Ping. Ping. Ping.
Ice pellets bounced off Emily’s living room windows.
“I hate icy days,” said Emily. “You can’t make snow people. You can’t play outside. You can’t do anything good.”
“You can do something good inside,” said her friend Matt. He pointed to the floor above them.
“Of course!” said Emily, bouncing out of her chair. “Why didn’t I think of that? We can go on a sled adventure.”
“So, what are we waiting for?” said Matt.
Emily and Matt raced out of the room and up the back stairs to the tower room.
“Why don’t we make this one a surprise adventure?” suggested Matt. “One person can pick the drawer.”
Emily’s eyes lit up. “And the other person can pull something out of it with eyes closed!”
Matt smiled. “I like that idea, but that means we could go anywhere at any time in history. It could be…”
“Dangerous?” said Emily.
“Yes.”
“Or fun?”
“Yes.”
“Or both,” said Emily.
Matt nodded. “So…let’s do it! I’ll pick the drawer.”
“And I’ll pull out the surprise adventure.”
“I pick drawer…number four!” Matt pulled open the bottom drawer.
Emily bent down. She closed her eyes and fumbled inside the drawer.
“Here it comes,” she said. “One. Two. Three. Out!”
She yanked out a thin, flat object.
“It’s a photograph,” said Matt as Emily opened her eyes.
The friends stared at the photograph of a smiling girl of ten dressed in a winter coat, boots, a scarf, and a hat. On her lap sat a small spotted dog.
“That dog is cute,” said Emily, “but there’s no label telling us who the girl is, or where they are, or what year it is. There’s always a label.”
“Maybe there’s something on the back of the picture,” said Matt.
Emily turned the photograph over. “You’re right! It says:
Dear Tim,
This picture is part of your birthday present. Can you guess the rest?
Love, Carolyn and Poppy
Dec. 6, 1917, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“Let’s go! I love surprises and I love cute dogs. I wish I could pet him right now!” said Emily.
“He looks like a friendly dog, but I bet there’s more to this adventure than a surprise present and a dog. The sled always sends us somewhere where something awesome is happening.”
“You’re right. But what’s awesome about Halifax in 1917?” asked Emily.
Matt rubbed his fingers across his forehead. “Let me think. The end of World War I was near 1917. Maybe this has something to do with the war.”
“Did the war take place in Halifax?”
“No. In Europe, but something must have been going on in Halifax. Something important. I’m sure of it,” said Matt.
“There’s only one way to find out,” said Emily as she pulled the sled out from behind the dresser.