Lost in the Tunnel of Time by Sharon M. Draper Read Free Book Online Page B

Railroad hidden room?” asked Jerome with excitement.
    â€œWe sure did,” replied Mrs. Powell. “You’ve stumbled across a secret that’s been hidden for almost a hundred and fifty years! It’s a very important, very valuable historical find.”
    â€œWait till you read my story, Mrs. Powell,” said Ziggy with a twinkle in his eye. “Now we really knowwhat it’s like to travel on the Underground Railroad.”
    â€œIt’s dark, and it’s scary, and it’s dangerous!” exclaimed Rashawn. “Whoever left that small bundle was a very brave person.”
    â€œMr. Greene, do you think it might have belonged to your grandpa Mac?” asked Jerome.
    â€œI doubt it, Jerome,” replied Mr. Greene, “but I sure would like to think so.”
    â€œWhat’s gonna happen to that stuff we found, mon?” Ziggy asked as he stirred his hot chocolate with the pickle his mom had brought for him.
    â€œLet’s call the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center right here in Cincinnati,” suggested Mrs. Powell. “I’m sure your discoveries will receive a place of honor in a display there.”

    â€œThat’s cool, mon.”
    Rico said quietly, “I didn’t think we would ever get out of there. How did you know where to find us on the other side?”
    Rashawn’s dad hugged his son once again and replied, “We knew that the tunnel probably ran down to the sewer lines and then down to the river. But we weren’t sure where to look. Mr. Greene gave us a general idea, but it was Afrika who found you.”
    â€œHe squeezed through a small opening in the sewer line and came back with one green tennis shoe,” added Mr. Greene.
    â€œMy green shoe, mon!” shouted Ziggy with glee. “That was part of my secret rescue plan!”
    â€œAfrika then went back and dug until he found you,” explained Rashawn’s dad. “He’s a real hero.”
    â€œWhere is Afrika?” asked Jerome. “We haven’t seen him since he found us.”
    â€œLook, mon,” said Ziggy with a laugh.
    Curled up in the front seat of the ambulance, with a green tennis shoe under his paw, Afrika, ignoring all the noise and confusion, was fast asleep.

ZIGGY’S STORY
    Seven Smooth Stones
by Ziggy Colwin
    Traveling on the Underground Railroad was a really scary thing. A boy named Mac ran away from slavery with his mother. They wanted to be free, so they walked four hundred miles to Ohio. It took a long time because they could only move at night.
    It was very dark and they heard sounds thatmade Mac want to cry, but he didn’t. In the daytime slave catchers were looking for them, so they had to hide in the bushes or in barns of people who helped them. It was summertime so it was hot, and when bugs bit him, he couldn’t even scratch. Even a sneeze was dangerous.
    When Mac and his mum got to Cincinnati, they hid in a tunnel under a house. Mac didn’t get to play very much. All he had was a slingshot and seven smooth stones. Mac was a brave boy who didn’t know that he was going to be famous. But I know. I was there.
    The End

HERE’S A SNEAK PEEK INTO THE NEXT CLUBHOUSE MYSTERY,
SHADOWS OF CAESAR’S CREEK!

    ZIGGY’S THOUGHTS BOUNCED LIKE HOT POPCORN as he ran through his backyard to the clubhouse of the Black Dinosaurs. An overnight camping trip! he thought eagerly. Fishing! Hiking! Cooking over a campfire! He couldn’t wait to talk to Rico, Rashawn, and Jerome, the other members of the Black Dinosaurs, about the letter from Camp Caesar.
    Ziggy’s huge backyard was wonderful. It was a place where flowers, weeds, rabbits, and ten-year-old boys could grow wild. It was a place to dream and create—a perfect location for secrets and adventures. Ziggy followed a path, probably used byraccoons, which ran back through the thick underbrush to the clubhouse.
    Using the remains of an old