Blizzard of the Blue Moon (5 page)

When the train stopped, everyone on the platform crammed inside. Jack and Annie were squashed into one of the first cars. All the seats were taken, so they had to stand in the aisle. They held on to a silver pole as more riders squeezed into the subway car and grabbed straps hanging overhead. Jack actually didn’t mind the tight squeeze. He was anxious to thaw out from the cold.

“Look, Jack!” cried Annie. She pointed out a window of the subway car.

Jack peered out the window, just in time to see two people rush across the platform toward one of the rear cars. One was dressed in a dark cape, the other in a tan raincoat.

A bell sounded. The subway doors closed and the train started down the tracks.

“Yay! They’re on the train!” exclaimed Annie.

“Cool,” said Jack, grinning. “We’ll see them when we get off.”

“Hey,
where
do we get off?” said Annie.

“Oh, man, we forgot to ask!” said Jack. He turned to the lady next to them.

“Excuse me, where do we get off for the Bronx Zoo?” he asked her.

“Tremont Avenue,” the woman said gruffly.

“Where’s that?” asked Annie.

“There’s a map,” said the woman. She pointed to a map on the wall above a row of seated passengers.

Jack and Annie stared at all the colorful lines that showed the subway system. “Nothing here makes sense,” said Jack.

“Do you need help?” the girl sitting under the map said. She wore a tattered purple shawl over her head and shoulders.

“Yes, please,” said Annie. “Can you tell us where we get off for the Bronx Zoo?”

“It’s much further north,” said the girl. “I’ll let you know when we get to the right stop.”

“Thanks,” said Jack.

The train bumped and creaked along,
stopping every couple of minutes. Jack looked out the window and tried to read the name of each station, but sometimes the platforms were too crowded. He was glad the girl in the shawl had promised to help them.

Just when Jack was starting to feel warm and a little drowsy, the girl called out, “Your stop’s next!”

“Thanks a lot!” said Annie. She and Jack squeezed through the crowd toward the doors. When the train stopped and the doors opened, Jack and Annie were practically pushed out onto the platform with the other people leaving.

The subway doors closed and the train moved on.

“D
o you see Teddy and Kathleen?” asked Jack.

The crowd was swarming away from the subway platform toward different exits. Jack couldn’t see anyone who looked like the two young enchanters.

“No,” said Annie. “But if we figured out where to get off, I’m sure they did, too. Let’s hurry and get to the zoo. We can meet up with them there.”

Jack and Annie moved with the crowd. They passed a change booth on the way out of the
station. “Wait, I’ll ask where to go,” said Annie. She waited in line and then leaned forward to talk to the man in the booth. “Do you know how to walk to the Bronx Zoo from here?” she said.

“Walk
to the Bronx Zoo? Are you out of your mind?” said the man. “This isn’t the stop for the Bronx Zoo! It’s much further north.”

“You mean we got out at the wrong stop?” said Annie.

“You did, but it doesn’t matter,” said the man. “You can’t get there now, anyway. The tracks near the zoo are above ground. And I just got word they’re buried in snow.”

“Oh, no,” said Jack.

“Lousy day for the zoo, anyway,” said the man. “Next!”

Jack and Annie stepped away from the booth and walked out of the subway station. The sidewalk was deserted. “Oh, man, that girl gave us the wrong information,” said Jack.

“This is terrible,” said Annie.

“No kidding,” said Jack. He looked around, wondering what to do next.

AH-U-GA! AH-U-GA!

“What’s that?” said Jack.

“It looks like a taxi.” Annie pointed at a big yellow car with a checkerboard stripe and writing on the side. Its horn let out a loud squawk:
AH-U-GA! AH-U-GA!

The driver stuck his head out the window. He wore a big furry cap that came down over his ears. “Need a taxi?” he called.

“Yes!” shouted Annie. “Come on, Jack! He can take us to the zoo!” Jack hurried after her through the snow.

The taxi driver stepped out of the cab and opened the back door. “Hop in!” he said. His cheerful voice was muffled through a plaid scarf that covered half his face.

“Thanks!” said Jack. He stepped onto a running board and then climbed inside.

The taxi was very roomy. Jack could stretch his legs out and not even touch the front seat. “Boy, lots more room in old cars than ours,” he said to Annie.

“Yeah,” said Annie. “And there’s no seat belts.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Jack. “I guess old cars didn’t have any. I hope this guy is a good driver.”

The driver slid open a little window that separated the front seat from the back. “Where to?” he asked.

“Can you please take us to the Bronx Zoo?” said Annie.

“We’re in a big hurry to get there,” said Jack.

“Sure thing, kiddos,” said the driver.

“Great,” said Jack.

“Oh, how much will it cost?” asked Annie.

“About thirty cents,” said the driver. “Can you afford it?”

“Sure thing, kiddo,” said Annie.

The driver laughed and closed the window.

Then the taxi began moving through the snow.

“Everything’s so cheap here,” Annie said to Jack.

“To
us
it is,” said Jack. “But it’s the Great Depression. Lots of people don’t even have a nickel.”

The taxi slid over the icy road and bumped over the curb. “Whoa!” said Jack, slipping off the seat.

“Sorry, kiddos!” called the driver. He got the taxi back onto the street. Then he plowed on through the snow, swerving this way and that.

The ride seemed dangerous in the bad weather, but Jack didn’t want to get out now. He stared nervously out the window. The streets were empty of people. All the stores were closed and shuttered. Snow was piling up on apartment stoops, fire escapes, and iron balconies. Many of the buildings were shabby and crumbling, with broken windows.

“Hard times,” Annie said softly.

“Yep,” said Jack. He took a deep breath.

The taxi climbed up a road lined with tall evergreen trees. Suddenly it skidded and came to a stop. The engine roared, but the taxi’s wheels only spun in the snow.

“What’s happening?” Jack wondered aloud. He tapped on the glass that separated them from the driver.

The driver slid the window open. “Too bad, kiddos, looks like I’m stuck,” he said.

“Are we near the zoo?” asked Annie.

“It’s still a long ways from here, I’m sorry to say,” said the driver. “But this taxi’s not going anywhere. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Oh. Well, thanks,” said Annie. “How much do we owe you?”

“Forget it, kiddo,” said the driver. “Good luck!”

“Good luck yourself, kiddo,” said Annie. She opened the door, and she and Jack climbed out into the cold wind. The taxi motor kept running,
but the wheels only spun in place, sending up sprays of dirty snow.

“I don’t believe this,” said Jack.

“Maybe there’s a subway station somewhere near here,” said Annie.

“The man in the booth said the subways aren’t running all the way to the zoo,” said Jack.

“I know, but maybe we can at least get closer,” said Annie.

Jack and Annie struggled through the storm until they came to a steep cliff. Over the edge of the cliff they saw nothing but a cloud of wind-blown snow.

“Where are we?” said Annie.

“I have no idea,” said Jack. His teeth chattered. His eyes and ears stung with the cold, and his hands and feet felt numb.
Isn’t this what frostbite feels like?
he thought.
Numb?

“Let’s go back and sit in that taxi until we figure out what to do,” said Jack. “At least get out of the wind.”

“Okay,” said Annie. “Maybe the driver will get it going again.”

Jack and Annie headed back the way they’d come. But the taxi was gone!

“Hey, he must’ve got unstuck!” said Annie. “And he left us!”

“Oh, man,” said Jack. “We’re having really rotten luck. And I think I’m starting to get frostbite. Seriously.”

“It looks like there’s a building over there,” said Annie. “I see a tower.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Jack. “Let’s go there and try to figure out what to do next.”

Jack and Annie trekked up what looked like a long driveway until they came to the gray stone building. Jack wiped snow from a sign in front.

“A museum!” said Annie. “Let’s go in and ask them how to get to the zoo.”

“Yeah, and get warm for a minute,” said Jack.

He and Annie climbed the snow-covered steps of the Cloisters. Annie opened the door, and the wind nearly swept them inside.

They pushed the door shut.

“Ah! My first visitors all day!” a woman chirped.

Jack and Annie turned around. A museum lady sat at a desk in a corner. Dressed in a green uniform, she was tall and thin with a friendly face and short gray hair.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t stay long,” said Annie. “We just came here to get warm for a minute and get some information.”

“What can I tell you?” the woman asked.

“We’re trying to get to the Bronx Zoo,” said Jack. “Is there a subway near here?”

“Well, the A train is close by,” said the museum lady. “But that won’t take you anywhere near the zoo.”

“Oh, darn,” said Annie.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sad,” the woman said
brightly. “If I were you, I’d stay right here and enjoy the Cloisters! You won’t regret it, I promise. The Cloisters holds most of the medieval collection of the world-famous Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

“What’s a cloister?” Annie asked.

“It’s an enclosed garden or courtyard,” said the museum lady. “We have four in all. They beautifully evoke medieval times, from the Romanesque period to the light, airy elegance of the Gothic.”

“Cool,” said Jack politely. He had no idea what she was talking about.

“I suppose the gardens
are
cool most days, my dear,” said the woman. “But today they are freezing! Never mind, you don’t have to spend time in the gardens to enjoy the museum. Inside, we have many beautiful exhibits. The tapestries are especially lovely. They were woven with beautiful yarns by weavers from the Netherlands. For years, they hung in a French castle and managed
to escape destruction during the Revolution. Then, for two generations—”

“Excuse me,” said Jack. He was eager to end the woman’s boring lecture so they could be on their way.

But she kept talking excitedly. “The tapestries were used by peasants to protect potatoes stored in their barns until, eventually, a countess rescued them. They were restored, and in 1922, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., bought them. Just last year, Mr. Rockefeller gave them as gifts to—”

“Oh, that is so cool!” interrupted Jack loudly. He pretended to be interested so they could escape. “We’d
love
to see them! Where are they?”

“The tapestry room is just on the other side of the first cloister,” the woman said, pointing. “Turn that corner, go out the door, and then walk through the garden to the door of the tapestry room.”

“Let’s go, Annie. Quick!” said Jack. He and Annie went around the corner, out the door, and into a snowy garden.

“Whew!” said Jack. “I didn’t want to be rude. But we’re short on time.”

“I know,” said Annie.

“What now?” said Jack, shivering in the cold.

“We need to figure out exactly where we are,” said Annie, “and where the Bronx Zoo is. Maybe we can just walk there from here.”

“Come on, let’s get inside the tapestry room and check our research book for a map,” said Jack.

They walked along the edge of the garden under a covered walkway. When they came to a door, Jack pushed it open, and he and Annie slipped out of the cold into a large, warm room.

Jack closed the door against the storm and unbuckled his briefcase to take out their research book.

“Ohh … wow!” breathed Annie.

“What? What?” said Jack. He looked up.

The walls of the room were covered with cloth hangings—tapestries shimmering with gold and silver.