Revolutionary War on Wednesday (2 page)

“Wake up, Jack!” Annie whispered.

Jack opened his eyes. He looked at his clock. It was six
A.M.

“Come on!” Annie whispered. She was standing at his bedroom door, already dressed.

“Now?” said Jack.

“Yeah, it's Wednesday! We have to go to the tree house!” she said.

“Oh, man, Wednesday!” said Jack. Suddenly, he was wide awake.

“We have to help save Camelot,” said Annie.

“I know, I know,” said Jack, scrambling out of bed.

“Meet you out front,” said Annie.

Jack quickly changed into his jeans and T-shirt. He threw his notebook and pencil into his backpack.

Then he slipped down the stairs and out the front door.

Annie was waiting in the gray early light.

“All set?” she whispered.

“Yep,” said Jack.

They took off running across their yard. They ran down their quiet street and into the Frog Creek woods.

Soon they came to the tree house. They climbed up the rope ladder.

In the early light, they saw Morgan's note, the same note they'd found on Sunday. Jack picked it up and read aloud:

Dear Jack and Annie,

Camelot is in trouble. To save the kingdom, please find these four special kinds of writing for my library:

Something to follow

Something to send

Something to learn

Something to lend

        
Thank you,

        
Morgan

Annie picked up a piece of paper lying on the floor. It was a list of rules from the famous nurse Clara Barton. They had met her on their journey to the Civil War.

“On Sunday we found the first special writing,” said Annie, “
something to follow
.”

“Yeah,” said Jack, “and now we need to find the second thing,
something to send
.”

He picked up a book lying near the note. The cover showed soldiers on a snowy riverbank.

The title was
The Revolutionary War
.

Jack frowned.

“Uh-oh,” said Annie.

“Another war,” said Jack, sighing.

“You still want to go?” said Annie.

“We have to,” said Jack. He hated the suffering he'd seen in the Civil War. But they had no choice. They
had
to help Morgan and save Camelot.

He pointed at the cover of the book.

“I wish we could go there,” Jack said.

The wind started to blow.

The tree house started to spin.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

Jack shivered. The wind blew hard.

“It's cold,” he said. He could see his breath in the air.

“Wrap your scarf tighter,” said Annie.

Jack looked down. He had a wool scarf around his neck.

He was also wearing woolen pants that buttoned at the knees, a coat, and a hat with three corners. On his feet were funny-looking shoes with buckles. In place of his backpack was a leather bag.

Annie was wearing a long coat over a long dress.

Jack pulled his scarf tighter. Then he looked out the window with Annie.

They'd landed in trees near an icy river. The sky was gray and heavy with clouds.

“It's almost day—or almost night. I can't tell,” said Annie.

“Yeah. I hope it's almost day,” said Jack.

“I wonder where we'll find
something to send?
” said Annie.

Jack shrugged.

“First we have to find the Revolutionary War,” he said.

He opened their research book. By the gray light, he read:

Jack took out his notebook. He wrote:

Jack turned the page. There was a picture of soldiers in red uniforms. He read aloud:

Jack wrote in his notebook:

“Wow, snow,” said Annie.

Jack looked up from his writing. Annie was holding her hand out the window. A few snowflakes blew into the tree house.

“Not much yet,” said Jack. “But we better find the special writing soon.”

“Well, stop reading and come on,” said Annie. She buttoned up her coat and started down the ladder.

“Okay, okay,” said Jack. He packed the research book and his notebook into his bag. Then he followed Annie.

When they stepped onto the ground, there were more snow flurries. The sky was growing darker.

“I'm afraid it's almost night instead of day,” said Jack.

“Yeah,” said Annie, looking around. “Hey, look—people.”

She pointed up the river. In the misty distance was a campfire. Several men sat around the fire. They all held muskets.

“Maybe they can help us,” said Annie. She started away. But Jack grabbed her.

“Wait, I think they're soldiers,” he said. “They have muskets. Remember the muskets from the Civil War? The guns that the soldiers carried?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Annie.

“They might be redcoats,” said Jack. “Let's sneak closer and get a better look at their uniforms.”

“Quick,” said Annie, “before it's too dark to see.”

Annie lifted up her long dress and ran to a tree close to the river. Jack held on to his hat and ran after her.

They peeked out from behind the tree. More snow flurries swirled in the twilight.

“Redcoats?” whispered Annie.

“Can't tell,” said Jack.

In the flickering firelight, the men didn't seem to be wearing uniforms at all. They wore ragged pants and coats. Some even had their feet wrapped in tattered cloth.

“Come on,” Annie said.

She ran to a tree closer to the river.

Jack followed.

“This is as close as we should get,” he whispered.

“But we still can't tell what they're wearing,” said Annie.

She crept forward and hid behind a scraggly bush.

“No closer!” Jack whispered.

But Annie took off again. She crouched behind a rock. She was only about ten feet from the campfire.

Oh, brother, she's way too close now
, Jack thought.

But he took a deep breath and ran to the rock.

When he joined Annie, she looked at him and grinned.

“This is like hide-and-seek,” she whispered.

“It's not a game, Annie,” Jack whispered back. “It's
war
. Be serious.”

“I
am
serious!” said Annie, her voice rising.

“Shh!” said Jack.

But it was too late. One of the men stood up and looked around.