Spanish.
“Can’t you guys go, and let us girls tend the home fires?” Kelly suggested hopefully.
“No, we really need you. The more people we have looking, the more territory we’ll be able to cover at a time.”
“What did I tell you?” Alita hissed, shoving to her feet. “He’s the Energizer Bunny in disguise.”
“Now he wants to explore that blasted jungle again, like Indiana Jones. I’m telling you, if we don’t find water soon, he’s going to drive us all wacky,” Kelly muttered. She tossed her knapsack and purse into a nearby clump of bushes, where they would be concealed until she got back.
“Why’d you do that?” Blair asked, half curious and half amused. “It’s not as if someone is going to come along and steal your wallet while we’re gone. Really, Kelly, we should be so lucky!”
Kelly paused, then gave a wry laugh. “You’re right. I guess it’s just a habit with me, to stuff my purse out of sight somewhere. Comes from living too long in crime- ridden cities, I suppose. First Houston, and now Phoenix.” Today, there was no need to leave anyone behind to watch over an injured member of their party. The most badly wounded had already succumbed, everyone else was mobile—and Roberts, no longer tethered to his tree, was going with them. They would all take turns carrying Sydney.
Off they trudged, again spread out in their search pattern as per the day before. Ten minutes later Zach called out the roll, and everyone grudgingly responded.
“Egad!” Kelly groused loudly. “I feel like one of those kids who followed the Pied Piper.”
Frazer, next in line, heard her and laughed. “Maybe we can carve Zach a didgerido so he better fits the role.”
“I am going to hate myself for asking,” Alita called o ut, “but what is a didgerido?”
Blair, on her other side, i nstantly supplied the answer. “It’s a long trumpetlike instrument that the Australian a borigines make out of bamboo.”
“Yeah, just what Zach needs,” Gavin contributed sarcastically. “He already bellows like a bull elephant.”
On cue, Zach shouted, “Pipe down and pay attention to your areas!”
“I know precisely where I’d like to shove his ‘pipe down’!” Blair avowed.
“Up with that pipe would be even better,” Alita proposed.
A quarter hour later, they stumbled across their first significant find of the day. The lime tree was in Roberts’s sector, upon which they immediately converged.
“At least we won’t have to worry about getting scurvy,” Blair said. “Not that we’ll be here that long… I hope.”
“Hey! This is great! A little rum, and we’d have the makings for banana daiquiris,” Frazer noted. “I wouldn’t mind getting a little sloshed right now. My leg is killing me.”
Roberts considered this a moment. “You know, there just might be a way to make us some home brew out of something on the island. That breadfruit maybe, or fermented coconuts. You can do it with everything from grain to potatoes, so one of these foods ought to do the trick.”
“I’d settle for tea or coffee, myself,” Blair put in.
“I’d be tickled with lime-flavored water, if only we had the water,” Kelly added.
They loaded up on limes, stuffing their pockets full.
“Okay,” Zach commanded, hoisting Sydney up on his shoulders. “Back to the search, troops.”
Slowly, they began to disburse, dragging their feet like students reluctantly returning to class after recess. They’d taken but a few steps when Zach let out a yell loud enough to send the birds fleeing the treetops. Kelly whirled around, only to stare stupidly at the empty spot beside her—where Zach had been just a second ago.
Chapter 8
B efore Kelly could comprehend what had happened, Gavin came dashing across the small clearing, his hands held straight out in front of him, palms up. He dived into Kelly, bowling her aside, and in the next instant Sydney fell into Gavin’s open arms.
“What
“Can’t you guys go, and let us girls tend the home fires?” Kelly suggested hopefully.
“No, we really need you. The more people we have looking, the more territory we’ll be able to cover at a time.”
“What did I tell you?” Alita hissed, shoving to her feet. “He’s the Energizer Bunny in disguise.”
“Now he wants to explore that blasted jungle again, like Indiana Jones. I’m telling you, if we don’t find water soon, he’s going to drive us all wacky,” Kelly muttered. She tossed her knapsack and purse into a nearby clump of bushes, where they would be concealed until she got back.
“Why’d you do that?” Blair asked, half curious and half amused. “It’s not as if someone is going to come along and steal your wallet while we’re gone. Really, Kelly, we should be so lucky!”
Kelly paused, then gave a wry laugh. “You’re right. I guess it’s just a habit with me, to stuff my purse out of sight somewhere. Comes from living too long in crime- ridden cities, I suppose. First Houston, and now Phoenix.” Today, there was no need to leave anyone behind to watch over an injured member of their party. The most badly wounded had already succumbed, everyone else was mobile—and Roberts, no longer tethered to his tree, was going with them. They would all take turns carrying Sydney.
Off they trudged, again spread out in their search pattern as per the day before. Ten minutes later Zach called out the roll, and everyone grudgingly responded.
“Egad!” Kelly groused loudly. “I feel like one of those kids who followed the Pied Piper.”
Frazer, next in line, heard her and laughed. “Maybe we can carve Zach a didgerido so he better fits the role.”
“I am going to hate myself for asking,” Alita called o ut, “but what is a didgerido?”
Blair, on her other side, i nstantly supplied the answer. “It’s a long trumpetlike instrument that the Australian a borigines make out of bamboo.”
“Yeah, just what Zach needs,” Gavin contributed sarcastically. “He already bellows like a bull elephant.”
On cue, Zach shouted, “Pipe down and pay attention to your areas!”
“I know precisely where I’d like to shove his ‘pipe down’!” Blair avowed.
“Up with that pipe would be even better,” Alita proposed.
A quarter hour later, they stumbled across their first significant find of the day. The lime tree was in Roberts’s sector, upon which they immediately converged.
“At least we won’t have to worry about getting scurvy,” Blair said. “Not that we’ll be here that long… I hope.”
“Hey! This is great! A little rum, and we’d have the makings for banana daiquiris,” Frazer noted. “I wouldn’t mind getting a little sloshed right now. My leg is killing me.”
Roberts considered this a moment. “You know, there just might be a way to make us some home brew out of something on the island. That breadfruit maybe, or fermented coconuts. You can do it with everything from grain to potatoes, so one of these foods ought to do the trick.”
“I’d settle for tea or coffee, myself,” Blair put in.
“I’d be tickled with lime-flavored water, if only we had the water,” Kelly added.
They loaded up on limes, stuffing their pockets full.
“Okay,” Zach commanded, hoisting Sydney up on his shoulders. “Back to the search, troops.”
Slowly, they began to disburse, dragging their feet like students reluctantly returning to class after recess. They’d taken but a few steps when Zach let out a yell loud enough to send the birds fleeing the treetops. Kelly whirled around, only to stare stupidly at the empty spot beside her—where Zach had been just a second ago.
Chapter 8
B efore Kelly could comprehend what had happened, Gavin came dashing across the small clearing, his hands held straight out in front of him, palms up. He dived into Kelly, bowling her aside, and in the next instant Sydney fell into Gavin’s open arms.
“What
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