Felix smiled. “They can fix that!” he said happily. “When we lived in New York City, our upstairs neighbor had a standard poodle named Gogo with an obstructed bowel, and the vet operated and Gogo was fine.”
Meelie was looking at him, confused. “Maybe in New York City they can do things like that, but here in Des Moines, our veterinarian says an operation like that, on a dog, is impossible. At least in the foreseeable future.”
“Oh,” Felix said.
“Are you lying to me?” Meelie asked him. “About this dog, Gogo?”
He shook his head.
“You two say some very strange things,” Meelie said thoughtfully.
“I’m tired of playing with them,” Pidge said.
Meelie didn’t respond. She just kept studying Felix and Maisie.
Felix squirmed uncomfortably beneath her gaze. “They’re way ahead of the times in New York City,” he said finally.
“Hmmm,” Meelie said.
Maisie had been quiet up until now. But she stepped forward and rubbed James Ferocious behind the ears. The dog rested his big, shaggy head in her lap.
“What if I told you that we could bring James Ferocious home with us and save his life?” Maisie said.
“I wouldn’t believe you,” Meelie said, and Pidge agreed.
“The only thing is, we would have to keep him then,” Maisie explained. “We couldn’t return him to you.”
“You want James Ferocious?” Pidge asked, offended.
“We could save his life,” Maisie said to Felix.
“I’m not sure it would work,” he said, even though he recognized the determined look on his sister’s face. She had decided to take the dog home with them to save his life, and Felix knew how impossible it was to talk Maisie out of anything once her mind was made up.
“I think it would work,” Maisie said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Pidge said. “You can’t have our dog. Can she, Meelie?”
“Well,” Meelie said, thinking. “The question is whether James Ferocious alive but far away is better than James Ferocious dying. Because the veterinarian said he would die.”
Pidge’s face crumpled.
“We would take very good care of him,” Maisie said.
“I thought your mother refused to let you have a dog,” Pidge said almost desperately.
“We haven’t asked in a while,” Felix admitted.
“And we have so much room where we live,” Maisie added. “He could run around the grounds, and we could take him for walks on the beach.”
She looked at Meelie. “He’d be happy,” she said. “I promise.”
Maisie took the compass from her pocket, fingering its smooth surface. “We would leave you this,” she said, showing it to Meelie.
Meelie frowned. “What’s that, anyway?”
“It’s from an aeroplane,” Felix said.
“But I don’t need anything from an aeroplane!” Meelie insisted. “I’m never flying in one again!”
Maisie held out her other hand for the leash.
“Felix,” she said, “maybe you should hold on to the leash, too. Just to be sure.”
Felix did. He put his hand over Maisie’s, which had the leash tucked into it.
“You’ll take good care of him?” Meelie asked.
Maisie and Felix nodded.
Meelie leaned close to Felix and whispered in his ear. “Are you fortune-tellers or something?”
“Something like that,” he whispered back.
“Here,” Maisie said, offering the compass to Amelia Earhart. “Just in case you ever do fly again.”
Meelie took a deep breath and cocked her head at Maisie and Felix.
“All right,” she said at last, and she reached her hand out to take the compass from Maisie.
But then Meelie paused.
“Let’s make a pact,” she said. “The three of us.”
“What kind of pact?” Felix asked.
“Let’s promise to do something brave in our lives,” Meelie said. “Something so brave that the whole world will take notice of us.”
Tears sprung to Felix’s eyes.
“Amelia Earhart,” he said softly, “I think the whole world will take notice of you. But if you ever get the crazy idea to fly around the world, don’t do it, okay?”
“Me?” Meelie laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that. If I never see another aeroplane again, it will be too soon.”
“I promise to be braver,” Maisie said, already imagining what that might mean.
Felix said, “So do I.”
With one of her big, toothy smiles shining on them, Meelie took the compass.
The last thing Maisie and Felix saw in 1908 was Amelia Earhart and her sister, Pidge, staring down at the compass in Meelie’s hand.
The next thing Felix knew, he was back in The Treasure Chest with James Ferocious licking his face.
“He’s here!” Felix shouted happily.
Maisie peeked over the dog’s shaggy body, smiling.
But Felix’s own smile faded quickly. He looked around The Treasure Chest, half hoping the Ziff twins were here, too, safely returned from the Congo. But the room was empty, except for Great-Uncle Thorne, who stood right where they’d left him.
“So?” he demanded immediately. “Did you see her?”
Maisie shook her head.
“Tarnation!” Great-Uncle Thorne roared, and without another word he stormed out of The Treasure Chest.