The Trouble with Twins by Kathryn Siebel

Author:Kathryn Siebel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2016-08-09T04:00:00+00:00

“Mother,” says the girl. “Do you think Arabella’s mean?”

“No,” says the mother with a smile. “I think Arabella is changing.”

Arabella grew quiet, thinking. At last, she slept, sure that when morning came, they would find their way to the road, the road that would eventually lead to Henrietta.

With Gus by her side, Arabella felt entirely safe. Yet Gus was not the only one who was following Arabella on her journey. The police had set out hours earlier with dogs and flashlights and more volunteers than they really wanted. Finding nothing as the night wore on, the civilians turned back and went home to sleep in their warm beds, their fatigue winning out in the end, despite their best intentions. Only the chief and a few of his senior officers remained; they were determined to press a bit farther into the woods before giving up for the night. And Gus, a light sleeper under the best of circumstances, woke to the sound of their approach.

“Arabella!” he whispered, nudging her awake. “Get up! Someone’s coming.”

The rustling was louder now. They heard one of the dogs bark.

“Hurry,” Gus urged. “We can’t waste any time. We have to get across the stream.”

“The stream?” Arabella asked.

“It’s the best way to lose the dogs,” Gus said.

He grabbed her hand; she grabbed her bookbag. They were off.

“How deep is it?” Arabella asked as they reached the edge of the stream.

Gus had already waded in, and he turned back to face her. “What?”

“Gus,” she said, her voice trembling just slightly. “Have I mentioned that I don’t know how to swim?”

“Here,” he said, crouching at her feet. “Get up on my shoulders.”

Now, the truth was that Arabella was also a bit afraid of heights, but this didn’t seem the best time to mention it.

“Hang on!” Gus ordered as he plunged back into the water and began to walk downstream.

The sky had clouded over, and a light snow started to fall. They could still hear the dogs barking in the distance when they climbed out onto the bank, damp and missing one shoe (Arabella’s). But gradually the sound faded, the flashlight beams swung away from them, and Arabella’s pounding heart began to slow.

“Gus,” Arabella whispered. “Do you think they’re gone?”

“Absolutely,” Gus assured her. “It’s just us.”

And so it was—just the two of them in the quiet, snowy woods.

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