Earthquake in the Early Morning

can’t worry about our mission now,” Annie said. “We have to help.”
    â€œHelp? How?” said Jack. He was so shaky, he didn’t think he could be much help to anyone.
    â€œWhat about them?” said Annie.
    She pointed to some men frantically dragging bags out of a building and piling them into a horse-drawn wagon.
    Annie ran over to the wagon.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” she asked the men.
    â€œWe’re trying to get these bank bags down to the harbor,” said the wagon driver. “So a boat can take them out into the bay.”
    â€œWhy?” asked Jack.
    â€œSo we can save everyone’s money from the fires!” the man said.
    He pointed at the sky. The cloud of smoke was growing bigger and blacker.
    â€œCan we help?” asked Annie.
    â€œWe’re done,” said the driver. “You kids run home to your parents. Then get out of the city.”
    Jack wished he and Annie could ride with the driver down to the bay and be safe from the fires, too. But he could see the wagon didn’t have room for them.
    â€œGood luck!” said Annie.
    â€œDon’t forget what I told you!” the driver said. Then he and his horses took off. The wagon turned onto the main street and disappeared over the hill.
    â€œI wonder who we
can
help?” said Annie.
    Jack took a deep breath.
    â€œI don’t know,” he said. “Maybe I’ll take some notes.”
    Jack pulled out his notebook. In wobbly handwriting, he wrote:

    â€œHey, what’s the story?” a woman asked. Her voice sounded urgent.
    Jack looked up.
    A man and woman stood in front of them. The woman wore a long dress and carried a notebook. The man wore a suit. He carried a big camera and a three-legged stand.

    â€œWhat story?” said Annie.
    â€œThe story with the bank. My name’s Betty. I’m a reporter,” said the woman.
    â€œFor television?” asked Annie.
    â€œWhat’s that?” said Betty.
    â€œNever mind,” said Jack. He whispered quickly to Annie, “She’s a newspaper reporter. TV hasn’t been invented yet.”
    â€œOops,” said Annie.
    â€œSo what’s the story with the wagon that just left the bank?” Betty asked Jack and Annie.
    Jack looked down at his notebook.
    â€œThey’re going to save the money by taking it to the bay and putting it on a boat,” he said.
    â€œGood reporting work, sonny!” she said. “Get a picture of the bank, Fred.”
    The photographer set his camera on the stand. He put his head under a black curtain and took a picture.
    â€œGot it,” said Fred.
    As the photographer packed up his equipment, Betty turned to Jack and Annie.
    â€œGo home and get your parents, kids,” she said. “Fires are burning out of control.”
    â€œWe know,” said Annie. “By the end of three days, the fires will burn down nearly all of San Francisco.”
    Betty looked curious. “How do you know that?” she asked.
    â€œShe’s just guessing,” Jack said quickly.
    â€œPretty gloomy guess,” said Betty. “Tell your folks not to catch the ferry. Thousands are crowding into the ferry building. Go to Golden Gate Park.”
    â€œThanks for the tip,” said Annie.
    â€œThanks for the story,” said Betty. Then she and Fred hurried away.
    Jack and Annie looked around.
    Now many people seemed to be fleeing their homes. Some were going up the hill. Some were going down.
    An old woman was pushing a wheelbarrow filled with pots and pans. A girl was carrying a suitcase and a cat. A boy was carrying a birdcage and a fishbowl.
    â€œThey’re all going in different directions,” said Annie.
    â€œI wonder where Golden Gate Park is,” said Jack. “Maybe we should go there. Let’s see if there’s a map in our book.”
    Jack looked in their research book. He found a map of San Francisco.
    â€œWhere are we now?” he said.
    As he looked for a street sign, he saw a man carrying an armload of books out of a beautiful building. The man put the books into the back of a horse-drawn wagon.
    â€œWhat’s
he
doing?” asked Jack.
    â€œI bet he’s saving those books,” said Annie.
    â€œSaving books?” said Jack. He loved books. For a moment, Jack forgot his fears. He forgot about trying to save himself.
    â€œWe’d better help,” he said. “Come on!”

Jack and Annie ran up