CHAPTER FIVE
Leave Now!
“Excuse me, young lady!” Mr. Nicolay said. “This is not a time for play.”
“I’m not playing, sir,” said Annie as she and Jack stood at the front of the crowd. “We’re friends of Tad and Willie’s, and Willie just told us to come here to the president’s office. He wants to introduce us to his dad.”
Mr. Nicolay scowled. “I’m afraid Mr. Willie misspoke. The president does not have time to meet you now,” he said. “He is in a private meeting with delegates from California, Indiana, and Maine.”
“Maybe later, then?” said Annie.
“Not maybe later,” said Mr. Nicolay. “After this meeting he is scheduled to have a meeting with his generals, and then a meeting with the Department of the Navy.”
“Excuse me—” a man in the crowd called out.
“But I heard the president say he’d like to meet us!” Jack broke in.
“I can’t imagine why he said that,” said Mr. Nicolay, shaking his head. “Following all the meetings I just listed, President Lincoln will meet with foreign diplomats, then with a group of senators, and then with reporters from the New York Times.”
“Mr. Nicolay! Listen to me!” someone shouted.
“So, sir,” Annie interrupted, “you’re saying he’ll have no free time at all today?”
“Oh, he might have a free moment,” said Mr. Nicolay. “But should that miracle occur, the president will go for a horseback ride in the country—and have a private meeting with himself!”
“Got it,” said Annie. She took a deep breath. “Well, maybe you can just answer one question for us. Do you know if the president collects feathers?”
Mr. Nicolay threw up his hands. “This is no time for silly questions,” he said. “Our country is divided, young lady. We are on the brink of war.”
“What do you mean, sir?” one of the men in the crowd shouted. “What’s the news from Fort Sumter?”
“Yes! What do you know that we don’t know?” a lady called.
Everyone started shouting at once.
“That’s it! Leave now, everyone!” Mr. Nicolay said. “The president is busy! He works night and day for you and for the unity of this nation!”
As the crowd shouted back at the secretary, Jack tugged on Annie’s sleeve. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.
“We should wait for Willie,” said Annie.
“I don’t think Willie can help us,” said Jack. “Come on. Let’s go back to the tree house and look at our research book. Maybe we can think of something else.”
“Okay,” said Annie, sighing.
She and Jack hurried along the hallway, then down the stairs to the first floor. They wove through the crowd, then escaped out the main door.
“Phew! That place is nuts!” said Jack as they walked between the tall white columns of the White House.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for Willie?” said Annie.
“I’m sure,” said Jack. He hurried down the carriageway. “Even if Willie took us back to the office to meet his dad, we wouldn’t be alone with the president. Lots of other people would be there, too. We couldn’t ask him for a feather. And we sure couldn’t give him any hope. Everyone would laugh.”
“You’re right,” said Annie.
Jack shook his head. “How can the president even think in that place, with Tad jumping on him, his relatives visiting, his secretary yelling—”
“And a thousand people scheduled to meet with him,” said Annie.
“And another thousand who are trying to meet with him!” said Jack.
They had arrived back at the tree house. “Whew. No wonder the president needs to take a ride in the countryside by himself,” Jack said. He grabbed the sides of the ladder. “Let’s go up and look at the book.”
“Wait,” said Annie. “I have a good idea.”
“What?” asked Jack.
“Right now we really need to have our own meeting with Abraham Lincoln, alone,” said Annie. “Right?”
“Yes … so?” said Jack.
“So if that’s the one thing we need, our book can’t really help,” said Annie. “But I know something that can.”
“What?” said Jack.
Annie reached into her apron pocket. She pulled out the bottle and read the label aloud: “ ‘Take a sip. Make a wish for one thing to help you on your mission. Remember: Trust the magic.’ ”
Annie looked up at Jack. “So why don’t we make a wish to have a private meeting with Abraham Lincoln?”
“Isn’t it too soon to use our only magic?” said Jack.
“Maybe. But maybe it’s the perfect time,” said Annie.
“So we wish to have a meeting with the president all by ourselves?” said Jack.
“Yep,” said Annie.
Jack couldn’t think of another plan. “Well … okay,” he said. “Let’s do it.”
“Just remember, we have to trust the magic,” said Annie.
Jack nodded.
Annie took the top off the bottle. She raised the bottle to her lips, then swallowed a quick sip of the potion. She handed the bottle to Jack, and he did the same.
“You can make our wish,” said Annie.
Jack squeezed his eyes shut. “We wish to have a meeting with Abraham Lincoln!” he said. “Alone!”
There was a deafening WHOOSH and a ROAR. The earth shook, like a speeding train passing by. The ground opened, and Jack felt as if he were falling through space,
through a tunnel,
down through blackness,
into a world of daylight.
