Flip Side: The Will

"Don't be stupid!"

"I've never been to a funeral," said Jodey sadly.

"I know one you won't miss," said Nip. "Your own!"

"Very funny!" said Jodey. "I wonder if we could sneak in and watch?"

"Worth a try," said Nip. "The worst they can do is throw us out!"

Carefully, the two boys wheeled their bikes into the bushes inside the gates. Then they made their way along the side of the driveway, keeping their heads down and ducking behind rhododendrons and other shrubs.

The Smith house had been sitting on the side of the hill for longer than Nip and Jodey had been alive. Their mother remembered when it was being built, and their mother's mother remembered when the foundations went in. It had been a very long, slow job, with extensions and extra bits added over the years. It was mostly brick, with a tiled roof. Ivy grew up most of the walls. The entrance was large and very grand, with pillars and concrete steps and statues and lead-rimmed diamond panes in the windows.

But over the years, the house had gradually fallen into disrepair. Only one chimney trailed smoke most winters, as the last member of the Smith family kept himself warm upstairs. And now even he had died.

Jodey reached the tangle of weeds and rank bushes across the drive near the front door and crouched down. Nip came up behind and peered over his shoulder. From their hiding place they could see a large crowd of people, all dressed extremely well, and the shiny, black hearse, parked near the foot of the steps. A minister was shaking hands and talking to people, and Smith's old dog lay in the sun on the lawn, sleeping.

"Looks like it's all over," whispered Jodey.

"Yeah!" said Nip. "We're too late."

"I wonder where they're going to bury him?"

"We could follow the coffin-car."

"You reckon?"

"Easy!" said Nip. "They go real slow. We should be able to keep up."