02 Signs of Life

2 Signs of Life Jack opened his eyes. He was wearing pants with suspenders and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. In place of his backpack was a leather bag. Annie was wearing a long dress and a sun-bonnet. “ I like my hat, " she said. “ It'll keep the sun off my face. ” “ Yeah, except the sun's not shining, " said Jack.

He and Annie looked out the window. The sky was cloudy. The tree house had landed in a small grove of trees near a creek. Beyond the trees was a wide, open prairie. Green grass and wildflowers swayed in a chilly wind. In the distance, a train puffed across the prairie. Sparks of fire came out of its smoke-stack, Huge clouds of black smoke billowed into the gray sky. “ Wow, ” said Jack. He looked at the picture of the train in their book and read: After the Civil War, the U. S government built railroads to link the eastern and western parts of the country. By the 1870s, steam engines carried people across the Kansas prairie.

Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote: 1870s-trains across Kansas “ Let's get going, " said Annie. “ We have to find that special writing for Morgan. ” She started down the ladder. Jack packed his things in his leather bag and climbed down after her. When he stepped onto the ground, Jack looked toward the west. The train was gone. Only a thin trail of smoke floated across the sky. “ That train was cool, " said Jack. “ Yeah, and so is that, " said Annie. She pointed in the other direction. Far away, in the distance, a line of covered wagons rolled through the rippling grass. Their white coverings billowed in the breeze.

Jack pulled out the research book. He found a picture of the wagon train. He read aloud: Wagons were the most common way for families to travel west. They could carry clothes, tools, food, and water. A line of wagons was called a “ wagon train. " The white cloth coverings over the wagons also made them look like sailing ships, or schooners. For this reason, covered wagons were sometimes called “ prairie schooners. ”

Jack looked at the wagons again. They did look like ships sailing across a rippling green sea.

He wrote in his notebook: Covered wagons = prairie schooners “ Let's get a closer look, " said Annie. She took off across the grass. Jack put away his things and ran after her. As they ran, the wind began to blow harder. The clouds overhead grew darker. “ Wait--wait! " Jack finally called to Annie. “ We'll never catch up to it! ” They both stopped running. Panting, they watched the wagon train vanish over the horizon. Jack took a deep breath. “ What now?" he said. They looked around. All Jack could see was the distant grove of trees with the tree house.