The Time Travel Twins by James Patterson

Author:James Patterson [Patterson, James/Safran, Tad and Schweizer, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2024-09-09T00:00:00+00:00

PEW and Basket had thought the Continental army couldn’t be in worse shape than when they last saw it. They had been very much mistaken.

If General Washington’s troops had been cold, hungry, and demoralized before, they were colder, hungrier, and in the depths of depression now. All around their camp, the shivering soldiers huddled close to meager fires as the young twins ran past them through the snow to Washington’s tent.

“General!” Basket said as the twins pulled back the flap and entered.

General Washington was sitting at his desk, looking troubled. He quickly hid whatever he was writing.

“Ah,” he mumbled. “My young not-spies. I was wondering what happened to you.”

The general had aged since they’d last seen him. Worry and hardship had added lines to his face. He looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in months, which, to be fair, he hadn’t.

“General,” panted Pew, “we have important news of British battle plans! The British are planning a major offensive on Philadelphia. By sea and by land. You must fortify the city or risk losing it!”

Their brilliant news, however, did not perk up the general as they had expected. He just sat there shaking his head mournfully.

“Sir,” urged Basket, “there’s no time to lose. It’s the seat of our government. Shouldn’t you be issuing orders? Mobilizing troops? Convening your officers to develop a defensive strategy?”

“I would, child,” said the general, “if I’d had your information just a few days ago. It might indeed have saved the city. But, as of yesterday, Philadelphia is in British hands.”

“No!” exclaimed Basket. “How?”

“I was outmaneuvered,” Washington mumbled, staring down at the scuffed toes of his dusty boots. “Our leaders had just enough time to flee, but our capital has fallen.”

Both Pew and Basket knew what that meant. It was almost impossible for the French king to enter the war on America’s side.

Often in life, you might think that you have hit rock bottom and that your situation is the most terrible it could possibly be. But it is important to remember that no matter how bad things are… they can always get worse.

For example, at that moment, the Continental army was in total disarray. The British army had taken New York and Philadelphia and seemed to be advancing on all fronts. The American Revolution was on the edge of collapse. It would not have been inaccurate to describe the army’s morale as “in the toilet.” Of course, no one at the time would have known what that means since people back then mainly pooped into small holes in the ground or directly into rivers or, if you were really fancy, into porcelain bowls called chamber pots. (As for toilet paper… leaves, moss, and sticks were popular options.) The point is morale was seriously low.

In fact, the only thing keeping the war effort at all on track was the leadership of General Washington. And now the general turned to the Church twins, declaring, “In light of the loss of Philadelphia, I am handing in my resignation.

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