Missing on Superstition Mountain by Elise Broach Read Free Book Online

suspiciously.
    â€œDelilah? She went home. You didn’t exactly make her feel welcome. What a nice girl. And you know how hard it is to be new in town. Especially a small town like Superstition, where everyone knows everyone else. You could have made a new friend.”
    â€œMom,” Simon said, rolling his eyes, “we don’t need friends like that.”
    â€œYeah,” Jack boomed. “She stole Josie and locked her up—”
    Mrs. Barker sighed. “I know it seemed that way to you, but it was just a misunderstanding. Delilah thought Josie was lost. And she brought her back home. It was very responsible of her. Besides, aren’t you glad we have Josie back safe and sound? I was so worried she was lost on the mountain.”
    Henry peered up at her. “You were? But you kept saying she was fine.”
    â€œWell,” Mrs. Barker allowed, “I was pretty sure she’d be okay. But I was still worried. I just didn’t want to alarm you boys.”
    â€œWhy were you so worried?” Simon asked. Henry knew he was thinking of the strange glances between their parents and the policeman the night Josie went missing.
    â€œYeah,” Jack chimed in, pushing up on his arms to stare at Mrs. Barker. “Did you think she would get eaten?”
    Mrs. Barker paused. “No, not really. But you remember what Officer Myers said. Superstition Mountain is dangerous.”
    â€œThat’s what he said,” Simon persisted, “but he didn’t tell us why.”
    Mrs. Barker pursed her lips, abruptly finished with the conversation. “You could get lost or hurt. It’s no place for children. I don’t want you three going anywhere near the mountain. Do you understand?”
    â€œBut—” Henry began.
    â€œHenry! I mean it.” She turned back toward the house. “Let’s just be grateful Josie is home again. And I hope you’ll be nicer to Delilah in the future.”
    Henry groaned inwardly, but only inwardly because he didn’t want another rebuke from his mother.
    As soon as she was safely out of earshot, Simon stood up. “She’s definitely keeping something from us,” he said. “They all are. Something happened on the mountain they don’t want to talk about.”
    â€œI know,” Henry mumbled. “Do you think it has anything to do with”—he lowered his voice—“the skulls we found?”
    â€œThose old bones?” Jack asked.
    â€œShhh,” Simon hushed him. “Keep your voice down.”
    â€œBut who do you think they belonged to? When they were alive, I mean,” Jack asked. He swiveled around on the slide, and shot to the bottom, landing on the dry grass with a bump. “Ow!” He rubbed his backside.
    This yard was nothing like the one at their old house in Illinois, which had been lush and green, soft as a carpet. Henry spun slowly on the swing, stirring up clouds of dust with his sneakers. He thought of the strange white skulls and the feeling in the canyon … tense and quiet, as if something bad were about to happen. “How can we find out what the real story is?” he wondered.
    Simon rubbed his hand over his hair, making the spikes stand on alert, ready for action. “Let’s go to the library,” he said finally.
    â€œThe library?” Jack complained. “It’s too quiet there.”
    â€œWell, we can’t use the computer,” Simon pointed out. “Mom won’t let us be on it for that long, and if she catches us snooping around for stuff about the mountain, we’ll get in trouble.”
    Henry nodded. Their mother had very strict rules about computer use. Simon continued, “The library should have old newspapers. And if something really bad happened on Superstition Mountain, somebody must have written about it.”
    Henry jumped off the swing. Simon was brilliant. “That’s a great idea!” he said,