Blizzard of the Blue Moon: A Merlin Mission

Bureau to check them,” said Mr. Perkins. “I’m afraid right now our data is telling us that the weather’s undergoing a rapid and terrible change.”
    Jack shivered in his damp clothes. “Our data is telling us the same thing,” he said.
    “A storm has blown in from the Midwest, bringing wind and snow,” said Mr. Perkins. “But after nightfall, things will get worse. Another storm is coming up from the South, gathering speed on its way.”
    “That sounds serious,” said Annie.
    “It’s worse than serious,” Mr. Perkins said. “It’s disastrous. After dark, the two systems will meet and create a monster blizzard! It could be the worst in New York history! Even worse than the Blizzard of ’88!”
    Jack caught his breath.
    “Poor New York,” said Annie.
    “Ah, yes, it’s the last thing our great city needs during these hard times,” said Mr. Perkins, shaking his head.
    “Excuse me, but I have a question,” said Annie. “Do you know if there’s a full moon tonight?”
    “Well, yes, there is,” said Bill Perkins. “You won’t see it, though—not through those storm clouds. Actually, it’ll be the second full moon this month.”
    “A blue moon!”
said Annie.
    “You’re exactly right, a blue moon indeed,” said Mr. Perkins.
    “I have another question,” said Annie. “Do you know where we can find—”
    “Um—any unusual animals?” Jack interrupted. “On public display somewhere? In New York City?”
    “Well, your best bet in New York would be the Bronx Zoo,” said Mr. Perkins. “They display all kinds of animals from all over the world.”
    “Great!” said Annie. “How do we get there?”
    “What? You can’t go to the zoo today!” said Mr. Perkins. “Not in this storm!”
    “No, no, of course not,” Jack said quickly. “But if we ever decide to go to the zoo—in the future— how would we get there?”
    “Well, the best way would be to take the West Side IRT,” said Mr. Perkins.
    “What’s that?” said Jack.
    “A subway line that runs up the West Side,” said Mr. Perkins. “The number two train on that line will take you to the Bronx Zoo.”
    “Oh, great, thanks for everything,” said Jack. “We’d better get going now.” He and Annie started toward the door.
    “Wait, there’s a telephone upstairs. Let mering up your parents. Perhaps they can come get you,” said Mr. Perkins.
    “Um, well,” said Annie. “We—uh—we haven’t lived here very long, and we don’t have a telephone yet.”
    “She’s right,” said Jack. “But it’s not far to where we live. We just need to get out of the park to the street.”
    “To the West Side!” said Annie.
    “Yeah, yeah, the West Side,” said Jack. “Can you tell us how to get there from here?”
    “Certainly!” Mr. Perkins opened the door. Wind and snow blasted inside as he pointed to the right. “Cross the terrace and then walk down the stairs to a path. That path will take you out of the park to Eighty-first Street,” he said. “Hurry home now!”
    “We will!” said Jack.
    “Thanks a lot, Mr. Perkins!” said Annie. And she and Jack headed back out into the blizzard.

T he wind lashed the bare trees and swept the snow into tall drifts. “That way!” said Annie. She led the way down the castle steps to the path.
    “Mr. Perkins was a nice guy,” said Annie as they headed toward the west side of the park.
    “Yeah,” said Jack. “Someday I’d like to go back there and see all his weather instruments.”
    Jack and Annie trudged through the storm, until they saw buildings just beyond the trees.
    “We’re almost out of Central Park!” Annie said.
    Jack looked around. “Do you see Teddy and Kathleen?” he said.
    “No, but we’d better keep going if we want to get to the zoo today,” said Annie.
    Jack agreed. Mr. Perkins had said that the blizzard was going to turn into a monster after dark. And dark came early in November.
    They left the park and came to a wide city street. All sorts of things were blowing about in the wind: newspapers, hats, and umbrellas turned inside out. Jack and Annie grabbed a lamppost and clung to it, trying to keep from getting blown away, too. When there was a lull in the storm, they trudged across the avenue. It was lined with cars half buried in the snow.
    Jack and Annie started down a side street. They passed an old man and woman huddled in a doorway, wrapped in torn blankets, burning a fire in a small stove. They passed a line of men dressed in ragged