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steadied himself just in time to see Anka land a little way ahead of him. Next came George, holding Sarah’s hand, and Nicky, close behind them. Lorenzo did a daredevil leap, followed by Quentin. They’d all landed on a narrow stretch of gravel near the rail yard fence. Seven of them so far, all safe on solid ground. Which meant—Jack waited, holding his breath—three were still on board.
    He watched the retreating train join the traffic in the bustling rail yard. “Alexander?” Jack called, not nearly loud enough. “Frances? Harold!”

    Frances held her brother’s hand so tight it had to hurt, but she wasn’t letting him out of her sight around these tracks. They stood with Alexander and Ned in a tiny clearing at the center of the rail yard. Freight trains passed by on either side, and to Frances it felt like being in a dark alley with sliding walls.
    She was trying not to panic. “We’re in the wrong place! We should have jumped when the others did.”
    â€œ ’Twasn’t safe,” Ned reminded her.
    Another train had blocked their way, and they’d had to leap off in the middle of the rail yard. Frances was glad that Ned was there—he’d left the other hoboes behind to help them—but the rail yard was so vast they couldn’t see the other seven children.
    Alexander looked as anxious as Frances felt. “How are we going to get back there? We can’t be on these tracks, not with the railroad cops around.”
    But Ned Handsome just grinned. “We’ll just head back a little the way we came!” And with that, he swung himself onto the rear platform of a nearby caboose as it crept by. “Come on!” he called.
    It was easy enough to board the caboose, and soon they were slowly traveling in the opposite direction.
Wish we knew where to jump off again
, Frances thought. But the dusk shadows made it hard to see anything beyond the train cars. If they could just get to higher ground . . .
    â€œNed!” Frances said suddenly. “Can I ride up on top of the train? The way you do sometimes?”
    â€œA girl like
you
?” Ned exclaimed. “You’re not a-feared?”
    â€œYou said I had grit, didn’t you?” Frances replied. She spotted a ladder from the rear platform to the roof of the caboose. “I’ll just climb up that and see where our friends are.”
    Frances caught a glimpse of Alexander’s surprised face as she grabbed the ladder rungs. She couldn’t believe she’d just
decided
to climb on top of a train. The boys’ breeches she wore made the climb easy.
    â€œWait, me, too!” Harold called from below. He could move like a little monkey, so of course
he
would want to clamber up as well. As soon as Frances reached the roof of the train car, she made room for her little brother to sit along the edge.
    â€œWe’re in the sky!” Harold exclaimed.
    Frances agreed. Sitting up so high was like being on a fire escape back in New York. Well, a
moving
fire escape. The sky was still bright, and she could feel a warm, gritty breeze on her arms. Best of all, she could see the end of the rail yard, where Jack and Sarah and the others had gathered.
    â€œI see them!” she called down to Alexander on the caboose platform. “All we need to do is ride this down to where they are!” She saw fewer sets of tracks over there, and it would be easier to navigate the slowly passing trains.
    Alexander grinned. “Good job!” he called back.
    â€œThe coast is clear of the railroad bulls, for now’t least,” Ned said once Frances and Harold had climbed back down to the platform. “And just like before, jump when I tells you, and look both ways.”
    â€œWe’re sure glad for your help,” Alexander told Ned.
    â€œAnd I got to ride on top of a train!” Harold exclaimed. “I can’t believe we did that!”
    Frances felt