{"id":229,"date":"2009-08-14T21:38:39","date_gmt":"2009-08-15T01:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/?p=229"},"modified":"2009-08-14T21:40:59","modified_gmt":"2009-08-15T01:40:59","slug":"chapter-18-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

The deli was closed for the Founders\u2019 Day celebration, but Ari woke up in no mood to celebrate. He could hear Uncle Ellery sparring with a punching bag in the basement–the chain rattling and clinking with every whomp whomp whomp<\/em> of his uncle\u2019s boxing gloves.<\/p>\n

\n\tAri washed his face and clomped down two flights of stairs to where Uncle Ellery was battling the heavy bag which was standing in for Dudge Hunker.
\n\t\u201cSo,\u201d said Ari. \u201cYou\u2019re really going to go through with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUncle Ellery stopped pounding the bag and looked at Ari in a way that startled him. He could see that Uncle Ellery really wanted him to understand.
\n\t\u201cWilton Daylatch is a total wacko,\u201d said Uncle Ellery. \u201cBut I have to keep the store. Your folks worked too hard…I\u2019ve worked too hard…we\u2019ve all worked too hard to let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAri nodded. Uncle Ellery was completely serious. There was no chance of changing his mind.
\n\t\u201cWell,\u201d said Ari. \u201cJust make sure you eat something.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAri went upstairs and fixed himself a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Then he spent most of the morning searching the store again, hoping he\u2019d spot some obvious hiding place that he and Arden had inexplicably missed yesterday. But there was nothing. Just the usual store stuff, the same old ceiling, and the same old wooden floor with its worn off paint.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019d need another plan. Maybe he could get to Town Dock Park and take the boxing ring apart before anyone noticed. Maybe he could put up a sign that said \u201cFight Canceled–Go Home,\u201d and everyone would. He sure couldn\u2019t sit here in the empty deli doing nothing while Uncle Ellery waited to get pulverized by Dudge Hunker.<\/p>\n

\n*****<\/p>\n

\tAt least the weather could have cooperated, thought Ari grumpily as he made his way down Spoke Street toward the waterfront. Where\u2019s a thunderstorm when you need one? Why does it have to be so darn sunny?<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it was sunny. And the gentle breeze drifting inland from the harbor seemed to have enticed everyone in town to drop whatever they were doing and come to the waterfront. Ari hurried past an ice cream cart and a swingset full of small children to the denser crowd beginning to cluster around the boxing ring in the center of the park.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know about you,\u201d barked a swaggering man who was leaning against the hot dog stand, \u201cbut I say the smart money is on Hunker!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI hear Soffit used to be good,\u201d responded the hot dog vendor.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCome on!\u201d guffawed the leaning man. \u201cHave you seen that guy? Have you seen Dudge Hunker?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAri tried not to listen. There were already too many people here. It was too late to sabotage the boxing ring or put up a sign now.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGUTS in a can!\u201d rang out an all too familiar voice from the other side of the boxing ring. \u201cGet your GUTS in a can! Scare your sister! Disgust your mother! Get your GUTS in a can!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAri looked across the ring. There was Finbar Fenker. Selling…something from a basket on his bike.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cARI!\u201d called out Flossie Beemis from right behind Ari\u2019s left ear. \u201cAri! You can watch the fight with me! It won\u2019t be as scary if we hold hands…\u201d She smelled like overripe bananas, and she batted her eyelashes and smiled.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGUTS in a can!\u201d yelled Finbar, who\u2019d come over and was now waving an unidentified repulsive concoction in a clear plastic can in front of Flossie\u2019s face.
\n\tFlossie let out a squeal so grating that Ari\u2019s ears hurt, and she disappeared in a flash, leaving nothing behind but her banana scent.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMaybe your other girlfriend wants to buy guts,\u201d exclaimed Finbar. \u201cHey! Feeny Weeny Pinto Beeny! Oozing brains and ruptured spleeny!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAri!\u201d said Arden, who had suddenly appeared at Ari\u2019s elbow. She brushed Finbar\u2019s can of guts out of her face. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to create some sort of distraction. It\u2019s all I can think of!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLike what?\u201d asked Ari.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d replied Arden. \u201cA riot. A stampede. Just something. That guy\u2019s going to kill your uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGUTS in a can!\u201d yelled Finbar with even greater enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCome on,\u201d insisted Arden. She pulled Ari brusquely away from Finbar and started across the park. \u201cWe have to cause a disturbance! Anything to stop the fight!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAri felt as hopeless as he\u2019d ever felt. \u201cArden,\u201d he said, \u201cwhere are we going to get a stampede? There\u2019s no zoo in DiRosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA horse farm?\u201d suggested Arden.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNo,\u201d said Ari.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA pig farm,\u201d she insisted. \u201cAnything that\u2019s caged up and needs to get out and run around like crazy!\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tShe was desperate, and so was Ari, but knowing that Uncle Ellery was scheduled for the worst pounding of his life made it impossible for him to think about something as crazy as a stampede.
\n\t\u201cArden,\u201d said Ari, as calmly as he could. \u201cYou\u2019ve lived in DiRosa your entire life. People here have boats. And cars. There are no farms here. Nothing to stampede. Nothing is caged up…\u201d He stopped suddenly and his face registered the shock of a crazy idea he couldn\u2019t believe he\u2019d thought of.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat?\u201d demanded Arden. \u201cYou\u2019re thinking something. What are you thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere is something caged up in DiRosa,\u201d said Ari slowly. \u201c There are TWO HUNDRED BOYS,\u201d he continued pointing toward Duchy Street. \u201cTwo hundred caged up boys!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou mean the school?\u201d asked Arden. \u201cDo you mean Daylatch Academy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s time for recess.\u201d said Ari calmly. Then he turned, and bolted toward Duchy Street.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The deli was closed for the Founders\u2019 Day celebration, but Ari woke up in no mood to celebrate. He could hear Uncle Ellery sparring with a punching bag in the basement–the chain rattling and clinking with every whomp whomp whomp of his uncle\u2019s boxing gloves. Ari washed his face and clomped down two flights of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}