Rather than fight off the children until after they’d done some of the activities, we decided to serve lunch right away, handing out one apple and one sandwich to each child. They pressed toward us en masse, and it took all the Mechanics to guide the unruly boys into something resembling a line.

I was too busy serving food to pay much attention to the children, but one boy gave me pause. “I’ve already given you a sandwich,” I told him.

“You ain’t never,” he said.

“I recognize you,” I insisted. His hair was redder than Colin’s, so he stood out.

“That was my twin brother.”

“Wearing the same clothes?”

“Ma makes us dress alike.”

“With the same stains?”

“We get into the same trouble.”

“With crumbs on your shirt?”

“Oh, fudge!” he said, kicking at the ground before he stepped out of the line.

I couldn’t help but laugh, and from the looks of him, I knew he could use a good meal or three. “Once everyone’s eaten, you can get seconds if there’s anything left,” I assured him. When everyone had been served, I brought him the largest sandwich left in the basket and another apple, and from his reaction you’d have thought I’d handed him the crown jewels. “I thought you were just sayin’ that,” he said. “I never thought you’d really give me more.”

“See, good things come when you have good manners,” I said, but he was too busy devouring the sandwich to notice. He shoved the apple into his pocket and ran off to join the others.

Once the children’s bellies were full, the Mechanics had better luck interesting them in the machines. Lizzie and I caught our breath from serving lunch while we watched the children play. “When should we distribute the s-w-e-e-t-s?” I asked, hoping no children in earshot were literate enough to understand the spelling.

“Not until the end of the day. That’s the only leverage we’ve got over these hellions,” she said, brushing a stray strand of hair off her forehead.

I spent the next hour or so rushing from one commotion to another, as did every other member of our group. When I saw that the miniature model train wasn’t running, it turned out that the red-haired “twin” had taken the engine apart to see how it worked while the Mechanic in charge of it was breaking up a fight between two other boys. I reached down and grabbed his arm. “If you’re so interested in engines, you may as well be put to work.” I jerked him to his feet. “Come on.” I then dragged him over to the hayride. “Alec!” I shouted, waving my free hand at him. When he jumped off the engine and came over, I said, “You should apprentice this one.”

Alec glared at the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Mick.”

“You like engines?”

“Well enough.”