The Race Around the World by Nancy Castaldo

Author:Nancy Castaldo [Lowe, Wesley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2015-08-04T00:00:00+00:00

She talked about the canal’s history with another passenger during the morning. As the day went on, the sun got higher and hotter. Nellie sat in her deck chair. Mosquitoes buzzed around her. It might have been unpleasant, but it was much quicker than sailing around Africa!

In the evening, the Victoria stopped at Suez. Small sailboats gathered around the large ship. Men from the boats boarded the ship with things for sale. They sold fruit and shells. A magician also came on board. He picked Nellie to help him with a trick.

It was very hot. Nellie changed into a light silk blouse. She was comfortable and “lazily happy.” When night came, the men slept on the deck in the fresh night air. The ladies remained belowdecks. They were not allowed back on deck until morning. Nellie would rush up at first light to enjoy the cool air before it grew too hot.

On December 3, the Victoria arrived at her next Middle Eastern port—Aden, Arabia. Unlike most passengers, Nellie braved the extreme heat and went ashore. She and a few others took a carriage into town. They rode through a grand stone gate. She saw people selling jewelry, ostrich eggs, shells, and fruit. She watched young boys dive in and out of the ocean for coins. Above them Nellie saw a British flag flying on top of the highest mountain. Nellie had traveled almost 7,000 miles, just a little less than one-third of her trip.

While Nellie was fighting the heat on the Victoria, her fame was getting bigger and bigger in America. On November 29, the World ran an ad. It announced the “Nellie Bly Guessing Match.” How many days, hours, minutes, and seconds would Nellie’s trip take? The reader who guessed the closest time would win a first-class trip to Europe.

In less than one week, the World had received more than 100,000 guesses. Everyone knew about Nellie’s race. And everyone wanted a chance to travel, too.

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