6 HOT LUNCH

CHAPTER 6 HOT LUNCH Alexander tried to carry the snowball to lunch, but it melted on the way. "Ah, the last porcupine!" said Ranger Harry, waving to Alexander. "You're just in time to learn Camp Rule #218: Lunch tastes better in the shade!" Alexander plopped down in a shady spot near Rip and Nikki. Ranger Harry held up a menu he'd carved from a chunk of wood.

LUNCH Huckleberry sandwich (with mayo.) Trail mix (Evtra-chunky!) Bug juice (Less Chunky.) "Eat up!" said Ranger Harry. "Bug juice?" said Rip. "Blecchh!" Nikki drank hers in one gulp. She gave Rip a big, red smile. "You goofball," she said. "Bug juice is camp talk for fruit punch!" CRUNCH! Alexander ate a handful of trail mix. It tasted like mixed-up bits of trail. "Guess what?" he said. "I heard that strange clinking sound again! Just before I got smacked with Rip's slushball." He turned to Rip. "Where'd you find the snow, anyway?" "Snow?!" said Rip. "How could there be snow here at Camp Sweatbox?"

Alexander nibbled on his sandwich. "Well, somebody splatted me." "It wasn't me," said Rip. "I've been parked on that salt mound all morning reading about fire safety." "And I've been canoeing!" said Nikki. "I can almost steer!" Rip snatched the map from Alexander's backpack. "Okay, weenie. Let's see what you've been working on." "Wow!" said Nikki. "Great map, Salamander!" "Thanks," said Alexander. "But mapmaking's still not as fun as canoeing or archery or— "Or trap-making!" said Dottie. She held up a huge net woven from little straps. "I made it to catch pet bunnies!" "That trap could catch fifty bunnies!" said Anna. "Or a bear!" said Leo.

BLAAAARP! Ranger Harry blew into his bugle. "Ranger Blare-y really needs a new horn," said Rip, plugging his ears. "Listen up, squirrels," he said. "My beard is drooping. That means it's way too hot. So this afternoon we're going to rest in our cabins. Then tonight we'll take a long hike." "Like, in the dark?" said Leo. He gulped. The campers trudged back to the cabins.

"Guys," Alexander whispered to his friends, "keep your, uh, ears peeled for that clinking sound. It could be coming from a monster!" "A monster? Up here?" asked Nikki. "I think this heat is really starting to get to you, Salamander!" said Rip. "Maybe so," said Alexander, touching the back of his neck. But where did that snowball come from? And how come my neck still feels cold?