The Dude Ranch-chapter 4
By SamPast
and Huggedlots
Copyright © 1999, All
rights reserved
Meanwhile at the camp
group, the children were all sitting on the bench. They were waiting for the
last few kids to return from their rides.
The head counselor, Bobby
Jo said, "Boys and girls, we have a special treat for you today. Instead
of eating in the dining hall, we're bringing bag lunches to the nature trail.
There's a nice spot for all of us to have a picnic!"
"Yeah!" "YAY!" "Cool!" "All
right!" The children yelled.
The counselors walked with
the children on the trail. Dan, the nature man, pointed out different kinds of
trees. The children saw a few little animals, like chipmunks, squirrels, and
birds.
Finally, they got to the
picnic spot. It was just a vacant area with some trees and giant rocks. The
children all sat in little circles with their friends. Maggie had introduced
Robin and Jennifer to all the kids, and they had quite
a gathering in their circle. Robin and Jennifer knew it was because they were
twins. Everyone always wanted to get to know more about them. They were used to
it.
After everyone had eaten
most of their lunch, the questions started. "Do people get you confused?"
"Who was born first?" "Do you ever switch places?" That
last question made Robin and Jennifer giggle like crazy.
"You do?" Maggie
asked.
"Well, we did one time
in first grade, but we got in so much trouble!" Jennifer said.
"Yea, we've done it a
few times, but we always get caught. Our parents don't like it when we do
it!" Robin added.
The conversation continued
for quite a while. The other kids and the counselors were farther away from the
girls. Robin turned around and saw something that looked familiar.
"Hey, Jenn, isn't that
the same tree we saw yesterday? Remember with that weird
markings on it?" Robin asked her sister.
"Yeah, I think
so," Jenn replied, getting up to inspect the tree.
A few of the girls came
over to look. Others went to play closer to where the counselors were sitting.
Robin looked around.
"We were definitely here yesterday, with our parents. Jennifer, let's show
everyone what's behind that big rock!"
Jennifer looked to see
where Robin was pointing. But she was confused. "What, Robin?"
Robin said, "You know,
the surprise? The one Daddy showed us yesterday!"
Jennifer still had no idea
what Robin was talking about.
"Jennifer,
the waterfall!
Remember Daddy said he had a surprise for us, and we went behind the big rock,
and there was a beautiful waterfall," Robin explained.
"Oh,
yeah! That was
cool!" Jenn said.
"Come on, I want to
see it!" Maggie shouted.
"Yeah, me too,"
Nancy said.
"Will you show us,
Robin?" Pat asked.
"Yeah, come on, let's
go. It's right behind that rock over there,"
Robin said.
Jennifer looked back toward
the counselors. "Maybe we shouldn't go there," she said.
"Now who's the scaredy cat, Jenn!" Robin
sighed.
"You're right, let's
go!" Jennifer said.
Maggie, Nancy, and Pat followed
Robin and Jennifer to the big rock.
"Okay, ready?"
Robin called. Everyone nodded. They all jumped in front of the big rock, but
there was no waterfall.
"That's strange!"
Robin looked around. "Oh, wait, this isn't it, it's that one over there,
come on!" The girls ran to the next big rock. But the waterfall wasn't
behind that one either. It wasn't behind the next one or the one after that.
And before they knew it, they had wondered far from the picnic site. Not only
couldn't they find the waterfall, but they didn't know how to get back either.
Jennifer sat down on a
small rock and began to cry. Robin and Maggie didn't even notice; they were
still too busy trying to find the right way towards the waterfall.
Pat and Nancy went to sit
down beside Jennifer. "Are you scared? I am," Nancy said.
Pat said, "Don't be
scared, Jenn, or Nancy, we'll get back!"
"Of course we
will," Maggie joined in. "Think of this as an adventure!"
"I don't want an
adventure! I want my Mommy!" cried Nancy.
Robin sat down next to
Jennifer. "You're not scared, are you, Jenn?" Robin had never seen
her sister so upset before. She was usually the one who got scared and upset
and Jennifer was usually the one pushing her on.
"I'm not crying
because I'm scared that we're lost," Jennifer began.
"We are not
lost," Maggie said.
"Yes, we are!"
Nancy said, "and I want to go home!"
Robin ignored Nancy. She
turned to Jennifer. "If you're not scared, then why are
you crying?"
"Because I let Daddy down. I broke my promise. I said I was
going to be good, and he wouldn't have to punish me again on vacation. And now
he's gonna. And I deserve it!" Jennifer cried
even harder.
Robin said, "Daddy
won't be mad. It wasn't our fault that we got lost."
Jennifer jumped up. "Yes,
it was. If you didn't want to show everyone the stupid waterfall, we wouldn't
be sitting here in the middle of nowhere, right now!" she screamed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the picnic site,
Bobby Jo said, "Come on, make sure you put all
your wrappers into the garbage can. We don't want to leave a mess."
Adam said, "Where are
the twins? And Maggie? Where's Nancy?" He looked
around to see who else was missing. "Where's Pat?"
Sheila laughed and said,
"They're behind that rock!"
All the counselors looked
to see where the little girl was pointing. Bobby Jo walked over to the rock. It
was farther than it looked. When she got there, she wasn't surprised to see
that no one was behind it. "Damn," she said to herself. She walked
back over to the group. She leaned down to Sheila and said, "Why would
they be behind that rock, Sheila?"
Sheila said, "The
twins were going to show everyone the waterfall. I tried to keep up, but they
were too fast, so I came back."
"Okay, you're a good
girl, thank you," Bobby Jo said.
Bobby Jo rounded up all the
counselors. "We have a problem. Five girls ran off to find the waterfall.
Now we all know the waterfall is not around the corner, so what I'm going to
do, is have three of you bring the group back to the ranch. The rest of us will
split up and look for them. Fortunately, it's early, and we should be able to
find them before it gets dark."
The head counselor sounded
so serious. Adam felt terrible, because he knew he wasn't watching them as well
as he should have been. He said, "Let me help look. If they went to the
waterfall, we should be able to find them within half an
hour."
"Okay, then Dan, you,
Mary, and Bill take the kids back. Take them to the playground, or to mini
golf-somewhere where you can keep an eye on all of them. And Bill, find the
parents of these girls and let them know what's going on. But, Bill, make it
sound like you're sure there's no problem. Got it?" Bobby Jo declared.
Then she turned to the
other three counselors, and said, "Come on, let's go. I don't want to
waste any time. Man, I hate my job sometimes."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie and Lisa were
relaxing by the lake, when one of the counselors from the camp rushed over to
them. He started talking a mile a minute and neither of them could figure out
what he was saying.
Charlie said, "Slow
down. What's the matter?"
"I'm sorry, sir, it's
just that I've been having trouble finding everyone. I'm Bill, one of the
counselors at the camp. . ." Bill started.
"Yes? Is there a
problem?" Lisa asked nervously.
"Well, yes, um, we
were up on the nature trail, having a picnic, and some of the children wondered
off. Robin and Jennifer were with them," Bill said quickly.
"Wandered off? Where?" Charlie asked.
"Well, one of the
little kids said they heard your daughter mention going to the waterfall. So,
that's where Bobby Jo and Adam were headed, when we came back. I'm sure they've
found them already and are on their way back right now. So, don't worry too
much. We just wanted to let you know of the situation," Bill said.
"I'll kill them!"
Charlie said, rising.
Lisa put her hand on
Charlie's arm. "Honey, calm down. You don't know
the whole story yet. Don't jump to conclusions," Lisa said calmly.
"I know you're right,
Lisa, but if I've told those girls once, I've told them a thousand times, not
to wander off. How many times, since we've been here, have I gone over the
rules with them!" Charlie said exasperated.
"Um, sir, ma'am, if
you'll excuse me, I still need to find one more parent. You wouldn't have
happened to see Maggie's mother, have you? I checked the cabin, the stables,
the dining hall; I can't seem to find her," Bill said.
"Why doesn't that
surprise me?" Charlie asked. "Come on!" he said to Lisa. Lisa
started to follow Charlie towards the nature trail.
Bill turned to Lisa and
said, "Ma'am, I suggest you stay at the cabin, in case the girls come back
on their own, or if your husband passes our
counselors."
"That's a good idea,
honey," Charlie said to Lisa. At that point, Bill ran off.
Lisa said, "Okay, but
Charlie, be calm. And remember what you always tell the girls. The most
important thing is that they're safe. Okay?"
"Yes, I know. Thank
you, honey. And don't worry, we'll find them," Charlie stated.