Page 84 - Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

"But, Gitl," Hannah whispered her protest as she
stared at the two cars, "we can't all fit in there."
"With God's help .'.. . ," Gitl mumbled, squeezing
Hannah's hand until her knuckles hurt.
The older people were pushed into the boxcars first,
then the women and the girls. Someone shoved Hannah
from behind so hard, she scraped her knee climbing up.
She could feel the blood flowing down and the sharp
gritty pain, but before she could bend over to look at
it, someone else was behind her. Soon there were so
many people crowded in, she couldn't move at all. It
was worse than the worst subway jam she'd ever been
in, shopping with her Aunt Eva in the city. She was
caught between Gitl on one side and the rabbi on the
other. There were two women behind her and the boards
of the boxcar by her face. By bending her good knee
just a little, she could see out a small rectangular space
between the boards. She'd just gotten a look when the
car shifted and the door was shut and bolted from the
outside.
"We're locked in!" a woman screamed. "My God,
we'll suffocate."
Everyone began to scream then, Hannah with them.
The ones by the door hammered on it with their fists,
the car rocking with their efforts, but it did no good.
No one came to open the door. After a while, exhausted
by all the screaming and the tears, they stopped.
It was pretty dark inside the car, with only small
patches of light where the boards did not quite fit to-
gether. And it was airless. And hot. One of the two

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