The Caper of the Crown Jewels by Elizabeth Singer Hunt Page A

William the Conqueror. He looked at the list and his eyes glazed over.
    â€œThere’s no way I’m going to memorize these names by tomorrow.” He sighed.

    â€œThere are too many of them.” Jack closed the book and decided to take a break.
    He walked over to his bedside table and opened the top drawer. Inside was one of his favorite books: Master the Art of Magic. He pulled it out, sat on his bed, and began to read the section called “Appearing Coin” on page thirty-one. Jack smiled to himself. This was much more fun than homework.

    Ever since Jack’s Uncle Richard had taken him to see the master magician, Ivan the Incredible, in London, he’d been fascinated by the art of illusion. He’d watched as the magician made an enormous elephant disappear right on stage. Towards the end of the show, he’d escaped from a straitjacket while hanging over a fiery pit. “Incredible” was the right word. Jack had never seen anything like it before.
    As soon as he got home that night, Jack had asked his mum for a book on magic. On his birthday, she surprised him with Master the Art of Magic. It was the biggest selling book on magic and, in Jack’s opinion, just about the best. Every page was chock-full of exciting tips on how to fool your friends and family with magical tricks. Last night, he had learned how to bend a spoon. Tonight, he wasgoing to learn how to pull a coin out of thin air.
    Jack reached into his top drawer and grabbed some sticky tape. Then he pulled a coin out of his trouser pocket. Cutting off a piece of tape, he stuck the coin onto the back of his first finger. Doing as the book said, he reached behind his ear and then flipped his middle finger forward. The coin magically appeared in the palm of his hand.

    â€œFantastic!” shouted Jack. “My friends at school are going to love this one!” At that, there was a knock on the door.
    â€œHow’s the homework going?” said a familiar voice from the other side. It was Jack’s mum checking up on his progress.
    â€œUh, all right, Mum,” said Jack, putting the coin in his pocket and racing back to his desk.
    â€œThat’s great, honey,” his mum said through the door. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.”
    â€œOK, Mum,” said Jack. He hoped his mum wouldn’t ask to come in.
    She didn’t, and when he was sure that she’d made her way back downstairs, Jack pulled the coin out of his trouser pocket. “Now,” he said, “let’s practice that trick again.”

Chapter 2:
The Land of Kings and Queens
    At that moment, Jack’s miniature globe began to spin on top of his bedside table. Hearing this, Jack put his magic book away. There were more important things to concentrate on now. It was 7:30 PM .
    Jack was a Secret Agent for the Global Protection Force. The Global Protection Force, or GPF, was a worldwide group of young secret agents determined to fight crime and protect the world’s mostprecious treasures. When Jack was sworn in by the GPF a couple of years ago, he chose as his globe a little one called Whizzy. Although Whizzy couldn’t talk, he could give Jack clues about his next mission by spitting jigsaw pieces from his mouth. Since it was precisely 7:30 PM , that’s exactly what Whizzy was going to do.

    Whizzy coughed: “Ahem!” A small jigsaw piece flew out of his mouth and across the room. It bounced off the wall and landed on the floor. Jack bent over and looked to see whether he recognized the shape of the country.
    â€œNo way,” said Jack. “I can’t believe it!” he added, looking at its unmistakable form. “That’s where I live.”

    Jack raced to the Magic Map on his bedroom wall. It was a brilliant map of the world, with every country in bright colors. Jack placed the jigsaw piece exactly where he knew it belonged and watched as the name