Free Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn Page A

houses, fields and woods, cows and sheep, the river behind the house, railroad tracks shining silver in the sunlight. It was a nice view, but all I could think about was climbing down. We were up so high—how would we ever get back to earth without killing ourselves?
    Suddenly, a loud popping and banging shattered the quiet. Almost hidden in a cloud of dust, a car roared along the road below us. Cattle lumbered to their feet, horses raised their heads and galloped away, a flock of chickens scattered in all directions.
    Hannah gasped. "Oh, my Lord, it's John Larkin in his father's motorcar. If he catches me looking like this, he'll think I'm a common hoyden."
    Her bare foot plunged toward me. The tree swayed violently, my head swam. Afraid to move, I clung to a branch.
    "For heaven's sake, Andrew, hurry. He'll be here any moment!"
    With Hannah pushing me, I slid from limb to limb, down,
down, faster and faster. By the time I hit the ground, my legs were shaking so hard I could barely stand.

    Without so much as a thought for me, Hannah grabbed her shoes and ran across the lawn. Her feet were bare, her shirtwaist untucked, her skirt dusty. Twigs and leaves clung to her hair. As quick as she was, the Model T was quicker. Pursued by Buster, it rolled to a noisy stop under a tree.
    Without pausing to say hello, Hannah darted past John, scurried up the steps, and vanished into the house. The door had no sooner closed behind her than it opened to let Theo out. Leaping from the porch, he flung himself at John and begged for a ride. Buster circled the car, barking and snapping at the tires.
    The commotion brought Mrs. Tyler to the door. "Land sakes, Buster, hush!" When the dog didn't obey, she spotted me walking slowly toward the house. "Andrew, stop lally-gagging and do something with this animal."
    Obediently, I put two fingers in my mouth and blew hard. The shrill sound got Buster's attention immediately. Tail wagging, he loped across the lawn toward me. Two feet away he skidded to a stop, obviously as surprised as I was. Curling his lip, he growled softly and then slunk off toward the woods, as disappointed as a dog can be.
    Too astonished to move, I watched Buster disappear into the trees. No matter how hard I'd tried, I'd never been able to make a noise like that. A pitiful little hiss of air was all I'd ever managed to produce. Yet just now, without even thinking about it, I'd blasted the dog with a whistle loud enough to wake the dead.
    The idea made me shiver. Scared of my own thoughts, I turned toward Mrs. Tyler. At that moment, the world around me quivered as if I were looking at it through heat
waves. The Model T vanished, the Tylers disappeared. Weeds and vines spread across the lawn. Trees grew taller. The house aged, its roof sagged, shutters hung loose, ivy covered the bricks. Andrew faced me, his eyes huge, his skin pale. Like twin statues we stared at each other, neither moving nor speaking.

    I whispered his name, but when I stepped toward him, he backed away, stumbling in his haste to escape. A sound like the buzzing of locusts filled my ears. "Wait," I cried, "come back."
    The next thing I knew I was sprawled on the grass and a woman was bending over me. "Andrew, Andrew, what ails you?" She put an arm around my waist and helped me to my feet. "I heard you call out. Then I saw you stagger and fall."
    I tried to focus my eyes. My head ached, I was still dizzy, but the locusts were quiet. The world was steady. Andrew had disappeared.
    "Should I send John to fetch Dr. Fulton?"
    I shook my head, breathed deeply, tried to smile. "It was the heat, Mama. I'm all right now. Don't worry."
    Keeping one arm around me, she said, "John has offered to take us on an outing in his father's motorcar, but perhaps you and I should stay home...."
    From her bedroom window, Hannah called, "For pity's sake, Mama, we'll never hear the end of it if you don't let Andrew come with us."
    "Please, Mama. I'm fine, honest I am."
    Mama sighed