Page 101 - SpringBoard_ELA_Grade6_Flipbook

aCTIvITy 1.15
continued
In the end
bash: hit with force
my Notes
48 “They’s bad men,” Lemon Brown whispered. His breath was warm against Greg’s skin.
49 “Hey! Rag man!” A voice called. “We know you in here. What you got up under them rags? You got any money?”
50 Silence.
51 “We don’t want to have to come in and hurt you, old man, but we don’t mind if we
have to.”
52 Lemon Brown squeezed Greg’s hand in his own hard, gnarled fist. There was a banging downstairs and a light as the men entered.
53 They banged around noisily, calling for the rag man.
54 “We heard you talking about your treasure.” The voice was slurred. “We just want to
see it, that’s all.”
55 “You sure he’s here?” One voice seemed to come from the room with the sofa.
56 “Yeah, he stays here every night.”
57 “There’s another room over there; I’m going to take a look. You got that flashlight?”
58 “Yeah, here, take the pipe too.”
59 Greg opened his mouth to quiet the sound of his breath as he sucked it in uneasily.
A beam of light hit the wall a few feet opposite him, then went out.
60 “Ain’t nobody in that room,” a voice said. “You think he gone or something?”
61 “I don’t know,” came the answer. “All I know is that I heard him talking about some
kind of treasure. You know they found that shopping bag lady with that load of money in her bags.”
62 “Yeah. You think he’s upstairs?”
63 “HEY, OLD MAN, ARE YOU UP THERE?” Silence.
64 “Watch my back. I’m going up.”
65 There was a footstep on the stairs, and the beam from the flashlight danced crazily
along the peeling wallpaper. Greg held his breath. There was another step and a loud crashing noise as the man banged the pipe against the wooden banister. Greg could feel his temples throb as the man slowly neared them. Greg thought about the pipe, wondering what he would do when the man reached them—what he could do.
66 Then Lemon Brown released his hand and moved toward the top of the stairs. Greg looked around and saw stairs going up to the next floor. He tried waving to Lemon Brown, hoping the old man would see him in the dim light and follow him to the next floor. Maybe, Greg thought, the men wouldn’t follow them up there. Suddenly, though, Lemon Brown stood at the top of the stairs, both arms raised high above his head.
67 “There he is!” A voice cried from below.
68 “Throw down your money, old man, so I won’t have to bash your head in!”
69 Lemon Brown didn’t move. Greg felt himself near panic. The steps came closer, and
still Lemon Brown didn’t move. He was an eerie sight, a bundle of rags standing at the top of the stairs, his shadow on the wall looming over him. Maybe, the thought came to Greg, the scene could be even eerier.
74 SpringBoard® English Language Arts Grade 6
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.