Secret of the Indian

Secret of the Indian
Lynne Reid Banks

Who would believe that a plastic toy American Indian and a plastic toy cowboy can come to life?When Omri’s friend Patrick goes back in time to the Wild West, keeping the secret safe becomes even more difficult for Omri…

Contents

Cover (#ue7f646c5-b447-5821-8016-40b74cb4b92b)

Title Page (#u1acd026c-03bb-5b31-9423-56fec76920d3)

Dedication (#u765c22b8-1999-5666-8212-d17eb5e5234a)

1 A Shocking Homecoming (#u6f8bc9f4-4845-530e-b079-909d65307fe6)

2 Modest Heroes (#u049b38eb-6d25-554e-abef-fac506ee88d0)

3 How It All Started (#ud7aafeb1-9470-5d52-bcec-936065e534f5)

4 Dead in the Night (#ucd6d760b-c2bd-54d5-a15a-a06bb13cad59)

5 Patrick Goes Back (#uc4df77c3-f566-559a-a8f7-0b620d24c4e2)

6 A New Insider (#litres_trial_promo)

7 Patrick in Boone-land (#litres_trial_promo)

8 A Heart Stops Beating (#litres_trial_promo)

9 Tasmin Drives a Bargain (#litres_trial_promo)

10 A Rough Ride (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Ruby Lou (#litres_trial_promo)

12 Caught Red-Handed (#litres_trial_promo)

13 Mr Johnson Smells a Rat (#litres_trial_promo)

14 A Strange Yellow Sky (#litres_trial_promo)

15 Interrogation (#litres_trial_promo)

16 Panic (#litres_trial_promo)

17 The Big Blow (#litres_trial_promo)

18 Red Satin (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue at a Wedding (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

(#ulink_b826a7b4-57c8-52e1-a1df-fa3b2e747901)

For Sheila Watson – sine qua non

1 (#ulink_28a88be4-e246-5d6c-8674-1548412f066c)

A Shocking Homecoming (#ulink_28a88be4-e246-5d6c-8674-1548412f066c)

When Omri’s parents drove home from their party, his mother got out in front of the house while his father drove round the side to put the car away. The front-door key was on the same key ring with the car key, so his mother came up the steps and rang the bell. She expected the baby-sitter to answer.

There was a lengthy pause and then the door opened and there was Omri, with Patrick just behind him. The light was behind him too, so she didn’t see him clearly at first.

“Good heavens, are you boys still up? You should have been in bed hours ag—”

Then she stopped. Her mouth fell open and her face drained of colour.

“Omri! What – what – what’s happened to your face?”

She could hardly speak properly, and that was when Omri realized that he wasn’t going to get away with it so easily this time. This time he was either going to have to lie like mad or he was going to have to tell far more than he had ever intended about the Indian, the key, the cupboard and all the rest of it.

He and Patrick had talked about it, frantically, before his parents returned.

“How are you going to explain the burn on your head?” Patrick asked.

“I don’t know. That’s the one thing I can’t explain.”

“No it’s not. What about all the little bullet-holes and stuff in your parents’ bedroom?”

Omri’s face was furrowed, even though every time he frowned, it hurt his burn.

“Maybe they won’t notice. They both need glasses. Do you think we should clear everything up in there?”

Patrick had said, “No, better leave it. After all, they’ve got to know about the burglars. Maybe in all the fuss about that, they won’t notice your face and a few other things.”

“How shall we explain how we got rid of them – the burglars I mean?”

“We could just say we burst in through the bathroom and scared them away.”

Omri had grinned lopsidedly. “That makes us out to be heroes.”

“So what’s so bad about that? Anyway it’s better than telling about them.” Patrick, who had once been quite keen to tell ‘about them’, now realized perfectly clearly that this was about the worst thing that could happen.

“But where is the wretched baby-sitter? Why didn’t she come? How dare she not turn up when she promised?”