Henry was pleased to see that Shawn actually looked a little nervous. “What should I do?”

“I only see one way out of this,” Henry said. “And that’s another weasel.”

“But you just said-”

Henry held up a hand to cut him off. “It’s a very special weasel, guaranteed to get you out of trouble. But you have to promise to do exactly what I say, or it’s not going to work.”

“What is it?” Shawn said suspiciously.

“Promise first.”

Shawn struggled to find a way around the requirement. Then he smiled. “I promise.”

“Right. Because I am an idiot. You have to tell me exactly what you’re promising, or it’s no deal.”

Shawn’s smile vanished. “I promise to do exactly what you say.”

“Good call, son.” Putting down the plane, Henry led Shawn to the garage and threw open the door. He poked around in his tools and came out with a long pole topped with three sets of rotating tines. “There you go.”

He thrust the tool out to Shawn, who took a step back. “I thought you said you had a weasel for me.”

“I do,” Henry said. “This is the Garden Weasel. I want you to use it to dig up Mrs. Calloway’s garden, and then I want you to replace everything that died. Is that clear?”

Shawn thought this over for a long time. Then he broke out into a grin. “Yes, sir!”

Shawn took the Garden Weasel and ran down the driveway. Henry looked after him, wondering what had just happened. He had laid down the law for Shawn, and Shawn had agreed to it. Why had he seemed so triumphant? What had Henry missed?

Inches away from Henry’s feet, the airplane’s propeller kicked twice, then started to spin. The plane taxied down the driveway. Henry dove for it, but it took off and rose out of his reach.

And then Henry knew. Shawn hadn’t agreed to do the work. Shawn hadn’t agreed to do any work. He had simply acknowledged the clarity of his father’s demands. It was another one of Shawn’s weasels.