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girls, wireless electric lights, one in each hand.” He was such an actor that as he stood with his hands outstretched, they seemed to glow.
    â€œThere was an article in Electrical World called ‘Is Tesla to Signal the Stars?’ The man’s going to contact life on Mars!”
    â€œPapa, could that be?” Augusta asked. “Could there be life on Mars?”
    â€œYour uncle is telling the story,” Papa said shortly. He loved Mama but seemed to suffer the rest of her family.
    It was one of the Bellas who interrupted to ask, “Isn’t there a dog star, Uncle William?” She emphasized the word dog , and I knew, if the adults didn’t, that she was turning the conversation to Scout.
    â€œI’ll draw it,” Uncle William said with enthusiasm. He rose at once and went to Papa’s desk. We, pulled along in the wake of his enthusiasm, followed.
    We bent over his shoulder and watched as he drew from memory tiny stars and then connected them to form the outline of the dog. “This is Sirius,” he said, going over the star with the tip of his pen. “Sirius is the brightest star and it is the dog tag, here at the throat.”
    â€œSpeaking of dogs,” one of the Bellas said with studied casualness, “did you hear what happened to our dog Scout?”
    Mama’s hand touched her forehead when she heard the tone of the Bella’s voice, and she now rose. “Bedtime! Pauline, the children need to go to bed.”
    â€œMama, I’m not finished,” Bella said. “I was in the middle of saying something to Uncle William.”
    â€œBedtime,” Aunt Pauline said.
    â€œMama, you always said we shouldn’t interrupt people,” the other Bella complained.
    â€œUncle William will be here tomorrow to answer all your questions,” Mama said.
    â€œAnd tomorrow night,” Uncle William said, “we’ll lie outside and I’ll show you Polaris and Orion and Venus.”
    â€œAnd Sirius?” a Bella said with a glance at Mama.
    â€œYes, Sirius too.”
    Quickly Aunt Pauline herded us toward the stairs before there could be any more talk of dog stars.
    But I knew that the Bellas’ minds, fueling each other, would soon return to their topic of interest—the death, no, the murder of our dog Scout.
    I heard Mama say to Uncle William, “Don’t encourage the Bellas to talk about Scout.”
    â€œI didn’t! I was talking about Sirius!”
    â€œI know, but the Bellas have a one-track mind these days. They’re determined to talk about what they think happened to Scout.”
    â€œOh, William,” Grandmama said, changing the subject, “when are you ever going to come down to earth?”
    â€œAs long as there are stars, dear mother, never!” Uncle William replied.

chapter twenty-two
    Venus and Mars
    â€œV enus . . . Orion . . . Capella . . .”
    We were on our backs, staring up at the starlit sky. The house was dark so that we would not be distracted by other lights.
    The night air was clean and clear, and the stars seemed unusually close. I had never before been able to see the constellations, but now the sky seemed full of figures and motion.
    There was Orion with his sparkling belt and shield. The Bull’s horns stretched across the sky. The Archer flexed his bow. The Charioteer drove his team. The Herdsman played his pipe.
    And the words, the words were among the most beautiful I had ever heard. You could make up a whole poem out of nothing but stars and constellations.
    Aquarius . . . Pegasus . . . the Lyre . . . the Lion . . . Mercury . . . Mars.
    One of the twins interrupted my thoughts. “And where is the Dog Star?”
    Her voice was studiedly innocent. Uncle William had apparently forgotten that dogs were not to be mentioned.
    â€œThere is the dog. Sirius is the dog tag.” Uncle William pointed.
    Papa had been with us, leaning against one of the willows, but he