CHAPTER TWO: Henry's troubles

STORY TIME, CHAPTER 2

THE STORY SO FAR

Three of the four Redmond kids, Estie, Jen and Josh (Olivia was still too little to come along) have gone for milk from the shop at the corner but are held up by a freight train as they walk back. As the train passes, the two girls think they see someone, a boy about their age, in one of the empty boxcars. The train stops, blocking their way home, but finally starts up again with a clang. The kids have just crossed the track when Jen exclaims and stops so fast that Josh runs into her. They glimpse a boy across the street, limping as he tries to run away. He’s the boxcar boy!

BEGIN CHAPTER II

Henry knew he’d hurt his leg when he jumped from the boxcar. The train had been just barely moving but it was still awfully high up and his right foot had landed all crooked when he hit the ground.

He could still walk on it, but he was finding that running was really getting harder as he tried to lose those kids he’d seen from the train. It hadn’t helped that he’d had to run really fast just a few minutes ago to get away from the railroad detectives. He was too scared then to notice the pain. The railroad police — hoboes he’d met along the way from California called them the bull and told really bad stories about when they’d get caught by the bull — had been waiting at the rail yard for box car hitchhikers just like him. People without any money but who had to get some place fast.

And he had to get to Chicago fast — or as fast as a 12-year-old kid with only pennies in his pockets and no family except, of course, his big sister — could. That’s why he was in such a desperate hurry. He was sure that his sister’s life depended on him getting there. And it had already taken too long — he’d left Oakland at the beginning of May and it was now almost the end of the month.

In past years, he’d be jumping up and down with excitement just to be in Indianapolis in the month of May. That was when the big race — the Indy 500 — would run, and even years ago when he was still just a baby, he’d listen to every minute of it on the radio.

But it had been canceled for the past two years because of the war. And it wasn’t running again this year, 1944, because of the stupid war. In fact, he’d heard that the track was all falling apart and junky, with weeds growing up everywhere, and that it might never come back. All because of the war!

That dumb, stupid war. It made him so angry and so afraid all at the same time. He didn’t understand it, but he knew that somehow, the war was what got his sister in trouble. She’d overheard something — she’d been working as a waitress in Oakland, near the shipyard, and those two guys at the table had been talking. They didn’t realize she could hear. But Henry did, and saw that she was getting real scared. But she didn't stop listening.

He had been sitting, waiting for her to get off so they could finally go home, and there were only a few people still around when suddenly, the police came rushing in. There was lots of shouting and the two strangers tried to escape — but didn’t have a chance. About 20 policemen crowded around and quickly led them away in handcuffs.

Anna, his sister, had been too stunned to say anything to the police about what she’d heard, although she was still clearly scared by whatever it was. Everybody had left so quickly that she hadn’t had time to think to tell them. Just as the door closed on the last police officer, she turned to run after them.

“Wait!, Wait! You don’t know what they said! You have to… “

Before she could say any more, one of the men from another table, a huge man with giant hands, grabbed her!

“She knows!” he hissed to his companion, also a very large man who looked awfully mean. “We need to know what exactly she knows — those guys are trained to keep the secret… But they didn’t have time to tell us – We’re gonna have to take her with us and make her talk! We gotta know what they were gonna tell us so we can carry out the plan!”

Herny, overhearing all this, suddenly jumped with a shout onto the bigger man’s back!

“Don’t hurt my sister, you big creep!” he shouted, scrambling to free Anna from his grip.

The other man turned, swinging a huge fist at Henry’s jaw. He fell, his hands sllding across the table, knocking off the papers they’d spread out there.

The punch must have knocked him out for a few seconds, because when he woke up, he was on the floor and Mrs. McGiillacutty, the manager at the restaurant, was trying to help him up.

Anna was gone! The men were gone. There was only a single piece of paper they’d failed to scoop up. He grabbed it and rushed out just as a big black car pulled away from the curb. He saw his sister’s frightened face in the back.

He read the paper: “Orders are to meet June 3 — 83^rd and South Shore Drive, Chicago. Carry out … "

The rest of the message had been torn away.

His only hope — and, he feared, Anna’s only hope too – was for him to somehow get to Chicago!

CHAPTER III, Helping a Friend, NEXT

To Be Continued…

CHAPTER ONE: The adventure begins

The kids were waiting until the train rumbled by.

It was long, with lots of big box cars all whizzing past, their giant wheels making an even bigger noise as they rolled along, clickety clack, clickety clack.

The cars were huge and mostly brown. There were a few tank cars. probably carrying oil, but most were boxcars. On some, the big sliding doors were open.

In one of those doors, Estie saw what she was sure was a boy, almost in the shadows, as the car flashed past. At least she thought she was sure.

He looked a little older than her. But really skinny and scared looking.

She wasn't even certain of what she'd seen, it had been so fast.

"Hey, did you see that? There was a kid in that car."

Jen, the middle sister, had seen him, too.

"What do you think he's doing there? You saw him, didn't you? What do you think he eats? Where's he going. ... That's so high, how did he get up there? You did see him, didn't you?" Jen said all in a rush as she turned to Estie.

Her big sister was only two years older but she had lots of answers and Jen just expected her to know about such things.

Josh, the little brother — he could sometimes be a pest but mom said they had to take him along to the corner shop if they wanted a sweet when they picked up the milk — piped up. "I didn't see anything. When is this dumb train gonna be over, anyway?" he asked.

Their mother had said no sweets until they got home — and those caramels were all gonna just melt into a big brown glob if they didn't get back pretty quickly. And besides, he'd definitely starve to death soon.

To make matters worse for Josh, the train was slowing down. The big rail yard was pretty far away —more than a mile and certainly too far to walk — but this giant freight train was probably so long that it would stop before the caboose arrived, not allowing them to cross the track. They'd really be stuck then. He surely would starve! And die of thirst, too!

"Oh, no," Jen groaned, getting anxious for her share of caramels, too. They'd sit at the table and carefully divide up the sugary little cellophane wrapped cubes, with the older three hiding theirs away in their own secret places, while their mom would give the baby just one, saving the rest of her share for later. She'd get sticky enough with just one, after all.

The train screeched to a halt, groaning and creaking as it finally stopped. It was suddenly quiet.

The train sat.

The kids could see under the cars, almost to their house. They wouldn't have been allowed to walk to the store alone had it been very far, or even if there were a street in between. But the tracks were the only real thing that could get in the way. And trains rattled by only three or four times a day.

This was just bad luck.

"This is yukky," said Jen, the most outspoken of the three girls. Well, they weren't sure about Olivia, she might turn into a chatterbox. She was too little to come out with just the kids and she couldn't really talk in big sentences yet, so Jen was the chatty one, at least for now.

The kids waited. And waited. And waited forever.

CRASH! CLANK!!!

"Yikes!" yelled Josh. Jen screamed. Estie laughed. The train, with a huge rumble and very slowly, finally started rolling again. It probably had been stopped for only five minutes, but that's an eternity when you're hungry.

It was a wait, though, that was quickly forgotten when the caboose passed by. The conductor waved and all three Redmond children waved back. Josh, particularly among the kids, liked the conductors. He wanted to be one some day.

As soon as they could be sure a new train wasn't approaching on the other track from the opposite direction, they raced for home, Estie, with her long legs, leading the way and Jen and Josh trailing behind. They needed to catch up though. Estie not only had the milk, she had the candy!

Suddenly, Jen stopped in her tracks, causing Josh to crash into her from behind, tumbling them both to the ground.

"Estie, Estie!"

An urgency in Jen's voice caused Estie to stop, something she normally might not do just because her little sister and brother had gotten all tangled up. They did that all the time.

Jen, breathless, wasn't hurt.

But she was looking intensely across the road.

"That's him," Estie shouted as she pointed. "That's the boy on the train!"

Estie turned to look across the street just in time to see a boy — and yes, it was him, she was sure of that — turn and limp away behind the scrubby bushes that lined the other sidewalk. He looked scared and hurt.

Then he was gone.

NEXT: Chapter II, Meeting Henry