Alaska Adventure (17 page)

“Help me!” she groaned.

Laurel stood up, shielding her eyes as she watched in horror. Her heart was pounding with fear. Trip was already rushing toward her, barely managing to keep his balance as he clumsily made his way across the ice.

“Should we go up there?” Laurel asked.

“She’s probably fine.” There was little sympathy in Russ’s tone. “Besides, Trip’s close enough to help. If she really needs it, that is.”

Laurel, Russ, and Cassie stood balanced on giant boulders, watching as Trip helped Mariah across the ice. Fortunately, they hadn’t gone that far onto the glacier. Yet traveling even a short distance was proving to be a difficult task.

“What happened?” Laurel demanded as Trip and Mariah got close enough to hear.

“What do you think happened?” Mariah shot back crossly. “I slipped.”

“Are you all right?” asked Russ.

“Do I look like I’m all right?” she returned. “My ankle is killing me. I think I broke it. I heard it pop!” When none of the others said anything, she snapped, “Doesn’t anybody around here
care?”

Trip, struggling to bear most of her weight as he helped her off the glacier, cast her a scathing look. “I vote that we leave her here,” said Trip. “I’ve always though Mariah would make great bear food.”

“Very funny.” Gingerly she lowered herself onto a boulder.

Russ had taken out his Swiss Army Knife and was using the ice pick on it to cut a chunk out of the glacier. Then he wrapped it in a bandanna he plucked from his pocket. “Here,” he said, handing it to Mariah. “Put this on it.”

She did as she was told, not bothering to say thank you. “Does anybody have any brilliant ideas about how we’re going to get me out of here?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to get out the same way you got in,” Russ said simply.

“You’re kidding.” There was an undertone of disbelief in Mariah’s voice. “Can’t we just wait for a—a helicopter or a plane to come

by—?”

“That simply doesn’t happen up here, Mariah.”

Looking up at him, she narrowed her eyes accusingly. “You mean to tell me there’s no patrol around here, keeping an eye on campers and hikers?”

“I’m afraid not. You seem to be forgetting you’re out in the wilds. ‘The Last Frontier,’ remember?”

“Maybe there are some other hikers who can help.”

“We haven’t seen anybody since we left the path,” Cassie pointed out.

Russ shrugged. “Like I said, there’s no choice but for you to walk.”

“I-I don’t think I can.”

“You’ve got to try,” he insisted.

“Here, let me help—” Laurel offered.

“We’ll get her,” said Russ. He handed her Mariah’s backpack. “You can help by carrying this.”

Laurel clutched the nylon bag against her chest, biting her lip as she watched Trip and Russ get on either side of Marian. Slowly, they eased her up to a standing position.

“Try putting your weight on that foot,” Russ instructed. “Not too much, now—”

“Ow!” she yelled. “Oh, it hurts!”

Russ glanced at Laurel. “Probably broken.”

“Great, just great,” said Trip, shaking his head. “How are we ever going to get out of here? We’re at least a mile from the Jeep. Probably more.”

“I have an idea,” said Cassie. “Trip, you’re probably the strongest person here. The biggest, anyway. Can you carry Mariah piggyback?”

“I think I’d rather be left here,” Mariah muttered.

“You don’t have a lot of choice,” Russ pointed out. “Cassie, I think that’s an excellent idea.”

“Hey, isn’t anybody going to ask me what I think?” asked Trip.

“Russ is right,” said Laurel. “There’s no other way. Unless you can come up with something.”

Trip thought for a few seconds, then kicked his backpack in her direction. “Here, carry that. I just hope my back doesn’t break.”

“Fortunately, we Beverly Hills girls keep ourselves nice and thin,” Mariah said with mock sweetness.

“Let’s hear it for compulsive dieting.” Trip stood in front of her, bending his knees and leaning over. “Hop up, my dear. And congratulations to all of you for being firsthand witnesses of the low point of my entire life.”

“Like I’m enjoying this,” Mariah muttered as Russ helped her onto Trip’s back.

“Hey, you two,” Laurel interrupted, “I think we’re all stressed out enough without both of you going out of your way to make a bad situation even worse. Do you think you could cool it, at least until we get back to the civilized world?”

She bent down to pick up Trip’s backpack. But Russ beat her to it.

“I’ve got that, Laurel,” he said. “You have enough to carry with Mariah’s.”

“Thanks, Russ.” It was comforting to be reminded that at least one civil person was part of this group.

Russ led the way, painstakingly picking out the safest, shortest route. Trip and Mariah were next, with him grunting and panting from the weight on his back and her letting out a yelp of pain every once in a while. Laurel followed, sagging under the weight of two backpacks. Cassie trailed behind, once again putting every ounce of energy she possessed into keeping up with the rest of the group.

They stopped frequently, with Russ helping Mariah slide off Trip’s back with only a minimum of jostling. While they clearly needed the breaks, the trip back to the car seemed endless.

Once they were in the Jeep, with Mariah settled into the seat next to the driver, Russ said, “Okay. Now we’ve made it this far. Our next step is to get Mariah to a doctor.”

“How are we ever going to find a doctor?” Cassie demanded. “Have you forgotten that we’re in the middle of no place?”

“I wish Dr. Wells were here,” Laurel said, more to herself than to anyone else. “He’s been coming to Alaska for years. He’d know where to take her. I wonder if there’s some way we could reach him by phone—”

“Just take me back to the cabin,” Mariah insisted.

“It’s probably just a sprain. I’m sure it’ll be fine by tomorrow.”

She leaned forward, resting a little bit of her weight on her foot. As she did, she let out a loud yelp of pain.

Chapter Fifteen

“That ankle looks pretty bad.”

Dr. Wells crouched down at the end of the couch, frowning. Mariah was lying stretched out across it with half a dozen pillows propping up her foot. Gingerly he touched the bruised spot on her skin, meanwhile glancing over to see her reaction. A look of agony crossed her face.

“Maybe if I keep ice on it overnight ... ?” she suggested feebly.

“This looks like something that’s going to require more than ice,” Dr. Wells replied. He glanced at his watch. “It’s still fairly early. Trip, Laurel, I’d like the two of you to take Mariah into Homer. It’s a bit of a drive, but there’s an excellent doctor there. I’ve dealt with Dr. Chase before—and I trust her completely. I’m confident Mariah will get the treatment she needs.”

“All right,” Laurel agreed.

“I’ll give you the address.” Dr. Wells stood up, glancing around the cabin. “Anybody have a pencil and paper?”

“In my backpack,” Mariah volunteered. “It’s right over there, on the table.”

Laurel retrieved the backpack and was about to hand it to her when Mariah said crossly, “Just look in the zippered compartment in front.”

Sure enough, as Laurel unzipped the front pocket of the nylon bag, she saw a small notebook poking out. She reached inside and felt a pen at the bottom of the compartment.

As she brought it out of the backpack, she froze. It was a size double-zero Rapidograph, a specialized drawing pen that made extremely fine lines. She just stared at it, feeling the blood throbbing at her temples.

The marks made by this kind of pen were just like those on the unsigned note warning her to keep her nose out of the bear-poaching mystery.

I must tell Russ! was the first thought that rushed into her mind. Mariah must be jealous. Maybe she assumes I’m simply trying to make myself look good, showing off in front of Dr. Wells. That would explain her anonymous letter.

But a second, more cautious voice also insisted upon being heard.

This is just circumstantial evidence, the second voice said. You still have no proof that Mariah sent that note. Just a suspicion....

“Can’t you find it?” Mariah barked. “Here, give me that—”

“No, I’ve got them.” Laurel handed the pen and pad to Dr. Wells, relieved that no one seemed to have noticed her odd reaction to what she’d discovered in Mariah’s backpack.

“Here’s the address.” Dr. Wells was already jotting it down. He handed it to Laurel. “Now are you sure you two can handle this?”

“Of course,” Laurel replied. “Why not?”

Dr. Wells looked at Trip sternly. “I don’t want any funny business from you. We’ve got a serious problem on our hands, and I need you to act responsibly. That means treating both girls with respect.”

“Sure, Dr. Wells,” Trip assured him. “It’ll be fine.” Glancing over at Laurel, he added, “Laurel and I have come to an understanding. In fact, we’re becoming great friends.”

All of a sudden Cassie stood up. Without a word, she stalked into the bedroom.

* * * *

“Cassie?” Laurel called softly, knocking on the open door as she rounded the corner into the girls’ bedroom. “Are you all right?”

The red-haired girl, sprawled facedown across the bottom bunk, didn’t even glance up. Her voice muffled by her pillow, she replied, “You’re a fine one to ask.”

“I don’t get it.” Gingerly Laurel lowered herself onto the edge of Mariah’s cot. “There’s clearly something wrong, but you don’t seem to want to talk about it—”

“Oh, I’ll talk about it.” Cassie sat up abruptly. Her face was streaked with tears. “You’re an expert, Laurel.” She spat out her words. “You could give lessons. In fact, you could write an entire book on the subject.”

“I still don’t understand.”

“I suppose you don’t even have to think about it. It just comes to you naturally.” In response to Laurel’s continued confusion, she added, “You certainly did a nice job of pulling that one off. Arranging things so that Dr. Wells would send you and Trip off to Homer together.”

Slowly the meaning of Cassie’s words became clear. ‘Trip and me? I had nothing to do with that! It’s not my fault that Mariah—”

“Come on, Laurel. Surely you’re not going to deny that you’ve been after Trip ever since we got up here.”

“I do deny it!”

“I’ve seen the way you come on to him. It’s as if you’ve zeroed in on him, making him your project for the summer. And you’re supposed to be my best friend!”

“Cassie, I—”

“You know how I feel about him. But does that stand in your way? Oh, no. Not for a minute. Instead you go right ahead and ... and
throw
yourself at him—”

“I have absolutely no interest in Trip!” Laurel insisted. “If anything, I’m relieved that he and I seem to have finally reached an understanding. He keeps out of my way and I keep out of his. And when we do end up working together, he more or less behaves himself.”

Cassie acted as if she hadn’t heard a word Laurel had said. “And now I see you flirting with Russ every chance you get! What is it with you, Laurel? Isn’t one boy enough for you? Or do you have some kind of compulsion to make every guy you come into contact with fall in love with you?”

“Neither of them is in love with me!”

“Oh, no? You mean you haven’t noticed the way Russ follows you around like a lovesick puppy dog?”

“No, Cassie. I think you’re imagining—”

“As for Trip, you’re certainly doing your best! At
my
expense, no less! Boy, Laurel. Some friend you turned out to be!”

With that, Cassie jumped off the bed and stomped out of the room. Laurel stayed behind in the bedroom. Her ears were ringing. Was it possible there was any truth in the accusations her best friend had just made? She’d had her own suspicions about Russ, of course ... but she certainly hadn’t chased after him, the way Cassie was implying. As for Trip, she had absolutely no interest in him. She’d been sincere when she’d said she was happy simply to keep things between them as civil as possible.

She stood up, staring out the small window at the rich greens of the woods surrounding the cabin. Some patches glowed in the sunlight, others were bathed in deep shadows. Usually she found the sight of the forest so comforting. Today, it did nothing to make her feel even the least bit better.

She was dismayed over the possibility that she’d been giving Trip the wrong idea. And that she might be doing something that could hurt Russ. But what mattered to Laurel most was her friendship with Cassie. Now that she finally understood what was getting in their way, she only hoped it wasn’t too late to make up for the bad feelings that had sprung up between them.

****

“Ow! Be careful, will you?” Marian cast Trip an ice-cold look as he helped her out of the Jeep. “Are you
trying
to torture me, or is it something that just comes to you naturally?”

“Will you keep that stupid ice pack on your foot?” barked Trip. “Or are you
trying
to be difficult?”

Laurel let out a sigh. The ride from the preserve down to Homer should have been a joy. The scenery, after all, had been spectacular as the three of them drove south along the coast of the Kenai Peninsula. The range of mountains across Cook Inlet in the west was still covered with snow all the way down to sea level. And poking up above the range from south to north were three monumental volcanoes, Augustine, Iliamna, and Redoubt. In fact, Mount Redoubt was still steaming from its last eruption.

They even veered off the main road a few times to check out the small seaside village of Ninilchik that Dr. Wells had described. It was little more than a scattering of small buildings, rough wooded houses and a Russian-style church. The only sign of life was the salmon fishermen who lined the water’s edge, catching huge fish with apparent ease.

As they stood watching, they suddenly caught sight of a bald eagle, swooping gracefully across the sky. Laurel was amazed at how powerful—and at the same time, how elegant—the bird was.

“Now I appreciate why the eagle was chosen as America’s symbol,” Laurel observed.

“Once upon a time,” said Trip, “bald eagles were found in every state in the union. Now, they’re endangered everywhere in the U.S. except Alaska.”