02 Bones

Chapter 02 Bones Jack, Annie, and Peanut looked outside. Snow was falling from a gray sky. The tree house was in the tallest tree in a grove of tall, bare trees. The grove was on a wide, white plain. Beyond the plain were high, rocky cliffs. “ I’m c-cold, ” said Annie. Her teeth chattered. She wrapped her towel tightly around her. Sq-squeak. Peanut sounded cold, too.

“ Poor mouse, ” said Annie. “ I’ll put you into Jack’s pack. You’ll be warmer there. ” Annie slipped Peanut into the pocket of the backpack. “ We have to go home, ” said Jack. “ We need warmer clothes. ” “ We can’t go home, ” said Annie. “ We can’t find the Pennsylvania book. Not until our mission is complete. Remember? That’s the way the magic works. ” “ Oh … right, ” said Jack. He looked around. There was no sign of the Pennsylvania book that always took them home. Annie peered out the window again. “ Where are we, anyway?” she asked. “ I’ll find out, ” said Jack. He picked up the open book and read the title on the cover. “ Life in the Ice Age. ”

“ Ice Age?” said Annie. “ No wonder we’re cold. ” “ We better find the third M thing soon, ” said Jack. “ Before we freeze to death. ” “ Look, ” whispered Annie, “ people. ” She pointed out the window.

Jack saw them, too: four figures on a cliff. Two big figures and two little ones—all holding long spears. “ Who are they?” said Annie. “ I’ll look in the book, ” said Jack.

He found a picture of some people. He read the caption to Annie: Early modern humans were called Cro-Magnons. During the late Ice Age in Europe, they sometimes lived in caves beneath cliffs. “ Why are they carrying spears?” said Annie. Jack turned the page. He found another picture of the Cro-Magnons. He read aloud: The Cro-Magnon family often hunted together. They covered deep pits with branches. Then they drove reindeer and mammoths into the traps. “ Oh, trapping the animals—that’s sad, ” said Annie.

“ No, it’s not, ” said Jack. “ They couldn’t live without hunting. They didn’t have supermarkets, you know. ” They watched the family disappear over the other side of the cliff. “ Come on, I’m freezing, ” said Jack. “ Let’s hurry and find the M thing while the Cro-Magnons are hunting. ” “ But I want to meet them, ” said Annie. “ Forget it, ” said Jack. “ They don’t have books that tell them about us. They’ll think we’re some enemy and hurl their spears. ” “ Yikes, ” said Annie. Jack put his book away. Squeak. Peanut peeked out of the backpack. “ Stay in there, ” said Annie. Jack pulled on his pack and started down the rope ladder.