PART 4
"Trapped!" exclaimed Jo. "But how?"
Nick continued to tug at the door. "I'm not sure. It musta somehow latched or something when Nan and Bess went in."
"So what do we do?" demanded Jo.
Finally giving up on the door, Nick looked around, assessing their other options. He walked the perimeter of the roof, looking over the side. "I think I could climb down to the balcony or one of the windows. Then I could let you in."
"Absolutely not," asserted Jo. "What if you fell? The last thing I need is to be stuck up here while you're on the ground with a broken neck!"
Nick looked at her seriously. "Then we've got a long night ahead of us."
Jo sighed, and instinctively pulled her shawl closer around her.
Tommy stood up as straight and tall against the wall as he could manage, then carefully put a pencil in line with his head and made a small mark.
"Now I can see every day how much I've been growing," he explained to the audience of boys in the room.
"I wouldn't bother checking every day," teased Emil, "maybe more like once a year!"
All the boys laughed, and Tommy shot Emil an angry look. Then he began an elaborate set of stretches: touching his toes, twisting his upper body from side to side, and reaching for the ceiling.
"Now what are you doing, Tommy?" demanded Emil.
"Stretchin'" he explained. "I'm getting my muscles all ready to do some growing. If I do it every night before I go to bed I'll grow in my sleep."
"If you don't turn off the light and get in bed now you might not wake up," threatened Emil.
Tommy quickly turned off the lamp and climbed into bed. But for a good ten minutes after the light went out Tommy's legs and arms could still be seen moving quietly under his blanket.
Though moving quickly across the sky as the night progressed, Perseus and Andromeda kept a watch from their heavens over the couple atop Plumfield's roof. Long past the witching hour and with a distinct chill in the air, Jo and Nick now sat side-by-side, leaning against the railing deep in conversation. Tales of the stars had led to tales of Nick's sea adventures, which in turn had reminded Jo of many of her own experiences. In all actuality, Nan and Bess's scheme was proving quite successful. Though it wasn't bringing about the much-anticipated proposal, their honest and open discussions that evening deepened the trust and intimacy between then, building a solid foundation of friendship upon which something much better might someday be built.
"And he never tried to cheat the natives again after that!" finished Nick, and they both laughed heartily over his tale.
Jo yawned, then turned to him with a wistful smile. "You've been so many wonderful places--experienced so much…"
"I can't complain," agreed Nick, but without much enthusiasm. He tried to ignore the feeling that he'd enjoyed his short time at Plumfield more than all his years at sea.
"I always dreamed about travelling," continued Jo, stifling a yawn. "I was a companion to my Aunt March, who lived here at Plumfield before she died. She talked for years about going to Europe, and, of course, I expected to go with her. But when the time came she took Amy instead."
"You could still go someday," Nick assured her.
"I don't think so. I hoped that someday Fritz and I might go, but now…" she shrugged, pulling Nick's jacket closer around her and leaving the sentence unfinished. "I just have too much else going on in my life with Rob and the school. And even if I could make the time, I'll probably never have the money."
Nick was silent for a moment. Hearing Jo speak so wistfully he wanted to promise her… But then, there were any number of things he wanted to promise her someday. So he spoke off-handedly. "Still, you never know. Maybe someday when the time is right everything will just come together and--" He stopped himself suddenly as he looked down to see that she was sleeping soundly, her head resting against his shoulder. Nick carefully adjusted his position, hoping to make her a little more comfortable, then sat back and looked toward the stars. "Someday," he repeated softly to himself. "Someday."
Due to a long night of poor sleep both in quantity and quality, utter exhaustion left Nick and Jo still snoozing on the roof, despite both the sun, dimmed by a cloud cover, and the noise of the house wakening below them.
Dan had started up and out of the house earlier than anyone, with Nat following closely behind. Having worried late into the night about his small friend, Dan was discouraged to once again find the bird in his box.
"Does Asia know that you took all this bread?" demanded Nat, looking uncertainly at the bird cupped in his hands.
"Asia's always bakin' bread," insisted Dan, breaking off a small piece, "she won't miss it."
Dan broke off several more small bits of bread and spread them evenly over the ten or so feet of ground between them and the woods.
"Think it'll work?" asked Nat as Dan set the last crumb at the edge of the foliage.
"Only one way to find out." Dan motioned Nat to put the bird down. The boys watched intently as the little winged creature ate the first particle of bread, then the second, following the trail all the way into the shade of the trees. "Go on now," urged Dan softly. "You're home." But the chickadee didn't move.
"Fly away, little guy," Nat pleaded, moving in closer to encourage him.
Dan broke off two more chunks of bread and tossed them several feet ahead into the trees. This time the bird went in the opposite direction. Not even another small breadcrumb trail could entice him into the woods, and he showed no signs of intending to fly off.
"Why doesn't he fly away?" asked Nat.
"I dunno, Nat," answered Dan. Then he suddenly scooped up the bird and began to walk towards the barn. "Come on! I've got an idea!"
Asia found Bess and Nan with their heads together in the kitchen, talking quietly and giggling. "Girls, have you seen Mrs. Jo or Nick yet this morning?"
Both girls shook their heads. "No, Asia."
Asia looked perplexed. "I'm starting to worry. No one's seen them yet today, and I just checked Mrs. Jo's room--I don't think she slept there last night." She walked to the window and peered out at the yard, trying to figure out where they could be.
Nan and Bess gave each other horrified glances. "Didn't you go back up and let them in?" asked Bess in a low voice.
"No!" Nan whispered franticly. "I thought you were going to! I--I fell asleep."
"Well, so did I. But I thought you'd wake back up."
"Well, I didn't. You were--"
"What are you two whispering about?" demanded Asia. "You don't know anything about this do you?"
"Oh no," Nan assured her. "We haven't seen Mrs. Jo and Nick since last night on the roof."
"On the roof!" exclaimed Asia. "Just what were you doin' up there?"
"We all went up to look at the stars," Bess explained. "But Nan and I were tired, so we came down early."
Asia looked at them suspiciously. "And you think they might still be up there?"
"I don't know why they would be," said Nan innocently.
Asia didn't look as if she quite believed they were blameless in all this. "Well, I guess we better go be sure," she said, leaving the kitchen.
Nan and Bess exchanged uncertain looks. "Come on," ordered Nan, and they hurried to catch up with Asia.
PART 5
