Читать книгу The Misadventures of Seldovia Sam - Susan Woodward Springer - Страница 14

Stranded!

Sam took a few steps toward shore. His boot sank in the soft muck and wouldn’t budge. Bone-freezing water poured over the top and ran down inside, soaking his sock! Sam yanked his leg as hard as he could. Out popped his bare foot, his sock left behind in the stuck boot.

Just as Sam was about to panic, he heard Neptune. She was standing on the third hump, which was now an island completely surrounded by water, and she was barking at him frantically!

“There you are, girl!” Sam said with relief as he wallowed toward the island. Barnacles and broken shells stabbed at his bare foot, but he was too scared to stop. Finally, he fell exhausted onto the beach next to his dog.

He caught his breath and glanced around. To his great dismay, he realized they were stranded!

Sam looked across the rushing water to the shore. He saw the tiny figure of his father, bent over his clam hole. Sam cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled,

“H-e-l-p … Da-a-d … He-e-l-p!”

Nothing.

He might as well have whispered. The wind and the roar of the incoming tide drowned out his voice. Sam tried again, yelling until the last squeak of air had left his lungs.

“H-E-L-P … DA-A-D … HE-E-L-P!”

Far away, his father stood up and looked in Sam’s direction. Sam jumped up and down, waving his arms wildly. His poor foot landed on more sharp things, but Sam barely noticed. Dad gestured and waved back. Sam stopped jumping and listened hard.

“Sta-a-y put, Sam. I’ll go get he-e-l-p!”

Sam picked up his digging spade and his clam and climbed higher onto the little island. The water was still rising all around him. He sat down in the long yellow grass. His bare foot was icy cold and was bleeding where the broken shells and the barnacles had sliced the skin.

Neptune flopped at his side and put her head on his knee. Sam watched the tiny figure of his dad hurriedly gather up the clamming gear and run for his pickup. The truck, so small it looked like a toy, raced up the beach and disappeared into the woods.

Sam stood and turned in a slow circle. It seemed like just minutes ago that the whole bay was one big beach. Now there was water everywhere! The current swirled as the tide rushed in, carrying a mess of brown seaweed and smooth driftwood.

Sam wondered how high the water would rise.

Would it cover the top of the little island before Dad could bring help?