Ch2-The Big House

CHAPTER TWO The Big House A cold wind blew rain into the tree house. Jack shivered. He was wearing an old overcoat and ragged trousers. Annie wore a scarf, a shawl, and a long red wool dress. They both wore scuffed, worn boots. "So where are we?" said Jack. He and Annie looked out the window.

The tree house had landed in a tree at the edge of a green meadow dotted with woolly white sheep. Next to the meadow was a narrow lane. It ran uphill between low stone walls. Through the drizzle, Jack could see mist-covered mountains in the distance and a flash of silver sea. "It looks like a scene in a fairy tale," said Annie. "Yeah, a fairy tale with bad weather," said Jack. "I wonder where the Big House is," said Annie. "I don't know, but I'd like to get inside it now," said Jack. "Me too," said Annie, shivering. "Let's go." Jack crammed his cold hands into the pockets of his torn coat. In one pocket, he felt his

notebook and pencil. In the other, he felt the Irish whistle. "I've got the whistle," he said. "Good," said Annie. She held her red skirt and started down the rope ladder. Jack climbed down after her. Annie pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders. Jack turned up the collar of his coat. As they tramped through the wet meadow, he felt cold water seeping through holes in his boots. Jack and Annie climbed over a stone wall onto the muddy lane. A horse-drawn wagon was rattling toward them down the hill. The wagon was filled with squealing pigs. "Excuse me!" Annie called to the driver. "Can you tell us where the Big House is?"

An old man with a tired, rugged face pointed back up the hill. "Thanks!" said Jack. The large wooden wheels of the wagon rumbled past, splashing Jack and Annie with mud. "Yuck!" said Annie.

"Now we're cold and wet and dirty," said Jack. "Yeah, we're going to look great when we get to the Big House," said Annie. "So what do we do when we get there?" asked Jack. "When we find Augusta, maybe we tell her that Teddy and Kathleen sent us," said Annie, "like we told Louis Armstrong in New Orleans." Just thinking about their adventure with Louis Armstrong made Jack smile. "I don't know if that will work," he said. "His world seemed so different from this world. There it was so noisy and busy. Here it feels lonely." "Well, we won't know until we find Augusta," said Annie. "Let's go."

Jack and Annie lowered their heads. They plodded up the lane, sloshing in and out of giant puddles. When they reached the top of the hill, they stopped. The muddy lane wound down, past more sheep meadows and some cottages, past a long stable and several barns. At the end of the lane was a large open gate that led onto the grounds of a white mansion. Gray smoke rose from the mansion's chimneys. "The Big House!" said Annie. "Maybe the people who live there will invite us inside to get warm and dry by a fire," said Jack. Jack and Annie started down the lane. As they passed the sheep meadows, black-and-white dogs barked at them. When they walked by several