Page 24 (1/2)

‘It’s no good,’ said Tom, ‘unless someone has matches’

More hands reached out with matches in each

Doug stared at the door

‘How can we fix the crackers so they’ll really do soo off?’

‘Glue,’ said Tom

Doug shook his head, scowling

‘Yeah, glue, right,’ he said ‘Does anyone just happen to have any glue on them?’

A single hand reached out on the air It was Pete’s

‘Here’s soht it for reat picture of the bulldog on the label’

‘Let’s give it a try’

Doug applied glue along the length of one of the five–inchers and pressed it against the outside of the machinery room door

‘Stand back,’ he said, and struck a match

With hiswaited for the cracker to go off The orange fla the fuse

There was a beautiful explosion

For a long moment they all stared at the door in disappointment and then, very slowly, it drifted open