "Get off here right now, Sam, and don't let me ever, ever see your face on my bus again."

"Ain't my stop."

"It is now," he said, steering Sam out the door.

"Sorry, girls, I'm afraid Buddy can't stay on the bus," said the driver when he returned to their seat. He blotted his sweaty face with a red bandana and said in a gentle voice, "You better get off at the next stop and call home. It's too far for you to walk."

A minute later the bus stopped and the driver waved as the girls went out the back door.

Standing in the drizzle, Katie swallowed her sobs while they looked around. Hannah put down Buddy's cage and said, "There's a phone booth over there. I'll call home."

"Hurry!"

Hannah took only two steps when she heard Katie scream, "Stop!" She turned to see Sam racing away with Buddy's cage.

"Thief," she yelled and took off after him. "He's got my parrot! Get him."

Slipping on the slick, wet sidewalk, Hannah landed with a thud. When her face banged on the cement, she hit her nose and scratched her chin. Breathless, she lay still until someone took her arm and helped her up. "You all right?" asked a policeman, wiping the dirt and blood off her face.

Hannah took a deep breath and looked up at him. "He's got my parrot. Did ... did he take my sister, too?" she sobbed.

"No, my partner took her in there to be with friends of ours. She's scared but just fine," he said. He nodded toward a store with a large chocolate ice cream cone sign hanging out in front. "Now, who took your parrot?"

"The same scrungy man who tried to steal him on the bus."
"What'd he look like?"

Hannah described the man's filthy "Yankees" cap and long greasy hair. "He had rotten teeth and the bus driver called him 'Sam.'"

"BINGO! Slippery Sam!" The policeman grabbed Hannah's hand and they started down the street. "Among other things," he said, "he's wanted for stealing a wealthy woman's jewels."

Hannah's eyes widened. "Wow!"

"He's so slick we've never been able to catch him." He smiled. "That is, until now."

"Look! Buddy's cage cover!" Hannah squealed, stopping abruptly and pointing at something green lying in front of an open door. She pulled away from the policeman, raced over and picked it up. A green feather fluttered down. "That's his! He's molting." She squeezed back the tears. "And here's another inside the door."

The dark hallway smelled like dirty gym socks to Hannah. Feeling like a blind person in a garbage pit as she groped along the wall, she yelled, "Buddy? You here, Buddy?"

A scream froze in her throat when a large hand covered her mouth. Someone grabbed her arm. The deep voice that whispered, "Come with me," turned her legs to Jell-O.

"You could have been hurt," said the policeman when they got outside. "Thanks to your parrot's clues, we think Slippery Sam's in there."

"I'll find him."

"Oh no, you won't. That's our job. You go over there with your sister."

"In a minute." She stuck her head inside the door and whistled "Yankee Doodle" as hard and loud as she could.

The echo barely died before they heard a shrill "Yankee Doodle," followed by a low grumbled, "Stop whistling, you stupid bird!"

Four hours later, after a warm shower and munching peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Hannah and Katie lay on their twin beds.

"Mom and Dad sure are mean," grouched Katie.

Hannah shook her head. "Nope, not really. They were so worried that when the policeman brought us home Mom cried because she was so glad to see us. We're really getting off easy, being grounded just for the afternoon. I only wish we could have won that money for Eric."

Someone knocked on the door. "Please come out here a minute, girls," said their mother.

Dragging their feet, they followed her to the living room.

Officer Harold and a gray-haired woman with dangling earrings and a flowery hat stood behind Eric's wheelchair. "I want you to meet Mrs. Tolliver," said the policeman. Hannah saw a twinkle in his eye when he said, "My partner and I caught Slippery Sam while the other officer took you home. He confessed and turned over her jewels from where he had hidden them."

"Thank you, girls," said Mrs. Tolliver, her face a happy glow. "Your reason for 'borrowing' Buddy was unselfish and I appreciate all you did. But you made some unwise choices, didn't you?"

Both girls nodded and stared at the rug.

Smiling, Mrs. Tolliver continued, "With your parent's approval, I want to give you the reward for the return of my jewels."

Hannah looked at her smiling father. When he nodded, she whispered something to Katie, who giggled and clapped. They gave each other high-fives.

"Thank you," said Hannah, her eyes like twinkling stars. She nudged Katie and they said together, "We want Eric to have it toward his wheelchair."

"Now - that is a wise choice, said Mrs. Tolliver. Shaking hands with everyone, she announced, "A new chair for Eric and Buddy gets a lifetime supply of his favorite treat."

The End

Sally Coup is a retired elementary school teacher who tutors at an after school program in a low cost housing facility. She also does volunteer work at both a dog and a horse rescue centers and, when she can find time she works in both her garden and her church's garden.

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