When Vinnie and Mandy finished the Iroquois trip, Dad had opened the attic door suddenly.
Then he slipped and twisted his ankle.
"Oh, that hurts!" Dad said in pain.
He was sitting in his favorite chair in the living room.
Mom held a bag of ice on his swollen foot.
"I was going to clean up the attic, but I can't now," Dad said.
"Can you kids do it?"
Vinnie and Mandy clapped their hands excitedly.
"Sure, we'll take care of it," said Vinnie cheerfully.
"What's so special about that attic?"
Dad asked Mom as the kids ran off.
The children raced up the attic stairs.
Mandy grabbed the photo album.
"Let's guess where we're going next," she said.
"Okay, I'm going to guess Africa!" said Vinnie.
"I think it's going to be China!"
said Mandy, opening the photo album.
They were both wrong.
In the photo, the old man was standing in front of a large tower.
There were big black birds flying around his head.
A group of men with spears were marching together.
The spears were glowing.
"Where is this?" asked Vinnie.
"It looks like . . ." began Mandy.
The light forced them to close their eyes.
The children fell down the dark tunnel.
Mandy landed first.
She opened her eyes.
Two horses pulling a wagon were coming straight at her.
Screaming, Mandy jumped out of the way.
Then she tripped, fell, and scraped her knee badly.
"Whoa!" The driver of the wagon stopped the horses.
"Where did you come from, miss?
I didn't see anyone walking in the street."
The driver scratched his head.
"I . . . I'm terribly sorry, sir," Mandy stammered.
Her legs felt shaky.
"Where am I?" she wondered.
"And where is Vinnie?"
Vinnie landed on the same street.
A carriage came toward him.
Vinnie quickly stepped aside.
Looking around, he did not see Mandy.
She was hidden by all the wagons and horses in the street.
"To be or not to be!" cried a voice.
Vinnie saw a boy behind some barrels.
He was reading from a piece of paper.
The boy did not see Vinnie.
"That is the question!" continued the boy.
"Ahem," said Vinnie, clearing his throat.
"Hey, stop spying on me!"
said the boy, hiding the paper.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Vinnie.
Who are you, and what are you reading?"
"My name is Edward,"
said the boy, bowing dramatically.
"I am reading a play by Shakespeare!"
The name sounded familiar to Vinnie.
"Someday, I will be England's greatest actor!" shouted Edward.
"Someday, I will perform before the queen!"