Nellie grinned. I always wanted to go to Venice. It's supposed to be the romance capital of the world.Sweet, put in Dan. Too bad your date is an Egyptian Mau on a hunger strike.The au pair sighed. Bet...
Amy turned to Nellie. Can you create a diversion to draw the clerk outside?The au pair was wary. What kind of diversion?You could pretend to be lost, Dan proposed. The guy comes out to give you direct...
A Styrofoam egg carton caught his eye. He opened it and found a single silver orb with little blinking red lights. This is cool, too! He dropped it into his backpack.Dan, no!What? They've got plenty o...
I want a room decorated with bones! Dan said. Where'd they come from?Cemeteries, Amy said. Back in the 1700s, the cemeteries were getting overcrowded, so they decided to dig up tons of old bodies–all...
Just then he noticed that Amy had that look, as though she wanted the street to buckle and split so she could fall right in. Dan saw the cool crowd from her school hanging at a table in the front. So...
Dan was thrilled that the second clue had been safely smuggled out of the church in his pants.So, really, I saved the day, he decided.Wait a minute, Amy said, climbed onto the roof in the middle of a...
Sugar maple! Mary-Todd Holt knelt over her husband. Are you all right?Eisenhower sat up, and egg-size lump blooming on his crown. Of course I'm all right! he managed, his words slurred. You think a li...
Nellie's brow furrowed. The great Mr. Hip-Hop Mogul standing in line with the common peasants? How do you figure that?Dan grinned. I'm starting to dig this 'no cars' thing. It's a great equalizer.
My dear children!Nellie whopped him upside the head with her backpack.Ow! Uncle Alistair curled over, cupping his hand over his good eye.Nellie! Amy said.Sorry, Nellie muttered. I thought he was one o...
Amy gritted her teeth. King Louis XVI even put Franklin's picture on a chamber pot!Jonah looked at his dad. Do we have souvenir chamber pots?No. His dad whipped out his phone. I'll make the call.
The au pair was bug-eyed. What happened back there?It's not our fault! Dan babbled. Those guys are crazy! They're like mini-Darth Vaders without the mask!They're Benedictine monks! Nellie exclaimed. T...
Caught in a bad romance. Whoaaa-oh-ooooh!Nellie wailed along to the XM radio blaring from the enormous speakers.Can I uncover my ears now? Dan called from the back, where he was reclined across the le...
Nobody got me out, Nellie replied. They just let me go. They think I'm a deranged Jonah Wizard fan. Apparently, the hotel's full of them. A couple of idiots actually jumped off the front balcony. Can...
P.S. You'll have to meet with Dan's principal when you get back. He got in trouble for doing ninja moves in class. Don't worry. This happens all the time.
Just then a word floated out through the buzz saw of Zapata-speak: . Dan tuned back in....the most beautiful tomb in Egypt, Ms. Zapata was saying. You probably know the queen because there's a famous...
For someone who's smarter than a supercomputer, sometimes you're a real idiot.
C'mon, Amy, cinnamon rolls are calling us. Dan put a hand to his ear. Do you hear? 'Amy? Dan?' he squeaked. 'Come and get my sugary, sticky goodness!
You know how to steer a yacht? Mr. McIntyre asked Ian worriedly.I was born knowing how to steer a yacht, Ian said. Then a stricken look came over his face. But–do you suppose Jonah prepaid the full am...