Storm Over Hidden Lake (Kristi Cameron Book 6)

by Cynthia Griffith

  They pulled up in front of the lodge a half an hour later, just in time to get in on the tail end of supper. Before the meal was over Skeeter’s cast was already covered in autographs from dozens of campers.

  “Okay, Skeeter,” Robyn said as she signed his cast. “Does this mean I won our little bet about who was the better skier?”

  “I got up quicker than you,” Skeeter said.

  “But I stayed up longer than you.”

  “But I did tricks.”

  “No one ever said anything about doing tricks, Skeeter. And look where it got you,” Robyn pointed out.

  “Well, I still say I’m better than you are.”

  “Okay, I say I’m the smarter skier, then,” Robyn said.

  “No one ever said anything about being a smart skier,” Skeeter came back.

  “Of course not! You’d never win a bet like that!”

  Okay, okay, you two! You’re both winners, okay? Now does that make you happy?” Kristi broke in with a laugh.

  “Yep! As long as I’m the first place winner and she’s the second place winner!” Skeeter grinned.

  “Skeeter! How would you like another broken arm?” Robyn giggled.

  “Ooh, I’m scared! Have mercy on me, Robyn! Have mercy!”

  “Oh, brother!” Kristi said, shaking her head.

  The girls were still laughing when they walked into Redwood Cabin and found Becca in tears. She was all alone. Kristi’s first thought was that Tiffany had said something mean to the retarded girl again. That brat! I could just…! she thought.

  “I lost my money!” Becca sobbed. “Mommy tell me keep it safe here in the pocket of my backpack and I did, but now it’s gone! I must haf dwop it somewhere. Now I can’t buy ice cweam at the snack shack. Oh, and no more cwafts, either!” She really began to wail then.

  “It’s okay, Becca! We’ll help you look for it! Here, let’s check all the compartments in your backpack. Are you sure it’s not in the pocket of your jeans? Or maybe your jacket?” The girls hastened to calm the crying girl. They scurried around the cabin looking under the bunks and in the corners for the lost money. “When was the last time you had it, Becca? How much did you have?”

  “Don’ know how much. I bought ice cweam this afternoon, and I made a keychain at the cwaft shack. Maybe I dwop it somewhere!” She started to cry again.

  Don’t cry, Becca. I have some extra money. I’ll share with you,” Kristi said.

  “Me, too!” Anna added quickly. Soon several of the girls were offering Becca dollars from their own pockets until she was smiling once more and happy at the thought of future ice cream and crafts.

  The rest of the evening went smoothly after that. Pastor Young had a fun game planned for them after supper out on the lawn in front of the lodge—Twisted Twister. It was played like Twister, but with a twist. Instead of the regular Twister sheet, each cabin had a grid of twelve paper plates filled with messy things like oatmeal, mashed potatoes, vanilla pudding, applesauce, whipped cream and mashed bananas. Pastor Young pulled pieces of paper out of two cups—one that said a messy item, and the other that said right foot, left hand, and so forth. There was plenty of squealing, shrieking and groaning going on as the campers stuck their hands and bare feet in the gooey, wet, cold mess. Kristi felt sorry for Skeeter. This was exactly his type of game and he had to sit out because of the cast on his arm. He looked crestfallen.

  By the time they’d played Twisted Twister, gone to the chapel service, eaten popcorn while they watched a movie, and had cabin devotions with Allison, Kristi was ready to drop. It had been an emotionally exhausting day, as well as a very busy, active one, and her eyelids were closing before her head even hit the pillow.

  Her eyes popped open, however, as a single stray thought flitted across her brain just as she was drifting off to sleep. Could it be that Becca’s money had not been lost—but stolen? Sleep was elusive after all, after that thought. Kristi watched the shadows move across the walls of the quiet cabin as she wondered and prayed.

  _________

  CHAPTER SIX

  _________

  Oh-Oh!

  “Whew! We barely made it!” Robyn said as she wiped her brow after the softball game. “That was really close. Aspen almost beat us.”

  “Eleven to ten. Yeah, that’s close,” Kristi agreed. “Well, we move on to the finals tomorrow. Marlee’s a good pitcher, isn’t she? And Sherry and Gina are both strong batters. But Hemlock Cabin has a good team, too. It’s going to be another close game tomorrow.” Kristi pulled a dollar out of her pocket and said, “Come on, girls. Let’s go get something cold at the snack shack. Becca, want to come with us? We’re going to the snack shack. I’ll treat you to an ice cream bar, okay? You did a really good job out there on the field, Becca! You threw that ball nice and straight to Anna. I was proud of you!”

  Becca beamed. “I pwoud of you, too, Kwisti. You only dwopped the ball once!”

  Kristi laughed. “Don’t remind me!”

  Dan, Pete and Skeeter were at the snack shack when they got there. “How’d you do?” Skeeter asked as they walked over to them with their ice cream.

  “We won—barely. How about you?” Robyn answered.

  “We won, too—by a landslide! Fifteen to two!” Skeeter gloated.

  “What do you mean we, Mr. Water Boy?” Dan said. “You sat on the bench the whole time.”

  “Yeah, I know. This broken arm is a bummer. Hey, without my water, though, you probably would have only won fourteen to two!”

  “How’s you arm feeling today, Skeeter?” Kristi asked.

  “Oh, it’s okay. A little sore, maybe. We’re going canoeing and hiking this afternoon,” he said, changing the subject. “You guys wanna come along?”

  “I do cwafts,” Becca spoke up. “I don’ like hiking. It too hot!”

  “Becca’s really good at crafts,” Kristi explained. “But sure, I’d like to go out in a canoe! What about you, Anna and Robyn?”

  The other two girls agreed. “We’ll meet you around one o’clock, then,” Kristi said. “Now we’d better get going or we’ll be late for chapel.”

  The boys were waiting for them by the boathouse after lunch. They already had two canoes ready to go when they got there. “Do you think you girls can manage the canoe on your own?” Pete asked. “Or should one of us go in your canoe to help paddle, and one of you go in ours?”

  “Oh, I think we can handle it,” Kristi said with a smile. “Besides, with Skeeter unable to paddle at all, Dan will probably need your help more than we will.”

  “Yeah, I get to sit back and relax and enjoy the view!” Skeeter grinned.

  “Watch it, Kid! If that canoe gets too hard to paddle, we’ll dump you overboard like a sack of rocks!” Dan threatened.

  They stayed near the shore as they paddled the canoes around the lake. The water was calm. The girls discovered that once they got into the rhythm of it, the canoe shot forward easily through the water. The trickiest part was just getting in and out of the canoe without tipping it, and then staying upright.

  “Sit still!” Dan had to order Skeeter a couple times. His young brother was enjoying the view, alright. Every few minutes he would lean forward and point, “Look, there’s a crane!” Or, “Hey, I see a woodpecker!” Or he would wave enthusiastically to their friends who were further out in the lake on pontoon boats. Their canoe wobbled wildly, and Kristi was just glad Skeeter wasn’t riding with them!

  “The trailhead is supposed to be about a third of the way around,” Pete called over to them. “There’s a sign near the shore that says, “Stormy Pass Trailhead” so we need to watch for it.”

  “How far are we hiking, Pete? And what do we do with the canoes while we’re gone?” Anna asked.

  “The trail is actually a big loop, about two miles long. We’ll pull the canoes up onto the shore, and then circle back to them.”

  “How hard is the trail? I’m with Becca. I want a nice, easy-breezy hike,” Kristi said.

  “
Well, the guy who told me about it said it’s just tough enough to make it fun, but not too hard. Of course, that’s a matter of opinion, so we’ll just have to wait and see what you think, won’t we?” Pete said.

  “Hmm, suddenly I’m not feeling too confident, Pete! I hope we haven’t bitten off more than we can chew!”

  “You’ll be fine, Kristi,” Dan said. “Don’t start worrying about it before we even get there.”

  A few minutes later Skeeter called out, “There’s the sign!” Dan and Pete steered their canoe in the direction Skeeter was pointing and the girls followed. They ran the canoes right up to the shallows before jumping out and pulling them the rest of the way ashore.

  Kristi looked around as she put her shoes back on. The shore here was rocky, not sandy like the beach near the camp. Weeds and wildflowers grew thickly among the rocks. A trail could plainly be seen leading off under the trees. Stormy Pass, she thought. Hmm, I hope that doesn’t mean we’re in for a storm this afternoon.

  As soon as everyone was ready and they had hidden the canoes under the low-hanging branches of a pine tree, they headed up the trail. Dan led the way, but within minutes Skeeter had passed him by in his eagerness to see what was ahead. The trail was pretty much as Pete had described it. There were some smooth, level parts, and others that were a bit of a climb. Large boulders blocked the trail every once in a while. If they could, they went around them, but sometimes they had to clamber over the obstacles as best they could. Skeeter was fearless, but his broken arm was a handicap at times. Here and there they would come to an overlook where they could see Hidden Lake down below them, or a wide expanse of grassy meadow. The edges of the overlooks were steep and a sheer drop many feet down. Kristi was a bit nervous and was constantly reminding her younger brother to stay back away from the edge. Of course, he didn’t pay any attention, even when little pebbles and dirt began to crumble away under his feet. Someone would have to pull him away each time. We’re going to end up back in the emergency room again! Kristi thought.

  The hike passed without incident, though, much to Kristi’s surprise. It really was a beautiful walk, and her fears about a storm were for nothing, also. It was a lovely day for a hike, and even Becca would have had no complaints. It was cool and a little breezy at that elevation, and though the sun was out, making it bright and pretty, it didn’t beat down on them. There were wildflowers everywhere, and plenty of birds and little critters to delight them every now and then. Pete was a walking wealth of knowledge about the different varieties of trees and plants they saw. Anna’s eyes shone each time he shared with them some of the things he had learned about the wildlife in northern California.

  The trail began descending and before they knew it they were back at the trailhead where they had left the canoes. “Let’s take a break before we head back,” Kristi suggested. Everyone else was more than ready to agree so they sat down on the rocky shore and grabbed some bottles of water out of their backpacks. Anna brought out some granola bars and passed them around, as well.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have any chocolate candy bars in there, would you?” Robyn asked hopefully.

  “Sorry!” Anna laughed. “But there are chocolate chips in your granola bar, Robyn!”

  “Ooh, yummy!”

  Skeeter had scarfed his down before the rest of them had even had a few bites. He jumped up and said, “I’ll get the canoes!”

  “Wait, Skeeter! Let’s just relax for a while! There’s no hurry. We have plenty of time to get back to camp before supper,” Kristi said. “Hey, I know! Let’s take some pictures! Why didn’t I think of that when we were hiking up there? I’m so mad at myself! Well, anyway, this is a pretty spot for pictures and we’ll take some more as we’re canoeing back.”

  Kristi dug in her pack for her camera. She frowned and emptied the backpack out on the ground. Where was her camera? She was sure she had put it back after the last time she’d used it. When was that? Oh, yes—at the softball tournament just that morning. Then she’d put it away and left the backpack in the cabin when they went to lunch…

  “My camera’s gone,” she finally said. “And I don’t think I lost it. I think it’s been stolen—just like my bracelet and Becca’s money.”

  “What?!” Robyn exclaimed. “Kristi, are you sure? Maybe you left it back at the cabin. Maybe you put it in your duffle bag.”

  “No, I am positive I put it right here in this outer pocket of my backpack just before lunch. Remember, I was taking pictures at the ball field this morning?”

  “But Kristi, who would have taken it?” Anna asked. “I can’t imagine anyone in Redwood Cabin actually stealing!”

  “I can! What about Tiffany?” Robyn said.

  “But she doesn’t need to steal anything, Robyn,” Anna said. “She has her own camera, and plenty of jewelry and money. I’ve seen her with all those things.”

  “People don’t always steal because they need something, Anna,” Dan said slowly. “Sometimes they do it for kicks, or for attention—”

  “Or to hurt someone!” Robyn added angrily. “That would be just like Tiffany!”

  “Wait a minute, Robyn,” Skeeter said. “I don’t think we ought to be accusing someone until we have more proof. You don’t know for sure that it was Tiffany.”

  “No, but I’ll betcha anything it was!” she muttered.

  “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it right now, anyway,” Kristi said. “I’m disappointed that I can’t take any pictures, though. And I’ll just be sick if I’ve lost all of my photos from camp this week that I’d already taken!”

  “Some of the other girls have been taking pictures, Kristi. I’m sure they’ll be glad to share them with you,” Anna tried to comfort her friend.

  “Well, we may as well head back to camp,” Dan said. “The sooner we get back, the sooner you can start looking for your camera—or the one who took it, Kristi.”

  “I’ll get the canoes!” Skeeter volunteered eagerly. He disappeared under the branches of the pine tree where they had hidden their canoes. “Oh-oh!” they heard him say a moment later.

  “Oh-oh? What’s oh-oh?” Kristi asked. “Skeeter? Skeeter? What’s the problem?” There was no answer from her brother. Her heart began to sink. Were the canoes missing? Was there a hole in one of them? Were they stuck here? “Skeeter, what’s oh-oh?” she repeated as she stood up to go after him.

  Just then Skeeter backed slowly out from under the pine tree. He had a funny look on his face. He held his finger up to his lips and motioned for them to stay back. Step by step he backed up.

  Suddenly they saw the oh-oh. A furry black and white creature ambled out from under the tree, following Skeeter. Skunk! Kristi wanted to cry out, but she didn’t. She took several steps backward, though, and saw from the corner of her eye that the others were backing away as quickly as they could, also.

  The skunk kept coming after Skeeter. Not quickly, but with determination. Skeeter took another step back and stumbled. He stretched out his arms to catch himself. The cast on his broken arm looked like a club and apparently the skunk felt threatened for just then it arched its back, lifted its tail, stamped its front feet and shuffled backwards. He was about to spray!

  The time for caution was past! “Run!” Kristi yelled. “Skeeter, run!” She turned on her heels and started running up the rocky beach. Before she knew it, Skeeter was passing her by! Eeek! She didn’t dare turn to look to see if the skunk was right behind her. She just kept running!

  They finally stopped further up the shore. The skunk was nowhere to be seen. Pete started laughing. “Talk about panic! We were running as if that little guy was right behind us!”

  “I was afraid he was!” Kristi said breathlessly.

  “Nah! He gave us a warning and then probably went right back under the tree, snickering at the fools tearing up the beach!”

  “Well, now what? We can’t get the canoes if he’s still under there.” Robyn said.

  “We’ll wait a little bit and th
en I’ll go back alone and check,” Pete said. “He probably won’t stick around. He may have just wanted a drink out of the lake, and then he’ll be off in search of food again.”

  “Did you get sprayed, Skeeter?” Kristi asked anxiously.

  “Nah, he missed!” Skeeter said.

  “I guarantee you would know for sure if he got sprayed, Kristi,” Pete said. “You do smell a little ripe, Skeeter, but that’s probably the fallout from being closest to him. You’re really lucky he didn’t get you.”

  “Whew! I’ll say!” Robyn said. “It’s bad enough with just the fallout. Go sit downwind of us, Skeeter!”

  Skeeter grumbled but he moved away. They waited for a half hour or so, skipping rocks on the water and just chatting, until finally Pete said, “I’ll go see if our fine striped friend has gone yet.”

  A few minutes later he gave the all clear and they went back for the canoes. The scent of skunk lingered in the air, so they pulled the canoes out onto the water as quickly as they could and left the Stormy Pass Trailhead.

  Kristi looked over at the guys’ canoe as they paddled back to camp. She had to chuckle. It was pretty obvious that Dan and Pete weren’t real thrilled at being in the same canoe with Skeeter. They both had their T-shirts pulled up over their noses. Skeeter was oblivious to the problem. He chatted on and on about the hike, the wildlife, and especially about the skunk, pointing at sights along the way and rocking the canoe wildly. Dan and Pete didn’t say anything. They just paddled faster.

  ___________

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ___________

  Storm Clouds Gather

  The final bell had rung for supper by the time they got back to Hidden Lake Camp. Kristi didn’t have time to run back to Redwood Cabin and look for her camera. She stopped Skeeter, though, before he could go into the lodge. “Skeeter, you can’t go in there smelling like that! You’re going to have to go change your clothes!”

  “But I’ll miss supper! No way!”