voice sounded sad.
“What do you mean?” Ruthie asked.
“We can’t go home now. Because of them,” she said, pointing over her shoulder to the big Nazi tower across the way.
“The Nazis?” Jack asked.
“Yes; they are running the government. My father can’t work in Germany right now.”
Of course Ruthie knew a little bit about what had happened in Germany under the Nazis, but now she wished she knew more. “What does your father do?” Ruthie asked.
“He is a surgeon. They took away his license because we are Jewish. But my father says it will get sorted out and we will go back soon.” Louisa seemed uncomfortable with the subject. “I really must be going now. Will you come to the Jardins du Trocadéro again?”
Ruthie was about to answer no, but Jack was faster.
“Oh, sure. We’ll probably see you again,” he answered.
“If you don’t see me with Frieda, come to my house. Number seven, rue Le Tasse. Second from the end. You will see the name Meyer on the doorbell. Just ring.” Shesmiled at them. “I mustn’t be late.
À bientôt
, Ruthie and Jack.”
Ruthie smiled back, knowing what she had said.
“À bientôt!”
Louisa ran off with Frieda, whose long ears flopped while her short legs moved so fast it appeared she had eight instead of four.
“She’s nice,” Ruthie said as soon as Louisa was out of earshot.
“We’d better go back—it’s getting late.”
As they left the Jardins du Trocadéro, they passed by a newsstand that they hadn’t noticed before. There were several magazines and newspapers. The one on the biggest pile had the words
Le Temps
written across the top.
“Hey, look,” Jack said, pointing to the date on it. Ruthie read
18 juin 1937
.
“
Juin
is June,” Ruthie declared.
“Wow. That’s just a little over seventy years ago,” Jack said. He turned to Ruthie. “Amelia Earhart is flying around the world right now! She took off at the beginning of June in 1937!”
“Wow. But didn’t she … she didn’t make it, did she?”
“Exactly,” Jack said. “It’s kinda amazing that we’re the only people on the planet right now who know that. In just a few weeks she’ll be declared missing.…” His voice trailed off and he gazed at the little red plane. “I wonder …”
“If we could do anything to save her?” Ruthie had beenthinking the same thing. “She’s one of the most famous people of the century; we’d be changing history!”
“We could go to the embassy, or call the newspaper.”
“What would we say to convince them? ‘You’ve got to stop Amelia Earhart—her plane is going to crash’? Do you think anyone would believe us?”
“Not a chance,” Jack conceded. “Man, that’s sad.”
Ruthie wrapped her brain around this dilemma. “Amelia Earhart knew the risk she was taking. She chose the danger.”
“I guess she’s sort of like the astronauts.”
“Right. If she accepted the odds, then probably we should too.” This made sense to Ruthie, but she hated that she couldn’t do anything about it. They arrived at the spiral staircase and began the ascent. Approaching the top, Ruthie said, “You know what’s going to happen, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“To the airplane. The reason why I said you couldn’t take it,” she began, arriving on the balcony and remembering to stay out of sight behind the curtains.
“Oh, right.” Jack looked at the plane longingly. “It’s such a good one too.”
“All clear,” Ruthie said.
They came through the balcony door into the room—the portal back to their time—and even before they made it across to the garden door, the Vega had disappeared from Jack’s hand. “Just like the arrows,” Jack said.
They stood quietly for a moment on the ledge. Then Ruthie said, “Louisa could still be alive. I mean, in our time. She could be like Mrs. McVittie’s age.”
“If she survived the war,” Jack said with a worried edge in his voice.
“What do you mean?”
“The
“What do you mean?” Ruthie asked.
“We can’t go home now. Because of them,” she said, pointing over her shoulder to the big Nazi tower across the way.
“The Nazis?” Jack asked.
“Yes; they are running the government. My father can’t work in Germany right now.”
Of course Ruthie knew a little bit about what had happened in Germany under the Nazis, but now she wished she knew more. “What does your father do?” Ruthie asked.
“He is a surgeon. They took away his license because we are Jewish. But my father says it will get sorted out and we will go back soon.” Louisa seemed uncomfortable with the subject. “I really must be going now. Will you come to the Jardins du Trocadéro again?”
Ruthie was about to answer no, but Jack was faster.
“Oh, sure. We’ll probably see you again,” he answered.
“If you don’t see me with Frieda, come to my house. Number seven, rue Le Tasse. Second from the end. You will see the name Meyer on the doorbell. Just ring.” Shesmiled at them. “I mustn’t be late.
À bientôt
, Ruthie and Jack.”
Ruthie smiled back, knowing what she had said.
“À bientôt!”
Louisa ran off with Frieda, whose long ears flopped while her short legs moved so fast it appeared she had eight instead of four.
“She’s nice,” Ruthie said as soon as Louisa was out of earshot.
“We’d better go back—it’s getting late.”
As they left the Jardins du Trocadéro, they passed by a newsstand that they hadn’t noticed before. There were several magazines and newspapers. The one on the biggest pile had the words
Le Temps
written across the top.
“Hey, look,” Jack said, pointing to the date on it. Ruthie read
18 juin 1937
.
“
Juin
is June,” Ruthie declared.
“Wow. That’s just a little over seventy years ago,” Jack said. He turned to Ruthie. “Amelia Earhart is flying around the world right now! She took off at the beginning of June in 1937!”
“Wow. But didn’t she … she didn’t make it, did she?”
“Exactly,” Jack said. “It’s kinda amazing that we’re the only people on the planet right now who know that. In just a few weeks she’ll be declared missing.…” His voice trailed off and he gazed at the little red plane. “I wonder …”
“If we could do anything to save her?” Ruthie had beenthinking the same thing. “She’s one of the most famous people of the century; we’d be changing history!”
“We could go to the embassy, or call the newspaper.”
“What would we say to convince them? ‘You’ve got to stop Amelia Earhart—her plane is going to crash’? Do you think anyone would believe us?”
“Not a chance,” Jack conceded. “Man, that’s sad.”
Ruthie wrapped her brain around this dilemma. “Amelia Earhart knew the risk she was taking. She chose the danger.”
“I guess she’s sort of like the astronauts.”
“Right. If she accepted the odds, then probably we should too.” This made sense to Ruthie, but she hated that she couldn’t do anything about it. They arrived at the spiral staircase and began the ascent. Approaching the top, Ruthie said, “You know what’s going to happen, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“To the airplane. The reason why I said you couldn’t take it,” she began, arriving on the balcony and remembering to stay out of sight behind the curtains.
“Oh, right.” Jack looked at the plane longingly. “It’s such a good one too.”
“All clear,” Ruthie said.
They came through the balcony door into the room—the portal back to their time—and even before they made it across to the garden door, the Vega had disappeared from Jack’s hand. “Just like the arrows,” Jack said.
They stood quietly for a moment on the ledge. Then Ruthie said, “Louisa could still be alive. I mean, in our time. She could be like Mrs. McVittie’s age.”
“If she survived the war,” Jack said with a worried edge in his voice.
“What do you mean?”
“The
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