The Sky is Falling by Kit Pearson Read Free Book Online Page B

we’d be torpedoed,” Jamie said longingly, as they stared at the blank expanse of water. When they got tired of keeping watch they held up biscuits for the hovering gulls to snatch out of their fingers.
    Jamie introduced Norah to his older brothers. She envied them when they told her they were going to live with their uncle on the Canadian prairies. The Smiths, too, were “nominated”. That meant they knew whom they were going to stay with in Ontario. “It will be in a vicarage in Toronto, just like at home,” said Dulcie. “The Milnes are old friends of Daddy’s.” Norah wondered where she and Gavin would be sleeping in a week.
    N ORAH AND JAMIE were standing together on the deck one morning when Norah cried, “Look! Is that land?”
    Far in the distance was a thin blue line, as if someone had painted a dark outline along the horizon. As the day progressed it got darker and closer, and the next morning it had broken up into islands.
    Then a thick fog obscured their vision. Jamie’s brother, Alistair, who seemed to know everything, told them they were off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. As they leaned over the railing into the mist, Norah was astonished to see an enormous grey-white shape loom out of the fog.
    â€œWhat’s that ?”
    â€œIt’s an iceberg!” said Alistair. “There’s something to write home about!” They watched in awe as the ship glided by the ghostly mountain of ice.
    Soon they entered a huge estuary; Alistair said it was the St. Lawrence River but its banks were so far apart it seemed more like a small sea. Then it narrowed to a proper river, its high shore dense with firs. Jamie kept a close watch. “Maybe we’ll spot an Indian war dance,” he told Norah.
    â€œWhat a little idiot!” scoffed Alistair. “Canada isn’t like a wild west film.”
    But Jamie and Norah kept examining the cliffs hopefully. Now they were passing small villages, each with a lighthouse and a white-spired church. In the distance rose the green roofs of Quebec City. The ship docked there briefly and all the children crowded at the railing, pushing each other in their excitement. Below them men shouted to each other in French.
    â€œDon’t they speak English in Canada?” Norah asked Margery nervously. What would it be like to live with a new family she didn’t understand?
    Margery looked bewildered but Miss Montague-Scott assured them that, although Canada had two languages, most of the people in Ontario spoke English. “The children who will be living in Montreal are lucky,” she added in her school-teacher tone. “Some of them will probably learn French.” But Norah thought it was going to be difficult enough to adjust in her own language.
    The ship continued through the dusk to Montreal. That evening there was an excited atmosphere aboard. They had a special banquet, and the escorts led the children in a chorus of “For they are jolly good fellows.” The captain stood up and told them what good sailors they’d been.
    They were allowed to open the darkened portholes for the first time, and all the ship’s lights streamed out into the darkness. “You’re safe now,” laughed Miss Montague-Scott. “There’s no need for a black-out any more.” She had come in to help their cabin pack. “Make sure you have all your papers ready. We’ll be in Montreal in an hour and will stay there for the night. Then I’ll have to leave you—someone else will be in charge.”
    â€œWhere will you go?” asked Norah. Miss Montague-Scott already seemed to be an established part of their lives.
    â€œBack to Britain and, I hope, back here again with another load of evacuees,” she said cheerfully. “Let’s hope I can conquer my seasickness next time! Now, Gavin, can’t you take off that dreadful hat? You’ll get some kind of skin disease,