Chapter 9

Chapter 9 "That was the thief!" Ruth Rose said. "But what was he looking for?" Dink asked. "Maybe the bank fell out of the jeep when it was crossing," Ruth Rose suggested. "That duck is pretty big," Josh said. "Wouldn't he be able to see it just lying in the water?" "Well, he found something," Ruth Rose said. "And I'm going to find out what," Josh said. He looped Pal's leash around a tree, pulled off his sneakers, and started wading into the river. "Wait for me!" Dink said, yanking off his own sneakers.

"I'm coming, too!" said Ruth Rose, kicking off her sandals. They pushed their feet through the warm, shallow water. Dink could feel the fine sand between his toes. The water was so clear he could see the tiny pebbles on the bottom. "It's getting kind of muddy," Josh said, a few yards ahead of Dink. Suddenly Josh stopped. He turned around with panic on his face. "I'm stuck!" he cried. As Dink watched, Josh started to sink. The water was up to his knees! "I can't pull my feet out!" Josh yelled. "I think it's quicksand!" "Wait a minute!" Dink said. He lunged ahead and grabbed Josh's arm. Then Dink felt the sand closing over his own feet and his ankles, climbing steadily to his knees. He was stuck, too! "Ruth Rose!" Dink shouted. "Don't come any closer!" "I'll run for help!" Ruth Rose yelled. She turned and splashed back to shore. Dink watched her climb the bank and race across River Road in her bare feet. Pal was

straining on his leash and barking. Josh pulled out of Dink's grasp, struggling to walk back toward the edge. But the more he struggled, the deeper he sank. "Don't move!" Dink yelled. "Get on your back." To demonstrate, Dink fell backward into the water. He floated on his back, facing up. His legs were still stuck, but at least he wasn't sinking. "Do it—it works!" he called to Josh. Dink heard a splash as Josh fell over into the water. He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears. Trying to calm himself, he closed his eyes and let his body float. Suddenly Pal began to bark even more wildly Turning his head, Dink saw Jake and another man running toward the river carrying a ladder. Ruth Rose was right behind them. At the river's edge, the men flopped the ladder into the water. "Don't move!" Jake yelled out to Dink and Josh. "Just stay the way you are. Lenny and I will have you out in a jiffy." The firefighters shoved the ladder out into the water toward Dink. When it was near enough, he

grabbed the last rung. "Hold on, kid!" Jake yelled. The men pulled the ladder. Dink could feel suction on his legs, as if the quicksand didn't want to let him go. But Jake and Lenny were stronger than the quicksand. Suddenly Dink's legs oozed free of the muck. When Dink's feet touched solid river bottom, he splashed ashore. Immediately the men thrust the ladder back out over the river. Jake waded in and pushed the ladder until Josh could grab a rung. Pulling the ladder hand over hand, he and Lenny hauled Josh out of the river like a fish. Dink and Josh sat side by side, catching their breath. They were both sopping wet and red-faced. Pal lapped Josh's face and jumped all over his muddy legs. "Don't ever do that again!" Ruth Rose said.

"Don't worry," Josh said. "I'm never even taking a bath again!" Everyone burst out laughing. "By the way," Jake said, slapping the other man on the back, "this is Lenny." Lenny smiled at the kids. "Glad to meet you," he said. "Not as glad as we are," Dink said, standing up to shake Lenny's hand. "What were you kids doing out there?" Lenny asked. "That's where the jeep is!" Josh said.

"It is?" Dink asked. "Josh, we don't know—" "It's there," Josh said, pulling on his sneakers. "When I was lying in the water, something sharp stuck me in the leg. I reached down and felt the jeep's antenna! That must be what that guy in the boat found!" "We have to go get Officer Fallon," Ruth Rose said. "No need to," Jake said, holding a hand in the air. "I called him from the station. Listen." They heard a siren coming closer. Twenty seconds later, a cruiser roared up to the river and stopped. Officer Fallon jumped out and practically slid into the river in his haste. "You kids all right?" he said, looking from one face to the other. "We're fine," Dink said. "And Josh found the crook's jeep!" "You did? Where?" Josh pointed out into the water. "Out there, buried in quicksand." "I never even knew there was quicksand in Connecticut," Ruth Rose said. "Quicksand can be anywhere there's water and sand," Lenny said. "I was a Navy SEAL, and I