The Secret of the Desert Stone by Frank Peretti Read Free Book Online Page B

sideways, becoming a powerful wind.
    But where was the Stone? Every head twisted left and right trying to find it.
    â€œThere it is!” Jay shouted. “Nine o’clock!”
    They could see the huge wall, dark and ominous in the cloudy gray light, stretching from the earth into the clouds. It appeared to be at least a mile away, and the good news was that the wind had carried them away from the Stone, not toward it.
    Just then, they saw grass roofs slipping quickly by below them. Cattle. People.
    â€œThe Motosa village!” said Jay. “We’re right above it!”
    The engine sputtered and coughed. “Well,” said Dr. Cooper, fiddling with the knobs and ignition, “what do you know!”
    â€œWhat?” asked Dr. Henderson.
    â€œWe’ve lost the engine.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œCarburetor ice, I suppose, or a broken fuel line. Hang on. I’m setting up for a landing.”
    Dr. Cooper turned the plane into the wind and aimed for a stretch of flat ground. The gusty, unpredictable wind lifted the plane, then dropped it, then knocked it sideways. “Check your seat belts!”
    By now, they couldn’t get their seat belts any tighter.
    The wind dropped suddenly and so did the plane, so abruptly they could feel it in their stomachs. The desert floor rushed up at them, only thirty feet below, then twenty, then ten. Dr. Cooper fought for control as sagebrush, grass, and stones raced by below the wheels.
    WHAM! The wind slammed the plane into the ground. The wheels bounced, the plane floated up again, then fell again, the wheels digging into the soft earth, kicking up dust, gouging out ruts. Dr. Cooper pulled back on the control yoke to keep the plane from nosing over as it swerved, bucked, bounced, and rumbled over the ground.
    IMPACT! The right wheel hit a large rock. The plane spun in a circle, tilting wildly, the left wingtip clipping the top of a bush. Then the right wheel strut gave way, and the plane collapsed to the ground in a cloud of dust.
    And then it was over. The plane sat amid desert stones and scraggly, yellow grass. It was quiet and still now, one strut broken and the right wingtip resting on the ground.
    Jay and Lila relaxed, sat up, and looked around, letting out an audible breath of relief.
    Dr. Henderson was all folded up with her arms clamped around her head. Only after a long, uninterrupted moment of silence and stillness did she slowly, timidly unwrap herself and come up for a look.
    Dr. Cooper still had one hand clamped around the control yoke as he went through his shut-down checklist, flipping switches, turning knobs, shifting levers. In seconds, the aircraft was secure. Then he rested back in his seat, relaxed for the first time in what seemed an eternity of terror, and prayed in a quiet voice, “Ohhh, thank you, Lord, for a safe landing!”
    â€œThank you, Lord,” Lila agreed.
    â€œThaaaank you,” said Jay.
    â€œWell, you can sit here and pray if you want,”said Dr. Henderson, “but I’m getting out of this plane!”
    Click, clack, their seat belts came loose and they piled out the doors, Dr. Henderson and Jay having to duck under the drooping wing on the right side.
    â€œOWW!” Dr. Henderson fell to the ground, grimacing in pain, her hand going to her knee.
    Jay leaped to her side, followed by Lila and Dr. Cooper. “What is it?”
    Jennifer Henderson was hurt and angry at the same time. “I hurt my leg! Dr. Cooper, you broke the plane and me with it!”
    Dr. Cooper knelt beside her and helped her roll up her pantleg. Her knee was beginning to swell.“Can you move it at all?”
    She lay on her back, her face crinkled in agony, and gave it a try. She could move it, but it hurt terribly.
    Dr. Cooper checked the knee as she worked it.“Well, nothing’s broken, but your knee is badly bruised.”
    Dr. Henderson let her head plop on the soft, sandy ground and wagged it in