The Secret of Fire Island (Kristi Cameron Book 1) Read online

  Finally they were all done with their chores and Kristi once more took charge. “Is everyone okay?” she asked. “Did anyone get hurt in the earthquake?” They all assured her that they were fine.

  Leilani spoke, “I never had time to introduce you to one another!” She took her grandmother’s hand. “I would like to introduce you all to my Grandmother Manoa. Grandmother, this is Kristi Cameron and her brother, Skeeter. And this is Robyn and Anna. They have all been wonderful friends to me and so have Kristi and Skeeter’s parents. Kristi’s other brother Dan is on the island, too, along with his friend Pete.”

  All of a sudden Kristi gasped. “Uh-oh! What time is it? We’re supposed to be back at the campsite by 5:00! Mom and Dad will worry if we’re late.”

  Mrs. Manoa was the only one who was wearing a watch, since the others had removed theirs when they went into the pool. “It’s only 5:23 right now, Kristi,” she said. “I’m sure your parents will understand and not be angry with you—especially when you show up with me!”

  “That’s true,” Kristi said. “But if you’re feeling better, Mrs. Manoa, perhaps we’d better head back to camp.”

  They helped her to her feet and started towards the tunnel they had come through earlier. The floor trembled a bit under their feet and they halted nervously, but a few seconds later Mrs. Manoa said, “It was probably just a little aftershock. We’ll be alright. The sooner we get out of this cave, though, the better I’ll feel!”

  They ignored Michael Laird where he still lay unconscious on the floor and securely tied up. The girls and Mrs. Manoa followed Skeeter into the tunnel at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly he stopped abruptly. “Oh, no!” he groaned. “The tunnel has collapsed, too! The opening we came through is completely buried! We’re trapped!”

  ____________

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ____________

  Trapped with the Treasure

  Steve and Rachel Cameron steered the boat towards the beach where they had set up camp. They jumped out in the shallow water and pulled the boat up onto the sand, far out of reach of the rising tide. They were alone at the campsite. None of the teens was back yet. It wasn’t even 4:30 yet, and they weren’t due back until 5:00.

  “It’s too quiet here, Steve,” Rachel said nervously. “Why don’t we just take a walk over to the waterfall and check on Skeeter and the girls? Dan and Pete will be okay if we’re not here when they return.”

  “Sure, Honey, if that’s what you want to do,” Steve agreed. They had just started towards the trees when Dan and Pete came around the bend of the beach and called out to them.

  “Mom! Dad!” Dan yelled. “Hold up!” He and Pete came loping across the sand. “Wow, I see you decided to bring the boat back with you,” he said, trying to catch his breath.

  “Well, we really didn’t have a choice!” his mother laughed. That little boat was just dying to get away from Michael Laird!”

  “Huh?”

  Steve explained how they had found the boat untied and with the keys handily under the mat. “Did you two find anything on your scouting trip?” he asked.

  “No, nothing at all, Mr. Cameron,” Pete said. “If it weren’t for that boat, I’d say this island is totally deserted.”

  “Well, we’re just on our way now to see how the other kids are doing. Would you guys like to come along?” Rachel asked.

  “Sure!” Dan answered. “Just let us grab a couple bottles of water, okay?”

  They were soon on their way again. Pete and Dan asked his father about the boat while they walked along—what kind it was, how it ran and so on. They were just passing the trees where the old stranded plane lay in the branches forty feet above when suddenly the ground began to shake. Coconuts fell to the ground and flocks of birds rose squawking wildly into the air from the forest all around them. The trees swayed, and they looked in panic at the plane above their heads as it shifted in the limbs of the trees. A rumble filled the air and they lost their balance as the earth moved under their feet. Rachel crashed into a bush next to her and Dan landed on top of her. Pete grabbed hold of a tree trunk and held on for dear life. Steve reached for his wife and son and ended up on top of the heap of tangled legs and arms.

  The rumbling and shaking finally ended and they helped one another to their feet. They looked nervously at the plane above them and saw that it seemed to be securely lodged between the trunks of two trees. Beyond the wingtips of the plane they could see clear blue sky—and billows of black smoke that could only be coming from the island’s volcano.

  “Look!” Pete said. “It looks like the volcano is stirring. I don’t think we have anything to worry about, though. When I was doing some research about this island before we left home, I read that when lava does flow from this volcano, it generally only comes down on the east side of the island. We’re on the west side. Ka lua pele,” he said. They looked at him. “Oh, that’s Hawaiian for volcano.”

  They watched as the volcano belched more smoke. Here and there they could see fiery rocks of lava flying through the air, but they were far enough away that they did not feel in any immediate danger.

  Suddenly Rachel gasped, “The kids! Come on—we have to make sure they’re okay. They’re probably scared out of their wits!” They hurried over the path they had made in the rain forest that led to the glade and waterfall.

  The small clearing was empty when they entered it. Colorful backpacks and piles of clothes littered the ground around the pool but the teens were nowhere to be seen. Steve and Rachel called, “Kristi? Skeeter? Girls? Where are you?” but no one appeared or answered. “Dan and Pete, would you please use that path we found yesterday and check out the area at the top of the waterfall? We’ll keep looking for them here.” Steve asked. He looked grim and Rachel’s lip was trembling. “It’s okay, Honey,” he said softly. I’m sure they’re fine and we’ll find them soon.” He gave her a little hug, but as they turned away to continue their search they each breathed a little prayer for guidance in their hearts to their Father in heaven.

  Dan and Pete came down from the cliff above a few minutes later. “There’s no sign of them at all up there, Dad,” Dan said.

  “Wait! What’s that over there?” Pete asked pointing towards the waterfall. Something was sticking out of the churning water at the base of the falls. It looked like the corner of a wooden box or chest. Pete and Dan jumped into the water, clothes and all, and waded over to the waterfall that tumbled down the face of the cliff. They ducked beneath the watery curtain and disappeared from sight.

  A moment later their heads popped out. “Mom, Dad! It’s a wooden crate and it looks like someone just dropped it half in and half out of this big old crack that is in the wall. If we pull it out, I think we can get through that crack and see what’s on the other side!”

  “Wait!” Steve yelled above the noise of the water. “Let me check it out first!” He jumped into the water with Rachel right behind him. “I’m sure this wasn’t here yesterday when we were searching the area,” he said as they studied the crate. He peered through the crack in the wall. It was totally dark and he couldn’t see more than a few inches. “Let’s get some flashlights before we go in,” he said. He went back to the bags lying on the ground and found flashlights in his and Skeeter’s backpacks.

  “Rachel, I want you to wait out here with the stuff,” he said. “We can’t all squeeze into that small space at once, anyhow. Dan and Pete, I’ll go in first and see what we have there. You stand by in case I need help.” They pulled the crate out fairly easily and then Steve squeezed through the crack. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for him. He was a big man.

  He stopped right inside the opening and shone the flashlight around. The taste and smell of falling dust was in the air and he could see little specks of dust still floating in the air in the beam of light from his flashlight. Just two feet beyond him was a wall nearly filling the small area. It looked like newly tumbled rock—probably from the earthquake a short time before. He squeezed back t
hrough the crack in the wall to where Dan and Pete were waiting behind the waterfall.

  “I think it’s a tunnel,” he said, “but it’s caved in. It looks like it just happened during that earthquake. I couldn’t tell how far back it goes. I have a feeling the kids are in there.” They looked from one face to another. “Don’t worry, though, guys—we’re going to get them out. Wait here, Dan, while I go tell your mother what we found.”

  He ducked beneath the water. Dan and Pete turned without speaking and slipped through the opening in the wall. Pete clicked on his flashlight and they looked at the wall of boulders and rock that blocked their way. “Kristi! Skeeter!” they yelled as loudly as they could, putting their mouths to the cracks between the rocks. “Robyn! Anna! Leilani!”

  Steve Cameron soon squeezed back in behind them. “Do you hear anything?” he asked.

  “Not yet, Dad.” They paused once more to listen carefully. Nothing.

  “Let’s start getting some of this rock out of here and we’ll try again in a little bit, okay? Dan, let me get in there and I’ll pull the rocks out of that pile. I’ll hand them back to you and then you can hand them to Pete. Pete, just throw them out into the pool, okay?”

  Rachel sat beside the pool praying. Every couple minutes she would see a rock come flying through the waterfall and land with a kerplunk in the pool. “Lord,” she prayed. “I’m so afraid! Please help our children—all of them. I know that they are in Your hands. If they’re in there, please give them enough air to breathe and if anyone is injured, I ask that you keep them safe. Help us to get through to them quickly, and I ask that they not be frightened, but trusting in You.” Rachel had no way of knowing that at that very moment the missing kids were anything but scared!

  Skeeter had backed out of the tunnel and turned to face the girls and Mrs. Manoa. “We’re trapped,” he repeated. “The rocks are all the way to the ceiling.” There was a moment of stunned silence. “I don’t think we can move the bigger ones,” he said. “They must weigh a couple hundred pounds a piece. And if we try to move them, we could bring the whole wall caving in on us.”

  Kristi squared her shoulders and stood up tall. “Well, I, for one, am not scared and I am not worried!” she said with determination. “Mom and Dad knew where we were going. They’ll come looking for us and they’ll see all our stuff out there in the grass. They’ll find us and I know they’ll get us out of here, too. They won’t give up until they do!”

  “And we are in God’s hands, too!” Leilani said. “Oh—did you see the look on Michael’s face when you told him we were in God’s hands and then the earthquake struck a moment later? He looked like he thought God’s hand was going to come down on him right then and squash him like a bug!”

  They all giggled at that and the tense moment vanished. Even Mrs. Manoa was smiling. Robyn laughed, “And God did, too! That rock that fell on him knocked him out cold!”

  “Well, let’s go back into the cave and sit down to wait, shall we?” Leilani’s grandmother suggested. “The entrance to this tunnel doesn’t look all that safe, and if we have another tremor more rocks may come down.”

  Michael Laird was stirring when they walked past him again. He groaned and turned his head. His eyelids fluttered open as he woke and discovered he was tied up without a hope of getting loose. He glared at them as his memory of the earthquake came back.

  “Untie me!” he demanded. “I didn’t hurt any of you. You have no cause to tie me up like this!”

  “Do you think we’re crazy, Michael?” Leilani replied calmly. “You didn’t hurt any of us? What do you call kidnapping my grandmother, and tying her up in this cave, and threatening to leave her here to die? What do you call waving a gun at us and saying you’ll do the same to us? No, don’t bother looking for your gun, Michael,” she said when she saw him looking shiftily around. “We’ve taken it, and hid it where you’ll never find it. We’re not stupid. No one is going to untie you, so don’t even think about it.”

  “We’re stuck in here with you for the time being,” Kristi informed him, “because the tunnel has caved in. But my dad and mom and big brother will be here for us soon, and then you’ll be really sorry you messed with us! My father will be very happy to turn you over to the police—and you’re going to spend a long time in prison, mister!”

  They checked the ropes that were binding him—not going too close, of course—to be sure he couldn’t get loose. Then they spent some time looking at the treasure in the broken crate. “I didn’t think Hawaiian royalty had much gold and silver and jewels,” Kristi said.

  “They didn’t usually,” Mrs. Manoa said. “This treasure must have been given to the queen from foreigners. She was one of the last queens, and at the time she ruled, the word had gotten out about the beauty of our islands and many more people were coming from all over the world.” The girls tried on some of the necklaces and brooches, and Skeeter made several tall stacks of gold coins. Michael Laird glared at them and stared at the treasure, licking his lips. He made some nasty remarks about them stealing his treasure but they ignored him, not even looking in his direction.

  Mrs. Manoa wanted to hear how they had found her and how Leilani had met them. They sat around her, taking turns telling bits and pieces of the adventures they had had so far in Hawaii and on Fire Island. Leilani told her grandmother in a soft voice how she had turned back to the Lord after meeting the Camerons and their friends and of the comfort and peace it had brought her knowing that God was there caring for her, and so were a whole big group of wonderful, dear friends.

  “Oh!” Robyn exclaimed, jumping up. “Leilani, I promised you I would dance the hula when we found your grandmother—and I always keep my promises! Skeeter, would you please join me up here on our ‘stage’ and dance the hula with me?” Skeeter grinned real big and stood next to Robyn. “Ladies and Gentlemen, for your pleasure we now present the Royal Hawaiian Revue, starring Princess Pineapple and her sidekick, Prince Papaya. Music, please!” She waved her hand at Kristi and Anna, who began to hum, and humming her own version of Hawaiian music, she and Skeeter began their comic interpretation of the hula. Never mind that it had a little bit of the jitterbug, twist and funky monkey thrown in—they all were soon in stitches, Leilani and her grandmother most of all.

  “Oh, you children!” Mrs. Manoa giggled, wiping away tears of laughter from her eyes. “Here we are, trapped in a cave, with a kidnapper yet, and you can still laugh and sing without a care in the world! I can see the change in Leilani, too, and I know it is because you are trusting the Lord and so is she. I am thanking and praising Him that He brought you into our lives!”

  They all sat back and relaxed, waiting for the rescue that they were sure would come. Kristi was the first to start singing a chorus of praise to the Lord, and the others joined in. The music was sweet and calming. Peace settled over them like a warm blanket.

  Michael was raging. “Shut up! I’m tired of hearing about your God! That singing makes me sick!” He continued his ranting and raving until Skeeter finally stood up and went over to him.

  “Be quiet, mister! We’re not hurting you and if you’d just close your mouth and listen you just might—you just might be blessed!”

  Kristi giggled. Her little brother looked so earnest and sincere—and sweet. She burst into gales of laughter, though, when a moment later she heard him say, “We’re trying to sing praises to the Lord, and if you can’t keep quiet, why, you can just stuff a sock in it! In fact, I’ll do it for you! One of your own stinky socks, in fact!”

  Skeeter reached down and pulled one of Michael’s shoes off, followed by a sock. The older man kicked out at him, but with his legs tied together, he couldn’t do much damage. In no time, Skeeter had stuffed his dirty old sock into Michael’s mouth and secured it there with the handkerchief Michael had used on Leilani’s grandmother.

  “There!” Skeeter said, standing up and brushing his hands together in satisfaction. “Serves him right for what he did to you, Mrs. Manoa! Now, le
t’s sing!”

  When they could finally control their laughter and catch their breath, they started into Isn’t He Wonderful? A minute later they heard the sound of crashing rocks and a voice calling, “Yoo-hoo! Is anyone home?”

  ______________

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  ______________

  Rescued!

  Steve, Pete and Dan worked feverishly to move the fallen rock. They had to be careful—moving the wrong rock at the wrong moment could cause another cave-in or the wall to tumble down on them. Some of the boulders were too big and heavy for Steve to move by himself, so Dan and Pete would squeeze in to help as best they could. Rachel looked around under the trees for a large, thick stick that they could use as a lever. After that, they were able to work a bit more quickly.

  Steve finally got one large boulder out of the way and found a tiny peephole. He eagerly looked through, trying to see something, but all he could see was dim, flickering light. He heard sounds from the inside and pressed his ear to the little opening.

  Suddenly he burst out laughing! “Dan, come here! Listen!” He wiggled out of the tight space so Dan could take his place by the rock wall. Dan listened a moment and then a big grin spread across his face.

  “They’re in there laughing! I think they’re dancing the hula! I can hear Skeeter’s voice above everyone else’s. Well, if that doesn’t beat everything! We’re out here slaving away, trying to rescue them, and they’re in there having a party!” he laughed. “Mom’s gotta hear this!”

  Pete was closest to the outside so he called to Rachel, “Mrs. Cameron! They’re okay! The kids are in there, but it sounds like everyone is okay. You need to hear this, though!”

  Rachel waded across the pool one more time, as quickly as she could. Pete helped her step under the waterfall and up to the large crack in the wall. Dan came out so that his mother could go in. Steve pulled his wife forward and showed her the peephole. “I’ve been trying to call to them,” he explained, “but they’re having so much fun in there they can’t hear me above the noise! Listen!”