Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 When Dan's eyes opened from a nap, the Yugo was parked under a tree at the top of a hill. Below them was a field where a group of men played soccer. He pressed his tongue against the top of his mouth. The tip was still sore, but the swelling had gone down. "Owwww…" "Where are we?" Amy said groggily. "Lunch stop," Nellie said. "Just outside Pretoria. There's a food shop up the road. I figure we'll hide the car here in case our friends come looking for us." "Um, guys?" Dan said, looking past Amy. "Is that what I think it is?" Amy whirled around. A hulking purple pickup truck trailing white feathers was lumbering up the

road toward them. "Why would that be here?" Amy said. "It belongs to the farmer whose chicken coop the Hummer destroyed." "Unless the Hummer dudes hijacked it!" Dan said. "Come on!" Nellie hopped in the Yugo and turned the ignition key. The car sputtered and wheezed. She tried again and it died. "Run!" Amy said. They sprinted down toward the soccer field. The players stopped, staring at them in bafflement. Beyond the field, the hill swept upward into a dense thicket of trees. It would be easy to get lost there. Amy climbed, keeping right behind Nellie. But when they reached the top, Dan wasn't with them. "What the—?" Nellie said. Dan was talking to one of the soccer players, gesturing back toward the pickup. The man was nodding intently as other players gathered around them.

"Dan!" Amy started to call out, but Nellie put her hand over her mouth. In a moment, Dan was scooting up the hill. "Move!" he said. "We need to hide!" "What were you doing?" Amy hissed. "Run now, chat later." Dan scampered past them into the woods, finding a path that followed along the ridge. When the soccer field came in sight again, he ducked behind a thick bush. "We'll wait," he said. "If everything goes right, there will be a huge fight down there. We'll circle back to the car and try again." Amy and Nellie knelt on either side of him. On the field, the soccer team had closed around five people dressed in elaborate, colorful African robes and odd feathered hats. One guy, who appeared to be captain of the players, was gesturing heatedly. In a moment, Amy and Dan's pursuers were shedding their robes. The burliest one was the first to remove his hat. The bristling, brush-cut scalp of Eisenhower Holt was instantly recognizable. As was the slavering pit bull that was bounding around the

sidelines. "The Holts?" Dan said. Amy grabbed Dan's arm. "Those were the clothes they were wearing when I saw them crouched down in the Hummer. It's their idea of a disguise. What did you tell the players?" "The truth, sort of," Dan replied. "That the people in the truck were a gang of bad guys chasing after innocent kids. Now, come on, let's get ready to move." Amy glanced to her left, following the path they would need to take to the car. For at least fifty yards, they would be totally exposed. Below, Eisenhower was shouting at one of the players. Pushing him. But Hamilton was on the sidelines, combing his hair in a hand mirror. Preening. The sun's reflection glinted from Ham's mirror. Dan recoiled, shielding his face with his hand. "The jerk." The glare landed on Nellie. "Ow! Oh, thanks a lot. Let's get out of here." "Wait," Amy said. "I think he's aiming it."

Dan became rigid. "Whoa. Hold still, Nellie. He's sending a message!" "A what?" Nellie said. "Dit-dit-dit, dah-dah-dah, dit-dit-dit," Dan muttered. "The standard Morse code distress signal. Hamilton is sending Morse code! This is, like, so World War Two!" He took his Shaka card from his pocket and gave it to Amy. "Hold this up. Try to catch the mirror message as best you can. I'll write down the letters." "You know Morse code?" Nellie said. "Duh," Dan replied. By the time Dan got out a pencil and candy wrapper, the flares had stopped. But they began again as Amy held up the card. Dan whispered as he wrote: "Dah-dah-dit… dah-dah-dah… dah-dit… dah-dah-dah… dit-dah-dah… dah-dit-dit-dit… dit… dit-dah-dah… dit-dah… dit-dah-dit… dit…" Hamilton abruptly put his mirror in his pocket

and ran onto the field. The African players were teasing him in a mixture of English and some other language. "What's it say?" Amy asked. Dan showed what he'd written: Dan read the letters." 'Gon ow be ware'?" he said. "Um, I'm just a stupid au pair," Nellie said, "but wouldn't that be, Go now. Beware?" RRRROMMMMMM… CHCK! CHCKCHCK-CHCK. Amy looked up at the sound. At the top of the ridge, about twenty yards farther in and well out of sight of the clearing, the