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“READY, AIM, FIRE!” yelled Ruth Rose.
    She and Dink hurled snowballs at Josh’s fort.
    Josh’s grinning face popped up. “Missed by a mile!” he yelled. “You throw like a girl, Ruth Rose!”
    “I
am
a girl!” Ruth Rose yelled back. She whipped another snowball, catching Josh in the face.
    The sides were uneven, but no onecared. It was Dink, Ruth Rose, and her little brother, Nate, against Josh and his dog, Pal.
    Nate was in charge of making snowballs for his sister and Dink. Pal raced around barking and trying to catch the snowballs in his mouth.
    More snowballs flew at Josh’s fort. Suddenly, Dink yelled, “Stop!”
    Two little kids in lumpy snowsuits had wandered into Dink’s backyard.
    “Who’re they?” asked Ruth Rose.
    Dink shrugged. He and Ruth Rose dropped their snowballs and walked over to the newcomers.
    The taller one was a boy. He wore a dark blue parka and a green ski hat. The shorter one was a girl. Her red hair framed blue eyes and pink cheeks.
    “Hi,” Dink said. “Who’re you?”
    “I’m Josephine!” the girl said.
    “And I’m Ben,” the boy said. “Webrought you a message from our big brother.”
    Josh climbed out of his fort and walked over. “Who’s your brother?” he asked.
    “Lucky O’Leary!” Josephine said.
    “Oh, now I recognize you,” Ruth Rose said. “You live over on Robin Road.”
    Ben O’Leary unzipped his parka pocket and pulled out a crumpled note. “Here, Lucky said to read it right now.” He handed the note to Dink.
    Dink flattened out the paper.
    Guys, I need you.
Come to my house now. Urgent!
Lucky
    “Did Lucky say what this is about?” Dink asked.
    “It’s a secret!” Josephine said, her eyes wide.
    Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose looked at each other.
    “Let’s go!” Ruth Rose said. She pointed her brother toward their house. “Nate, please go stay with Mom. Tell her I had to go on a secret mission!”
    Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose followed Ben and Josephine. With Pal at their side, they headed for the west side of Green Lawn.
    It was Christmas vacation, and the store windows on Main Street were decorated with tiny white lights. Snow covered the grass, but the streets and sidewalks had been cleared.
    “Is your brother home from college?” Dink asked Ben.
    Ben nodded. “He came home a couple days ago.”
    “We bought a Christmas tree and presents!” Josephine added.
    The kids crossed Main Street andheaded up Bridge Lane. They turned left and stopped at 33 Robin Road.
    The house was tall and blue. Kids’ toys and sports stuff were scattered across the yard and front porch.
    The five kids tromped up the steps. Josephine threw open the front door and clumped down the hall, leaving snow tracks on the floor.
    Dink and the rest of the kids knocked the snow off their boots before stepping inside. Josh told Pal to wait on the front porch.
    “Lucky’s in the kitchen,” Ben said, leading the way.
    Lucky was making lunch for his six brothers and sisters. Lined up on the counter were six grilled-cheese sand-wiches, six glasses of milk, and six bananas.
    “We brought ’em!” Josephine said. She and Ben hung up their jackets andsat at the table with the rest of their sisters and brothers.
    Lucky had grown taller since Dink had last seen him. His hair was longer, too.
    “Hey,” Lucky said, nodding at Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose. To his brothers and sisters, he said, “Okay, you guys eat your lunches. Be good, and no fighting! Ben’s in charge.”
    “Why does
he
get to be in charge?” Josephine piped up.
    “Because I said so,” Lucky said. Then he smiled at Josephine. “You can be Ben’s assistant, okay?”
    Lucky beckoned for Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose to follow him. Stepping over soccer balls, mittens, books, and hockey sticks, they trailed after Lucky into the living room.
    A tall Christmas tree stood in one corner, half decorated. Ornaments and strings of lights covered the floor.
    Lucky threw himself into a chair and rubbed the top of his