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  Kevin quickly ran up the steps and yanked open the door. And froze.

  The crooks were standing there. They were so banged-up they looked like escapees from a refugee camp, but they were grinning.

  "You got in the front door?" Kevin gasped.

  Harry nodded and grinned, With his missing teeth and swollen hairless head, he reminded Kevin of a jack-o'-lantern.

  Kevin trembled and took a step back, but he knew there was no escape. He'd never get out of the cellar alive. He was about to become . . . hamburger.

  Harry reached toward the kid. He was going to enjoy making him scream. And this empty house was the perfect place. No one would hear it.

  Then someone tapped him on the shoulder.

  "Not now, Marv," Harry said. "I want to savor this."

  "What are you talking about?" Marv asked.

  Harry stopped. "Didn't you just tap me on the shoulder?"

  "No."

  "Tnen who . . . ?" Harry turned around. A wide metal snow shovel was swinging toward his head. BRANNNGGG! It made contact and Harry Sank to the floor.

  Marv spun around. The snow shovel was now headed for him. BRONNGGG! Marv hit the floor beside Harry.

  Kevin looked up, astonished. "Mr. Marley?"

  Old man Marley stepped out of the shadows. "How's my aim?"

  "Good, Mr. Marley," Kevin grinned. "Really good."

  A little while later Kevin and old man Marley stood in the driveway and watched the cops put the crooks in the back of their patrol car.

  "Those guys have been hanging around the neighborhood for a couple of days," Kevin told one of the policemen. "You might want to check if any of the houses around here have been robbed."

  "How'd they get so banged up?" the cop asked Kevin.

  "They must be really clumsy," Kevin said. The cop nodded and got into his patrol car.

  "How about some hot chocolate?" old man Marley asked.

  "Thanks" Kevin said. "But I have a lot of cleaning up to do."

  "On Christmas Eve?" Old man Marley looked surprised.

  "Yeah," said Kevin. "Santa's bringing me a big surprise."

  December 25: Christmas Day

  Oak Park

  8 A.M.

  Kevin woke up and looked out the window. It had snowed during the night! The whole neighborhood was covered with a beautiful blanket of white. He jumped out of bed and shot down the stairs. A white Christmas! This was great! No way Santa was going to let him down. His family was going to be right there in the—

  Kevin skidded to a stop in the living room. The presents he'd wrapped were still under the Christmas tree. The room was empty.

  "Mom?" Kevin said.

  No one answered. Kevin couldn't believe it. The Whole struggle against the crooks . . . everything he'd cleaned up for . . . the way he'd acted grown-up . . . it was all for nothing because that bum Santa didn't deliver.

  "Darn!" Kevin was so mad and disappointed he picked up a crystal paperweight from the coffee table. He'd show Santa. He'd wreck that tree with one throw. Kevin pulled his arm back, ready to heave the paperweight . . . but he couldn't do it. Why wreck the tree? That was the old Kevin. The kid who couldn't do anything for himself. The kid who was always a pain because it was the only way he could get attention.

  Besides, maybe it wasn't Santa's fault. The guy was supposed to bring gifts, not bodies.

  Kevin slowly climbed the stairs back to his parents' bedroom. It was his fault. He never should've wished his family would disappear. It served him right that he had to spend Christmas Day alone. And if he had to spend it alone, he might as well spend it in bed.

  A snow-covered station wagon with a tuba strapped to the roof pulled into the driveway.

  "Here ya are, Mrs. McCallister," Gus said. "Home safe and sound."

  "Gus, I don't know how I'll ever thank you." Kate leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  "You could be the first person in Oak Park to buy our record," Gus said. Tne 'I Don't Want Her You Can Take Her, She Can't Stuff the Kielbasa polka.' "

  Kate promised she would and waved as the station wagon backed out of the driveway. Then she walked to the front door and took out her key. She was thankful the house was still standing. Now if only Kevin was safe.

  She opened the door and peeked in. Something was wrong. The house was so . . . clean! Kevin couldn't possibly be there. Worried, she stepped into the living room, but stopped when she saw the Christmas tree. It was only two-and-a-half feet tall.

  How sweet! He'd put up a tree with decorations and gifts underneath! Kate could tell he'd done it all himself. The carrots were a dead giveaway. Her concern melted away to pure happiness and she felt her eyes brimming with tears. But where was Kevin? If he was there Kate knew how to find him. She picked up a silver Christmas bell ornament and rang it gently.

  Ring, ring, ring. Upstairs Kevin sat on his parents' bed, gazing sadly at the framed portrait of his family.

  Ring, ring, ring. He looked up. What was that?

  Ring, ring, ring. He went out on the landing, but couldn't see anything. He started down the stairs slowly. One of the steps creaked. At the bottom of the stairs he looked around the foyer, then peeked into the dining room. No one.

  Ring, ring, ring. It was behind him. He spun around.

  "Mom!" Kevin cried. Her clothes were all wrinkled and her hair was a mess, but he didn't care. Santa had come through after all!

  "Merry Christmas, sweetheart," Kate said, rushing toward her little boy, feeling the tears slide down her face. She kneeled down and hugged him. "I'm so sorry we left you."

  Kevin hugged her around the neck as hard as he could. "I'm sorry too, Mom. I'll never be a pain again. I promise. And I'll do all the stuff I'm supposed to do, like make my bed and brush my teeth and go to sleep at bedtime."

  Kate stared at her son, not quite sure what must have caused this big change. Meanwhile, Kevin was looking around, "Hey, where's everyone else?"

  "Oh, hon, they're all still back in—"

  Before Kate could finish, the front door opened and Buzz and Megan came in.

  "Did you have to fall asleep and drool all over me in the cab?" Buzz asked angrily.

  "I don't drool," Megan snapped back.

  Linnie and Peter were behind them.

  "Will you guys please shut up?" Linnie said.

  "Come on, you jerks," said Peter. "It's Christmas . . . hey, Kev!"

  Kevin was so glad to see his father, he ran into his arms. Buzz even patted him on the head.

  "It's pretty cool you didn't burn the place down," his big brother said.

  Meanwhile Kate was amazed to see the rest of her family. "How in the world did you get back here?"

  "We got the night flight back," Peter said. "Remember? The one you didn't want to wait for?"

  Kate kissed her husband.

  "Who wants to get the presents out of the car?" Peter asked. "Jeff, you just volunteered."

  "Gimme a break. I haven't even said hello to my brother yet." Jeff turned to Kevin. "Hey, dude, you didn't miss anything. The TV shows were all in French."

  "Now go get the presents," Peter ordered.

  Jeff went out. Linnie came over and hugged Kevin.

  "I'll be the only decent person in the family and say I really, really missed you and worried about you," she said. "But you can't use that against me, okay?"

  "Are you saying I didn't miss him?" Megan butted in. "It just so happens I cried several times. And at least once it was for real."

  "Don't fight," Kevin said. "Please? Let's all be happy ."

  His two sisters stared at him. Linnie put her hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

  "Do you think there's a store open?" Kate asked, thinking about a Christmas celebration. "We used up all the milk before we left."

  "I bought some yesterday," Kevin said. "And some eggs and fabric softner, too."

  Everyone stared at him.

  "You went shopping?" Buzz asked in awe.

  "What else did
you do while we were gone?" asked Linnie

  Kevin thought for a moment. Should he tell them? No, they'd never believe it.

  "Mostly I just hung around," he said.

  Soon everything was back to normal. Everyone went in a different direction, except Peter, who bent down and picked up something shiny from the floor.

  "What's this?" he asked, holding up Harry's gold tooth.

  Kevin's jaw dropped. "It's . . . uh, it's . . ."

  "Maybe your mother will know." Peter headed for the kitchen.

  Kevin let out a big sigh and walked to the living room window. He looked out at the trees covered in white.

  "Thanks for bringing back my family, Santa," he whispered. "And thanks for the snow, too."

  Across the street a car pulled into old man Marley's driveway. Mr. Marley came out and hugged the man who'd been driving. Then Kevin saw Mr. Marley's granddaughter get out. So the guy Mr. Marley was hugging must've been his son!

  "They made up!" Kevin whispered. "All right!"

  Suddenly Kevin realized old man Marley was looking at him. Marley smiled and gave Kevin a little wave. Kevin smiled and waved back. Everything had worked out perfectly! Boy, this really was a merry Christmas.

  About the Author

  Todd Strasser has written many award-winning novels for young and teenaged readers. He is a frequent speaker at junior and senior high schools, and conferences. He lives in New York City with his wife and children. They usually stay home during the holidays.