Kathleen’s sea-blue eyes were sparkling. “I will go tell Sophie and Sarah to get the children ready!” She hurried across the cavern.

Jack whirled around to Annie. “No, no, no!” he whispered. “This is not a good plan.”

“It is! You drove Great-Granddad’s truck perfectly just a few weeks ago!” said Annie. “I was there! I wanted to drive it, too, but I couldn’t reach the pedals.”

“But that—” said Jack.

“You didn’t even need a key with that old truck,” said Annie. “Remember? You just turned the starter switch. You learned how to use the clutch and the gearshift. You drove us around the field for hours—around and around and around. You always say you can’t wait to drive that truck again!”

“But this is so different!” said Jack.

“It’s not that different,” Annie said.

“Are you crazy? It’s totally different!” said Jack. “Stealing a truck, loading it with tiny kids, and driving through a foreign country to try to escape Nazis in World War Two is totally different from driving in a circle in our great-grandfather’s pasture.”

“Okay. It’s different,” said Annie.

“Thank you!” said Jack.

“It’s different because there are lives at stake here,” said Annie. “And that’s why you have to do it.”

Before Jack could say anything, Kathleen came rushing back. She was holding a candle and a folded map. “What was the location of your drop zone?” she asked.

“It’s a field in Biéville, next to a church,” said Annie. “Six miles northwest of Caen.”

“Good,” said Kathleen. “I have the Normandy map the SOE gave me. It will help us. Let’s go get the truck.” By the light of her candle, she led the way out of the cavern and through the limestone tunnel.

Jack’s heart was racing. Annie was right. Lives were at stake. But he was already sweating, and they hadn’t even started the plan yet! How would he feel when he was trying to sneak a truckload of Jewish orphans past Nazi soldiers?

Jack and Annie followed Kathleen through the tunnel to the crack in the rock. Then they walked into the gray light of late afternoon. The wind blew softly over the grounds of the château as they headed down the driveway.

“Let’s refine our plan,” said Kathleen. She sounded more like her old self. “Sophie and Sarah will get the children ready. Annie will go to Sylvie at the bistro and ask her to send a new message to Teddy. Jack and I will pick up the bakery truck. Then we will all meet back here, load up the children, and head for the drop zone.”

“Got it,” said Annie.

Jack nodded. He was relieved that Kathleen seemed so much stronger. He hoped it meant her magic skills would soon return. Right now he thought they really needed a little magic.

When they came to the road, Kathleen turned to Annie. “You should go ahead of us to Sylvie,” she said, “so we will not look as if we are traveling in a group. The Nazis do not like groups.”

“Okay, meet you guys back here,” said Annie. “Good luck!” She started walking up the Road of Rocks toward Sylvie’s Bistro.

Jack took a deep breath as he and Kathleen stood together waiting for Annie to get a good distance away. He always felt shy when he was alone with the beautiful enchantress.

“Jack, these have been the two worst weeks of my life,” Kathleen said, breaking the silence. “I knew it was possible I could be responsible for the loss of ten children. I felt helpless and sad and angry all at once. I have never felt that way before.”

“You’re not helpless, Kathleen,” said Jack. “You’re strong and—and you’re good. That’s why you were sad and angry.”

“Thank you, Jack,” she said. “I am very, very relieved you and Annie came to help.”

“We haven’t really done anything yet,” Jack said.

“But you will,” she said. “I admire you very much.” She looked up the Road of Rocks. “Annie is far enough ahead, I think. We can go now.”

Jack straightened his shoulders as he and Kathleen walked together up the road. He was ready to drive the truck. In fact, he was ready to do anything to be worthy of Kathleen’s admiration.

The bakery was closed when they got there. No one was on the sidewalk.

“The delivery truck should be in back,” said Kathleen. “Come with me.” She and Jack slipped behind the building.

An old-fashioned cream-colored truck was parked behind the bakery. The cab of the truck looked just like the cab of Jack’s great-grandfather’s truck. The back was different, though. His great-grandfather’s truck was a pickup, but the back of this truck was box-shaped like a van. The words LA BAGUETTE were painted on the side.

Jack looked at the bakery truck. He took a deep breath. “Okay, this should work,” he said, trying to sound calm. “Let’s see how she looks inside.” He pulled on the handle of the cab, and the door swung open.

Jack stuck his head inside and saw that the truck had a keyless starter switch, just like his great-grandfather’s truck. He turned back to Kathleen. “We’re in business,” he said.

“Wonderful!” Kathleen said. “Do you have a piece of paper so I can leave a note for the baker?”

Jack reached into his pack and gave Kathleen his notebook and a pencil. She wrote on a blank page:

Thank you for letting us borrow your truck. It is waiting for you near the church in Biéville.

She tore the paper out of Jack’s notebook, folded it, and slid it under the back door of the bakery. Then they both climbed into the front seat. “Good to go?” Jack asked.

“Yes!” she said, smiling. “Good to go.”

Jack looked at the floor and found the clutch pedal on the left, the brake in the middle, and the gas pedal on the right, just like in his great-grandfather’s truck. He put his hand on the gearshift next to his seat. Everything felt familiar. “Okey-dokey,” he said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Jack pressed the brake with his right foot and then pushed the clutch pedal down with his left. He moved the gearshift into neutral. Then he turned the starter switch, and the engine rumbled to life.

Jack shifted into first gear. He moved his right foot off the brake and pressed the gas pedal. The truck engine roared. Jack took his foot off the clutch. The truck jerked forward and the engine stopped dead.

“No problem, no problem,” said Jack. “It’ll just take me a minute to get the hang of it again.”

Jack repeated everything he had done: brake, clutch, gearshift into neutral, starter, gearshift into first. This time, he operated the clutch and gas pedals perfectly, and the bakery truck moved smoothly onto the Road of Rocks.

“Brilliant!” said Kathleen. “We are on our way!”

As Jack headed up the street, he kept all his attention on his driving, not daring to think of their plan. Instead, he imagined he was just driving around his great-grandfather’s pasture.

When the truck came to the old château, Annie was heading into the driveway. Seeing Jack behind the wheel, she raised her arms skyward and jumped up and down as if he’d just crossed a finish line.

Jack and Kathleen laughed as Annie ran alongside the truck, waving her arms. Jack brought the bakery truck to a stop near the hillside. Then he and Kathleen climbed out.

“You did it! You did it!” Annie said to Jack.

He shrugged as if it was no big deal.

“Wait here. I will get the children,” said Kathleen. “Sophie and Sarah should have them ready by now.” She dashed to the rocks.

“Was it hard to drive?” Annie asked Jack.

“Not once I got it going,” he said. “It all kind of came back to me. Did you give the message to Sylvie?”

“Yes! I snuck around the back of the bistro and tapped on the window again,” said Annie. “I asked her to send another message, one that said, ‘Unicorn has ten colts. Need bigger bird.’ ”

“Good work,” said Jack.

“Here they come,” said Annie.

Kathleen, Sophie, and Sarah led the small children out of the tunnel. Excited to go for a ride, the little kids raced across the grass to the bakery truck. Jack got out and swung open the rear door. Then he, Annie, and Kathleen lifted each child into the back.

“Is everyone here?” called Kathleen. She called out all their names to make sure: “Ella? Eli? Leo? Daniel? …”

“Seeing Jack behind the wheel, she raised her arms skyward and jumped up and down as if he’d just crossed a finish line.”

As each high voice rang out “Yes!” Jack climbed into the driver’s seat. Soon Kathleen and Annie joined him. Jack could hear the children chattering behind the partition that separated the cab from the back.

“They are so excited,” said Kathleen.

“It smells like bread back there,” said Annie. “The children found lots of old crusts to eat.”

“Really?” said Jack. He could hear their voices saying: “This is good!” “I love it!” “It’s hard to chew.” “Yes, but it’s very good!”

Jack’s throat tightened. He wanted only one thing in the world right now—to help these little kids escape from France.