6 Trapped!

Chapter 6 TRAPPED! Uncle Al rubbed his chin. "It would be very hard to find you in the middle of the rain forest," he said. "But a river runs through it. If you can find a way to travel down the river, it will carry you to a place where I can find you." "Wowzers!" said Andrew. He pushed a hand into one of his pants pockets. "I have some Umbubble," he said. "We can use it to float down the river!" Umbubble was a special bubble gum that Andrew had invented. You could blow it up so big that you could get inside it. Judy frowned. "We're surrounded by trees in this stupid jungle," she said. "We'll never be able to see where the river is."

"What kind of a tree are you in?" asked Uncle Al. meep… "Strangler fig," said Thudd. "Great!" said Uncle Al. "They're usually very tall. Climb to the top of the tree. You'll probably be able to see the river from there. Note the direction, climb down the tree, and hike to the river." Judy groaned. "Climb up the tree! Climb down the tree! Hike to the river! There's dangerous stuff in these trees. And who knows what awful things are on the ground and in the river." Uncle Al wasn't smiling now. "You guys have done things that no one else has ever done," he said. "You can do this. Keep your eyes open and be very careful." "How will you find us on the river, Uncle Al?" asked Andrew. "I have to talk fast," said Uncle Al. "The batteries on my Hologram Helper are running out. Listen closely.

"On the edge of the rain forest, there's a village," said Uncle Al. "You'll see the lights. The river is very narrow there. I'll string a fine net across the river and catch you." "But how will you even know you caught us?" asked Judy. "We're so small, and it will be dark by then. You'll never find us." meep… "Got idea, Unkie!" squeaked Thudd. "What is it, Thudd?" asked Uncle Al. meep… "Lotsa rain-forest stuff glow in dark," said Thudd. "Bugs, caterpillars, worms, mushrooms got bioluminescence. Mean 'living light.'" A smile stretched across Uncle Al's face. "Brilliant, Thudd!" he said. His voice was beginning to sound far away. "Ghost mushrooms! They glow so brightly, you can read by their light. They're easy to find on the forest floor." Uncle Al's voice was so soft that Andrew and Judy could barely hear him. His hologram was fading. "Uncle Al, you're disappearing!" said Judy.

Uncle Al raised his eyebrows. His lips moved faster, but it sounded as though he were mumbling underwater. "Uncle Al!" shouted Judy. "Come back!" But with a pop and wiggle, he disappeared. Andrew looked at Judy and shrugged. "Guess we'd better get climbing," he said. Judy glanced up and shook her head. "The top of the tree is so high, we can't even see it," she said. "It'll be easy to climb up," said Andrew. "The bark is rough. And we can grab on to the ferns and mosses."

Judy cocked her head. "And what about the weird things that want to eat us?" she said. meep… "Peppermint smell keep some animals away… maybe," said Thudd. Judy rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Thudd." Andrew grabbed the stem of a fern frond, got a foothold in the tree bark, and began climbing. "Come on!" he called down to Judy. "It's getting darker. It must be way past noon by now. We've got to meet Uncle Al tonight." "Humph," Judy grumbled. But she grabbed a long gray strand of moss and started up. Climbing was hard. Soon Andrew and Judy were huffing and puffing. Sweat dripped down their foreheads and into their eyes. Their arms and legs got scraped by the tree bark. They were too out of breath to talk. A stream of green ants trickled down the tree. Andrew would have liked more of that fizzy, limy stuff, but there was no time for that. meep… "Look!" squeaked Thudd, pointing up. "Top of the tree close, close, close!"

"Wowzers schnauzers!" cheered Andrew. "We can get there in half an hour!" Judy stopped and pushed strands of hair away from her sweaty face. "I need a break," she said. She crept from the tree trunk to a branch and flopped down on an orange fungus. "Just for a couple of minutes," said Andrew, sitting down beside her. Suddenly something dropped over them. A net!