Free Danger on Midnight River by Gary Paulsen Page B

him down the river as if his body were no more than a stick.
    Daniel was a strong swimmer, but the swiftmoving current was too much for him. It wasall he could do to keep his head above the surging water. A couple of times he thought he heard someone yelling. But for now he had his own problems. The river was freezing cold, and it offered no way out.

CHAPTER 3
    Branches clawed at his face and clothes. He reached up and locked his right arm around one. The current yanked his legs underneath the tree. Daniel held on. With what little strength he could muster, he inched his way up the tree trunk to the bank.
    The rain had turned to drizzle. Daniel lay on the bank exhausted. It was getting late, and he was chilled to the bone. He didn't know how long he'd lain there before he finally opened his eyes. More than anything he would have liked to stay there and rest, but anagging voice inside his head was telling him he had to keep moving. It was cold and there was a risk of hypo-thermia.
    Daniel pulled himself into a sitting position and surveyed his sur-roundings. In front of him was the river. It was dangerously high, with no apparent way back across. Behind him and up the short canyon bank was forest as far as the eye could see.
    The rain had soaked almost everything in sight. Building a fire to dry out would be quite a trick, even using everything Uncle Smitty had taught him. Daniel moved up the mountain a few yards away from the river. Sitting under an ever-green, he dug through the wet, dead leaves until he found some dry needles and a couple of dead branches.
    He carried them up the hill and sat down under a large tree that had branches thick enough to protect his precious tinder from the drizzle. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out a pocketknife and cut away the outer bark of the dead branches until he had completely dry wood. With his hands he dug until he hada fire pit. He arranged the dead leaves and needles in a teepee shape.
    Daniel took a deep breath. So
far so good
.
    Going back to the bank, he walked up and down until he found a good-sized piece of chert, a shiny black rock. He scooped it up and ran back to his camp-site.
    Holding the rock near the dead needles and wood shavings, he struck it with the back of his knife blade. Sparks flew, but nothing caught.
    Seven times he tried before a tiny spark ignited the end of a dead needle. Daniel blew gently until there was a small blaze. Then he added more wood shav-ings and finally a branch.
    He left the fire to search for more wood. When he had enough to keep the fire going for a while, he took off his shoes and socks and put them close to the flames to dry.
    He leaned back against the mountainside with his toes toasting near the fire. Its warmth felt good. He was almost asleep when he heard it.
    Yelling.
    He sat up on one elbow. Before, he had been so worried about him-self that he had completely forgotten about the rest of the van's passen-gers.
    The thought of going out in the rain again made Daniel shudder. But he knew it was the right thing to do. He built up his fire, then slipped on his damp socks and shoes and stepped out from under the protection of his tree.
    The yelling was coming from downriver. The van must have passed him while he was lying on the bank. He ducked his head and trotted to keep from getting chilled again.
    About fifty yards downriver he found them. The current had slowed and lodged the van on some boulders near the middle of the river. Only a small piece of the van's white top showed above the water.
    Scotty was lying half out of the water, coughing and vomiting on the rocky bank. Brandon was frantically swimming around the van, trying to get a door open.
    When Scotty saw Daniel, he pointed at the van. “Troy! He's still in there!”
    Daniel didn't hesitate. He kicked off his shoes and jumped into the water. When he got to the van, Brandon screamed, “Troy's hurt but he's still alive! The door's stuck and I can't get him out!”
    Daniel