Ch2-Nowhere

CHAPTER TWO Nowhere Jack felt hot. He opened his eyes. Burning sunlight was flooding into the tree house. He and Annie were wearing long robes tied with cords. They wore white head cloths and pointy slip-on shoes. Jack's backpack had turned into a leather shoulder bag.

"We look like characters in that book Aunt Mary gave us," said Annie, "Tales from the Arabian Nights." "Yeah, like Aladdin and Ali Baba," said Jack. Shading their eyes from the bright sunlight, Jack and Annie squinted out the window. They had landed in the spiky crown

of a palm tree. It was the tallest tree in a clump of palm trees. Thorny shrubs and sparse green grass grew under the trees. A small spring bubbled up from the ground. Surrounding the clump of trees were miles and miles of scorching sand. "This doesn't look like a golden age to me," said Annie. "Yeah, and where's Baghdad?" asked Jack. He picked up their research book and opened it to the first page. He read aloud: From 762 AD to 1258 AD, the Arab world had a golden age. During that time, a ruler known as a

caliph (say KAY-liff) governed an empire that stretched for thousands of miles. The capital of the Arab empire was the city of Baghdad, an important center for learning and trade. Jack looked up. "So the caliph is a ruler," he said, "and he probably lived in Baghdad." "Yeah, but how do we get there?" asked Annie. "Patience," said Jack. "Remember on our last mission, we learned that we have to do

things in order, one thing at a time." He read the first part of Merlin's instructions. Ride a ship of the desert on a cold starry night. Ride through the dust and hot morning light. "I wonder what a 'ship of the desert' is," said Jack, looking up. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find it eventually," Annie said slowly, as if she were trying to sound patient. "We could just sit here and keep an eye out for a big boat. Or…" "Or what?" said Jack.

"Maybe we could use one of Teddy and Kathleen's magic rhymes." "Not yet," said Jack. "Merlin said to use our magic wisely. We just got here. We used two rhymes on our last mission. And we only have eight left to divide between three—" "Okay, okay—" Annie broke in. "We can only use a rhyme when there's absolutely nothing else to do, right?" "Right," said Jack. "So…," said Annie. "What do you think we should do?" "We could start walking," said Jack. "Walk where?" said Annie. "Which way is Baghdad?"