Thunder Valley

by Gary Paulsen

  Jason frowned. “What if I’m wrong? Lila is one thing, but a big-time New York businessman is another.”

  “Think of it this way. If the guy’s innocent we need to know so we can look somewhere else.”

  Jason followed him up the steps and inside the lodge. “I hope you’re right.”

  “Right about what?” Tom Caplan came up behind them.

  Jeremy tried to cover. “Jason was just wondering if I should be up and around after what happened this morning. I told him I was feeling great.”

  “Glad to hear it. Say, I was just on my way to lunch. Would you guys like to join me?”

  Jason licked his lips.

  “No, thank you.” Jeremy grabbed his brother’s sleeve and led him across the room to the front desk. “We have to check on something. Maybe some other time.”

  Jeremy moved around behind the front desk and pretended to look at the reservations book. “How’s everything going, Hans?” he asked the desk clerk.

  “Booked solid, as usual. I’ve had to turn away three callers this morning alone.”

  “Really? That’s too bad.” Jeremy checked to see which room was Timothy Ryland’s and then winked at Jason, who accidentally on purpose knocked a pen-and-pencil holder onto the floor. When Hans bent down to retrieve it, Jeremy grabbed the key to Ryland’s room and moved around the counter.

  “Sorry about that, Hans.” Jason checked to make sure nothing was broken and then caught up with Jeremy, who was already halfway down the hall. “What room is he in?”

  “We’re in luck. He’s on the first floor, room five.”

  Jeremy walked up to the door and knocked loudly. There was no answer. He glanced over his shoulder. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Jeremy inserted the key. They hurried inside and quickly closed the door.

  “You take the closet and the bed,” Jeremy instructed. “I’ll check the dresser and the bathroom.”

  Jason opened the closet. There was nothing suspicious about the suits and shoes. Ryland’s suitcase was empty. Jason moved to the bed and searched underneath it and between the mattresses.

  Jeremy stepped out of the bathroom. “I didn’t find anything. Did you?”

  Jason shook his head. “No. Maybe he’s what he claims to be after all.”

  Jeremy snapped his fingers. “The briefcase. He had a briefcase earlier.”

  The door swung open. “You don’t mean this briefcase, do you?” Ryland stepped into the room holding a black case. Corky and Simms blocked the doorway behind him.

  “I guess you two think you’re pretty clever, don’t you?” Ryland looked thoughtful. “In a way, I suppose I do have to give you credit. Detectives in three different states haven’t caught on to us. You’ve actually come closer than anyone. Not that it’ll do you any good when Simms is through with you.”

  Jeremy inched back toward the bathroom door. When Jason saw what he was doing he tried to keep Ryland talking. “So where’s Lila? Your Broken Tree gang isn’t complete without her, is it?”

  Ryland laughed. “So you know about my darling wife. She was very useful in switching your grandfather’s medicine. In fact, Lila’s at the hospital right now, talking your grandmother into coming home. We need her signature to transfer ownership of Thunder Valley to our organization.”

  Jeremy was almost to the bathroom door. Jason went on talking. “I thought you said my grandfather already signed the papers.”

  “That was a forgery. An excellent one, I might add, done by your friend Corky. But a forgery nonetheless. We’re after the real thing. Our plan has always been to have the old lady sign the necessary papers. Of course she won’t know what she’s signing. But after all these terrible accidents, including the one you two are about to have, we think she’ll be glad to get rid of it.”

  Jeremy bolted into the bathroom and locked the door.

  “Get him, Simms!” Ryland yelled.

  Simms slammed his body into the door until it came off its hinges in splinters. The small window above the tub was open.

  The bathroom was empty.

  CHAPTER 16

  Jeremy ran for the woods behind the lodge. He had to think, figure out what to do. They desperately needed help, but who could give it to them? If he could just get to a telephone, maybe there would be a deputy sheriff in the area.

  He stayed in the cover of the trees and crept toward the back porch. Silently he inched up the steps, opened the screen door, and listened. The house was quiet.

  Jeremy raced down the hall to his grandfather’s bedroom and dialed 911. A female dispatcher came on the line.

  “Calm down, son. Tell me the problem. Is anyone hurt?”

  Jeremy tried to catch his breath. “My brother … they have my brother … hurry.”

  “Who has your brother?”

  “Some people.” Jeremy’s mind raced. “Kidnappers. Come to the Thunder Valley Ski Lodge, and hurry.”

  He heard the sound of a telephone being quietly hung up in another part of the house. “Hurry!” he yelled. Dropping the receiver, he tore around the bed.

  “Not so fast.”

  Jeremy froze. Lila stood in the door pointing a small silver pistol at him. “Sounds like it’s a good thing I came back. You and your twin brother have caused enough trouble. We should have gotten rid of you a long time ago.”

  “Where’s my grandmother?” Jeremy demanded.

  “Oh, she’s on her way. But don’t worry, we’ll have you safely out of the picture before she gets here.”

  “Give me the gun, Mrs. Ryland.”

  Jeremy couldn’t believe his eyes. Tom Caplan, along with several other men, was standing behind Lila. The tall man moved up and took the gun out of her hand. “Put the cuffs on her, boys, and take her away.”

  Lila’s shoulders slumped. She gave up without a struggle. Jeremy stepped back to give Tom room. “Are you a cop?”

  Tom smiled. “Undercover. We’ve been after this group for years. They move in on unsuspecting businesses and cause enough unexplained accidents to make the owners want to sell. Until now we haven’t been able to prove anything. But thanks to you and your brother, I think we have them this time.”

  “Jason! They’ve got him!”

  “He’s fine. Hans has already seen to that. And we have Ryland and his buddies in custody.”

  “Hans?” Jeremy followed Tom down the hall.

  “He works for us. The day we received word that the Broken Tree was after the Thunder Valley Lodge, Hans applied for a job here.”

  Jeremy stopped on the front porch. “I don’t get it. How did you know I was at the house?”

  “We’ve been monitoring your actions for quite some time. When we saw you go into Ryland’s room we put everybody on alert. It actually worked perfectly, your getting away from them like that. It confused things long enough for Hans to move in.”

  A black car pulled up in front of the house. Jason jumped out. “This is so great!” he yelled. “There are cops all over this place!”

  Tom smiled again. “I’m glad everything’s worked out. I’ll be getting in touch with both of you as soon as I get these goons behind bars.”

  “Maybe then you could come back for a real vacation,” Jeremy said. “On the house, of course.”

  “I’d like that. But only on one condition—that you let me bring a friend along.”

  “Sure.” Jason nodded. “Bring anyone you want.”

  “Good. I’ve been telling Jean-Claude about this place. He’s been wanting to come up ever since he heard about the big race with Jeremy up on Sawtooth.” Tom stepped into the car. “I’ll be in touch.”

  Jeremy’s mouth fell open. He watched the black car pull out of the driveway and join three others waiting beside the road.

  Jason waved and then turned toward the house. “All this excitement’s made me hungry. Want a sandwich?”

  “You don’t think he meant the Jean-Claude, do you?” Jeremy asked.

  Jason shrugged
. “Why not? As an undercover agent, Tom probably gets around. He may know a lot of famous people. Hey, where are you going? Aren’t you hungry?”

  “I’ve got more important things to do.” Jeremy jumped up onto the porch and ran inside the house.

  “Like what?” Jason yelled.

  When Jeremy reappeared he was smiling and carrying his skis. “Practicing. I’ve got a race to win.”

  SKI GUIDE

  Who is Jean-Claude Killy? Jean-Claude Killy is mentioned in this story a couple of times. He’s a world-famous skier, born in France in 1943. He won all three Alpine skiing events—the downhill, the slalom, and the giant slalom—at the 1968 Winter Olympics. He also won World Cup titles in 1967 and 1968.

  Ski Safety Tips

  • If you’ve never skied before, you should take a lesson from a professional ski instructor.

  • Dress in layers of clothing to keep warm. That way, if you get too hot while you’re skiing, you can take a layer off. Don’t forget to wear a hat! Wear a waterproof or water-resistant layer over your clothes to keep dry.

  • Wear ski goggles or sunglasses with ultraviolet protection.

  • Make sure your boots fit correctly, your skis are the right length for you, and your bindings are adjusted properly.

  • Practice putting your skis on and taking them off before you start skiing.

  • If you’re cross-country skiing, always stay on the marked trails.

  • Be safe while you’re skiing by following these rules:

  Don’t ski too fast—you might lose control.

  Avoid other skiers.

  Don’t block trails.

  Yield when merging with other skiers.

  Observe all signs.

  Brrrrrr!

  If you don’t wear proper clothing while skiing, you might suffer from frostbite (loss of feeling in your body parts) or hypothermia (low body temperature). If you get frostbite, you should go inside immediately and seek medical attention as soon as possible. Tuck numb hands under your armpits beneath your coat, and cover a frostbitten face with dry gloved hands until normal color returns. Do not rub or use direct heat on frostbitten body parts.

  For hypothermia, you should gradually and gently rewarm your body. If you’re stuck outdoors for some reason, huddle with another person or hold your knees to your chest and wrap your arms around your legs.

  Helping Other Skiers

  If you see an injured skier, don’t move him or her. Remove your own skis and stick them in the snow upright and crossed to form an X about ten feet up the hill from the person who is hurt. This X warns other skiers to stay clear and alerts the ski patrol to your location. Send another skier for help or consult your trail map for the closest emergency phone.

  Don’t miss all the exciting action!

  Read the other action-packed books in Gary Paulsen’s

  WORLD OF ADVENTURE!

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  Deep underground, Will and Sarah uncover an old chest stuffed with a million dollars. But now armed bandits are after them. When they find a gold Apache statue hidden in a skull, it seems Red Horse is hunting them, too. Then they lose their way, and each step they take in the damp, dark cavern could be their last.

  Rodomonte’s Revenge

  Friends Brett Wilder and Tom Houston are video game whizzes. So when a new virtual reality arcade called Rodomonte’s Revenge opens near their home, they make sure they’re its first customers. The game is awesome. There are flaming fire rivers to jump, beastly buzz-bugs to fight, and ugly tunnel spiders to escape. If they’re good enough they’ll face Rodomonte, an evil giant waiting to do battle within his hidden castle.

  But soon after they play the game, strange things start happening to Brett and Tom. The computer is taking over their minds. Now everything that happens in the game is happening in real life. A buzz-bug could gnaw off their ears. Rodomonte could smash them to bits. Brett and Tom have no choice but to play Rodomonte’s Revenge again. This time they’ll be playing for their lives.

  Escape from Fire Mountain

  “… please, anybody … fire … need help.”

  That’s the urgent cry thirteen-year-old Nikki Roberts hears over the CB radio the weekend she’s left alone in her family’s hunting lodge. The message also says that the sender is trapped near a bend in the river. Nikki knows it’s dangerous, but she has to try to help. She paddles her canoe downriver, coming closer to the thick black smoke of the forest fire with each stroke. When she reaches the bend, Nikki climbs onshore. There, covered with soot and huddled on a rock ledge, sit two small children.

  Nikki struggles to get the children to safety. Flames roar around them. Trees splinter to the ground. But as Nikki tries to escape the fire, she doesn’t know that two poachers are also hot on her trail. They fear that she and the children have seen too much of their illegal operation—and they’ll do anything to keep the kids from making it back to the lodge alive.

  The Rock Jockeys

  Devil’s Wall.

  Rick Williams and his friends J.D. and Spud—the Rock Jockeys—are attempting to become the first and youngest climbers to ascend the north face of their area’s most treacherous mountain. They’re also out to discover if a B-17 bomber rumored to have crashed into the mountain years ago is really there.

  As the Rock Jockeys explore Devil’s Wall, they stumble upon the plane’s battered shell. Inside, they find items that seem to have belonged to the crew, including a diary written by the navigator. Spud later falls into a deep hole and finds something even more frightening: a human skull and bones. To find out where they might have come from, the boys read the navigator’s story in the diary. It reveals a gruesome secret that heightens the dangers the mountain might hold for the Rock Jockeys.

  Hook ’Em, Snotty!

  Bobbie Walker loves working on her grandfather’s ranch. She hates the fact that her cousin Alex is coming up from Los Angeles to visit and will probably ruin her summer. Alex can barely ride a horse and doesn’t know the first thing about roping. There is no way Alex can survive a ride into the flats to round up wild cattle. But Bobbie is going to have to let her tag along anyway.

  Out in the flats the weather turns bad. Even worse, Bobbie knows that she’ll have to watch out for the Bledsoe boys, two mischievous brothers who are usually up to no good. When the boys rustle the girls’ cattle, Bobbie and Alex team up to teach the Bledsoes a lesson. But with the wild bull Diablo on the loose, the fun and games may soon turn deadly serious.

  Danger on Midnight River

  Daniel Martin doesn’t want to go to Camp Eagle Nest. He wants to spend the summer as he always does: with his uncle Smitty in the Rocky Mountains. Daniel is a slow learner, but most other kids call him retarded. Daniel knows that at camp, things are only going to get worse. His nightmare comes true when he and three bullies must ride the camp van together.

  On the trip to camp, Daniel is the butt of the bullies’ jokes. He ignores them and concentrates on the roads outside. He thinks they may be lost. As the van crosses a wooden bridge, the planks suddenly give way. The van plunges into the raging river below. Daniel struggles to shore, but the driver and the other boys are nowhere to be found. It’s freezing, and night is setting in. Daniel faces a difficult decision. He could save himself … or risk everything to try to rescue the others, too.

  The Gorgon Slayer

  Eleven-year-old Warren Trumbull has a strange job. He works for Prince Charming’s Damsel in Distress Rescue Agency, saving people from hideous monsters, evil warlocks, and wicked witches. Then one day Warren gets the most dangerous assi
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  Gorgons are horrible creatures. They have green scales, clawed fingers, and snakes for air. They also have the power to turn people to stone. Warren doesn’t want to be a stone statue for the rest of his life. He’ll need all his courage and skill—and his secret plan—to become a true Gorgon slayer.

  The Gorgon howls as Warren enters the dark basement to do battle. Warren lowers his eyes, raises his sword and shield, and leaps into action. But will his plan work?

  Captive!

  Roman Sanchez is trying hard to deal with the death of his dad—a SWAT team member gunned down in the line of duty. But Roman’s nightmare is just beginning.

  When masked gunmen storm into his classroom, Roman and three other boys are taken hostage. They are thrown into the back of a truck and hauled to a run-down mountain cabin, miles from anywhere. They are bound with rope and given no food. With each passing hour the kidnappers’ deadly threats become even more real.

  Roman knows time is running out. Now he must somehow put his dad’s death behind him so that he and the others can launch a last desperate fight for freedom.

  The Treasure of El Patrón

  Tag Jones and his friend Cowboy spend their days diving in the azure water surrounding Bermuda. It’s not just for fun—Tag knows that somewhere in the coral reef there’s a sunken ship full of treasure. His father died in a diving accident looking for the ship, and Tag won’t give up until he finds it.

  Then the ship’s manifest of the Spanish galleon El Patrón turns up, and Tag can barely contain his excitement. El Patrón sank in 1614, carrying “unknown cargo.” Tag knows that this is the ship his father was looking for. And he’s not the least bit scared off by the rumors that El Patrón is cursed. But when two tourists want Tag to retrieve some mysterious sunken parcels for them, Tag and Cowboy may be in dangerous water, way over their heads!