Free The Girl Who Owned a City by O. T. (Terry) Nelson Page A

she asked herself, over and over.
    But now she didn’t fear the answer as much. It seemed that they were beginning to control their own futures. They would use their heads. That was the key.
    â€œLisa, is that you?” called Jill from her dark perch on the dock. “Come over here for a minute. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
    Lisa sat beside her. They listened, for a while, to the songs in the background. There was no hurry.
    Lisa finally broke the silence. “What is it, Jill?”
    â€œWell, I’ve got a problem, and I thought you might be able to help me. There are 14 kids at my place now and they eat like crazy. We just don’t have enough food or supplies. Will you help us? We need lots of things, especially medicine. Some of the kids have bad colds. Do you have anything for us?”
    Lisa knew that she could help them. In fact, she’d be happy to share the wealth of the Secret Place. But why should she, if Jill’s kids wouldn’t help with the militia?
    â€œOkay, Jill, here’s what we can do. I’ll be happy to help you out, but not for free. I need someone for every hour of the day and night to walk up and down Grand Avenue. They’ll alert us if an enemy approaches. I’ll get my dad’s trumpet, and the sentries can learn how to make a warning blast on it. But I’ll need someone night and day, every day.
    â€œAlso, I’ll need at least two of your kids to help Craig and me on our supply missions. It will take about four hours for each trip, but we’ll probably go only three nights a week until January.
    â€œIf you’ll agree to those terms,” Lisa said. “I’ll guarantee you and your kids all the supplies you need.”
    But Jill’s awkward silence made it clear that she wasn’t ready to accept the deal.
    Finally she spoke. “Lisa, can you imagine what it would be like for a five-year-old to walk up and down Grand Avenue late at night, afraid of everything that moves? Can you imagine how scared they’d be? You and I are older. We can find the courage to do it, but they can’t. I think it’s cruel of you to demand it of them. They need our help. They’re afraid, Lisa. Don’t you remember what that’s like?”
    â€œOf course I remember, Jill,” she replied. “I’m afraid almost every minute of the day, and so is Todd. He’s not much older than your kids, but he’s fighting that fear. He earns his way and it makes him happy and strong.
    â€œWe’re still children, but we have to keep alive. Everything is different now. Those kids need the same things we do! They’ve got to
try,
too!”
    But Jill wasn’t listening. Even Lisa, when she thought about it, realized that she couldn’t expect helpless children to join an army.
    Lisa gave in, finally, but only because she couldn’t put the facts together. Was she expecting too much of them? She started again.
    â€œOkay, maybe you’re right. Maybe I expect too much of everyone. But you have to understand the way I feel. Surviving isn’t such a bad problem if we can just use our heads. In fact, we’ll really have something when we know we’ve actually
earned
our survival. That’s the way I felt today when we found the secret supply. Try to understand what I’m saying.”
    To Jill it sounded good, but the facts she faced every day didn’t quite fit with Lisa’s ideas. To Jill, life was just little orphans and the problems of finding food and medicine for them. Somehow, she just couldn’t think of those real problems as fun or satisfying or as being part of a grand plan.
    â€œJill, you know that I’ll help you,” said Lisa. “There’s plenty for your kids in our Secret Place, and you’re welcome to whatever you need.”
    Lisa didn’t think much more about that conversation. She knew something was wrong, but she