Danger by Anne Capeci

Author:Anne Capeci [Capeci, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781561457489
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2003-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

FRIEND—OR ENEMY?

Billy struggled in the freezing water. His arms and legs felt numb and clumsy. His sopping clothes and boots were like weights that dragged him down. Somehow he managed to kick toward the surface. He broke through the water, gasping for air.

“H-help!” Billy sputtered through chattering teeth.

“Grab onto the branch!” Finn called. “Hurry, before you hit the falls!”

Billy felt the pull of the current. The rocks of the falls were just in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Finn yank Dannie’s branch from her. He held the branch in front of Billy, and Billy grabbed it. He hung on while Finn pulled him to the rock where Dannie stood. A moment later, Billy lay flat on his back in a puddle of water.

A dark shadow blocked the warm rays of the sun. Billy opened one eye and saw Dannie standing over him.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Billy sat up. “Yeah. No thanks to you.”

Danny crossed her arms and scowled. “Why are you sneaking around after my father and me?” she demanded.

“Us? What about you?” Billy cried. “You’re the ones running around with dynamite and blowing up buildings.”

Dannie bent closer to Billy, shaking her fist. “Take that back, or I’ll throw you in again!” she said. Finn dragged her away.

“We saw you with dynamite, Dannie,” Finn said. “We saw your father trying to break into the security office, too. Right before he tried to kill us with a boulder!”

Now Dannie whirled angrily to face Finn. “Papa wasn’t breaking in. And he didn’t try to kill anyone!” she insisted.

“That’s a lie, and you know it,” Billy shot back. He wrung water from his dripping shirt, then looked Dannie straight in the face. “You followed us. You saw the whole thing. Believe me, your father will be fired in a second when the railroad company finds out what he’s up to.”

“Fired?” Dannie said. For the first time, a glimmer of fear replaced the fury in her eyes. “They c-can’t fire him!” she said. “Papa didn’t do anything!”

Finn and Billy looked at each other and said nothing.

“Honest! My father went to the security office to see Mr. Jenkins about a job,” Dannie rushed on. “He wasn’t breaking in. When he heard you he got spooked and ran away, that’s all.”

“My father says the only kind of man who runs from things is the kind who’s got something to hide,” Finn said.

“Anyhow, your father’s already got a job,” Billy pointed out. “Why does he need another one?”

“It’s for my brother Mike.” Dannie snapped a sprig of needles from the fir tree behind her. Buster sniffed at the branches.

“We owed a lot of money when we left Chicago,” Dannie went on. “My mother was sick for a long time before she …” Dannie blinked. “Before she died. It cost a lot of money, and the banks wouldn’t give Papa a loan. He had to borrow it from … well, from some bad guys.”

“You mean, gangsters?” Billy asked.

Dannie nodded. “Papa couldn’t pay them back,” she said quietly.

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