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Chapter 8 continued...

XL turned to the shopkeeper to answer. "Well," he said, "we are from Hollywood Studios. You can see our big flying saucer outside, which we use for our movie promotions. If you don't believe me, take a look outside the door."

"So?" said the shop keeper, remaining seated on his stool.

"So, Fred won the prize," said XL. "One free ride, plus meet the stars. But we need to find him. He didn't write his address clearly on the winning ticket."

"That might be difficult," answered the shop keeper. "Fred moves around a lot. I know him pretty well. By the way, my name's Jed."

"So where shall I look?" said XL.

"Fred is a crackpot hunter," said Jed. "He likes to go out in winter, hunting big game. I would watch out for him if I were you. Why just last week I saw him out with his rifle, hunting bunny rabbits. There is nothing quite so hard to catch, nor as vicious, as the Artic Hare, you know."

"Then yesterday I saw him hunting squirrels, out in the ravine just north of town. He knows that there is a big stash of nuts hidden somewhere. You wouldn't know anything about nuts, do you?"

XL said that he did not.

"Anyway," said Jed. "I don't think he would care much for your prize, because he goes to Hollywood all the time. He's got lots of money, ever since he made that big oil discovery, right on his land."

"Yep," he continued. "Fred was out one evening hunting possum, when his shot missed and hit the ground. Right there on the spot, oil began gushing out. Of course he became a multi-millionaire after that."

"So now he goes to Hollywood whenever he likes. He takes his yacht right from this lake, and pulls it behind his model-T Ford. He rides with his little daughter Elly-May and his son Jethro."

At that moment, XL's dad Max entered the conversation. "And I suppose Granny goes for the ride too, sitting on her rocking chair that is mounted on the back of the car?"

"Why yes," said Jed. "How did you know?"

"I'm afraid my son has a big imagination," said Max. "Really we just need to find Fred to deliver a message from his mother. She has been unable to reach him."

"Well, that's not surprising, because Fred moved away a few months ago" said the shop keeper. "But if you go to the post-office at the end of the street, they can probably check if he left a forwarding address."

"Thanks very much," said Max. "We'll check that out." He turned to XL and Beeba. "Come along kids," he said.

Max, XL, and Beeba left the store and began walking down the street.

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" XL asked Max.

"Probably," answered Max. "When you are honest with another person, they are more likely to be honest with you. That is especially true in Blarney Town. If the shop keeper thought you were stretching the truth, he will make up an even bigger stretcher."

Just then they heard the creaking of a door behind them. It was the shop keeper stepping out onto the street. He looked up the street, where he saw Saucer 1 floating above.

"Well Golly!" he exclaimed.

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Copyright Arthur de Leyssac, 2017. All rights reserved.

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