keep the noise level down.
The boat seemed to rock from side to side as it chugged along, and I scrunched further down into the canvas. At first I had trouble keeping my eyes open. Then I had trouble opening them at all. Finally I no longer heard the motor or smelled the fishy canvas. The only sensation I had was rocking from side to side. . . .
THUNK!
A loud noise vibrated through the boat and jolted me out of my sleepy fog. I shot straight up to my feet and shook my head. There was just a sliver of moonlight slicing through the small screened opening at the top of the closet. I checked my watch. Four o’clock!
My thoughts tumbled. I wasn’t just coming out of a daydream. I’d slept for over an hour!
My heart started fluttering again, and I took a couple of deep breaths to clear my head. Footsteps thumped around the deck to the cabin door, and then down the three steps into the room.
I stood perfectly still, my ears straining to hear. There was a shuffling noise, and then a creak. And then it was still.
There was no sound for almost fifteen minutes. Then snorting and snuffling sounds filled the air. Someone was snoring! I realized that the pilot must have fallen asleep on the mattress across the room.
I hadn’t even thought of this possibility. I ditched all the plans I’d made and sketched out a new one.
After considering different courses of action, I decided to risk leaving the boat while the person slept. If it was Officer Rainey, I would still go with my original plan—telling him that we were two colleagues hot on the trail of the bad guy. If it was Jasper, I’d have to make something up on the spot.
I figured that trying to sneak off the boat gave me at least a chance of leaving without discovery. All other options began with my being discovered.
I made myself wait another fifteen minutes or so before doing anything. The snoring had continued without any pause, and it was definitely loud enough to cover my exit noises.
Okay, I told myself at last. Here we go. . . .
I unlocked the door and opened it slightly. Even I couldn’t hear the latch click above the snoring. I moved behind the door for a moment, fully hidden from the person sleeping on the mattress.
The snoring continued, so I stepped out into the room. The sleeper was Officer Rainey, still in his uniform. I crept across the small room, fully aware of the dangerous cargo I carried on my back.
Up the three steps, across the deck, and over to the pier. So far, so good. I stepped carefully off the boat, trying to cause as little motion as possible. I could still hear the snores as I vaulted across the pier and onto land. I noticed there was another boat tied to the pier. It was a high-end speedboat, perfect for a rapid escape downriver.
The moon was nearly gone. I needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. I didn’t really know exactly where I was, but I figured I had at least a couple hours’ hike back to where I had hidden my bike.
I jogged quietly up the pier, my legs keeping time with my pounding pulse.
“Aaaaaschwhewww!” The loudest, longest sneeze I’d ever heard punctuated the stillness. When I looked around, the light flicked on in the boat’s cabin. Through the window I could see Rainey stretch and stand up. Then he walked toward the steps leading up on deck.
For a minute I couldn’t move. It was like one of those dreams in which you want to run, but you can’t. I looked around for a hiding place.
I saw a shed halfway up the hill and raced for it.The slapping of my full pack against my back spurred me on. I darted into the shabby wooden shed and closed the door.
Through a crack between the boards I watched Rainey pad around the deck of the boat. He had brought some kind of food with him—I was too far away to tell what it was exactly. He sat on a box and began eating.
Just watching him eat made me hungry again. For a second I dreamed about Hannah’s banana bread. Then I forced myself to focus on the
The boat seemed to rock from side to side as it chugged along, and I scrunched further down into the canvas. At first I had trouble keeping my eyes open. Then I had trouble opening them at all. Finally I no longer heard the motor or smelled the fishy canvas. The only sensation I had was rocking from side to side. . . .
THUNK!
A loud noise vibrated through the boat and jolted me out of my sleepy fog. I shot straight up to my feet and shook my head. There was just a sliver of moonlight slicing through the small screened opening at the top of the closet. I checked my watch. Four o’clock!
My thoughts tumbled. I wasn’t just coming out of a daydream. I’d slept for over an hour!
My heart started fluttering again, and I took a couple of deep breaths to clear my head. Footsteps thumped around the deck to the cabin door, and then down the three steps into the room.
I stood perfectly still, my ears straining to hear. There was a shuffling noise, and then a creak. And then it was still.
There was no sound for almost fifteen minutes. Then snorting and snuffling sounds filled the air. Someone was snoring! I realized that the pilot must have fallen asleep on the mattress across the room.
I hadn’t even thought of this possibility. I ditched all the plans I’d made and sketched out a new one.
After considering different courses of action, I decided to risk leaving the boat while the person slept. If it was Officer Rainey, I would still go with my original plan—telling him that we were two colleagues hot on the trail of the bad guy. If it was Jasper, I’d have to make something up on the spot.
I figured that trying to sneak off the boat gave me at least a chance of leaving without discovery. All other options began with my being discovered.
I made myself wait another fifteen minutes or so before doing anything. The snoring had continued without any pause, and it was definitely loud enough to cover my exit noises.
Okay, I told myself at last. Here we go. . . .
I unlocked the door and opened it slightly. Even I couldn’t hear the latch click above the snoring. I moved behind the door for a moment, fully hidden from the person sleeping on the mattress.
The snoring continued, so I stepped out into the room. The sleeper was Officer Rainey, still in his uniform. I crept across the small room, fully aware of the dangerous cargo I carried on my back.
Up the three steps, across the deck, and over to the pier. So far, so good. I stepped carefully off the boat, trying to cause as little motion as possible. I could still hear the snores as I vaulted across the pier and onto land. I noticed there was another boat tied to the pier. It was a high-end speedboat, perfect for a rapid escape downriver.
The moon was nearly gone. I needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. I didn’t really know exactly where I was, but I figured I had at least a couple hours’ hike back to where I had hidden my bike.
I jogged quietly up the pier, my legs keeping time with my pounding pulse.
“Aaaaaschwhewww!” The loudest, longest sneeze I’d ever heard punctuated the stillness. When I looked around, the light flicked on in the boat’s cabin. Through the window I could see Rainey stretch and stand up. Then he walked toward the steps leading up on deck.
For a minute I couldn’t move. It was like one of those dreams in which you want to run, but you can’t. I looked around for a hiding place.
I saw a shed halfway up the hill and raced for it.The slapping of my full pack against my back spurred me on. I darted into the shabby wooden shed and closed the door.
Through a crack between the boards I watched Rainey pad around the deck of the boat. He had brought some kind of food with him—I was too far away to tell what it was exactly. He sat on a box and began eating.
Just watching him eat made me hungry again. For a second I dreamed about Hannah’s banana bread. Then I forced myself to focus on the
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