New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club by Bertrand R. Brinley & Charles Geer

Author:Bertrand R. Brinley & Charles Geer [Brinley, Bertrand R. & Geer, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Science Clubs, Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9781930900110
Google: n7MMAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 1930900112
Publisher: Purple House Press
Published: 1972-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

"Excellent!" said Mrs. Larrabee. "Then I have an announcement to make."

"Yes, Mrs. Larrabee," sighed the Mayor. "What is your announcement?"

"The ladies of the Greater Mammoth Falls Garden Circle, of which I am president, and the ladies of the Mammoth Falls chapter of the Friends of the Wildwood, of which I am also president as well as corresponding secretary, have invited the members of the Daughters of Pocahontas and their husbands to join them in an ancient Indian sun dance. It is a ritual dance of the Pawnees, and one in which they had great faith."

"Yes, Mrs. Larrabee!"

"We intend to perform the dance at six a.m. tomorrow morning at Lookout Rock on the top of Indian Hill. It's a most appropriate place, don't you think?"

"Yes, Mrs. Larrabee!"

"We would like you and all the Town Council members to be there. We think the whole community should support us."

"I'm sure they will, Mrs. Larrabee."

"But will you be there, Mr. Mayor?"

"Yes!" said the Mayor wearily. "I might as well be. My house will probably be under water."

"And the members of the Council?"

"Yes, Mrs. Larrabee. They will be there."

This was something we couldn't afford to miss. Tired as we were, we dragged ourselves to the top of Indian Hill in the pale gray light of the morning. We had worked all night on the dikes, and there was nothing more that could be done. If the creek rose any higher, the sheer weight of the water would burst the sandbag walls.

It was a motley crowd that assembled in the grassy clearing behind Lookout Rock that morning. A persistent drizzle was still falling from the leaden overcast above, and most people were huddled under umbrellas. Mrs. Larrabee was circulating among them, trying to persuade everyone to take down their umbrellas and join in the dance. Meanwhile, Abner Larrabee, with the help of a couple of other henpecked men, was trying to coax a sodden mass of newspapers and twigs into flame.

The Daughters of Pocahontas had been using this clearing as a meeting place for years, and they had arranged a lot of fieldstones in a circle for seats. At one side of the circle was a sort of gateway, where you were supposed to stop and pick up a twig to throw on the council fire in the center as you entered the sacred circle. At the side opposite the gateway was a large slate slab, suspended across two rocks, which served as a kind of throne for whoever was the high muckety-muck of the council. In the center was a ring of smaller stones to mark the spot for the council fire, and this is where Abner Larrabee was striving to get a blaze started.

We clambered up onto the top of Lookout Rock, which was directly behind the throne, to watch the proceedings -- all except Dinky Poore, that is. He curled up at the base of the rock in a poncho and fell fast asleep.

A lot of shouting went up from the women when the first flicker of flame shot up through the stack of kindling Abner was fanning.

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