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crossed the prairie
after
the pioneers came. When we went to the prairie before, Native Americans were the
only
people who lived there.”
    â€œSo we must be going to pioneer time,” said Annie.
    â€œI think so,” said Jack.
    He pointed at the picture that showed the train crossing the prairie.
    â€œI wish we could go there,” he said.
    The breeze picked up.
    The wind started to blow.
    The tree house started to spin.
    It spun faster and faster.
    Then everything was still.
    Absolutely still.

Jack opened his eyes.
    He was wearing pants with suspenders and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. In place of his backpack was a leather bag.
    Annie was wearing a long dress and a sunbonnet.
    â€œI like my hat,” she said. “It’ll keep the sun off my face.”
    â€œYeah, except the sun’s not shining,” said Jack.
    He and Annie looked out the window.
    The sky was cloudy.
    The tree house had landed in a small grove of trees near a creek. Beyond the trees was a wide, open prairie. Green grass and wildflowers swayed in a chilly wind.
    In the distance, a train puffed across the prairie. Sparks of fire came out of its smokestack. Huge clouds of black smoke billowed into the gray sky.
    â€œWow,” said Jack.

    He looked at the picture of the train in their book and read:
    After the Civil War, the U.S. government built railroads to link the eastern and western parts of the country. By the 1870s, steam engines carried people across the Kansas prairie.
    Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:

    â€œLet’s get going,” said Annie. “We have to find that special writing for Morgan.”
    She started down the ladder.
    Jack packed his things in his leather bag and climbed down after her.
    When he stepped onto the ground, Jack looked toward the west.
    The train was gone. Only a thin trail of smoke floated across the sky.
    â€œThat train was cool,” said Jack.
    â€œYeah, and so is
that,
” said Annie. She pointed in the other direction.
    Far away, in the distance, a line of covered wagons rolled through the rippling grass. Their white coverings billowed in the breeze.
    Jack pulled out the research book. Hefound a picture of the wagon train. He read aloud:
    Wagons were the most common way for families to travel west. They could carry clothes, tools, food, and water. A line of wagons was called a “wagon train.” The white cloth coverings over the wagons also made them look like sailing ships, or schooners. For this reason, covered wagons were sometimes called “prairie schooners.”
    Jack looked at the wagons again. They
did
look like ships sailing across a rippling green sea.

    He wrote in his notebook:

    â€œLet’s get a closer look,” said Annie.
    She took off across the grass.
    Jack put away his things and ran after her. As they ran, the wind began to blow harder. The clouds overhead grew darker.
    â€œWait—wait!” Jack finally called to Annie. “We’ll never catch up to it!”
    They both stopped running. Panting, they watched the wagon train vanish over the horizon.
    Jack took a deep breath.
    â€œWhat now?” he said.
    They looked around.
    All Jack could see was the distant grove of trees with the tree house.
    With the train and wagon train gone, there were no signs of life anywhere—no pioneer cabins, no Native American tepees.
    â€œHow can we find the special writing?” said Jack. “There’s nothing out here.”
    â€œOh yeah?” said Annie. “What’s
that
?”
    She pointed to a rusty pipe sticking out from the top of a small hill.
    Streaming from the pipe was a column of black smoke.
    â€œOh, man,” said Jack, “that’s
definitely
a sign of life.”

“Let’s check it out,” said Annie.
    She and Jack walked up the little hill. At the top, they saw that the rusty pipe was rising out of a wooden roof.
    They walked around to the other side of the