“What’s happening?” Moses asked Jacob, scared. Jacob put his finger to his lips for Moses to keep quiet, though he, too, was anxious to know what was happening.
“Yes, I understand, I understand. Some boys will be dropping by in a bit for a letter. Thank you very much.”
The man hung up the phone and said, “I don’t think he’s taken the letter to the post office yet. It seems the director hasn’t left the theater all day. You’ll have to go get it there. It’s the building right in front. The director, Mr. Perrot, will give you the letter. Take it and come back here right away. Don’t speak to anyone, you understand?”
The boys nodded and stood up. The man walked them to the door and watched them dash down the stairs.
Out on the street, the afternoon light had begun to fade, and the street lamps were lighting up one by one. They saw the theater directly in front. It was not very big, but it was painted a pleasing light yellow and had a balcony and a gable roof supported by two columns that gave the building the feel of a classic temple. The red door looked to be closed, but Jacob and Moses went up the stairs and pushed it open without knocking.
A middle-aged man dressed in a blue usher’s uniform with gold buttons stopped them in the vestibule. “Where are you going, boys?” he asked, eyeing their disheveled appearance.
“Mr. Perrot has an envelope for us,” Moses answered.
“Mr. Perrot just left,” the usher responded.
“Where did he go?” Jacob could not keep the nerves out of his voice.
“I imagine he went home, though he had some errands to run first.”
“But they just called him,” Jacob protested.
“I know nothing more than what I’ve just said. The theater is closed, so you shouldn’t be in here,” he said, shooing them toward the door.
“Where does Mr. Perrot live? We have to find him right away!” Jacob insisted.
The usher sighed. He wanted to lock up the place, but reluctantly he walked them out and pointed down a street. “He usually heads to the right, but he was carrying some mail. The post office is at the end of the street. I imagine he’s there by now.”
At those words, the boys were off in a flash. A little light remained in the sky, and only a few people walked the streets. They veered right without running into anyone and saw the symbol for the post office at the end of the way. Seconds later they were panting at the door. They burst inside and saw one older woman and one elderly man with a nice hat and a light brown suit.
“Mr. Perrot!” Jacob called, trying to catch his breath.
The man turned. He held a cane in one hand, and in the other, half a dozen letters. The post office employee eyed the children suspiciously and was about to send them out when the gentleman smiled and let the woman go ahead of him in line.
“Do tell me what I can do for you,” Perrot said, imagining that the children would not have run so fast to shout at him in the middle of the post office for no good reason.
“Eleazar and Jana Stein are our parents,” Jacob whispered.
“Oh dear me.” He took a step back. “Come, come, let’s be on our way.”
They all three walked out to the street and sat on a bench.
“I was just about to mail a letter to you and your aunt. Why aren’t you in Paris?” he asked, puzzled.
The boys were still trying to regain their breath, and they did not take their eyes off the letters held in the man’s gloved hand.
“There was a big raid, and we were picked up by accident. After we escaped, we couldn’t find our aunt, and we’ve traveled many days to get here.”
Perrot gestured in dismay. “But your parents left two weeks ago. They wrote you a letter, but poor Mr. Vipond has been too ill, and he finally asked me to send it. If you had come even five minutes later, I wouldn’t have been able to help you.” He sighed with relief and started thumbing through the letters. He handed them a long envelope trimmed in red and blue.
“You don’t know where they were going?” Jacob asked, opening the envelope.
“No, they didn’t want anyone to know, in case the police came looking for them. Until recently, things have been pretty calm here, but in the past