Storm Tide by Kari Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

her hair swings with every stroke. I crane my neck around to keep track of Joseph. He’s still only a few feet away. He looks like he’s searching for a spot to jump into the water from. Why doesn’t Ellen just row into the bay?
    â€œWhat are you doing, Ellen? Row away!” I shout.
    But Ellen just angles to the left and keeps rowing. Joseph changes direction again, and again comes closer. He’s panting now, slipping on the rocks.
    â€œDon’t think you can get away from me!” Joseph shouts.
    Ellen ignores him and keeps rowing, changing her angle again. I see what she’s doing. That sister of mine is sneaky. She’s pushing him farther out onto the rocks. She keeps circling, just out of his reach.
    â€œYou won’t get away from me,” he shouts, and he leaps into the water. But the current is strong, and he struggles against it, his arms flailing.
    He shouts “It’s mine!” as he lunges toward us, but again the current pushes him back. Finally he grabs at a rock and pulls himself out of the water.
    â€œYou’ve trapped him!” I say to Ellen.
    She nods. “Yep.”
    I laugh and let out a huge sigh of relief.
    Once the tide has risen enough that Joseph can’t get off the rock, Ellen turns the boat toward our dock. She’s rowing more slowly now, and her face is no longer fixed in a frown. It looks like she’s trying not to grin. “He’ll be fine until the coast guard arrives. That rock is always out of the water.”
    I flop back against the gunwale. “I can’t believe it. I found something. There really was treasure. I can’t believe it, treasure.” I’m babbling. I can’t help it. I’m frozen and exhausted, but totally one hundred and fifty percent thrilled.
    Before we reach the dock, I see that two boats are tied up there. Mom and Dad are in the big motorboat, and Mark is on the coast guard boat. At last, at last! I sit up and wave and shout “Dad! Mom!” until they wave back.
    â€œThank goodness you’re okay,” Mom yells from the water. “We radioed this morning, but there was no answer. Can you believe the storm last night? The whole city was out of power, even the coast guard. I tried and tried to call.”
    Dad’s head appears from behind the control seat. “I thought your mother was going to strangle someone when it was still stormy this morning. She was out of her mind with worry. But I kept telling her you two would be fine.” He hops from the boat onto the dock and catches the lead rope I throw to him. Man, oh, man, it’s good to see them.
    â€œIt looks like you two have been up to something. What’s this?” Dad points to the box lying in my lap.
    So we tell them. Everything. Well, we leave out the fact that we skipped some of our chores. Mom climbs out of the boat and hugs both me and Ellen. Her face turns white when we get to the part about rescuing Joseph. Dad and Mark exchange a look, but they all look interested when we finally point to the box and say, “And that’s the treasure.”
    Dad whistles. I hold the box out for everyone to see. Mom says, “Simon, I think you should do the honors.”
    I grab the box to my chest and say, “On dry land, please.” No way I’m taking any chances of this baby dropping in the water after all I’ve been through.
    Now that I’m not trying to escape a madman, I take a long look at the box. It is very old, that’s clear, and is made of some type of metal that has survived being under water for ages. There’s a crease down the center of it, where I guess the opening is. “I…can’t…open… it.” I grunt as I try to pry my hands into the crease.
    â€œLet’s see.” Dad takes a look. “It’s been soldered shut to make it waterproof.”
    â€œDoes that mean we won’t be able to open it?” Ellen looks so sad, it’s