Mystery on Majestic Mountain (Kristi Cameron Book 9)

by Cynthia Griffith

  “First things we need to do are a few chores,” Steve replied. “Dan and Pete, I’m going to show you how to chop firewood. There’s a small woodpile out there now, but it looks like we could use some more wood for the fireplace before the weekend is over. Besides, I want to leave a good-sized stack for Dave and Suzanne the next time they come up here. Kind of a thank-you for their hospitality.” He turned to his youngest son. “Skeeter, you’re going to stack the wood as they cut it. There’s a trick to it so it doesn’t all fall over, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  “That sounds cool!” the guys all chimed in.

  “Just be careful with the ax, though, fellows,” Rachel said. “The only limbs I want to see chopped are tree limbs, okay? Let’s leave all the arms and legs in place!”

  Skeeter couldn’t resist. He jumped up from the table and hopped around on one leg, holding the other foot up behind him so that it looked like he was missing the bottom part of his leg. “Who-o-o chopped me leg off? Who-o-o chopped me leg off?” he chanted in a spooky voice. “Gimme back my leg!” he shouted as he came up behind Robyn and grabbed her by the back of the neck.

  She shrieked and then started to laugh. “Ooo! It’s Whack-Whack the Lumberjack! I’m scared!”

  “You’d better be, Missy! I’ve got me trusty little ax and—whack-whack—I’m ba-a-ack! A-ha-ha-ha-ha!” He wiggled his eyebrows and leered at Robyn as he laughed evilly. Robyn giggled even more.

  “You two are a case!” Kristi said, rolling her eyes. “Do me a favor, would you guys?” she said to Dan and Pete. “Hide the ax when you’re done! Those two are so goofy; somebody really will end up losing a leg—or at least a toe! And I just hate the sight of blood!”

  “Well, if you’re all done for the moment, I’ll tell you girls your chores,” Rachel said. “After you’ve washed the dishes, of course, I thought maybe you’d like to bake some cookies. I was going to bake them before we left, but I just ran out of time yesterday. I brought the stuff for chocolate chip, jumbo raisin nut and peanut blossoms. Oh, and I brought a brownie mix, too, if one of you would like to do that!”

  “Ooo, yummy, Mom! Now that is the kind of chore I like to do!” Kristi said.

  Skeeter chimed in, “Me, too!” He speared the last pancake and then said, “Chopping the wood and stacking it sounds a lot more fun than vacuuming and folding laundry!”

  “I’m glad you like your chores so well! Then you won’t have any problem with cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors before we leave on Monday, right?” Rachel asked, looking around at the teens with a big grin on her face. She was met with moans and groans, but it didn’t faze her at all!

  “Well, here’s the good news,” Steve said. “If we can have all this stuff done by—oh, say two or two thirty, we can go on a hike. How does that sound?”

  “Sounds great, Dad, but what about cross-country skiing? Could we do that, instead?” Dan asked hopefully.

  “We’ll do that, Dan, but I think we should wait for morning. The sun’s been pretty warm today. The snow may be slushy, and that makes it hard to ski. If we wait until morning, it’ll be cooler and the snow will be better. We may even get a little dusting of snow tonight—powder, they call it. That will be the best.”

  “Snow? In the springtime?” Kristi asked. “We’ve been wearing shorts and flip-flops back home!”

  “Oh, yeah! Spring snowstorms are not unusual in the mountains, Kristi.”

  “Well, let’s get busy then if we’re going to hike today,” Rachel said. “I don’t mind snow if we’re skiing, but I want beautiful weather for a hike!”

  The cabin smelled delicious by the time the girls were done with their baking. They had each mixed up a batch, and Rachel had mixed the brownie batter. The entire cabin had a rustic feel, but the kitchen was totally modern with everything they could possibly want for a baking marathon. With all of them working together and the large double ovens they were able to finish quickly.

  The boys came in just as they pulled the last cookie sheets out of the ovens. They weren’t at all shy about begging for cookies, warm out of the oven. “Aww, come on!” Skeeter wheedled. “We’re hardworking, woodchopping men! Mountain men! Hardy lumberjacks! Hungry men!”

  The girls hooted at that. Rachel had mercy on them, however. “Alright, my little wood-stacking Whack-Whack! You and your lumberjack buddies help yourselves, but kindly leave some for tonight! And be ready to go in ten minutes! Your dad said if we want a good hike before dark, we need to get going.”

  The girls and Kristi’s parents were waiting outside for them ten minutes later. The afternoon sun was warm, but they had tied their jackets around their waists in case it got chilly before they returned. They each had a bottle of water and a couple powerbars in their pockets. Steve was wearing a backpack that contained a small first aid kit and other emergency supplies. Always be prepared, was his motto.

  Skeeter had “just one more” cookie in his hand as he joined them. His hiking boots were untied and his jacket was dragging on the ground but as long as he had that last cookie, he was ready!

  They headed off into the woods west of the cabin. There was still a lot of snow up above them on the higher slopes of Majestic Mountain, but the area around them and down below was thawing out. The teenagers pressed on ahead of Rachel and Steve, eager to see what was over the next hill or through the next thicket of trees. “Don’t get too far ahead of us!” Steve called. “You’re not allowed to get lost, you know!”

  They caught up with the teens on the edge of a small meadow. “Shh!” Kristi warned quietly. “Look!” In the meadow, near the trees on the other side, were several deer grazing in the grass.

  “Those are mule deer,” Steve whispered. “See their long ears? That’s how they got their name—their ears are long, like a mule’s.”

  “Ooo—look at that!” Anna murmured softly. She pointed. Two more deer had stepped cautiously out of the trees—a mother and baby. The baby looked very new. He was gangly and a little uncoordinated on his long legs, but he followed his mother wherever she went, trying to nurse from her whenever she stopped to graze.

  “Awww!” the girls cooed at the precious sight. One of the bucks lifted his head and looked in their direction. When he didn’t see any danger, he eventually went back to his sweet grass. Steve put his finger to his lips to warn them to be quiet, and started backing away. He beckoned for the others to follow.

  They were headed back in the direction of the cabin when they came to a stream. “Do you think this is the same one that is near the cabin, Dad?” Dan asked.

  Steve shrugged. “We could follow it, I suppose—as long as it runs in the direction we’re going. I don’t want to get lost.”

  “I’ve got my compass,” Pete spoke up. “I’ve been keeping track of where we are. As long as we keep going in a northeast direction, we’ll be fine.”

  “Attaboy, Pete! You lead the way, then!” Steve said.

  The stream wound back and forth a bit, but for the most part, continued in the direction they were heading. The current was strong and the water bubbled and boiled over the rocks and boulders in its way. They came to a narrow section of the stream where several big rocks stood out from the water and Skeeter wasted no time in leaping out to the first rock.

  “Skeeter! Get back here!” Rachel yelled. “You’re going to fall!” It was too late. Skeeter was already halfway across and jumping to the next rock. Sure enough—just as his mom yelled, his foot slipped on the wet rock. He managed to stay on his feet, but the water was up to his knees and pulling at him. He scrambled back onto the rock.

  “Aww, man! That water is cold!” he exclaimed as he huddled on the rock. “Brrrr—frigid!”

  “Skeeter Cameron! You come back right this instant!” His mother insisted. “Do you need Dad to come out there and help you?” Steve’s head whipped around and he gave her a look. There was no way he was going into that icy water unless he had to!

  “Nah! I’m fine. I’m coming.” Skeeter stood
up, balancing carefully so that he wouldn’t end up in the water again. He teetered, swinging his arms wildly. Suddenly he stopped and said, “Hey! What’s that?” He slowly knelt down again on the rock and then got down on his belly.

  “Skeeter! What on earth are you doing?” Rachel screeched. “Get back here!”

  “Just a minute, Mom! I’m coming!” He was fishing around in the water, while his feet hung off the other side in the water. He tugged a bit, stopping for a moment to clutch the rock so he wouldn’t slide off. Finally he came up with—something. “Look!” he shouted back at them triumphantly. He managed to get back on his knees and stand up again. He picked up the soaking wet bundle he had pulled out of the water and without a care in the world, leaped from rock to rock back to their side of the creek.

  By that time he was soaking wet and shivering, but beaming from ear to ear. “Skeeter Cameron!” his dad bellowed. “The next time your mother calls you, you stop whatever you’re doing and you come!”

  “Yes, sir! Sorry, Mom! But look what I found!” He shook out the soggy mass he held against his chest and held it up. “Uh—what is it?”

  It was some kind of clothing—a shirt and pants all in one that zipped up the front. It was bright orange. “That’s a jumpsuit,” Steve frowned, looking at Rachel. She looked startled.

  “What are those numbers on the front, Dad, and those initials on the back?” Kristi asked. “CSP?”

  Her parents didn’t answer for a moment but Dan spoke up. “I know. That’s a prison jumpsuit, isn’t it, Dad? CSP—California State Prison.”

  “What’s it doing way out here in the creek, then?” Robyn asked. She looked scared. The other girls glanced around nervously.

  There was silence for a moment and then Steve said, “Well, it might have been put there by an escaped convict, but then maybe it got there some other way. And who knows how long ago it was put there? It could have been months—even years ago.”

  “It was kind of stuck between some rocks—like maybe it washed down here from somewhere else. So maybe the guy who wore this was never actually around this place at all,” Skeeter pointed out.

  “Well,” Rachel said briskly, “I say we all get back to the cabin anyway. Skeeter is going to catch pneumonia out here all soaking wet, and it’s getting late, anyway. How about if I make some homemade pizza for supper tonight? Umm—pizza, cookies and brownies, board games, a fire burning in the fireplace… Sounds like a plan to me!”

  The thought of pizza and the fun evening ahead took their minds off scarier thoughts—some people’s minds, that is. Kristi walked close to her dad on the way back. “What are you going to do with that?” she quietly asked him, pointing at the jumpsuit he was carrying.

  “I think I’ll try to call the authorities when we get back, Kristi. Not because I’m scared, but just because I think they should know we found it.”

  “What do you think, Daddy? Do you think the guy who wore it was around here recently?

  “I don’t know, Kristi.”

  She looked around. It was beautiful—so green and calm and serene—and lonely. “We sure are out here a long way from other people,” she said nervously. “It’s a little freaky not having anyone else around.” She didn’t say it, but she was thinking, “…and no help nearby.”

  Steve stopped and looked at his daughter. “Kristi, let’s not forget that we are not alone. We are in God’s hands wherever we are, and help is just as close as the mention of His name. You are as safe here, Kristi, as you are back home in your own bed, so don’t worry, okay?”

  She took his hand. “Okay, Daddy, I won’t. I’ll pray instead.”

  ___________

  CHAPTER THREE

  ___________

  Whiteout!

  Steve wasn’t able to get through on his cell phone that night, and he didn’t have any success the next morning, either. He shook his head in frustration. “Just can’t get a signal up here. Dave said that’s why they don’t have television up here, either. Even satellite TV is sketchy, at best, because of all the storms, so they don’t bother with it.” No one mentioned finding the prison jumpsuit the day before, but they were all thinking about it.

  “There’s a radio over there,” Pete said. “Has anyone tried that yet?” He walked over and flipped the switch. They heard mostly static as he dialed the tuner back and forth, with an occasional garbled word or snatch of a song coming through every now and then. He finally turned it off. “Guess that doesn’t work, either.”

  “And no internet, either. Wow,” Rachel said, “When Dave and Suzanne say they come to “get away from it all,” they really mean it, don’t they?”

  “Hey!” Kristi called out. She was standing at the picture window in the great room. “It snowed a little bit last night! You were right, Dad! Snow in April!”

  Skeeter rushed over to the window. “Cool! That will make for some really nice cross-country skiing today! We’re still going, aren’t we, Dad?”

  “Sure! Let’s leave early, though, while the snow is still good. Dress warmly. It might be April, but in case you haven’t noticed—snow is cold! You can always peel off a layer or two if you get too warm. Thirty minutes, okay?”

  “You all go get ready,” Rachel said to the teenagers. “I’ll clear the table and wash the breakfast dishes. I don’t think I’m going to ski today. I’m going to curl up with a book in front of the fireplace while you’re gone and enjoy the peace and quiet!”

  “Thanks, Mom! Thank you, Mrs. Cameron!” the kids called as they raced out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

  Skeeter didn’t waste any time. He scooted up the ladder to his little loft as soon as he got to his room. “What are you doing up there, Skeeter?” Dan asked, puzzled. “You’re supposed to be getting ready to go!”

  “I left my snow goggles up here! The ones with the orange lenses!” he called down. They couldn’t see him but they could hear him scrambling around.

  “Your snow goggles? Why did you take them up there?”

  “Oh, I was just pretending they were night vision goggles. This is my spy hideout now!” His head appeared. “And it was pretty boring, too. I was spying on you guys while you were asleep. Pete, did you know you do this when you’re sleeping—smack, smack, smack, smack?” He smacked his lips together lightly. “And Dan, you drool. It was pretty gross!” The older boys rolled their eyes and shook their heads. “Hey! Could one of you guys toss me my flashlight? I can’t find my goggles. They must have gotten shoved out of the way up here.”

  Dan found Skeeter’s flashlight under his bunk and climbed up a couple steps of the ladder to hand it to him. “You’d better hurry up, Bro! You’re going to be late!” he warned. “We’re going on downstairs.” They gathered up their parkas, gloves and hats and headed out.

  “Whoa!” they heard from the loft just as they reached the door. Pete and Dan looked at each other. “I found something!” Skeeter shouted.

  Dan quickly stepped across the hall and beckoned quietly to the girls. They followed him back just as Skeeter came tumbling down the ladder almost head first in his excitement. He caught himself just before he hit the floor. It didn’t seem to faze him in the least. “Look what I found!” he yelled. “Gold! I found gold! Eureka!”

  “Gold? You’re kidding! Get outta here, Skeeter!” the other teenagers all exclaimed as they pretended to be surprised. “Let me see!”

  Skeeter held up the little velvet bag and the chunk of pyrite. “Look! This is huge! It’s gotta be one of the biggest nuggets of gold, ever!” He weighed it in his hand and held it up to the light to see it sparkle.

  “Wow, Skeeter! It’s so pretty!” Robyn exclaimed with a wink at Kristi and Anna.

  “Where did you find it?” Pete asked, trying to hide his grin.

  “It was hidden in between a couple of the logs up there. It looks like it could have been there a long time!”

  “Hey, you’re rich now, Skeeter!” Dan said. “You might even be a millionaire!”

  �
��Well, not really,” Skeeter said seriously. “It doesn’t belong to me. It’s Dave and Suzanne’s. Even if they didn’t hide it there, it became theirs when they bought the house.”

  The other kids looked at each other. Well, at least he was honest! You had to give him credit for that!

  “Besides, even if they let me keep it,” Skeeter went on, “I would sell it and give the money to feed hungry little children around the world! And give some of the money to missionaries to buy Bibles to pass out! Oh, and maybe I would help some poor person who needs an operation but doesn’t have the money, have their operation after all! And buy Seeing Eye dogs for blind people!” His own eyes looked a little watery as he thought of all the people he could help with that hunk of gold.

  They were beginning to feel guilty now. Skeeter had such a good heart! What a guy!

  He looked around at them with a sober face. “And anyway, the Bible says that there are more important things in life than gold. Proverbs tells us, How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And Psalms 119:127 says, Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. I learned those verses in Sunday School just a couple weeks ago. Oh, and remember what it says in Matthew about not laying up for ourselves treasure on earth, but to lay up our treasures in heaven, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Remember that? Huh?”

  Wow. Now they really felt bad. They had tried to fool Skeeter, and all he had done was turn the tables on them and made them feel like a bunch of fools! They looked around at each other with guilt and shame written all over their faces. “Uh, Skeeter, there’s something you should know…” Dan began.

  Skeeter burst out laughing “What? That this isn’t really gold? That it’s pyrite?” He cracked up even more at the look of shock on all their faces. “I know the difference between gold and fool’s gold, you guys! I had to write a report for science last year on minerals! I found your little joke last night and it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Here’s your jewelry bag, Kristi,” he said as he tossed it to her. “I recognized that, too! And then I had all night long to think about how I was going to pay you back! Now, who’s the fool??? Maybe you’ll all remember this the next time you try to play a joke on me! You just can’t out-prank the best prankster in this family!” Skeeter picked up his mittens and ski hat. “Oh, and by the way—I wasn’t really using my snow goggles for night vision goggles. What do you think I am—a dumb little kid? My goggles are right here inside my mitten! But Dan—you really do drool, and Pete, you smack your lips when you sleep! Now, I’m going skiing! Anyone going with me?”