High Time for Heroes

by Mary Pope Osborne

  “Nursing,” said Annie. “She has to be! That’s what she’s famous for. Maybe those English travelers know something about her.” Annie pointed to the couple riding with Ali’s grandfather. “Remember, Florence was from England, too.”

  Jack and Annie watched the three riders arrive at the riverbank. Ali’s grandfather climbed off his packhorse and helped the couple off their donkeys. As Ali and his grandfather gave the donkeys water, the English woman noticed Jack and Annie. “Hello, children!” she called, waving.

  Jack and Annie waved back, and the couple headed toward them. “How delightful to see new faces in Thebes!” the woman said.

  “Yes!” said the man, smiling. “Who are you? Where are you from?” The man and woman were both stout and middle-aged, but they had a young, exuberant air about them.

  “I’m Annie, and he’s my brother, Jack,” said Annie. “We’re from Frog Creek, Pennsylvania.”

  “Americans! Wonderful!” said the woman. “We are from England. My name is Selina Bracebridge. I’m traveling with my husband, Charles.”

  “And I am that very Charles,” said Charles. “With whom are you two traveling?”

  “Uh … our parents,” said Annie, “but they left us on our own in Thebes.”

  “To visit the ruins,” said Jack. “They said it would be … um … a great educational experience.”

  “What brave American children you are!” Selina said. “And what unusual parents.”

  “Indeed. And where are you brave American children staying?” asked Charles.

  “Uh … up the Nile, that way,” said Annie. She waved her hand vaguely toward the tree house. “In a little house. It’s sort of like an inn.”

  “I see. Good, good!” said Charles. “Well, can we do anything to help you? With your Thebes educational experience?”

  Jack could tell the man was joking, but Annie answered right away. “Actually you can help us,” she said. “Have either of you heard of a woman named Florence Nightingale? At the place we’re staying, someone said she was in Thebes.”

  Selina’s eyes widened in amazement. “Charles, did you hear that? They’re looking for Flo!”

  Jack looked at Annie, then back at Charles and Selina. “You know Florence Nightingale?” he said.

  “Know her? She’s our best friend!” said Selina. “She’s traveling with us, for goodness’ sake!” She pointed at the sailboats anchored along the river.

  “For many weeks now, she has been sailing up and down the Nile with us in our boat,” said Charles.

  “That is amazing!” Annie said to Jack.

  “Totally!” he said.

  “How do you two know Flo?” asked Selina.

  “Well, we don’t exactly know her,” said Annie. “We just know she’s a world-famous nurse.”

  “A what?” said Selina.

  “A world-famous … nurse?” said Annie. “Like, a nurse in a hospital?”

  Charles and Selina both laughed. “Oh, no!” said Selina. “Not Flo! She’s helped sick relatives and villagers in their homes. But she’s not the least bit famous for that!”

  “And she’s certainly never worked in a hospital!” said Charles. “I’m afraid you have found the wrong Florence Nightingale.”

  “Oh,” said Jack. How many Florence Nightingales can there be? he wondered.

  “But your Flo’s a great person, right?” Annie said.

  “We certainly think so!” said Selina.

  “Well, then we’d still like to meet her,” said Annie.

  “Righto!” said Selina. “Flo is visiting the Temple of Luxor this morning. Why don’t you come with us to our boat and wait for her to come back?”

  “Oh, thank you!” said Annie.

  “Excellent!” said Charles. “Mustafa will ferry us across in his rowboat.” He turned to the bearded guide and his grandson. “Mustafa, shall we be off?” he called. “Good-bye, Ali!”

  The boy waved good-bye, and his grandfather pulled the rowboat partway into the water.

  “Children first,” said Charles.

  Mustafa held the rowboat steady as Jack and Annie climbed aboard and sat down. Then he helped Charles and Selina aboard and climbed in after them.

  Once everyone was settled, Mustafa pushed offshore with his oars and started rowing across the Nile. As the boat glided over the sun-sparkling water, the old Egyptian softly sang a song. Jack couldn’t understand the words, but the song was soothing, sung in rhythm with the movement of the oars.

  “This is perfect,” Annie whispered. “Now all we have to do is spend time with Florence Nightingale and wait for the Ring of Truth to glow.”

  “Yeah, but she’s not a great nurse,” whispered Jack, fanning away the flies. “She’s not famous for being great at anything.”

  “I know. That’s a little confusing,” Annie whispered back.

  “Look, children!” said Charles. “Isn’t that a magnificent sight?” He pointed to a huge crocodile sunning itself on a river rock.

  “Whoa!” said Jack.

  “Yikes!” said Annie at the same time. The crocodile had a scaly green hide with black spots. Its green eyes glimmered as the rowboat passed by.

  “Don’t be alarmed,” said Charles. “In our experience, Nile crocodiles are completely harmless.”

  Harmless? Crocodiles? thought Jack. I don’t think so.

  Mustafa stopped singing as they reached the landing on the opposite riverbank. He climbed out of the rowboat and tied it up. Then he helped Annie and Jack onto the bank. Selina and Charles followed.

  Charles handed some money to the guide. “Thank you, Mustafa,” he said. “Please wait on this shore, as I believe Miss Nightingale plans to visit western Thebes later today, when it’s a bit cooler. This way, children.”

  Jack and Annie followed Charles and Selina as they walked briskly along the landing, passing the line of sailboats moored at the water’s edge. “Whose boats are those?” asked Annie.

  “They are rented by travelers from all over Europe,” said Charles, “most of whom are hiding from the midday heat right now.”

  I don’t blame them, thought Jack. The heat and the flies were almost more than he could bear. He felt sorry for the workers on the boat decks, scrubbing floors and mending sails.

  “Here we are!” said Selina. She and Charles stopped at the largest boat anchored on the river. “Home, sweet home!”

  “All aboard!” said Charles. The English couple led the way across a short gangplank onto the deck of their sailboat.

  The boat had a long cabin and a tall mast with a furled sail. Two crew members in white clothes were mopping the deck. “Miss Selina!” one called. “Lord and Lady Bickerson are waiting inside, to visit with Miss Florence.”

  “Oh, no! I didn’t know they were coming,” Selina said under her breath.

  Charles stopped and stroked his mustache. “Excuse me, my dear,” he said. “But while those particular folk are aboard, I believe I shall take a stroll. Pleasure to meet you, Jack and Annie.” He tipped his hat, then retreated back down the gangplank.

  “Coward!” called Selina.

  Charles turned and saluted her from the riverbank. “Do give my best to the Bickersons, darling! Ta-ta!” he said, and took off.

  “Who are the Bickersons?” asked Annie.

  Selina sighed. “Lord and Lady Bickerson are aristocrats from London,” she said. “They’re friends of Florence’s family. Come and meet them, brave American children. It might be good for your education.”

  The boat rocked gently on the calm water as Jack and Annie followed Selina across the deck. “Aristocrats?” Annie whispered to Jack. “That’s like royalty, right?”

  “Sort of,” said Jack. “We have to act proper.”

  “No problem,” said Annie. “We’ve hung out with Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and King Philip the Second of Macedonia.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t mention that to anyone,” said Jack.

  “Duh,” said Annie.

  Selina
stopped in front of one of the cabin doors and took a deep breath. “Are you ready?” she asked Jack and Annie.

  “Yes!” said Jack, eager to get out of the heat and away from the flies.

  Selina opened the door and motioned for Jack and Annie to follow her. They walked into a small sitting room with green paneled walls and dark woodwork.

  It took a moment for Jack’s eyes to adjust to the shadowy room. It was much cooler inside than outside, but the red-faced man and woman sitting stiffly on straight-backed chairs were both fanning themselves frantically.

  “Lord and Lady Bickerson, hello! I am sorry that Florence is not here now. I’m sure she will be back soon!” said Selina. “But in the meantime, please meet Jack and Annie from America.”

  “Hello,” Jack said with a bow.

  “Greetings, my lord. Greetings, my lady,” Annie said with a curtsy.

  The aristocrats barely nodded. They fanned themselves harder.

  “Have a seat, children,” said Selina.

  Jack and Annie sat on the edge of the sofa. Jack tried to keep his back as straight as he could. When he saw Lady Bickerson scowl at his hat, he quickly pulled it off.

  “How are your lordship and ladyship today?” asked Selina.

  The two aristocrats spoke at once. “Terrible and wretched!” said Lord Bickerson. “Burning up!” said his wife.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Selina. But Jack noticed she didn’t sound sorry at all.

  “We saw a dreadful beast this morning!” said Lady Bickerson.

  “A dreadful beast?” Selina repeated.

  “Yes, a crocodile!” said Lord Bickerson. “And a servant told us a hippopotamus was spotted upriver yesterday. Nile hippos kill people, you know. And Egyptian jackals have been seen recently, too. They come out at night and slay small animals.” He looked at Jack and Annie. “They have even been known to attack children.”

  “Furthermore, our servants have been telling us about the snakes in Egypt,” said Lady Bickerson. “The black mamba, for instance. One bite from that monster contains enough poison to kill twenty people!”

  “Oh, my, let’s hope—” began Selina.

  “Of course the biggest killer in this land is the vicious little mosquito!” Lord Bickerson interrupted. “Egyptian mosquitoes can carry terrible diseases. Malaria, for one … fever, coma, death!”

  “Oh, such misery,” said Selina.

  “Yes, aren’t we all terribly miserable and frightened in Thebes?” said Lady Bickerson.

  “Actually I’m not miserable or frightened,” Annie said thoughtfully. “We saw a crocodile today, too. But it was harmless.” She smiled at Lord and Lady Bickerson. They stared back at Annie as if she were a little mosquito.

  Suddenly a servant threw open the door, stood at attention, and spoke in a loud voice. “Countess von Kensky!”

  A glamorous-looking woman draped in a red silk shawl bustled in. Her dark hair was piled high on her head. On her shoulder was a tiny monkey. The monkey looked like a little elf, with a wrinkled face, big, pointed ears, and bushy eyebrows.

  “Ohhh, look! It’s so cute!” cried Annie.

  “Countess von Kensky, I believe you have met Lord and Lady Bickerson?” said Selina.

  “Oh, yes!” said the countess, nodding to the Bickersons. “But neither Koku nor I have met these lovely children! Who are you?”

  “Jack and Annie from America,” said Annie.

  “Delightful!” said the countess. “Jack and Annie, this is Koku von Kensky! I am from Budapest, Hungary, but she is a baby baboon from the Sudan, in Africa! Koku, say hello.” As the countess leaned down toward Jack and Annie, Koku grabbed Jack’s ear with her tiny fingers and yanked hard.

  “Oww!” Jack said.

  The baby baboon grinned as if she thought Jack was funny. “Koku! No! No!” said the countess, pulling Koku’s hand from Jack’s ear.

  A big no-no, thought Jack, rubbing his ear.

  Uhh-woh, said the baboon, looking at Jack with her big eyes.

  “Uhh-woh yourself!” said Annie, laughing and reaching out to pet Koku.

  “Careful, child! She’ll bite you!” said Lord Bickerson.

  “Excuse me, my lord, but my darling Koku never bites,” said the countess.

  The look on the Bickersons’ faces grew even more sour as Annie rubbed the baboon’s spiky-haired little head.

  Koku stared at Annie with bright, curious eyes, then let out a shrill screech. Annie screeched back at her. Everyone laughed, except, of course, the aristocrats, who now glared at Annie and Koku as if they were both little mosquitoes.

  Before the Bickersons could speak, the door opened again. A tall, slender woman stepped inside. Clutching a notebook, she was breathless, sunburned, and smiling. But her smile quickly turned to a look of dismay when she saw all the visitors.

  “Florence! Finally!” exclaimed Selina.

  Florence Nightingale wore a plain gray dress. Her brown hair was parted in the middle.

  “Hello, Florence, my dear,” Lord Bickerson said. “Please sit down.”

  Florence took a seat, then smiled politely. “Greetings, my lord, my lady,” she said. Her eyes softened as they rested on the countess and the baby baboon. “Hello, Countess. How is our little Koku today?”

  “Very happy!” said the countess. “She has just made two wonderful new friends from America!” She nodded toward Jack and Annie.

  “Oh … hello …?” said Florence.

  “Hello,” said Jack.

  Annie couldn’t speak. She just stared at Florence with wide eyes and a big grin.

  “Flo, this is Jack and Annie,” said Selina. “They want to meet you.”

  Florence looked puzzled. “But why?” she said.

  “For some reason, they believe you are a world-famous nurse who works in hospitals,” said Selina.

  Florence looked curiously at Jack and Annie. “A world-famous nurse?” she said. “How strange.”

  “Strange, indeed,” said Lady Bickerson with a snort. “Work in a hospital? It’s unthinkable.”

  “Unthinkable, my lady?” said Florence.

  “Well, your mother and father would certainly find it so,” Lord Bickerson said huffily.

  A sad expression crossed Florence’s face as she looked back at Jack and Annie. “No, children,” she said, “I am not a world-famous nurse. In fact, I have never, not even for one day, worked in a hospital. My family would find it unthinkable.”

  Selina jumped in to change the subject. “What Flo really loves is taking notes about the Egyptian ruins,” she said to Jack and Annie. “That’s why we make such wonderful traveling companions. She loves to take notes, and I love to sketch. Tell our guests about your morning, Flo.”

  “I was at the Temple of Luxor,” said Florence, brightening. “I studied the paintings, particularly the ones of Anubis.”

  “Anubis?” said Jack.

  “The jackal god,” said Florence. “He is on many tomb walls. Ancient Egyptians believed jackals protected the dead. I find that so fascinating.”

  “That is fascinating,” said Annie.

  Lady Bickerson shuddered. “Ugh, I find it gruesome,” she said.

  “It’s not gruesome at all, my lady,” said Florence. “I find Egyptian mythology to be quite beautiful.”

  “I think so, too!” said Jack.

  “Beautiful?” said Lord Bickerson. “I don’t see how one could find anything in this land beautiful, Florence. I cannot imagine why you would want to prowl among those ghastly ruins.”

  “Nor I!” said Lady Bickerson. “They all stink of rats and decay.”

  “Oh! Speaking of rats,” said the countess, “Koku and I saw one in our cabin last night. Neither of us could sleep a wink after that!”

  “We never sleep!” said Lady Bickerson. “Not with the rats and flies and fleas! And that dreadful singing from our crew hurts my ears!”

  “I’m sorry you find everything so distasteful in this land, my lady,” said Florence. “It makes
me wonder why you and your lordship ever chose to travel to Egypt in the first place.”

  “Why, these days, it’s considered quite fashionable to visit Egypt,” said Lady Bickerson. “Though now Lord Bickerson and I can’t possibly understand why.”

  “I adore Egypt,” Florence said. “And I feel I must defend her. Egypt and I quite agree with each other.”

  “Indeed?” said Lord Bickerson. “You adore Egypt, she agrees with you, and you feel you must defend her? You certainly seem to have an excellent opinion of yourself, Miss Nightingale.”

  Florence took a deep breath. Then she said quietly, “No, in truth, I do not have an excellent opinion of myself, my lord.”

  “I have an excellent opinion of you,” Annie whispered.

  An awkward silence filled the room.

  “Forgive me,” said Florence. “I am not feeling well. I must retire to my own cabin … I fear I must.” And with that, Florence Nightingale rose from her chair and slipped soundlessly out of the room.

  Everyone was silent for a moment after Florence left. The Bickersons were the first to speak.

  “Well!” said Lady Bickerson.

  “How utterly rude!” said Lord Bickerson.

  “Excuse me for a moment while I check on Flo,” said Selina, a worried look on her face. “Perhaps the heat was too much for her today.” And with that, Selina left the sitting room, too.

  “Well!” said Lady Bickerson again.

  “I hope I did not offend Miss Nightingale by complaining about the rat,” said the countess. “I like her very much. Miss Nightingale, I mean, not the rat.”

  “You do not know Florence as we do,” said Lord Bickerson. “You have no idea of the trouble she has caused her family.”

  “It’s shocking,” said Lady Bickerson. “She refuses to behave like a lady. She is full of her own thoughts and opinions. She tells her poor mother she has dreams to leave home so she can work!”

  “What’s wrong with that?” asked Annie.

  Uh-oh, thought Jack. Annie sounded angry.

  “No proper lady works out in the world!” Lord Bickerson snapped.

  “Why not?” asked Annie. “I mean, if you wanted to follow your dreams and people wouldn’t let you, wouldn’t you feel bad, too? And what’s wrong with having thoughts and opinions? I have thoughts and opinions all the time!”