Blair’s Nightmare by Zilpha Keatley Snyder Read Free Book Online

Janie had dragged Esther out of the room, Molly stopped staring into the fire and went out too. David stayed where he was for a while watching. After Molly went out, Dad went on sitting in the same place, staring at the letter from Mrs. Bowen before he threw it down on the coffee table and kind of stalked out of the room.
    â€œWhat’s the matter with you?” Amanda said.
    â€œWho me?” David asked.
    â€œYeah, you. You’re twitching.” Amanda screwed up her face and jerked her shoulders around.
    â€œOh that,” David said. “I’ve got a stiff neck. Too much bicycle riding, I guess.”

Chapter Five
    T HE NEXT DAY WAS S ATURDAY, and David decided to go hiking. Ever since the Stanleys had moved into the Westerly House, he’d enjoyed hiking in the rolling hills that started just beyond the backyard. Sometimes he took the little kids with him, but he really preferred to go alone. Alone he could move at his own pace and quietly. Moving slowly and silently he’d been able to get very close to lots of squirrels and birds, and once he’d even been only a few yards from a doe with twin fawns. Hiking, he’d found, was a good way to take your mind off things you’d just as soon not think about, which right at the moment seemed like a particularly good idea.
    Fortunately Janie and the twins had just left for an all day birthday party, so he wasn’t expecting any trouble getting awayby himself. He was in the kitchen fixing a lunch to take along when Amanda came in and leaned on the counter.
    â€œWhat’s that for?” she asked.
    He grinned. “Well, actually, I was thinking of eating it.”
    â€œVery funny. I mean why are you putting it in your backpack?”
    â€œBecause I’m going hiking,” he said, and then because he was sure she’d say no, he added, “You want to come along?”
    Amanda grabbed a piece of cheese he’d just sliced off for his sandwich and stuck it in her mouth. “Sure,” she said with her mouth full. “Why not?”
    David stared at her. “I thought you hated hiking.”
    â€œI do. But right at the moment I’m having a totally fatal attack of boredom.”
    He stifled a sigh. He’d really been looking forward to getting away all by himself. However, he’d never been hiking with Amanda before, except for a couple of times in Italy when a lot of other people were along, too. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. “Well,” he said, “if it’s either hiking or sudden death . . .”
    Amanda grabbed the last slice of baloney and began to make a sandwich.
    The first part of the hike went better than David had expected. On the long slope that led up to the hills, she walked quickly, and later, when the going got rough, she didn’t get nervous about the steep places. And when David suggestedthey might see some animals if they were quiet, she stopped talking, at least for a while. It was a nice day, clean and clear after the rain, with a damp earthy smell under the trees and the winter grass beginning to show green on the hillsides. They saw two squirrels having a noisy argument and watched a big red-tailed hawk diving out of the sky to catch a field mouse or small gopher and carry it away to the top of a big oak tree. At the top of the first ridge, they found a shady spot under a bunch of bay trees and ate their lunch and talked.
    Amanda said that so far the hike hadn’t been as bad as she’d expected, and that watching the hawk had been gross but kind of exciting. Then David mentioned the squirrels, and Amanda said they’d reminded her of Eloise and Tammy. Eloise and Tammy were two girls in Amanda’s class who were her best friends—except when there’d just been some kind of a fight and one or both of them totally grossed her out.
    â€œYeah,” Amanda said. “That dark gray one with the fat cheeks was Tammy. She was telling