You slide down the dune. Bru rolls close behind.

"Hello, there!" you call.

The fisherman stares at you, then steps back and nearly falls as he loses his balance in the soft sand.

"Could you tell us where we are?"

"What's that?" The fisherman points at Bru. "My friend, Bru. He is from another planet."

The fisherman steps closer. "I must be dreaming. This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen.

"Where are we?" you ask again.

"Nags Head, North Carolina. Buck Coleman's my name.

"Do you know how I can get a ride to the White House in Washington, D.C.?" Bru asks. "It could be important for the future of America," he says.

"It's quite a trip, but this sort of thing doesn't happen every day," says Coleman. "Jus  give me a minute to make a phone call. There's a phone booth right across the road. Now don't go away."

"I guess I'd better call home, too," you tell Bru. "We'll be right back."

"All right, "says Bru. "I'll hide in this clump of beach plum trees. I don't want to be spotted until I have a chance to meet with the president."

You try to reach your family, but no one is home. Maybe they think you landed safely in France.

You wait while Coleman talks on the phone. When he hangs up, he has a big grin on his face. "I just made a deal with some friends of mine who own the local TV station," he says. "All we have to do is stall the alien for about fifteen minutes until they can get here with their cameras, and they'll give us $20,000!" He slaps you on the back. "Half of that is for you, kid—$10,000 all your own!"

"But Bru doesn't want to be seen until he can meet with the president."

"So, it won't hurt him. He'll be a celebrity soon. He might as well learn how America works. Look, all you have to do is not say anything for fifteen minutes, and you've got $10,000!" You want to respect Bru's wish to avoid publicity, but you didn't make any promises to him. It's hard to see how being on TV would hurt him, and you sure could use $10,000!"

~ If you agree to Coleman's plan,

< GO TO CHAPTER 31 >

~ If you insist on telling Bru that the TV crews are on the way,

< GO TO CHAPTER 32 >