Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 06 - Where Trouble Roams by Janet McNulty Read Free Book Online Page A

surmised that despite almost drowning, I came out unscathed.  “No.  Where are the others?”
    “Over there.”  He pointed to a small enclave where Aunt Ethel and Jackie huddled together.  Rachel stood a few feet away from them watching Jedidiah and me.
    “Come on.”  Jedidiah helped me up and guided me back to Jackie and Aunt Ethel.  Despite the trail being o nly two feet wide, we made it.
    “Oh, Mellow darling, I thought we had lost you.”  Aunt Ethel wrapped her feather coat around my shoulders; the worry in her voice very evident.
    I shivered in response.

Chapter 8
     
     
     
    Sometime during the night the rain stopped.  I slept fitfully as the cold was inescapable and we had all huddled in a small space.  I watched as the sun peeked over the horizon.  Water still flowed below, but Jedidiah assured us that it would disappear in a day or two now that the rain had ceased.
    Something caught my attention.  Carefully, I pulled out the map and studied it while looking at a strange rock that looked exactly like a buffalo’s head.  I couldn’t believe it.
    “What is it?” asked Jackie.
    I pointed out the rock to her.  “Does that look like the head of a buffalo to you?”
    Jackie’s narrowed eyes told me it did as she studied the rock intently.
    “I think it does,” said Aunt Ethel with excitement.
    I laid the map before them.  “Look, this means that we are on the right track.  The buffalo head is the first marker.  Next we need to travel northwest until we reach the edge of a hidden ravine.”
    “Hidden ravine?” asked Rachel.
    “That’s what the map says.”  I pointed at the markings on the old map.  “It is supposed to be marked by the eagle.”
    “There are a lot of hidden ravines around here,” said Jedidiah.
    “Well, we have to look for it,” I said.  “It’s either that or we turn back now.”
    “Absolutely not,” said Aunt Ethel.
    “But how are we to get to the other side?” asked Jackie.
    The water below us still flowed freely and we had no way of crossing it.
    Jedidiah got an idea.  He took a rope from my aunt’s bag.  He tied one end around a tree before hopping to the other side of the small canyon and tying the other end around the boulder from the map.  He tugged on it until it pulled tight.
    After several moments I noticed the incline in the rope and realized what Jedidiah’s idea involved.  “No,” I said.  “This is crazy.”
    “Use your belts to slide across the rope to the other side,” said Jedidiah.
    I eyed the rope warily and the water below.  If we lost our grip we’d be lost to the river.  Of course, leave it to my Aunt Ethel to embrace a crazy idea like this.
    She took off her belt and put it over the rope and hung onto both ends.  With a bounce, she jumped off the edge and sailed to the other side where Jedidiah caught her.
    Jackie flung her belt over the rope.  “See you on the other side.”  She sped to the other end and landed safely.
    Warily, I approached the rope and put my belt over it still afraid of falling into the water below.  I had no desire to almost drown for the third time in my life.  My hands turned white as I tightly gripped the belt.
    “You going to stand here all day?” asked Rachel.
    “Well—”
    I never got to finish my thought as Rachel shoved me off the ledge and I careened to the other end.  Cold air blasted my face and a series of screams escaped my mouth.  Jedidiah’s outstretched arm caught me as I reached the other end.
    “You did alright,” he said.
    “How are we to get the rope?” asked Jackie.
    “Like you need to ask,” said Rachel as she appeared with the other end of the rope and coiled it.
    The snorting of a horse caught our attention.  I looked up and saw one of our horses standing nearby nibbling on some grass.  Another walked up. “How did they survive the rainstorm?”
    “Animals know how to take care of themselves.  Not sure where the others are, but having two of them here