CHAPTER NINE

T

he melody still ran through Lisa’s head as she climbed into bed next to Todd. “You were a brave guy, Toddy-boy. Will you come with me tomorrow night to the Secret Place? I need your help. Craig and I should take turns going, so that one of us will always be around here.”

It was the best reward she could have given him. “You mean in the car and everything? Sure, Lisa, I’ll come!”

“There’s one other thing, Todd. I’d like to have you try to drive the car. We can practice tomorrow in the Glenbard parking lot.”

Todd was a happy kid. His thoughts raced as Lisa drifted into sleep. What time is it? he wondered. What day is it tomorrow? How many days have gone by since we were left alone? He couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to him that it had been a long, long time.

Even though it was an official holiday, the Grand Avenue citizens couldn’t sleep late. At eight, a small band of children decided to form a wake-up party. They called on Julie first, then woke up Charlie and his sisters. At the Jansens’, they added Jill, Missy, Katy, and all of their orphans. Then they went on to Steve and Cheryl’s house. Steve was angry at first, but the cheerful procession was too inviting, so he joined in.

The mischievous troop went next to the Bergman house. “Let’s scare ’em,” said Steve. They surrounded the house, scratched lightly on the boarded windows and, on the count of ten, broke into a roar of war cries and giggles.

“You didn’t scare us,” Erika lied.

Craig was too sleepy to care. “Go away,” he said.

“Come on, let’s get Lisa and Todd,” someone shouted.

The Nelson fortress was stronger than any of the others, so they walked over the rooftops from Craig’s. “Be careful,” he warned, as they tiptoed one by one across the narrow planks above the houses. “Quiet, you’ll wake them!”

Craig had already made them walk those high planks during militia practice. “You can’t be afraid,” he had said over and over again, but the children were still scared. Some of the younger ones had cried, while the older children pretended to be brave. But today they all had courage.

“We’ll slip down through the trapdoor,” he whispered. “I’ll go first and help you in. This will be a ‘quiet’ exercise. Remember, not a sound.” He opened the padlock with his key.

It was strange to see 30 children on top of the house, disappearing, one at a time, into the roof. Amazing, thought Craig, how quiet they can be when they want to be.

Someone slipped on the trapdoor ladder and said a very bad word. “Quiet!” was Craig’s whispered order. “Watch your step.”

Eileen giggled a little too loudly at the bad word. The other children glared her into silence. It was a good thing that Lisa and Todd slept way down in the basement.

They tiptoed single file down the stairs, through the kitchen, and down to the windowless room in the basement. No one shouted. Julie knocked on their door. “Surprise! Wake up!”

Yawning heavily, Lisa could only say, “How did you get in here?” Todd’s sleepy eyes tried to focus on the faces at the door.

They dressed quickly while the other children gathered tools and weapons for the day. Everything was loaded into the two cars.

“Drive slow,” Charlie pleaded, “so I can ride on the hood.”

“Hey, good idea,” said Steve, and some of the other children climbed on top of the cars. The smaller ones piled inside. They drove toward the lake, followed by the shouts of those who were left to walk.

It was a great day, sunny and warm for December. Jill took the little ones to the swings, while a group of girls sat by a campfire singing. Charlie, Craig, Steve, and a half-dozen younger boys played football until the sky clouded up.

It turned cold when the sun disappeared. The whole party moved into the boathouse. Why hadn’t they thought of it before? It was perfect. In no time the big fireplace was glowing. They laughed and sang for hours.

“Where are Lisa and Todd?” someone asked, noticing that they were gone.

“They’ll be back soon,” said Craig. He’d promised not to tell anyone that she was teaching Todd how to drive the car in the Glenbard parking lot. But Craig’s answer made them suspicious. Before long the parking lot was filled with spectators and eager students. “It’s not hard, really,” some of them bragged. “Toddy is getting really good. Look at him now!”

Before long, Steve Cole approached them. “It’s time for someone else to be the sentry. I’ve been on guard since noon, you know!”

“Here, Steve, want to try driving?” asked Lisa. “I’ll show you how.” He learned quickly. Good, she thought. Soon we’ll have six or seven cars running.

After Steve’s lesson, she called them all together. “Okay, let’s pack up and get home. Hurry, it’ll be dark soon. Let’s load them up!”

Their first holiday was over. “They’ll never be as good as this again,” she said, and the children agreed.

After dark, Lisa and Todd got ready for their trip. “Keep a careful eye out tonight,” she told the sentry. Lisa drove away, but not on Riford this time. Instead they circled around on Elm and Main, and then drove back to St. Charles at Five Corners.

Lisa’s old doubts were nagging at her, but she didn’t want to think about them. The celebration had really been fun, but something was wrong. What was making her feel so uncertain?

Lisa stopped the car.

“Toddy-boy, do you want to drive for a while?” Before he took over, she explained the instruments on the dashboard and the rules for night driving.

“Why can’t we turn on the lights?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer. He strained his neck to see the road above the steering wheel.

“Here, Todd, you’d better sit on something so you can see.” She folded their coats and added the pillow from the back seat. “There, is that better?”

Lisa coached her new chauffeur. “Easy on the brakes . . . turn the wheel slowly . . . don’t jerk it . . . Todd, I said easy on the brakes!” But he was driving the car, a little boy. Was it possible?

“I didn’t hit anything at all, Lisa,” he said proudly, as he finally parked by the warehouse.

“You did a great job, Toddy-boy.” What else could she say after all the dents she had put in the car?

“Please don’t call me that, Lisa.” He didn’t mind the name before. But he was too big for it now. “Okay, Todd,” she promised.

He was excited about the Secret Place when he saw it. He wanted to wander through it all night with the flashlight, but she interrupted his thoughts. “Come on, Todd, we’ve got a lot of work to do.” They lifted, carried, and packed for two hours.

He slept all the way home. It’s nice to have him along, Lisa thought. The little guy is really strong. We were lucky last night. The Chidester Gang could have wiped us out. He’s brave, too.

Still, it had been luck. That rock falling on Logan was pure chance. It could have just scratched or bruised him and made him mad. He might really have hurt Todd . . . and that cowardly militia! She had to figure a way to toughen them up.

As the car turned onto Swift Road, Lisa thought, “No, not tonight. Surely they wouldn’t attack again tonight.” She reassured herself. “They’re bound to think that Grand Avenue will be on a total alert . . .”

But she was wrong, very wrong. The next thing she saw was a giant flame reaching high above the trees. From as far away as St. Charles Road, she could see the terrifying glow.

“Todd, wake up! Todd, Todd!”

“What’s the matter, Lisa?” He looked up and saw their home burning like a torch.

Then came the tears. The two children parked and got out of the car. They stood shaking, silently, in front of the home they’d always loved. They cried to themselves, as motionless as statues, while the blazing heat dried their tears.

“Come on, Lisa. Come on, Todd,” the other children said. “Nothing can be done to save it now.” But they didn’t hear. They just stood and watched.

“There’s nothing you can do, Lisa,” said Jill. “You and Toddy-boy come home with me now. We have room. Please?”

“Toddy-boy?” He snapped out of his trance and turned around. “Who said that? My name is Todd . . .”

Lisa wasn’t paying attention. “Why?” was all she could say, over and over, in her mind. “Why?” It was more than just the house. Her confidence and her joy and her wanting to rebuild things began to leave her. Her dreams and plans were being destroyed with the house.

She stood there, feeling nothing, through the night. Todd stayed beside her. The flames became embers, and the daylight finally shone upon them.

Then they went to Jill’s.