The Hike
We all gathered for the hike after breakfast, Steve seemed delighted at the turn out.
"We are going to have a most wonderful time," Steve promised, and Willie looked around, no Chum, most unusual. Remmy was standing by one of the girls pretending not to notice old card shark Rickie and Charlie.
"Now I want everyone to have a buddy," Steve said smiling, as he looked at the trees and trail ahead.
Willie and I stood together and Davie said hopefully, "Steve can I be your buddy?"
I don’t know why but it bothered Skeeter for kids to call adults by their first name unless they had a cool nick name like Polka Pop.
"Sure, everyone got a buddy?" Steve asked looking at the paired up kids.
"I don’t sir," Remmy said.
"Me neither," Karli said smiling at Remmy, who looked mildly shocked.
"But sir. . ." Remmy started.
"Come on you don’t think I can keep up?" Karli said grinning.
Willie and Skeeter exchanged glances and tried not to grin too, this was better then they hoped. Karli knew they were up to something and had offered to help. She was so grateful they had saved Misty.
Remmy glanced at Steve and Davie and sighed, "Oh very well then I shall endeavor to not show her up to badly"
"All right then shall we go." Steve said merrily checking all had a buddy.
I looked around to see who all had came Dinah and Diane had, as well as Johnny who had brought some bug jars, and I wondered what Steve would say about that, he was paired with a kid I didn’t know probably a new sucker for the Hearts game. The thin lady councilor her name was Alicia I think had came as well. Snider and Spike also were in the line up.
Willie pointed out the black haired girl that tried to help Topaz was with Mandy. Mandy and the girl were talking, besides the twins, and Karli, they were the only girls there the other fourteen were boys. That made nineteen not twenty and both Skeeter and Willie wondered where Chum was.
The first quarter of the hike was normal, everyone talking or just enjoying the view which was beautiful I suppose, Willie liked it but the woods always sort of scared me.
Mandy and Debbie the dark haired girl were watching Ricky and Charlie, Karli had arranged this because they would be less suspicious of the girls.
Mandy would report later that Ricky and Charlie kept looking to the left of the trail as if searching for something.
It was hot and the trail had began to climb.
Johnny and his buddy had a quarrel over a lizard that Johnny had caught. I thought this was a ruse, and it was but Willie and I were to far ahead and I was sure the girls had been too distracted to tell us where they had gone.
Karli pointed the way though and we had to go into the trees, Skeeter’s heart was beating wildly as he followed Willie.
Karli later told him that during the commotion Remmy had slipped away and she had not seen where he had gone but she had an idea it was the wrong way.
"Come on Charlie, this is the right trail I am sure of it," Ricky said almost pushing his friend along.
"Are you sure Ricky this don’t look so good," Charlie sniveled, why had he agreed to come with Ricky, because he owed him four bucks was why and Ricky had promised to forget his debt if he came.
"I shoulda brought Johnny," Ricky said punching Charlie’s arm, "Come on."
But Johnny had only owed him a buck and he was earning that by distracting Steve and the woman councilor.
Willie and Skeeter "I can hear them," Willie hissed.
Skeeter nodded, and wondered if he should have let Karli come with Willie she had wanted to.
They moved toward the sound but by the time the found the over grown trail there was no sign of Ricky and Charlie.
Willie looked at the grass and nodded smiling and pointed up the trail.
Skeeter blinked and saw nothing he was surely a failure in Topaz’s tracking school, Willie had absorbed it all though, he saw the bent blades of grass and the broken weeds.
Willie and Skeeter hurried along but not too fast they wanted to see where they were going and not catch them.
"Put it back Johnny," Diane said angrily.
"Put the poor thing back and leave it alone," Dinah agreed, blocking his path.
"Silly girls I oughta punch ya," Johnny threatened trying to scare Dinah with the lizard.
She just glared at him not flinching.
"Johnny that is enough, we are here to observe wild life not capture or kill it," Steve said angrily.
Karli looked around and saw Remmy had slipped off a bush to left.
She sighed, and wondered what she should do.
"Where is Ricky," Davie hissed in her ear.
She shrugged.
"Should I tell Steve?" he asked.
"Not yet, maybe he went to take a wee," she said.
He looked embarrassed and Karli almost laughed, but didn’t.
She had to buy them time, not much just enough to make sure Steve who was as sharp as could be couldn’t find them in five minutes flat.
"This is it, the map said volcanic rock trail," Ricky said grinning, as he yanked Charlie onto the little path.
"Are- are you sure?" Charlie asked he was getting scared.
"Sure I am following the map now come on Charlie, too bad Chum got caught stealing those snacks," Ricky grumbled, Chum was a lot easier to deal with then wimpy Charlie and Remmy was too smart and Johnny too loud and obnoxious to listen, Spike was out though he played with them he did win some but he was too honest. So here he was stuck with whine master Charlie.
Charlie thought miserably he should have just swallowed his pride and written his mother for the money, he would have been scolded but anything was better then being eaten by bears.
"Hey this stuff is gooey or wet," Charlie complained as they walked by some small waterfall.
Then suddenly he shrieked he had walked into a spider web and started crying, "Get it off! Help!"
It wasn’t long and Skeeter and Willie knew they were close they peeked around the corner and saw tracks in the old cinders then the heard the shriek.
"You dumb ox Charlie," Ricky griped.
Skeeter giggled and Willie scowled at him and put a finger to his lips.
"I saw a meadow back there we can cut through that and wait for them, without going through that bog," Willie whispered.
Willie was right and there was a meadow and Skeeter could see he was right, the trees that grew around the bog circled in a rough crescent shape and they could cut minutes off their time..
Meanwhile Remmy had crossed that same meadow thinking he would get to the bottom of what Ricky was up to and saw a wolf, at least that is what he thought it was, and screamed. The puppy an English Shepherd belonging to the forest ranger thought he wanted to play and gave chase, Remmy screamed and ran for his life.
"Did you hear something?" Willie asked.
"Probably Charlie," Skeeter chuckled.
Willie looked at him, and sighed, "It wouldn’t be funny if they really get hurt and we could have stopped them.
"No," Skeeter sighed, sometimes Willie was way to serious, "but you have to admit he looked pretty funny with spider web all over him."
Skeeter thought Sid would have laughed so loud and long, that it would have given away their presence.
"Come on," Willie said smiling slightly.
Willie laughed and nodded. Then sobered as they heard another scream.
The puppy chewed on his boot when Remmy tried to kick him, and then tried to herd him back to the herd of kids and adults he smelled.
"Get away! You!" Remmy cried. "It’s right over that hill," Willie said.
Suddenly the Forest Ranger blew his dog whistled and the pup bounded away.
Willie ran towards the sound, he was fast and Skeeter’s feet tangled and he fell, with a little oooofffff, that Willie didn’t hear.
"Remmy what are you doing here?" Willie asked
"Being chased by that wolf," Remmy panted.
"What wolf?" Willie asked, remembering Steve saying wolves went into the mountains in summer but there might be a few honey bears.
"The wolf . . . behind me," the boy panted and looked around.
"Come on you are going to get lost out here," Willie sighed, thinking they would loose the nimrods they had been trailing but Remmy was going to get hurt.
"Take your hands off of me you plebeian!" Remmy growled and slapped Willie soundly.
"What did you call my friend," Skeeter said making a fist, and Willie saw Skeeter angry for the first time, he thought his smallish skinny friend was going to punch old Remmy out.
"It just means commoner is all," Remmy said quickly his eyes widening with fear, first a mad wolf attacks him and now this kid.
"You best get back to the group," Willie warned and knew in his heart Skeeter really was his friend, Remmy was bigger and a rich kid like him probably had judo lessons or something.
"Get!" Skeeter snapped and punched him in the upper arm.
"You can’t make me you are not the boss of me," Remmy snapped.
Remmy ran off right back towards the group. And later Karli would tell them that he had slipped in just as Steve was telling the group about mockingbirds.
"Skeeter thanks," Willie said.
"What a nimrod and here I was just thinking he was a pretty smart kid," Skeeter sighed.
"He is and he isn’t, come on," Willie said.
Skeeter looked at him and smiled, and knew what he meant at once.
Both Willie and Skeeter were discovering they really liked and understood one another more then they had in the club, where Butch ran things and Topaz helped and smoothed things out.
"What are you doing now, come on Charlie," Ricky groaned.
"I am washing the spider web off of me its so yucky," Charlie sniveled.
"We don’t have time for that, treasure awaits," Ricky said waving the map at him like a man might threaten a puppy that piddled on the carpet.
"They have some kind of map," Willie whispered as Skeeter and he watched the boys.
Skeeter was amazed how short of a distance they had traveled, where he and Willie waited was a bit ahead of them.
Finally the two boys walked past where Skeeter and Willie hid and again they heard the word treasure and something about Duck Island. Skeeter knew where they were going he took the map he had traced from his pocket, he said nothing for fear that Ricky would hear but pointed to the map. Willie grinned and nodded. Topaz was right Skeeter might be clumsy and even bumbling but he was clever.
"Let’s go around that way I think from the look of the map this meadow extends almost to the river." Willie said.
Skeeter liked the meadow, reminded him of a big park, they climbed up and could see water.
"I don’t see that island, I wish we had a compass." Willie sighed.
The sun is our compass it is almost overhead but not quite our shadows are pointing west our noses are pointing North," Skeeter explained.
"How did . . ." Willie started, then remembered Topaz telling them that.
"Topaz," They both said together and laughed.
"Pinch you owe me a Coke," Skeeter said pinching Willie lightly.
"I owe you a Coke," Willie agreed, and much more he thought smiling slightly, now that Skeeter was clear headed from his earlier panic in the forest he was beginning to reason things out.
They trudged on not trying to think how good that coke would taste.
Suddenly Skeeter grabbed his arm, and said in a soft voice "look."
Willie tried to see the water but he could hear it.
But then he noticed what Skeeter was really looking at, there was the ranger station.
"We’re lost?" Willie asked.
"No, according to the map this trail leads to the water and the ranger station is a quarter mile away." Skeeter said swatting at some gnats but their was a big smile on his sunburned face.
"Oh neat," he said and sighed, he really should have paid attention to Topaz’s talk about maps.
"My dad is right," Willie sighed as they neared where the other two boys were arguing.
Skeeter raised his eyebrows
"About listening and learning and getting what you can about experiences," Willie whispered
Skeeter nodded sagely thinking Willie’s dad had it right it wasn’t all about grades it was about what you learned and cocked his head.
Willie heard it too, and they moved towards the sound.
"My feet are soaked," Charlie whined, "Oh nuts!" Willie stifled a giggle.
"Charlie just stay there," Ricky’s chain saw voice cut through the woods.
"My new boots mom is going to . . ." Charlie whimpered.
"Shut up," Ricky said and both Willie and Skeeter jumped
They were right next to a cliff and they could look down and see the other boys by a small island
Charlie was almost in tears and Ricky was going on and on about the treasure.
Skeeter backed away and Willie followed, and Skeeter motioned for him to follow further yet.
"Lets get back to the group," Skeeter said glancing at shadows and the way the land lay, this way.
Willie nodded he knew how much bravery this took his new friend. Skeeter did not like the woods but he concentrated on the map and the mission and forgot he was in the woods.
Carefully they crossed the meadow and stopped near some trees where the trail wound down to a split, to their surprise Steve and the group were already there. But there was some kind of disruption and Willie and Skeeter slipped up behind Karli.
"What is going on," Skeeter whispered.
Willie hoped they would be all right.
"Remmy got lost and thought a puppy was a wolf," Karli giggled
"Steve was doing a head count but the forest ranger came up he spotted two kids near there," Mandy added smiling at Skeeter.
Willie and Skeeter cut their eyes to Karli, "Anyone notice we were gone?"
"No and I think Remmy saw you but I stepped on his foot," Spike said grinning.
We smiled at Spike. He was all right in our book.
Steve arranged for the forest ranger to pick up the boys and take them back to camp, and he didn't seem very happy.
The forest ranger and his friendly pup were glad to give Steve a hand and show him the map and where he spotted two boys on Duck Island.
We were starved and pretty tired by the time we reached the Thames and the picnic area where scout waited with tucker as Steve called it.
Looked more like hamburgers to me and Willie, and they were slightly cool but we were so hungry it didn't matter and to go with them their were chips and coke and it all tasted so good.
We all knew by the lecture we got as we ate that Card Shark Ricky and charlie were in serious trouble. Remmy looked at us and made a lip zipping motion, Willie and I nodded.
If he didn't tell on us, we wouldn't tell on him. None of us wanted to be in that kind of trouble, and we knew Karli and Mandi were the only ones that knew we had slipped off and they wouldn't tell!