The Year We Sailed the Sun by Theresa Nelson

Author:Theresa Nelson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Chapter 20

It wasn’t as if I had a choice. He was double my size, easy, with a grip like glue. The more I squirmed, the tighter he stuck. So I slowed down some, after a while. I quit kicking—at least for the time being—though my teeth were still gritted and my jaw was clenched.

“Have you stopped?” Mary asked, when the racket from the train had died down.

“If he’s stopped lying,” I muttered.

“Mick ain’t lyin’!” said Jimmy.

“It’s all right, Jim. She’s all right,” said Mickey, letting loose of me, finally—slowly, at first, then altogether. “I wish it was a lie. I wish I was making it all up.”

I was shivering again. Mary put an arm around me. But it was Mickey’s face she was studying. “Bill’s gone, then,” she said quietly. “They’ve taken him to Boonville. You’re sure?”

He nodded. “I saw ’em put him on the train. I followed ’em to the station after the hearing—”

“There was a hearing?”

“Yesterday afternoon. I got there quick as I could, soon as Jim brought me the message. . . .” Mickey stopped and fished in his pocket and brought out a folded-up letter, even limper-looking than ours had been, and handed it to Mary.

We read it together:

Tues Morning, Halloween

Dear Mick,

Father Dunne’s taking me over to City Hall at three, they just set my hearing, be ready I’ll make a brake when its over if they try to keep me. You be decoy again like at the ballpark, dont worry I wont hit any lampoles this time. Just get their attention so theyll chase you a while, I’ll run the other way and meet you across the river like we planned before, I got some ideres for after that but if anything goes wrong you have to look out for Mary and Julia. I told them come to the bridge in the morning, you have to stop them if I cant get there tell them stay with the nuns til I figure it out, I wont let them down.

Your friend Bill D.

“I’m sorry,” said Mickey—for what seemed like the millionth time—when we were done reading. “I was there before the hearing started. I was right across Twelfth Street, waiting. I saw the priest taking Bill inside. It was only just the two of ’em, going in. But when they came out, maybe an hour later, my dad was with ’em.” Mickey took off his cap and pushed his hair out of his eyes, as if he was still trying to see it all. “I should’ve known. I should’ve figured he’d be there. He must’ve guessed we’d be planning something—that Bill would run, first chance he got. He had him locked right to him: one cuff on Bill’s good wrist, one on his own, so neither of ’em could go anywhere without dragging the other with him. And Bill saw me. I’m sure he saw me—I stepped out of the shade on purpose and he looked right at me. But then he shook his head, because what was the use? We never counted on the damn—excuse me, the handcuffs.

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