“That’s how you’re going to look when you get on the horse that is assigned to you, Harry.”

“Come on, Espinosa. How many shots you got left?” Ted bellowed.

“Just the group shot,” Espinosa bellowed back, loud enough that the babies all started howling in unison.

Harry shook his head in disgust as he made his way to the one he called the bad burper. “Listen, ma’am, you have to put the baby like this, on your shoulder.” He gave a quick demonstration, and even though the baby hadn’t eaten, it burped. Harry looked so pleased, Jack patted him on the back.

“We’re good to go. No one is going to leave with the babies until Snowden’s men get here to explain things to these nice people. Everyone understands the rules, so that means we’re free to head off into the sunset, but since there is no sunset, we’re heading off to the horse barn to attach those four-legged creatures to the sleigh, which in turn will take us to the Post apartment, where we will be picking up…a few others in our quest to make the children of this great metropolis happy and contented.”

“I really hate you, Jack,” Harry said, slamming his way out the front door. The phalanx of horseflesh that greeted him made him falter.

“Stifle those feelings, Harry. Your trusty steed awaits. You want a boost?”

Jack picked himself up out of the snow to see Harry sitting tall in the saddle. “Eat me, Jack!”

Jack dusted himself off and climbed on his horse, whose name was Scarlet, according to Bert, whose apparent sincerity was matched only by his total ignorance about horses he had just seen for the first time in his life. “Well, Scarlet, it’s just you and me in this white wilderness.”

“What’s my horse’s name?” Harry asked with a catch in his voice.

“Cleopatra,” Bert said with a straight face. “Ted, your horse’s name is Aphrodite, and, Espinosa, your horse is named Delicious. I don’t know the names of the other three that Snowden’s men are riding. I have to go first because Delilah will travel only in the middle of the road. She’s not too good about making lefts and rights, but we managed to get here.”

In spite of himself, Jack laughed as he managed to get his horse behind Bert and his steed. “You getting all of this for our memory sampler?” he yelled to Espinosa.

“In living color!” was the response.

Fifteen minutes into their journey even Harry was perturbed. “Can’t we go any faster? We’re going to be late arriving at the White House if we don’t pick up some speed.”

Bert huffed and puffed. “You hear that, Delilah. They want speed. Let’s give them some speed. Attagirl, attagirl, attagirl!” Delilah galloped down the road, Bert hanging on for dear life.