“We have to go to Dusty Dan’s,” he said, preparing to climb into the saddle.
“Dusty Dan?” Snips stuck his head into the conversation. “But we agreed to finish the O-Mok-See.” He whined. “We voted.”
“Democracy is a complicated work in progress,” Stella moaned. “It’s a sad day when voting doesn’t mean anything.”
Lucky climbed onto Spirit. “Abigail and Pru can continue with the O-Mok-See,” she told the campers. “Julian and I will search for Oliver.” She looked out in the direction he would have gone. “He can’t be that far on foot.”
“We aren’t staying back,” Pru said, with a determined expression. “You might need us, and I doubt that city-boy Julian is the handiest on horseback.” Pru paused and turned to speak to the campers. “Listen up! Looks like we’re all going on a treasure hunt after all. There’s only one thing on the list: Oliver! He’s—uhh—hiding, so we can find him!”
“Let’s go find my friend Ollie!” Snips cheered. “Tomorrow, he’ll be on our team, and we will beat you all!”
“Except that Ollie doesn’t ride,” Pru whispered to Lucky.
She thought about that. “Maybe… we’ll see…”
“See what?” Pru asked, but Lucky was already busy getting the campers on their horses.
There was a mighty cheer from the kids, and they began to chant, “Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!”
As soon as everyone was ready, Lucky and Spirit led the way from the stables toward the path to Dusty Dan’s. “Yee-haw!” She pressed into Spirit’s flank and he began to gallop.
Julian pulled up beside her. “A treasure hunt, eh?”
“You were the one who convinced Oliver they were boring,” Lucky said.
“I see that might not have been the best idea,” Julian said. He was hiding it, but Lucky could clearly tell that losing Oliver had shaken him up. “I wish I’d encouraged him to look for horse bridles and pinecones,” Julian admitted. “Then we wouldn’t be in this mess.” He bit his lip. “What are we going to do?”
“We’ll find Oliver,” she said, “then you’ll do your best to convince him that PALs Camp is plenty exciting.”
Julian agreed, nodding.
She pressed Spirit even faster, ready to make the turn for the creek, when Pru called out, “Lucky! You’re going the wrong way!”
“Dan’s grave is over here,” she called back, sensing Chica Linda slowing behind them.
Pru had not only changed directions; she was leading the campers on a new path—away from Dusty Dan’s grave!
Lucky and Spirit swung around. Julian and Abigail followed.
“What’s going on?” Lucky asked Pru when she caught up. “Why’d you stop?”
“Oliver wasn’t going to Dusty Dan’s,” Pru answered, climbing down from Chica Linda.
“You can’t stop now,” Julian told her. “Get back on the horse. Oliver needs me.” He corrected, “I mean, he needs us.”
Pru had more experience in tracking than the others. She ignored him and said, “We need to go on more than a hunch.” Taking a handful of dirt, she let the sand sift through her fingers. “Oliver didn’t go to Dan’s grave.”
“Of course he did,” Julian countered. “He wanted treasure.”
Lucky realized something then. “If he wanted the treasure, he’d have taken the shovel to dig. I saw it before we left! It was still by the fence.”
“He also didn’t know the way and wouldn’t be able to get there without Julian guiding,” Pru went on.
Abigail looked at Julian and asked, “You didn’t take him there before today, did you?”
“No,” Julian admitted.
“Okay, campers,” Lucky announced. “Who has an idea how to find Ollie?”
Diary Entry
This is not going to be easy.
Think, Lucky, think!
I’m writing down all the campers’ clues.
Lilly: “Oliver went somewhere he knew!”
Lester: “Somewhere dangerous.”
Snips: “Somewhere fun and exciting.” They were all solving the mystery together.
We finally put it together. Oliver is at the rocky outcrop.
This is not good.
That place is actually dangerous.
Pru found shoe prints in the dirt.
Lucky had hoped to catch her young cousin along the path, but by the time they got to the place where the footprints faded into the first ridge of boulders, Oliver was nowhere in sight.
The kids all scanned the higher rocks, while Lucky warned them, “Be careful. Those rocks can slip and cause an avalanche.” As she said it, two small stones came tumbling down from a place high on the ridge.
“There!” Julian called out. “I see him.” His brother was a speck clinging to a high rock. The top of the outcrop loomed high above him. He’d made it about halfway up the large pile of stones. “Oliver!”
“Ollie!” Snips called.
“Oliver… Ollie…” the hills echoed.
Lucky sprang forward with Spirit, but each step that Spirit made dislodged more stones.
“Stop,” Pru ordered.
“We’ll get crushed if you go up that way,” Abigail said, pushing the campers back a safe distance.
Julian dismounted from Malu and started on foot up the way Oliver had gone. He also sent rocks falling with every step.
“You can’t go that way,” Lucky told him, pulling Spirit back to the bottom of the hill.
Suddenly, Oliver’s voice echoed down the hillside. “Help! Julian! Help!”
He’d seen them all below.
And from where they were, they all could see him, too. Feet dangling, Oliver was clinging to a large, ragged rock. Several medium-size stones rolled down from where he was, and the group had to move back farther to avoid being hit as the rocks tumbled fast and crashed into the brush.
“Oliver!” Julian cried.
Oliver managed to swing himself to a safe place, but he was clutching the boulder like a spider, unable either to climb farther up or slide back down.
“This is all my fault,” Julian said, starting forward again. “I’ll go up there and get him.”
“No you won’t,” Lucky said. “You’ll start an avalanche, and we’ll all be in danger.”
She gathered with Pru and Abigail. “What do we do?”
“There’s a horse path to the top,” Abigail said. “It’s pretty safe that way, but we need to lead the horses carefully. If they knock one stone, it might hit another and another and… kaboom!” She used her hands to show the
