Milton! We’re not putting dead canaries in the mine. It’s gross,” said Nina. “And mean!”
“They wouldn’t have to be real, Nina. Sheesh!”
They had been working on the project at Ada’s house for two hours already, and three arguments had broken out. First Ada had to convince Nina that fortune-telling couldn’t be considered a real industry in San Francisco. Then Milton suggested something that Ada thought was probably illegal. Finally they agreed to build a silver mine like the one at the Comstock Lode. It was in Nevada, but it sparked the silver rush and was a big part of San Francisco’s development. Ada thought that she would have finished more of the project if she had been working by herself.
“She has a point, Milton. And Mr. Parable is clearly a bird lover. It could backfire on us.”
“I’m just trying to give our viewers a sense of authenticity!” said Milton.
Ada knew what that meant. “Well, the miners had to go to the bathroom. Let’s just put in a latrine. Is that authentic enough for you?”
“Now you’re talking, Lace! I like how you think. I do, I do, I do!”
“Why do you encourage him?” asked Nina.
“It’s called compromise, Neens.”
It frightened Ada a little that she seemed to now understand how Milton’s mind worked. But her strategy paid off, because the work went smoothly after that. They had built a replica of one of the mills, and, using Popsicle sticks, they had even re-created some of the square timbering developed by mining engineer Philip Deidesheimer. Nina came up with the idea of adding glitter to the miners’ picks and lanterns. Even Milton was forced to agree that it was a nice touch. Despite their slow start, the project was coming together. Then Nina had to go feed her new pet rat, Templeton. When she was gone, Milton asked Ada if she wanted to learn some new heist skills.
“I learned how to pick a lock with two bobby pins. It’s so fun! I could teach you,” said Milton.
“This is totally going to get me in trouble,” said Ada.
“No, no, no, absolutely not. I know just where to practice it,” said Milton.
• • •
A little later Ada found herself with Milton at the shed in Juniper Garden. She was still not convinced it was a good idea.
“I don’t know, Milton. The garden shed? I don’t think the neighbors will like it,” said Ada.
“It’s no problem! My dad’s stuff is in there. He’s on the garden committee. I even have the key with me, just in case. But, you know, that would kind of defeat the purpose.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
Milton showed Ada how to insert two picks into the lock. One would start to turn the lock while the other would press against the little pins that kept it from turning.
“You just push against the pins inside until you find the sticky ones—the ones that don’t want to move easily. Then you push those up until they click.”
Ada crouched next to Milton as he worked. She heard a series of clicks as the lock released. He opened the door.
“Wow! Can I try now?”
Ada had to try a couple of times, with no luck. But by the third attempt, the lock released and she opened the door.
“Hahahaha! That’s so cool! I feel like a master spy!” she said, jumping up and down.
“What are you kids doing?”
Ada turned to find Ms. Reed standing behind her.
“I think you had better come with me,” she said.
• • •
Ada agreed to clean out the shed to make up for breaking into it. She knew better than to argue with Ms. Reed. But that night she made clear to her parents that she hadn’t done anything wrong—not really.
“Milton has a key. We were just playing around,” said Ada.
“It’s not that we don’t believe you, Ade,” said Ms. Lace. “I’m sure you weren’t going to steal anything. But you can’t just go around picking locks. It looks suspicious, and, as you can see, it gets you in trouble.”
“Ada’s in trouble!” Elliott said excitedly. “Are you going to put her in the spanking machine?”
“It hasn’t come to that yet, Ell,” said Mr. Lace.
“Why don’t we ever get to use the spanking machine??!”
“We can try it out on you, if you want,” said Mr. Lace.
“Nooo!!” Elliott ran and hid. The spanking machine wasn’t real, of course—just a playful threat Ada’s father liked to use. But Elliott was both fascinated and terrified by it.
• • •
After dinner Ada went to her room to start a journal entry that was due in a few days, but she was too upset. She was beginning to wonder if a friendship with Milton was worth it. He wasn’t usually bad bad, but it was often too close for comfort. Ada had already gotten in trouble twice from hanging out with him. Just as she was about to turn off her ham radio, Milton came on.
Sorry, KD86E, I’m out.
Ada clicked off the radio. Mr. Lace came in.
“Why don’t I just keep this in my office for you for now,” said Mr. Lace. “You can use it when you want, and then it won’t get you into trouble at bedtime.”
“Okay, Pop.” She was actually a little relieved.