Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner

Author:Kate Messner
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2014-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

Ranger growled low in his throat. The snake raised its twitching tail, and another angry buzz filled the air.

The snake tasted the air again, then turned and slowly slithered away through the dust and dry grass, into a crevice.

Sam let out a rush of breath. “You are the best dog in the world!” He sank to his knees and wrapped his arms around Ranger’s neck. Ranger could feel him shaking. Sam held on for a long time, and when the trembling went away, he gave Ranger one more squeeze and stood up. “Now … let’s climb to the top!”

Sam stepped carefully from ledge to ledge, watching for snakes, but he didn’t see any more. He climbed higher and higher with Ranger on his heels.

Finally, Sam stepped onto a ledge with some shade and plopped down to rest. “Let’s take a break, Dog. Then we can go the rest of the way to the top.”

Ranger didn’t want to take a break. He thumped his paws on Sam’s chest, knocked him over, and licked him all over his face. That usually got Luke moving again when he was tired.

But Sam only laughed. “I just need to catch my breath, I promise.”

Ranger licked Sam’s ear one more time and wandered off to sniff at a wide crack between two of the rocks. It smelled damp and cool. He pushed his nose in a little more. It was a deep crevice. Ranger barked. His bark echoed somewhere that sounded far away.

“What’d you find, Dog?” Sam leaned over him to look into the crevice. “This looks like it goes on for a bit …” He turned himself sideways and wiggled through until he disappeared.

Ranger barked.

“It’s okay. Come on in, Dog!”

Ranger squeezed through the narrow passageway until it opened up into a cool room with rock walls. He barked again, and his woof bounced all around.

“We discovered a secret cave!” Sam looked around. When his eyes got used to the shadows, he saw writing on the walls. More names. “No … I guess we didn’t discover it. Looks like someone else was here first.”

Ranger liked the cave. The air was cool and soft in here, and he was getting tired. He turned a few times and settled on the rocky floor, head on his paws. Sam ran his hand over the names, reading them aloud.

“J. Bower was here on July 11, 1847. F. B. Chamberlain was here in 1849. Look at all the names … Brisbee … Hawk … Connor … So many people were here before us, Dog. Do you think they saw rattlesnakes or got sick or had to scare off buffalo stampedes?”

Ranger lifted his head. Luke used to talk with him like this sometimes, when they were alone in the backyard or up in Luke’s bedroom. He’d talk about important things and ask questions as if Ranger were another person. Ranger could never answer, but somehow, Luke always understood he was listening. Sam seemed to understand, too.

“I wonder if they all made it

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