Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 But the loud boom and gush of smoke wasn't an eruption, not a real one. Dr. Morales explained this to them that night, when he stopped by the diner. Mom was behind the counter, and Jess and the twins were at a booth, munching on French fries and trying to focus on their homework. Mr.

Rowan was working late, and Mrs. Rowan was still with the twins' grandmother. They were happy to see Dr. Morales walk through the door. He'd been working on the mountain all day, and was heading back to his lab in Seattle. "I had to come by for another piece of that coconut cake," he said. Mom and Jess and the twins joined him in a booth, and he explained that what they'd seen and

heard from their classroom earlier was called a steam explosion. "And that's all it was, steam, mixed with a little bit of ash." In a true volcanic eruption, he went on, the smoke is steel gray or black. And it lasts for many hours or days. The smoke today had billowed up for just a few minutes, and then turned white and disappeared. The mountain had been peaceful ever since. "A steam eruption is like a volcano burp," he said. They all laughed. But Dr. Morales wasn't totally joking. "It's another warning sign. Nobody should doubt that St. Helens is wide-awake and getting ready to erupt." There were more steam explosions as the weeks passed. Some lasted for hours. St. Helens was

front-page news every day. Some nights Dr. Morales was actually on the TV news, giving updates along with other scientists who were closely studying the mountain. The twins went bonkers every time Dr. Morales's familiar face popped onto the screen. "There he is! There he is!" they'd shout. But for Jess it was better to see Dr. Morales in person, and her heart always leaped a little when he appeared at Clive's. He came in once or twice a week, on his way to or from the mountain. Mom would pile a plate high with his favorite fried chicken or homemade noodles. And between bites of food and sips of coffee, he'd tell them about his work on the mountain. To Jess and the boys, his stories were like scenes out of a thrilling action movie. A helicopter pilot would fly him up to the top of the volcano — the summit. Those steam explosions had blasted through hundreds of feet of rock and ice. There was now a huge crater on the summit. It was

thousands of feet wide and hundreds of feet deep. The helicopter would hover above the summit, and Dr. Morales would hop out. He'd scoop up ash from the crater and gather samples of the gas seeping out. "You actually go into the crater?" Eddie asked in astonishment. "I go to the edge," Dr. Morales said. "I can only stay for a few seconds because it's so hot. And I have to get away quickly because if a steam explosion happens while I'm there… well…" "You'd be toast," Sam said. "Sammy!" Mom scolded. But Dr. Morales laughed. "Actually, I'd be boiled," he said, picking up a floppy yellow noodle. "I'd end up looking something like this." Of course the twins loved that. Sam told the kids at school all about it on the blacktop the next day. Missy looked like she might vomit.

But as the weeks passed, Dr. Morales often seemed troubled when he came into the diner. He was still his warm and friendly self. But he looked weary. Studying an active volcano wasn't all helicopter rides and daredevil stunts. There were endless hours of sitting around and watching for changes. There were nights trying to sleep in a freezing tent, with 30-mile-per-hour winds ripping at the sides. And there was the frustration of not having any clear answers. Dr. Morales and the other scientists knew that something was happening inside the volcano. There were many warning signs. That big crater on the summit was growing. There were massive cracks and bulges on the north side of the mountain. But none of the scientists knew for sure what exactly these clues meant. Was the volcano about to erupt?