02 The Unsinkable Ship

Chapter 02 The Unsinkable Ship “ Arf! Arf! ?” Jack opened his eyes. He shivered. Wherever they were now, it was cold —very cold. Teddy barked again. “ Shhh, ” said Jack. Annie shined the flashlight on her clothes. “ Wow, we’re dressed like old-fashioned kids! ” she said. Instead of pajamas and a poncho, she wore a sailor dress and a long wool cloak.

Jack had on an overcoat and knee-length pants with long socks. His backpack had turned to leather. He also had on a shirt and tie. “ Where are we?” he wondered aloud. Jack and Annie looked out the window. The moonless sky glittered with stars. There was a soft wind and the sound of water lapping. The tree house seemed to be resting on a wooden deck between two giant columns. Jack looked up and saw smoke coming out of the columns. “ We must have landed on the ship between the smokestacks, ” he said. Then Jack looked straight ahead and saw a box high in the air, near the front of the ship. “ That must be the lookouts’ nest, ” he said.

Jack sat back in the tree house and opened their book. Annie handed him the flashlight. “ Let’s find out where we are, ” he said. He turned to a picture of a huge ocean liner. By the light of the flashlight, he read: Late at night, on April 14, 1912, an English ocean liner was making her first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. She was going to New York City. Carrying 2, 200 passengers, the ship was four city blocks long. Most people believed the ship was unsinkable. “ Oh, man, we’re in 1912, ” said Jack. He pulled out his notebook and wrote: April 14, 1912 “ This ship is huge, " said Annie. “ How will we ever find the gift to help free Teddy?”

“ You can’t go looking for a gift, ” said Jack. “ You have to wait until someone gives it to you. ” “ Right, ” said Annie with a sigh. “ Well, I guess we just have to be ourselves, like Morgan said. And maybe we’ll get lucky. ” “ This is hard, ” said Jack. The little dog whined. “ Don’t worry, Teddy, ” said Annie. “ We’ll free you from your spell. ” Just then, a shout came from the lookouts’ nest: “ Iceberg ahead! ” Jack and Annie turned back to the window—just in time to see a huge iceberg looming out of the sea. The iceberg was dark with a fringe of white at the top. And it was right in front of the ship!

Jack felt a jolt. Then he heard a grinding sound. The ship was scraping against the mountain of ice. “ Arf! Arf! ” Teddy barked. “ Shhh, don’t be scared, ” said Annie. She picked the dog up and hugged him. The scraping sound stopped. The ship slid past the iceberg until they lost sight of it. The night was calm again. “ See?” Annie said to Teddy. “ It was just a little bump. This ship is unsinkable. ” But Jack was worried. “ Wait. I have to read more about this, ” he said. “ Don’t read now, Jack, ” said Annie. “ It’s time to get the gift. Come on, Teddy. ” She picked up the little dog and the flashlight. And she climbed out the tree house window.