Mountain Runaways by Pam Withers

Mountain Runaways by Pam Withers

Author:Pam Withers [Withers, Pam]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Action & Adventure / Survival Stories
ISBN: 9781459748330
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: 2021-12-04T00:00:00+00:00


They’ve been in the camp for what Jon guesses is three or four weeks — and Korka’s ankle is pretty much mended — when he first notices things going missing. A pack of waterproof matches. Must have been misplaced. A rain poncho. That’s more baffling. Then their folding saw.

Jon is panicking, furious. “Aron, did you borrow the saw?” he shouts. “And have you lost a rain poncho somewhere?”

Despite Aron’s valuable contributions of hares, it bothers Jon a lot that his brother keeps heading out on his own, sometimes not returning for an hour or two. It’s a development he doesn’t like one bit, but laying down rules does no good anymore. Aron just defies them.

Aron shakes his head vigorously.

“And I know we had two more packs of matches. Korka? Aron? Have you gone through a whole box this week?”

“Stop accusing us!” Korka stops whittling shapes into a walking stick Aron has brought her.

“But the saw!” Jon erupts. “Someone has lost it! We can’t survive without it. And someone must have borrowed the rain poncho from my pack since last night.”

“Ravens?” Korka suggests in a voice that’s tense but attempting to sound bored. “Maybe they build nests using saws, matchsticks, and ponchos now?”

“Guys,” Jon says in a calmer but firm tone, “things are going missing. What’s going on?”

From the corner of his eye, he catches Aron squirming a little. Like he knows more than he’s saying. Jon decides to keep his mouth shut and eyes wide open.

That night, as they crawl into their sleeping bags, he pushes his backpack into the protected entryway between the zipping door and flaps as usual, but he doesn’t zip the door down all the way. Positioning his head and one arm partway into the space, he ties one of the pack’s straps around his wrist and closes his eyes, willing himself to stay awake all night.

Well past midnight, he wakes when the bag moves a millimetre or two, just enough to alert him. He holds his breath and squeezes his eyes shut. The thief unzips the bag without a sound and reaches deep into it to remove something.

The hint of a jingle identifies their can of cash! Hardly has the arm withdrawn than he leaps up, pulls the strap from his wrist, shoves his feet into his boots, and is outside. A shadowy figure sprints away, and he gives chase in the slushy snow, shouting.

Under the sliver of a moon, he can see the thief is dressed in dark clothes, complete with hiking boots, and is swift on his feet. How the silhouette can dart so fast through the forest with no headlamp, Jon has no clue, but when he switches his own on and trains it on the burglar, the mysterious stranger doubles his speed, twisting and turning around tree trunks.

The shadow takes a flying leap over a stream, catching Jon by surprise. Despite his quick reactions, Jon ends up with one boot stuck between two fallen branches on the far side.

“Why?” he shouts.



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