Toliver's Secret (13 page)

Then Dicey came by. Her face grew red with anger when she saw Ellen.

“Are you here again?” she cried as she walked slowly, heavily toward Ellen.

“Yes, I'm here again!” Ellen put down her bucket. She was ready to duck out of the way if Dicey came too close. But she was not afraid of her. She folded her arms across her chest.

Dicey growled, “I told you not to come here, Miss Fine Lady.”

Ellen thrust out her chin and stared back at Dicey. “This pump is near my house,” she said calmly. “And I intend to use it, no matter what you say.”

Dicey stared back, but she came no further. For almost half a minute they stared at each other. Then Dicey shrugged and turned away.

“You're just lucky I'm not ready for a fight,” she called over her shoulder. But she walked away.

The second good thing happened a month later. Grandfather's silver snuffbox came back to him by way of a secret courier. In it was a message that gave them wonderful news.

General Washington's small army had crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania to New Jersey on
Christmas night and had taken the city of Trenton by surprise. Washington had been able to plan a surprise attack because he had learned so much about British plans from the Patriots in New York and the couriers who had carried their messages.

Then he and his army had moved on to another victory at Princeton early in January and had time to fortify winter headquarters in Morristown behind the Watchung Hills in New Jersey.

And there was news of Ezra Toliver. He was a sergeant now and was safe and well in Morristown. They hugged one another for joy when they heard that.

In the snuffbox there was also a folded piece of paper marked, “For Toliver.” To Ellen's surprise she found inside a tiny silver locket. She never knew who sent it to her, but since she didn't know she liked to pretend it was from the General himself. And who knows—perhaps it was.

Also available from Yearling Books:

GOODBYE, VIETNAM
by Gloria Whelan

When Mai and her family learn that the government plans to arrest her grandmother, they're forced to flee for their lives. Leaving behind a beloved village and all that is familiar, they travel by night to the port of Go Cong. There they board a tiny boat overcrowded with desperate refugees.

The boat's ancient engine breaks down constantly and the captain can't navigate. The heat, hunger, and thirst are unbearable. Mai knows she must be strong and hold on to her hopes, but Hong Kong and freedom are starting to seem like impossible dreams.…

“Has the suspense and appeal of any good escape story.”
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The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“A moving story, wonderfully told and profoundly true.”
—Ellen Moore, Amnesty International USA

An ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
An IRA–CBC Children's Choice