Phantoms in the Snow by Kathleen Benner Duble

around an icy curve. At the end, Noah was sweating profusely, yet marveling at the thrill of the ride.
    Cam was the last one to ski. Wiley, who was driving this time, floored the jeep and sped down the road. Cam was hooting and hollering, and they were all laughing as Cam tried to ski from side to side. They rounded a curve, and Cam’s eyes suddenly widened. Noah turned to look. There was a mailbox on the side of the road. Cam couldn’t move back to center fast enough. He smashed into the box, letting go of the towrope in the process. Wiley slammed on the brakes, sending the jeep into a ninety-degree turn before coming to a stop.
    They all jumped out of the car and hurried back to the mailbox. Cam was sitting up and looking a bit woozy.
    “Cam!” Wiley shouted. “Are you all right?”
    “Didn’t see that coming!” Cam slurred before falling over into a heap.
    “Get him into the jeep,” Roger commanded them.
    As if they were in the midst of battle, the boys all went into action. Bill took one of Cam’s legs and Wiley took the other. Roger grabbed Cam’s right arm, and Noah took the left. They raced toward the jeep, Cam’s dead weight throwing them fromside to side. Carefully, they placed Cam in the back, and then, squishing into the front together, started the jeep up again and turned it around.
    “Is there a hospital in Leadville?” Noah asked as they sped on.
    “Don’t know,” Bill said, his face white. “We’ve never needed one before.”
    “What’ll we do if he’s hurt bad?” Wiley asked. His voice shook.
    “We’re idiots,” Roger said angrily.
    Noah couldn’t agree with him more. He felt awful about this.
    “This is all my fault,” Wiley said, shaking his head. “I was driving.”
    “Cam’s tough. He’ll survive this.”
    “I sure hope so,” Roger said, taking a curve. “The sound of him hitting that mailbox was awful.”
    “And he hit it hard.”
    “Yeah,” Wiley said. “Even the jeep shuddered.”
    “But it will make a good story.”
    “A good story?” Noah sputtered. “How can anyone think about that at a time like this?”
    “Seems as good a thing to think about as anything else.”
    Who was being so callous? They all looked at one another, and then finally turned to the backseat. Cam was sitting up, looking fine and grinning away. “I think I might even have your
uncle
beat with this story, Garrett!”
    The laughter that filled the jeep was louder than before, filled mainly with relief.
    Leadville was a little town of nothing. There were no shops or movie theaters, and the only restaurant in town was the one in the hotel. Still, it felt great to have a room with a real bath, heat, and a pillow and lots of blankets. The boys ate a big steak dinner, and then sat before the fire, talking late into the night.
    “My parents are teachers,” Bill said, “and when I come back from the war, I’m going to go to college to get a degree and then go home to teach. For me, there’s no place on earth that can match Bonners Ferry, Idaho.”
    “Especially with Suzie by your side?” Wiley ribbed him.
    “Sure,” Bill said, turning red. “Wouldn’t be a bad life, being married to her and teaching school. I’ve never had any desire to wander too far from home. Even being here in Colorado makes me homesick.”
    “Not the path for me,” Roger said. “I don’t intend to ever marry. I like freedom too much. I’ve seen my two sisters marry and have kids and work themselves to the bone. Heck, my father spent all his life in Vermont strapped to maple trees pulling syrup just to get by. I want no part of that. Give me the open road and a motorcycle, no responsibilities and a life of adventure.”
    “I don’t know,” Cam spoke up. “Wouldn’t you miss seeing your family, Roger? I miss my mom and my dad and my little brother.
    “He’s only eight, you know,” Cam said, turning to Noah. “You should have seen how proud he was of me when I left to join the war effort.”
    He