She smiled back. “It’s either that, or the ghosts in this drafty old place.”

“Actually, Mrs. Verrity … ,” Coralis interjected.

“Please call me Cloris.”

“Um … yes. Well … Cloris, Henry’s question has to do with travel.”

“His interests tend to be a little more unusual than that. Travel … ” She turned to Henry. “Let me guess: You want to know about time travel! There’s the Einstein variety, of course, or the Wrinkle in Time method … ”

“No, ma’am. Not time travel. Regular travel.” She looked slightly disappointed, but Henry pressed on. “Didn’t you go to Arizona last year?”

“Oh, yes!” She clapped her hands giddily. “A simply wonderful adventure. I planned it all myself, you know. But Arizona is a very large state. Did you have a particular destination in mind?”

“Monument Valley,” Henry said, which was the location Coralis had identified in his mother’s mural.

“Oh, how splendid!” She clapped her hands again. “You can follow the exact route that I took several years ago. Follow in my footsteps, so to speak.” She giggled.

“And how would that be accomplished?” Coralis asked. His voice was kind, but Henry sensed impatience just below the surface.

If she sensed it as well, she didn’t let on. “See these lines?” She directed them to a large wall map of the United States and pointed to a series of crosshatched lines that meandered through the states. “These are railroad lines. That’s why they look like train tracks. Lots of people prefer to travel by train. It provides a fascinating look at Americana. Passing through all those small towns and farms in America’s heartland. Simply wonderful!”

“Is that how you went? Could you show us the route?” Henry asked.

“I’ll do you one better than that.” She leaned into Henry and whispered as if they were coconspirators in a crime. “I’ll let you borrow my travel diary.” She added a wink, sealing the deal. “I like to think I keep much better notes than any of those travel guides.”

Henry thanked her profusely for the diary, promising to return it safe and sound, although he hadn’t the foggiest idea when that would be. Following an awkward good-bye, during which Coralis forgot Mrs. Verrity’s first name, they returned to the house. Not since the falcon, Randall, dropped into his life had Henry been so excited … and nervous. Were they really about to take a train all the way to Arizona?

He racked his brain. What did he know about Arizona? They had deserts and roadrunners and coyotes … but that was in cartoons. And hummingbirds! He knew that from his Audubon book. He’d never seen a real hummingbird.

He took his wand from his pocket on their way back home. Excitement ran from his arm into the wand, and the veins of clear crystal glowed in response.

Chapter Nineteen