RUNAWAY TWINS and RUNAWAY TWINS IN ALASKA: BOXED SET by Pete Palamountain Page B
Book: RUNAWAY TWINS and RUNAWAY TWINS IN ALASKA: BOXED SET by Pete Palamountain
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Authors: Pete Palamountain
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in their tracks unable to function or to attempt an escape in either direction. When they came to their senses, they all began to run toward Justin's oak tree, with J.J. Flack in the lead. "You bloody fool!" he shouted back at the guard who had fired the pistol, "you've killed us!"
**
The young people watched in wonder as the scene developed below them. "The gunshots did it!" cried Janie. "Why would they fire a gun down there?"
"Because one of them is stupid," said Justin. "I'd guess it was a signal of some sort. They couldn't hope to hit us at this distance."
The landslide had now reached its maximum velocity, and it was clear the four men would soon be engulfed; but they had not given up and were making a last ditch effort to save their lives. The Prophet was still in the lead, with Chuky close behind and the guards in the rear.
"They'll never make it!" Justin shouted, his voice almost drowned out by the roar of the landslide. "Flack's close, but not close enough. He'll be swept away with the others. Watch." It was a ridiculous command, for there was no way the girls would turn away from what was happening to their pursuers. The disaster below was like a high-energy action movie being screened solely for their benefit. The Prophet lengthened his stride in desperation, and the squat Chuky somehow managed to keep pace. The guards were now lagging badly, almost as if they had caught a vision of their doom and were resigned to it. The wave of snow and rubble caught the two men in mid-stride and lifted them high in the air and hurled them hundreds of feet into the valley.
"And now for the Siberian," said Justin, "and then Flack himself."
But Chuky apparently had other ideas, at least when it came to his boss. A fraction of a second before the wall of snow reached them, Chuky dove forward into the Prophet's back and propelled him out of the path of danger. Chuky himself was not so lucky. He fell face down some distance behind Flack; and the edge of the landslide struck him at the waist, spun him around, and buried his head beneath thirty feet of snow.
19
Blizzard
It had snowed without stopping throughout the day. Large billowy flakes stuck to the ground and accumulated in piles and drifts that made hiking without snowshoes extremely difficult. Each step the runaways took was a challenge—knee deep in slush, strain to extract the leg, and repeat the process over and over again.
"I'm tired and I'm hungry," said Janie. "Let's stop for a rest and some more rabbit. We've put a lot of miles between us and the search party by now."
Justin pulled his leg from the deep snow. "There's a cedar grove up ahead. We can rest there, but we'd better save the second rabbit for later. We don't know when we'll find something else to eat."
Rachel said, "Rest then. Janie and I are dead on our feet."
At the cedar grove they found a spot where the falling snow was partially blocked by the trees, and they spread out their silver tarp as if they were preparing for a picnic. Janie and Rachel collapsed in exhaustion, and Justin stood looking at the dark sky.
"Boy, would that second rabbit taste good right now," said Rachel. But she laughed to make it clear she knew that Justin was right in saving their food until it might be needed desperately.
"They'll never be able to track us in all this goop," said Janie.
"No," said Justin, "but I'll bet they have snowshoes, and that means they can move a lot faster than we can."
"If they're moving at all," said Janie. "When we saw the Prophet stumbling down the mountain, he looked like he might run all the way back to Sheba Hill."
"Not likely," said Justin. "He'll chase you two till his last breath."
**
The remaining eight members of the search party had set up a base camp north of the valley the landslide had destroyed. The bruised and bandaged Prophet sat under a sloping awning that had been strung to protect him from the falling snow. One of the Sheba Hill guards approached him and began to
**
The young people watched in wonder as the scene developed below them. "The gunshots did it!" cried Janie. "Why would they fire a gun down there?"
"Because one of them is stupid," said Justin. "I'd guess it was a signal of some sort. They couldn't hope to hit us at this distance."
The landslide had now reached its maximum velocity, and it was clear the four men would soon be engulfed; but they had not given up and were making a last ditch effort to save their lives. The Prophet was still in the lead, with Chuky close behind and the guards in the rear.
"They'll never make it!" Justin shouted, his voice almost drowned out by the roar of the landslide. "Flack's close, but not close enough. He'll be swept away with the others. Watch." It was a ridiculous command, for there was no way the girls would turn away from what was happening to their pursuers. The disaster below was like a high-energy action movie being screened solely for their benefit. The Prophet lengthened his stride in desperation, and the squat Chuky somehow managed to keep pace. The guards were now lagging badly, almost as if they had caught a vision of their doom and were resigned to it. The wave of snow and rubble caught the two men in mid-stride and lifted them high in the air and hurled them hundreds of feet into the valley.
"And now for the Siberian," said Justin, "and then Flack himself."
But Chuky apparently had other ideas, at least when it came to his boss. A fraction of a second before the wall of snow reached them, Chuky dove forward into the Prophet's back and propelled him out of the path of danger. Chuky himself was not so lucky. He fell face down some distance behind Flack; and the edge of the landslide struck him at the waist, spun him around, and buried his head beneath thirty feet of snow.
19
Blizzard
It had snowed without stopping throughout the day. Large billowy flakes stuck to the ground and accumulated in piles and drifts that made hiking without snowshoes extremely difficult. Each step the runaways took was a challenge—knee deep in slush, strain to extract the leg, and repeat the process over and over again.
"I'm tired and I'm hungry," said Janie. "Let's stop for a rest and some more rabbit. We've put a lot of miles between us and the search party by now."
Justin pulled his leg from the deep snow. "There's a cedar grove up ahead. We can rest there, but we'd better save the second rabbit for later. We don't know when we'll find something else to eat."
Rachel said, "Rest then. Janie and I are dead on our feet."
At the cedar grove they found a spot where the falling snow was partially blocked by the trees, and they spread out their silver tarp as if they were preparing for a picnic. Janie and Rachel collapsed in exhaustion, and Justin stood looking at the dark sky.
"Boy, would that second rabbit taste good right now," said Rachel. But she laughed to make it clear she knew that Justin was right in saving their food until it might be needed desperately.
"They'll never be able to track us in all this goop," said Janie.
"No," said Justin, "but I'll bet they have snowshoes, and that means they can move a lot faster than we can."
"If they're moving at all," said Janie. "When we saw the Prophet stumbling down the mountain, he looked like he might run all the way back to Sheba Hill."
"Not likely," said Justin. "He'll chase you two till his last breath."
**
The remaining eight members of the search party had set up a base camp north of the valley the landslide had destroyed. The bruised and bandaged Prophet sat under a sloping awning that had been strung to protect him from the falling snow. One of the Sheba Hill guards approached him and began to
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