Painted on the door of the carriage was a sign that read
 
Catchum Child-Catching Services
Trumpet Junction Branch
Orphans, Strays, and Roustabouts
Rounded Up Quickly
 
Emily jumped behind a mail cart so fast that she bumped into a boy in a faded brown jacket.
 
"Hey!" he said. "Watch where you're going!" And then, "You're an orphan too, aren't you?"
 
"How did you know?" she asked him.
 
He shrugged. "Saw you trying to hide from the Child Catchers, just like I used to do." 

Excerpted from EMILY’S FORTUNE © Copyright 2010 by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Reprinted with permission by Yearling, an imprint of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.