6 Rough Riders

6 ROUGH RIDERS The two rangers opened the saddlebags. They handed out pieces of cold chicken, chunks of dry bread, and canteens. After a quick bite of bread and a drink of water, Jack pulled out his sketchbook. Annie did the same. With their magic pencils, they started sketching. Annie sketched a cedar tree, and Jack drew a pile of boulders shining in the noon sun. He quickly sketched lines and curves, adding shadow and light. While Jack and Annie sketched, John studied a stone with a magnifying glass. Teddy imitated bird calls. Teddy made a quick zipping sound: fitz-bew! fitz- bew! "Willow flycatcher!" said John, without looking up from the stone he was studying.

Teddy made high, short whistle sounds. "Lark sparrow!" said John, still peering through his magnifying glass. Jack could tell that Teddy and John had played this game before. Teddy twittered: kew-kew-kew. "Dark-eyed Junco," Annie said. John looked up. He and Teddy laughed. "Wonderful, Annie!" said John. Jack laughed, too. He was proud of Annie. But he wished he also knew bird calls. Annie had learned them from Uncle Josh. Teddy clapped his hands together. "It's time to be on our way!" he said. "Let's get further lost in the wild!" Jack and Annie put away their sketchbooks. They walked back to their mules and climbed on. Riding along the trail, Jack looked around. Again, he wanted to draw everything he saw: tree stumps, weeds, wildflowers, birds. As the horses and mules climbed higher, clouds covered the sun. The air turned colder. To Jack's surprise, snowflakes began falling. The wind began to blow. Soon the whole sky was dark gray.

"Oh, man," whispered Jack. His teeth chattered. The wind from the sudden snowstorm blew harder, until Jack could hardly see. He shivered and wished they could find shelter. The riders kept going. Their mules and horses plodded up a snow-covered trail. Jack's face was freezing in the blinding white mist. "I love wild weather!" Teddy shouted. "I agree! There's nothing more fun!" shouted John of the Mountains.

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Are they joking? thought Jack. He couldn't feel his hands anymore. His fingers were as stiff and frozen as icicles. "You kids okay back there?" Teddy called to Jack and Annie. "Yes, sir! I love snow!" shouted Annie. "Life's a grand adventure, isn't it?" called Teddy. "Yes, sir!" Jack shouted. But to himself, he whispered, "This is the worst! We're freezing to death! We're lost! We're tired!" Just before Jack lost all hope, the weather changed again. The snow stopped falling. The wind stopped blowing. The sun broke through the clouds. The sky turned from gray to blue. Jack heard laughter from John of the Mountains. "I promised you wild weather, sir!" he called to Teddy. "Did I not deliver?" "Indeed you did, my friend! Thank you!" shouted Teddy. "Glacier Point soon! And camp time!" After a short ride, the horses and mules came to

a halt on a flat part of the trail. The ground ahead was bordered by pine trees. Teddy and John jumped down from their horses. The two men climbed some boulders and disappeared over the top of a ledge. Jack and Annie hopped off their mules. Annie pulled out her sketchbook. "Let's draw!" she said to Jack. "You go ahead. I need to rest a minute," he said. Annie sat on a rock and began sketching the pine trees. Charlie gathered branches to make a fire. Archie tended to the animals. Jack sat alone. He was sore from the mule ride. His hands and face still hurt from the freezing snow. Annie is always so strong and happy and confident, he thought. Why wasn't he more like her? Why wasn't he more like Teddy and John and Charlie and Archie? What was wrong with him? "Jack! Annie!" John called from above. "Come see the view from the overlook!" Annie stopped sketching the pines and leaped to her feet. "Let's go!" Annie said. "No, you go ahead. Look at the view without me," said Jack. "Really? Oh, please come," Annie said. "I want