by Shari Barr
As if reading their minds, Mrs. Franks said, “Forget about your cell phones working down here. That’s why we have these walkie-talkies.” Turning to Alex, she added, “What’s with the sunglasses, girlie?”
McKenzie groaned. Alex slipped the glasses back into the backpack. Mrs. Franks walked away, helping her husband move boxes and trunks full of supplies.
Alex leaned over and whispered in McKenzie’s ear. “How will we get out of here?”
“I’m working on it,” McKenzie said. As she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, she felt a slight bulge in the pocket. The cave map! She had forgotten all about it. Leaning toward Alex, she whispered and nodded toward the passageway they had just traveled, “Let’s head back down that tunnel. It’s our only chance.”
The girls stood and edged back toward the gaping black hole. When they arrived at the entrance, McKenzie flicked on her flashlight and ran. Her tennis shoes pounded the rocky floor while Alex sprinted beside her.
“Hey, get back here!” Mrs. Franks screamed.
“Aah, leave them alone,” Mr. Franks answered. “They’ll never find their way out. We’ll come back for them later.”
When the girls reached the fork in the tunnel, McKenzie stopped to catch her breath. She pulled the map out of her pocket. “Let’s see if we can find another way out. We’ll have to hurry if we want to save Mario and Bianca before the Frankses take them away.”
Alex beamed her flashlight at the map. “We must be here.” She pointed her finger at a fork in the tunnel just off the main chamber.
“I think you’re right. This tunnel will lead to the entrance by the cove. We don’t want to go that way, or we’ll be stranded.” McKenzie traced her finger along another line on the map. “If we take the tunnel on the right, there’s another way out. It looks like it comes out about a half mile north of here, just off the main road. I think it’s our only chance.”
“Let’s go. I don’t want to be trapped in here,” Alex said with a trembling voice. “What if they don’t come back for us?”
“It doesn’t matter. They don’t know we have a map. We’ll be out of here in no time,” McKenzie said, trying to convince herself.
The girls hurried as fast as they dared down the passageway. The chill had crept into McKenzie’s bones. She walked faster, trying to warm up. A horrible thought crept into her mind. What if the map is wrong?
She pushed the thought away and kept walking. How far underground are we? A new thought rushed in. She had never before been claustrophobic, but the farther they walked, the more the walls seemed to close in on her. Dear God, get us out of here, please!
She halted suddenly when they came to another fork in the tunnel. Turning to Alex, she pulled her map out again. “Oh, no. The map only shows one tunnel. Which way do we go?”
Alex squinted, peering at the map. Then she turned and shined her light back and forth between the two tunnels. “The tunnel to the right looks like it curves back quite a bit. The other one goes straight like the one on the map. I think it’s the one we want.”
McKenzie glanced in both directions. “Okay, let’s go. We can always come back.”
McKenzie started down the left passageway, the beam from her flashlight bouncing off the dark, musty walls. The circle of light began to grow smaller and dimmer. “Oh, no, Alex. My batteries are going dead! We should have only been using one flashlight.”
“Shut yours off. We’ll use mine.” Alex moved closer to McKenzie.
With Alex holding the light, the girls crept farther down the tunnel. Thump-thump! Thump-thump! McKenzie’s heart felt like it could burst out of her chest. Water gurgled somewhere ahead.
“Do you hear that?” she stopped and asked. “Maybe we’re coming to an underground stream.”
McKenzie stared ahead and didn’t see the drop-off until it was too late. Her foot slipped. Her body crashed to the floor, twisting and bouncing as she slid down a wet embankment.
McKenzie screamed.
“McKenzie!” Alex shouted.
Cold air rushed at McKenzie’s face. She shot down the slippery slope on her backside. She flailed her arms, feeling like she was on a giant waterslide in complete darkness. A dot of light in the distance grew bigger and bigger.
Bouncing over a bump at the bottom, she sailed through the air like a rag doll. She splashed into a pool of icy water. She stood in the knee-high water, turning as a scream pierced the silence. A beam of light flew down the hill behind her. Seconds later, Alex landed with a splash at McKenzie’s feet.
McKenzie sputtered and caught her breath. A beam of light waved eerily beneath the water. Reaching in, she pulled out Alex’s waterproof flashlight.
“Are you okay?” McKenzie pulled her friend to her feet.
“I think so,” Alex said in between coughing fits. “But where are we?”
McKenzie saw daylight coming through the opening of the tunnel about thirty yards away. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she held it above the water, hoping it wasn’t too wet to work. She plodded toward the light as the water grew deeper. When she reached the opening, she stood in waist-high water, staring into the bright sunlight.
“We’re at the inlet in the cove, Alex!” she cried.
Seconds later, the girls climbed onto the large boulder outside the cave entrance they had climbed the other day. The warmth of the rock felt good beneath McKenzie’s cold, wet body. “See if your phone stayed dry inside the backpack.”
McKenzie sighed with relief as she punched in a number on Alex’s phone. After a few seconds, a voice answered on the other end. “Mr. C. This is McKenzie. We need you to come get us in your boat, but first, please call the police. I’m losing my signal. We’ve found Mario and Bianca…”
“Look at Susie,” Alex said after she snapped a picture. “She’s so happy to have her pups back.”
Aunt Becca smiled as she stood beside the girls at the Sea Lion Harbor observation area. “If you hadn’t found the pups when you did, the Frankses would have gotten away. The police got to the cave as the truck was ready to leave. Though your video sunglasses worked like a charm, the Frankses confessed again to the police. They planned to train the pups and then sell them to a circus, just like you thought.”
McKenzie felt a little sorry for the Frankses when she heard they were arrested. But when she saw Susie playing with her pups again, she knew they had done the right thing by calling the police. She thanked God silently. Without His help they never could have saved Mario and Bianca.
“If I hurry, maybe I can enlarge this picture of Susie and her pups at the photo shop for the contest tomorrow,” Alex said, “since I never got a shot of the whales.”
I think I’ll submit the photo of Alex to the contest too, McKenzie thought.
Later that evening, both girls handed their photos over to the contest chairman inside the community building in Newport. “You can’t see mine until tomorrow,” McKenzie said with a grin. “It’s a surprise.”
After breakfast the next morning, Aunt Becca drove the girls to the festival in Newport. McKenzie held the morning paper in her lap. A picture of the two Camp Club Girls graced the front page. VACATIONING GIRLS CRACK SEA LION SMUGGLING RING, the headline read.
“Wow, we’re famous,” Alex said with a giggle.
“I can’t believe the owners of Sea Park invited us to swim with the sea lions today. The owners are bringing some new trainers in,” McKenzie said excitedly.
After Aunt Becca parked the car, the three hopped out. Music blared over the loudspeakers as they walked down the crowded sidewalks. McKenzie could detect wonderful smells from popcorn, hot dogs, and nachos to caramel apples and ice cream. Little kids stood in line to get their faces painted.
“Here we are, girls,” Aunt Becca said, ushering them into the community building.
A mingling of voices echoed throughout the hall as people walked about, looking at the pictures on display racks. The girls walked through the crowd, peering over shoulders and looking fo
r their photos.
“There’s mine,” Alex exclaimed, ducking beneath a man’s arm. “I got second place!” Her fingers touched the red ribbon hanging on the side of her picture of Susie and the pups.
“Congratulations!” McKenzie said, “Now, let’s look for mine.”
Dodging in between spectators, she finally found her picture. A red, white, and blue honorable mention ribbon hung beside it. Alex’s eyes grew wide.
Alex grinned. “I didn’t even know you took my picture that day.”
Aunt Becca stood behind the girls, admiring McKenzie’s picture of Alex saving the little girl from drowning in Devil’s Churn. No one spoke for a minute, but then Aunt Becca glanced at her watch. “We’d better head back toward Florence. We don’t want the staff at Sea Park to wait on us.”
On the way to the park, McKenzie suddenly understood the importance of caring for God’s creatures. At times she had thought they would never find the pups. But God had strengthened her faith by keeping them safe until they could be rescued.
Later, McKenzie and Alex stood beside the sea lion arena, wearing black wet suits. McKenzie beamed as a national TV news crew focused their cameras on Alex, reporting on her rescue of the little girl in Devil’s Churn.
Minutes later, the crew followed Alex as she approached McKenzie, their cameras still rolling. Aunt Becca stood beside them, holding Alex’s camcorder.
“Hello. I’m McKenzie Phillips and this is Alexis Howell, coming to you live from Sea Park in Florence, Oregon. Today we’re going to help train sea lions for the park’s most famous show. Want to join us?”
McKenzie slid her goggles on and turned to the two sea lions floating in the pool behind her. She climbed onto the ledge and held her breath. With a lunge, she leaped into the air, landing in the pool with an ungraceful cannonball splash!
Camp Club Girls:
McKenzie’s Branson
Brainteaser
Missing!
“Yeee-iiikes!” McKenzie screeched. The amusement park’s Giant Swing launched her seven stories high through barn doors and into the blue sky.
“Woo-hoo!” Sydney cried, clutching the bar across her lap.
McKenzie’s stomach felt like it leaped into her throat. Her curly auburn ponytail whipped her face. The ride, which was housed in a red barn, swung like a clock pendulum, rising and falling. Back and forth the swing soared, its riders screaming.
When the swing sailed high above the barn, McKenzie caught a quick view of Silver Dollar City, a theme park in Branson, Missouri. Far beneath her, the ground swayed, making her dizzy. The lush Ozark hills surrounding the park seemed to rise and fall.
Whooosh! The swing dropped backward until McKenzie was almost hanging upside down. Her stomach tingled with each rise and fall. She gripped the lap bar so tightly her knuckles turned white.
The swing flung the group of riders back and forth until McKenzie thought she would throw up. Finally the swinging slowed and soon halted.
McKenzie’s knees felt like wet noodles as she slipped beneath the safety bar and tried to stand. “Wow, was that ever cool!”
Sydney beamed, her white teeth a contrast against her skin. Her brown eyes flashed beneath dark lashes. The cornrows laced with tiny rainbow-colored beads in her short black hair clinked as she swung her head. “I thought I was going to fall out on my head,” she said with a laugh.
The girls stumbled to the ride’s exit along with the crowd of other riders. Laughter and chattering voices filled the air. The rumble of the PowderKeg roller coaster thundered in the background.
“We have to go on that!” McKenzie exclaimed, watching the cars streak along the rails, twisting and turning as the riders shrieked. “But we probably won’t have time today. I have to head to the Dixie Showcase and get ready for the show this afternoon.”
“I can’t wait to watch you,” Sydney said. “Aren’t you nervous?”
McKenzie nodded. Though she’d performed in front of thousands of people at rodeos, the Dixie Showcase was different. People from all around the world came to Branson to watch the Civil War horse performance. McKenzie’s job was to wear a southern belle dress and ride a horse around an arena. While the audience feasted on a meal, she and other performers warned the rebels that the Yankees were coming.
“I’m not as nervous now as I was two weeks ago when I first started, though,” McKenzie answered. “It’s getting easier all the time. I am so glad Mom’s friend Miss Val invited you to come visit me for the week. We’ll have so much fun.”
A warm summer breeze ruffled McKenzie’s hair. Overhead, the leaves rustled in the treetops. Flowerbeds sprouted in rainbow colors around the tree trunks. Shops built to look like log cabins lined the maze of walkways. Inside the shops, tourists could buy all kinds of souvenirs and handcrafted items.
“Branson is such a cool town.” Sydney stepped into a jewelry shop to look at an earring display. “And I just love Silver Dollar City. I’ve never been to a theme park where pioneer arts and crafts are made. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time to the 1800s.”
“Except for the rides,” McKenzie said, picking up a pair of dangling hoops. “They’re definitely not 1800s.”
“Neither are these.” Sydney grabbed a pair of wire earrings embedded with red, blue, and green stones. She held them up to her ears. “How do they look?”
McKenzie looked up. “Great. They’re definitely you.”
“I’m getting them.” Sydney pulled a handful of bills from her jean shorts pocket. She handed them to a man wearing old-fashioned black pants, suspenders, and a white shirt.
“We’d better head to the basket weaver’s shop. Miss Val is probably ready to start training you after she takes me to the Dixie Showcase.” McKenzie glanced at her watch.
Sydney grabbed her change and the bag. Then the girls headed down the old-fashioned Main Street, past the general store. When they reached the basket shop, they inched around the crowd of people gathered inside. A young man sat on a wooden stool weaving baskets with thin strips of wood.
“Hey, girls!” a familiar voice called out.
McKenzie looked to the back of the shop. A middle-aged woman approached them, wearing a long brown dress and a faded yellow sun-bonnet hanging around her neck.
“Are we late?” McKenzie asked Miss Val, her mother’s friend from college who had recently moved to Branson.
“Right on time.” Miss Val wiped her hands on her stained white apron. Turning to Sydney, she said, “Are you ready to help me in the basket-weaving demonstration?”
“I’m ready.” Sydney bounced on the tip of her toes.
“I thought you were taking me to the Dixie Showcase.” McKenzie traced her finger across the top of a burgundy and blue basket hanging from a hook.
“I’ve had to change plans.” Miss Val tucked a strand of long reddish-blond hair behind her ear. “I have to cover for Andy while he takes a lunch break. I found someone to give you a ride to the Showcase.”
McKenzie opened her mouth to speak, but a tall, thin teenaged girl walked up beside them. Her long, curly blond hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. Her orange T-shirt hung loosely over her faded blue jeans. She smiled shyly at the girls and then turned to Miss Val.
“Hi, Shara,” Miss Val said, smiling at the teenager. “Girls, this is Shara Hayden. Her mother is a friend of mine. Shara, meet McKenzie Phillips and Sydney Lincoln.”
After the girls greeted Miss Val’s friend, she continued, “Shara just started working at the Dixie Showcase helping out with the horses. She’s offered to give you a ride, McKenzie.”
McKenzie couldn’t help feeling a little envious of Shara. She absolutely loved horses. Though she had been chosen to perform at the Dixie Showcase, she would have been just as happy to clean horse stalls. Back home on her parents’ farm in Montana, she helped take care of their small herd of horses.
Shara turned to McKenzie. “I’ll be glad to help out whenever I can,” she said with a smile. “Are you ready?”
McKenzie nodded. She turned to Miss Val, hanging baskets on display hooks. “Are you still planning to pick me up after the performance?”
“Yes, Sydney and I are coming to the show, and then we’ll find you afterward,” Miss Val agreed.
McKenzie followed Shara out of the shop while Miss Val led Sydney into the back room to change into a pioneer costume.
Shara led McKenzie through the crowd of people bustling about. McKenzie sniffed the fragrant smells of the flowers and trees lining the walkways. Her stomach rumbled as aromas wafted from the concession stands. Kettle corn, saltwater taffy, funnel cakes, barbecue sandwiches. She suddenly remembered how hungry she was.
Since both girls had to work through the supper hour, they stopped at a sandwich shop for hamburgers. They ate while walking toward the parking lot.
“What brings you to Branson?” Shara asked, licking a bit of ketchup off her lower lip.
“The Dixie Showcase has hired kids from across the nation to be a part of their performances. Since I was crowned Montana’s Junior Miss Rodeo Queen, I was offered the job. It sounded like a lot of fun, so Mom and Dad let me come down and stay with Miss Val for a month. They’re going to drive down from Montana at the end of the month and take me home.” McKenzie took another bite of hamburger.
“Wow! You’re a real rodeo queen? Is your friend Sydney working at the Showcase too?” Shara sipped from her soft drink cup.
“No, she just flew down from Washington, DC, last night to stay at Miss Val’s house with me. She’s going to work with Miss Val and some of the other crafters at Silver Dollar City for a week. Then she has to head back home.” McKenzie shoved the last of her sandwich in her mouth and tossed the wrapper in a trash can beside a split-rail fence.
“How did you girls meet? You live so far from each other,” Shara said, moving through the crowd of people.
“We met at a place called Camp Discovery.” McKenzie nearly collided with a little boy running by, blowing an old-fashioned wooden train whistle. “Four other girls shared a cabin with us, and we all became really good friends. Even though we live in different parts of the country, we keep in touch all the time. We call ourselves the Camp Club Girls. We solved a mystery while we were there. Now, we often solve mysteries together.”
