What a Pair! (7 page)

“I know … Let’s sit on the porch swing and read a
buch
,” Stella suggested.

Mattie shook her head. “That’d be boring. Besides, we’ll be reading plenty of books when we go back to school. Why don’t we lie in the grass and look at the clouds?”

“Huh-uh. I’d rather not.”

Mattie snapped her fingers. “I know! We can make some homemade bubble solution and see if we can get Mark’s cat, Lucky, to chase them.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m sure Ada would like blowing bubbles, too.” Stella glanced around the yard, and then she looked at Mattie with a worried frown. “Where is Ada?”

“She’s right here.” Mattie looked down, but Ada was gone. “That makes no sense. She was here a minute ago.”

“Maybe she went to the barn to find Twinkles,” Stella said.

“You’re probably right.” Mattie raced into the barn. “Ada, where are you?” she called, looking all around.

No response; not even a bark or a whine from Twinkles.

Mattie searched in every part of the barn, but there was no sign of Ada. However, she finally found Twinkles curled up in a ball on top of a bale of hay. She figured Ada had to be playing somewhere in the yard, or maybe she was hiding from them.

Mattie was almost to the barn door when she collided with Stella.

“Oops!” Stella rubbed her forehead. “Are you okay, Mattie?”

“Jah, I’m fine. It’s just a little bump on the head. How are you?”

“I’ll be okay, too. Did you find Ada?”

“No. I think she must be somewhere in the yard. Why don’t you go this way, and I’ll go that way.” Mattie pointed to one side of the yard and then the other. “One of us is bound to find her.”

The girls took off in opposite directions. Mattie shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun. No sign of Ada in the alfalfa pasture. “Ada, where are you?” she called.

Mattie kept searching and calling for her little sister. If she didn’t find her before Mom got home, she didn’t know what she would do. It would be awful to tell Mom that Ada was missing, and Mattie was sure she’d be in trouble for not keeping a closer eye on her little sister.

Another thought popped into Mattie’s head.
If Ada wandered off our property and got onto the road, she could get hit by a car!

Mattie’s heart thumped and her palms grew sweaty. Off in the distance she could see dark clouds forming, which meant rain, so she had to find Ada, and quickly!

    C
HAPTER
5    

“How’s it going over there?”
Mark’s brother Calvin called to him from the other side of the pond. “Have you caught any fish?”

Mark cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered, “Nope, not even one. How about you?”

“Not yet, but I’ve had a few nibbles!”

Mark pointed at Russell, who sat several feet away. “He has two nice-sized fish in his bucket already.”

“That’s great! At least one of is having some luck,” Calvin said.

“Sure wish I’d catch something,” Mark mumbled.

“You have to be patient,” Russell said. “Or maybe you should move to a different spot.”

Mark frowned. He’d already moved to several spots, and none of them seemed any better. At this rate, it didn’t look like he’d catch any fish today!

Bzzz … Bzzz …
Mark slapped at a mosquito that had landed on his arm. It seemed like he’d been slapping at them ever since they’d gotten to the pond. If things didn’t improve soon, the only thing he’d be taking home would be a whole lot of itchy mosquito bites!

Feeling kind of drowsy, Mark set his fishing pole aside, removed his straw hat, and lay back in the grass. Then, placing his hat over his face, he closed his eyes and thought about the new bicycle he hoped he’d get for his birthday next month. A blue-and-white one would be really nice. He’d also like a carrier on the back of the bike, where he could tie on his schoolbooks. How nice it would be to ride to school every day, like his two older brothers did. Mark knew that Mattie was hoping for a bicycle, too, only she wanted hers to be red.

Mark and Mattie had both been disappointed when they’d learned that Grandpa and Grandma Troyer might not make it for their birthday celebration, which was coming up soon. Grandma and Grandpa lived farther north in a town called Burton, and it was more than one hundred miles away. Since it was too far to travel by horse and buggy, it meant having to hire a driver to bring them to Walnut Creek. That would normally be okay, but in Grandma’s last letter she said Grandpa’s arthritis had been acting up, and that if he wasn’t better by Mark and Mattie’s birthday they wouldn’t be coming to help them celebrate.

A breeze blew softly over Mark, and he let his mind drift to a time last year when Mom and Dad had surprised them all with a little family getaway. They’d hired a driver with a van and gone to Burton to visit Grandpa and Grandma Troyer and go to the Geauga County Fair. Since the fair was close to Grandpa and Grandma’s house, they were able to walk to it. During the day, while Ada and Perry took their naps, Mom and Dad had some quiet time to visit with Grandma and Grandpa while Mark and Mattie went with Calvin, Russell, and Ike to the fairgrounds to take in some of the events. Mark didn’t know what he liked best—the rooster crowing contest, the lively music, or all the good food. Of course, he’d saved room for the delicious supper Grandma had cooked. Afterward, Grandpa built a fire outdoors, and they’d all roasted marshmallows.

Thinking about all the fun he’d had made Mark feel even drowsier, and soon he drifted off to sleep, dreaming about toasty marshmallows and a brand-new bike.

“You won’t catch any fish like that. You’ve gotta put your line in the water.”

Pushing the hat off his face, Mark’s eyes snapped open and he squinted up at Russell, who stood over him with his fishing pole.

“I’m gettin’ tired of holding my pole and not catching any fish.” Mark’s stomach rumbled as he sat up. “I’m hungerich. Wish I’d brought something to snack on.” Thinking about all the good food he’d eaten at Grandma and Grandpa Troyer’s last year hadn’t helped either.

“I think Calvin brought some beef jerky along. Want some of that?” Russell asked.

Mark wrinkled his nose. “Huh-uh. Beef jerky’s too tough.”

“I have some chewing gum. Would you like a piece?”

Mark shook his head. “Whenever I chew gum it makes me feel even hungrier. Anyways, I still have a few sticks of gum in my pocket from the pack Grandpa Miller gave me the last time we visited there.”

“Well, it’s all we’ve got, so if you already have gum, and don’t want any beef jerky, then you’ll just have to suffer.”

“Maybe I’ll go look for some blackberries,” Mark said. “I’ll bet there are some ripe ones around here by now.”

“Probably so, but you came to fish, not pick berries,” his brother reminded him.

“But I’m not gettin’ any fish, so I may as well pick some berries.” Mark plunked his hat back on his head and jumped up. Then he grabbed the plastic bucket he’d brought along, which he’d hoped to fill with fish. Since he hadn’t caught any, he figured he may as well put the bucket to good use.

“I’ll be back as soon as I have some berries for us to eat,” he told Russell. “If there are enough ripe ones, I might get some for Mom, so she can bake a blackberry pie.”

Russell smacked his lips and smoothed his shiny blond hair back under his straw hat. “That sounds really good. Just don’t be gone too long, ‘cause we need to be home in time for supper.”

Feeling a little better about things, Mark hurried away. He had a hunch he might be more successful at berry picking than he was at fishing today.

When Mark reached the berry patch, he was pleased to discover lots of plump, ripe berries. The only problem was all the good ones were deep inside the berry patch. The ones near the edge had already been picked by someone else. Or maybe some critter had eaten them. Well, he’d do the best he could and get the ones he could reach.

Mark started picking lickety-split, eating a few of the juicy berries and putting the rest into the bucket. By the time he’d picked all he could reach, the bucket wasn’t even half full of berries. He’d need a lot more if he was going to take some home for Mom to bake a pie.

Guess I’ll just have to go deeper into the bushes
, Mark decided.

He pushed a thorny branch aside and hollered, “Ouch!” when it scratched his arm.

“Ouch! Ouch!” Even through his pant legs he could feel the harsh thorns of the blackberry bush. They seemed to be grabbing at him with every step he took.

I’m tough. I can do this
,
he told himself
.
Can’t let a few stickers keep me from getting all those juicy, ripe berries
.

Deeper and deeper into the blackberry bush he went, until a whole bunch of plump, purple berries were within his grasp.

Plunk! Plunk! Plunk!
The berries went into the bucket, until it was almost full. Then Mark ate a few more berries, until his stomach was full as well.

“Kumme, Mark! It’s time to go!” Calvin called. “Hurry up now, the wind’s picking up and it might start to rain!”

“Coming!” Mark hollered, looking up at the sky. He was surprised to see how cloudy it had gotten when just a short time ago it was nice and sunny.

He took a step forward and realized that he was surrounded by thorny bushes. No matter which way he went he was bound to get all stuck up.

“Oh boy, guess I’m not as tough as I thought I was. Sure wish now I’d never come in here,” he muttered. “I need to get out really fast!”

Bzzz … Bzzz …
A big bumblebee buzzed Mark’s ear.

He swatted at it, but that only made things worse. The bee left its stinger in Mark’s right hand.

“Yeow!” Mark dropped the bucket, and plowing through the bushes, he heard little ripping sounds as the thorns held fast to his shirt and pants.

Finally free of those prickly stickers, he ran screaming all the way back to the pond.

Just as he reached his brothers, a gust of wind came up, and—swoosh!—it lifted Mark’s hat right off his head. The wind carried his hat this way and that, and then it landed in the water!

“Oh no,” Mark groaned. “I wish I’d stayed home with Mattie today.” No fish, no berries, torn clothes, a bee sting, and to make matters worse, his hat was now floating in the middle of the pond!

Giving one last glance at his water-logged hat, Mark’s mouth dropped open as he watched the biggest trout he’d ever seen leap into the air and snatch a bug that had been hovering over the water.

Lifting his arms in exasperation, Mark thought to himself,
I know Mattie’s got to be having a better day at home than I am here, ‘cause I’m sure having a terrible day!

“We’ve got to find Ada!” Mattie shouted to Stella. “It looks like rain is coming, and if I don’t find her before Mom gets home, I’ll be in big trouble.” Tears welled in Mattie’s eyes and dribbled onto her cheeks. “W–what if I never see my little sister again?
Ach
… What a terrible day!”

“Calm down, Mattie, and take a deep breath.” Stella put her arm around Mattie and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Ada’s got to be here someplace. Let’s try and think if there’s somewhere we haven’t thought to look for her yet.”

“I looked in the barn, and we’ve both looked all over the yard.”