“Well, young Graham, what’s new?”
Ty told him the whole sad story. “I never thought I’d get so attached to her.”
Ralph nodded. “I know what you mean. I feel pretty attached to my golden oldies. They’re my precious ones, I guess. All that work, all that time and effort.”
He headed towards the car graveyard. “Let’s take a look back here. Maybe we can find a replacement.”
Ty was reluctant to look at any other car but he didn’t know what to do, so he tagged along with Ralph. The two of them made their way toward the north side.
Ty felt a splash of water on his head. He looked up. It was raining. Not hard. A gentle rain was falling from the grey and smoke-filled sky.
“I’ve got a better idea.” Ralph turned on his heel and headed toward the front of the garage. “Let’s take the tow truck and a can of gas and head down the highway. See if they’ll let us go as far as the Forest Road.”
Ty turned but then stood stock still, rooted to the spot. He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to see Princess. Not like he knew she was going to be.
“What are you waiting for, Ty?” Ralph had already moved to the tow truck and flung open the door. He headed to the shop for some rope and a can of gas.
“I thought you might be here,” Haley shouted from the road.
Ben was tagging behind her, his brown mop looking like he’d slept with his head buried. “Are we going to get Princess?”
Ty took a deep breath. “That’s right, sleepyheads. How was your night in the fancy hotel, Hale?”
The girl ran across the gravelled lot and threw her arms around him. “You big galoot. You hiding from your friends because you’re mourning your little Princess. So are we, buddy. So are we.”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Can’t you tell? Dinah, we’re all losing her. I’m afraid to see her.”
“Me too,” said Ben. “I’ve gotten attached to the old girl.”
“Get in the truck, Ty, before you get soaked,” said Ralph. “What a tribe!”
“What was it like in the gym last night?” asked Haley.
Ben began regaling everyone with the tales from his side of the room. His uncles and Grandpa had never come but there were plenty of other folks. “The smell got me. Someone had manure on his boots. One old guy snored like a steam engine.”
Ty let the talk swirl around him. He stared ahead through the rain-swept windshield. Ralph drove past the Cedar pub, Nixon’s, Ty’s, and on toward the golf course and Forest Road. They didn’t meet any traffic. So far so good, the fire hadn’t reached the row of houses and cottages. The smell in the air was foul, though. Breathing was difficult.
As Ralph drove around a sharp curve they spotted two police cars coming toward them. They were loaded with people. Old man Beaton sat in the back seat of the first cruiser. Ty couldn’t see who else was in that car. The second cruiser had Marvin and someone else. Behind the police cars came one of Beaton’s pickups driven by a police officer. The procession disappeared down the road toward Benton and the local cop shop.
“Well, I’ll be,” said Ben. “It looks like the old guy got caught.”
“It’s about time,” said Ralph.
Ty and Haley hugged in the back seat. “Lynette is well out of it,” said Haley. “I’m sure glad your grandpa stood up to the mean old guy.”
Ty nodded. Some things could get fixed. They just took longer.
An unmanned roadblock was stretched across the highway just south of the Forest road. Haley hopped out and moved it so the truck could get by.
“It’s sitting up the road about a quarter of a mile up the mountain on the north side.” Ty didn’t know whether to close his eyes. He concentrated on breathing in and out. Holding his breath wouldn’t help.
A puddle on the side of the road splashed the truck and doused the front. The windshield wipers worked overtime to clear the window. Some of the trees stood blackened and bare, others had survived, as the fire had leapfrogged down the mountain.
Ty forced his eyes to focus on the Forest Road where Princess would be standing. He gasped.
The car was gone.
“Did she burn to a crisp?” Ben asked.
“Cars don’t burn that well.” Ralph pulled the truck off the side of the road. The four of them climbed out. The rain was warm and soft. Steam rose from the burned trees. the kids wrapped their T-shirts over their mouths to keep out the fumes.
“Where’s Princess?” asked Haley. She crossed the road and walked up to where Princess should be. She studied the ground as if it would give her an answer.
Ty, meanwhile, paced the gravel, turned and gazed down the hill to the tree where Uncle Scott’s car had landed the last time. The tree was still standing, leaning precariously over the bank. A swath of bushes and grass had been flattened right beside it. He ran back down the road to the highway and crossed. Haley and Ben were hot on his heels.
“Dinah, look at that!"
“How could that happen?” shouted Ben.
Ty leapt down the bank following the rough track of a runaway vehicle. Tire tracks crossed the deserted beach and headed into the water. Waves lapped the shore. The water had to bend and sweep around a large obstacle in the way.
Princess sat, up to the bottom of her doors, in Kootenay Lake. Ty threw himself onto the back wrapping his hands around her, hugging the rear of the car as if it was a giant rock. He shook, laughing and crying at the same time.
Ralph circled the car. “She’s singed all over. I’ll have to haul her out. See how much damage has been done. The back window cracked from the heat.” He headed up the slope to the truck. “I’ll get her out, don’t worry.”
Haley had managed to open the door. An inch of water sloshed around on the floor. Ben climbed on the hood and sat facing the lake. The rain fell in torrents.
Ty let go of the car and walked around her. “How did you get here?” he asked.
“Maybe the hand brake released from the heat,” said Ben.
“Maybe someone gave her a shove,” suggested Haley.
The car didn’t say anything. Princess sat empty at the edge of Kootenay Lake less than a hundred feet from where she had had her accident four years ago.
Ty stuck his head inside. Then he lifted the hatch and studied the engine. It hadn’t burned. He opened the trunk. The jack lay there. The car was empty, totally empty.
“The ghost is gone,” he whispered. Somehow he had known it would be.
Ty stood in the rain with his friends and watched as Ralph drove the tow truck down the beach toward them. He smiled to himself. With a little bit of work, with a little bit of effort on his part, he could fix this car.
“Hello, Princess,” he said. “We’re going home now.” He helped Ralph attach the tow cable to the back of the car, haul it out of the water, and turn it around.
Then Ty Graham climbed in the cab of Ralph’s truck, with Haley beside him and Ben in the seat behind. Their damp bodies filled the cab with steam and fogged the windows. Ralph hooked the hoist to the front of Princess. The car would be fine.
Haley’s hand reached for his. He took her slim fingers in his firm grip. He wasn’t going to let go this time.
Mary Woodbury is the author of the best-selling Polly McDoodle series and a number of other books very popular with young readers. She lives in Edmonton with her husband Clair and her West Highland White Terrier Misty.
Also by Mary Woodbury:
Polly McDoodle Series
1. The Invisible Polly McDoodle, 1994
2. The Intrepid Polly McDoodle, 1998
3. The Innocent Polly McDoodle, 2000
4. The Incredible Polly McDoodle, 2002
5. The International Polly McDoodle, 2004
A Gift for Johnny Know-It-All.
Flight of the Tiger Moth
Jess and the Runaway Grandpa
Contact information:
E-mail: [email protected]
Mail: Mary Woodbury
c/o Talkingstick Press
#404, 10319 – 111 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5K 0A2
Phone: 780-633-0048
The Ghost in the Machine Page 16