The Logrolling Champ
Adam had an idea. He looked straight at the moose. “Heh! Heh! Heh!” he said.
The moose all blinked in surprise. They stopped making moose calls.
Just as Adam had planned, the moose thought it was General Menace’s evil laugh! They weren’t sure if Adam and Mabel were friends or enemies.
“Walk toward the horses,” Adam whispered to Mabel. “Heh! Heh! Heh!” he said again to the moose.
“HEY! That’s Adam Sharp and Mabel Leaf!” General Menace shouted. “Don’t let them escape!”
“HEH! HEH! HEH!” Adam shouted.
The moose were confused. General Menace was shouting orders at them. Adam was heh-heh-heh-ing at them.
Adam and Mabel had reached the edge of the clearing.
General Menace and the lumberjacks rolled their logs across the pond as fast as they could. Soon they’d be at the bank.
“Let’s get out of here!” Adam cried.
He and Mabel untied their horses and jumped on. They raced through the woods. The tree branches whipped at their faces.
They came to a river. It was full of logs!
Adam spotted a large crowd on the other bank. He wondered if people in Canada watched floating logs for fun.
“The horses have to jump the logs!” Mabel said.
Adam wasn’t worried. Showoff knew how to show off. But Showoff wouldn’t budge. Neither would Mabel’s horse.
Adam could hear General Menace and his lumberjacks in the woods. They were almost to the river!
“We can’t wait here, Mabel!” he yelled. “We need to roll the logs ourselves!” He jumped off his horse.
“Do you think you’re ready?” Mabel asked.
“IM-8 agents are always ready!” Adam told her bravely. He hoped this time it was true.
Adam and Mabel jumped onto the first log. They rolled. They jumped onto the second one. They rolled some more.
Behind them, General Menace and his lumberjacks had reached the riverbank. They jumped onto the logs, too.
Adam looked over his shoulder. The lumberjacks could hardly stand up. They could barely roll a log.
How did they ever win a contest? Adam wondered.
“Mabel!” Adam shouted. “They bring the remote-control logs to the contests! That’s why they win!”
“You’re right!” Mabel shouted back. “But the remote controls don’t work on these logs!”
Adam focused on his logrolling. He tried to become one with the log. It was all in the timing.
Once or twice he almost fell. But Mabel was a good teacher. She had given him some great tips.
He and Mabel rolled the logs across the water. Adam heard splashes behind him. It was the lumberjacks falling into the river.
Adam and Mabel reached the other side. The crowd went wild. A bunch of Mounties ran toward them.
“You won!” the Mounties cried. “You beat Ecanem’s lumberjacks!”
Adam was shocked. “But the logrolling contest isn’t until next week,” he said.
“The Canadian government changed the time,” a Mountie said. “They decided a surprise contest would be more fair.”
Adam turned. General Menace was wading toward the bank. Water poured off his uniform. A little fish flopped out of his pocket. He waved his fist at Adam. “You won’t get away from me this time, Sharp!” He signaled to his moose.
Just then, the IM-8 pontoon plane landed on the river. It made a huge wave that knocked over General Menace. He started floating down the river.
“Hurry, Sharp!” T called from the plane. “You’re needed for another mission!”
“How did T know where you were?” Mabel asked.
Adam pulled the empty can of peas out of his pocket. “The can is a satellite dish,” he said.
“IM-8 is amazing,” Mabel said. “You saved all of the lumber companies from going out of business.”
“Thanks, Mabel,” Adam said. He shook hands with her. “It was great being a Mountie.” Adam took off his hat, looked at it, and sighed.
“Keep the hat, Adam,” Mabel said. “You earned it.”
“Do you mean it?” Adam asked. He really liked the hat.
“Yes, Yank,” Mabel said. “You may be IM-8’s best spy. But you’ll always be a Mountie to me!”
Adam Sharp #5 Page 2