Read Number the Stars for Free Online Page B

said. "Ellen and I will probably fall asleep in school today!"
    Papa rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking. "I think we must not take the risk of sending you to school today," he said. "It is possible that they will look for the Jewish children in the schools."
    "Not go to school?" Ellen asked in amazement. "My parents have always told me that education is the most important thing. Whatever happens, I must get an education."
    "This will only be a vacation, Ellen. For now, your safety is the most important thing. I'm sure your parents would agree. Inge?" Papa called Mama in the kitchen, and she came to the doorway with a teacup in her hand and a questioning look on her face.
    "Yes?"
    "We must take the girls to Henrik's. You remember what Peter told us. I think today is the day to go to your brother's."
    Mrs. Johansen nodded. "I think you are right. But I will take them. You must stay here."
    "Stay here and let you go alone? Of course not. I wouldn't send you on a dangerous trip alone."
    Mama put a hand on Papa's arm. "If only I go with the girls, it will be safer. They are unlikely to suspect a woman and her children. But if they are watching us—if they see all of us leave? If they are aware that the apartment is empty, that you don't go to your office this morning? Then they will know. Then it will be dangerous. I am not afraid to go alone."
    It was very seldom that Mama disagreed with Papa. Annemarie watched his face and knew that he was struggling with the decision. Finally he nodded, reluctantly.
    "I will pack some things," Mama said. "What time is it?"
    Papa looked at his watch. "Almost five," he said.
    "Henrik will still be there. He leaves around five. Why don't you call him?"
    Papa went to the telephone. Ellen looked puzzled. "Who is Henrik? Where does he go at five in the morning?" she asked.
    Annemarie laughed. "He's my uncle—my mother's brother. And he's a fisherman. They leave very early, all the fishermen, each morning—their boats go out at sunrise.
    "Oh, Ellen," she went on. "You will love it there. It is where my grandparents lived, where Mama and Uncle Henrik grew up. It is so beautiful—right on the water. You can stand at the edge of the meadow and look across to Sweden!"
    She listened while Papa spoke on the telephone to Uncle Henrik, telling him that Mama and the children were coming for a visit. Ellen had gone into the bathroom and closed the door; Mama was still in the kitchen. So only Annemarie was listening.
    It was a very puzzling conversation.
    "So, Henrik, is the weather good for fishing?" Papa asked cheerfully, and listened briefly.
    Then he continued, "I'm sending Inge to you today with the children, and she will be bringing you a carton of cigarettes.
    "Yes, just one," he said, after a moment. Annemarie couldn't hear Uncle Henrik's words. "But there are a lot of cigarettes available in Copenhagen now, if you know where to look," he went on, "and so there will be others coming to you as well, I'm sure."
    But it wasn't true. Annemarie was quite certain it wasn't true. Cigarettes were the thing that Papa missed, the way Mama missed coffee. He complained often—he had complained only yesterday—that there were no cigarettes in the stores. The men in his office, he said, making a face, smoked almost anything: sometimes dried weeds rolled in paper, and the smell was terrible.
    Why was Papa speaking that way, almost as if he were speaking in code? What was Mama
really
taking to Uncle Henrik?
    Then she knew. It was Ellen.
    ***
    The train ride north along the Danish coast was very beautiful. Again and again they could see the sea from the windows. Annemarie had made this trip often to visit her grandparents when they were alive, and later, after they were gone, to sec the cheerful, suntanned, unmarried uncle whom she loved.
    But the trip was new to Ellen, who sat with her face pressed to the window, watching the lovely homes along the seaside, the small farms and villages.
    "Look!" Annemarie