Free The Quicksand Question by Ron Roy

CHAPTER 1
    It was Saturday night. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were having a sleep-over in Josh’s barn.
    Dink tipped a jarful of coins onto his sleeping bag. “I can’t believe the duck bank is nearly full,” he said.
    “I know,” Ruth Rose said, emptying her piggy bank. “We’ve been saving for a whole year!”
    “Quiet, you two,” Josh said, stacking nickels, dimes, and quarters on his sleeping bag. “I can’t count if you’re talking!”
    The “duck bank” was a large plastic bank, shaped like a duck, that stood in the fire station on Main Street. It was four feet tall and made of clear plastic. Everyone in town had been dropping money into it. They were going to use the money to pay for a special bridge just for ducks.
    For years, mother ducks had been crossing River Road to build nests in the woods near Bridge Lane. After their ducklings were born, the mother ducks would lead their ducklings back across the road to the river.
    The problem was, the little ducks were hard to see. Many drivers had almost had accidents. Finally, the town held a meeting to decide what to do.
    One person suggested hiring a duck crossing guard.
    A man who had almost driven offthe road wanted the ducks rounded up and put in cages.
    Another person suggested digging a tunnel under River Road.
    But a girl from Dink’s school had the best idea. “My grandparents feed ducks in their yard in Florida,” she’d explained. “The ducks have to cross a busy street, so my grandfather built a little bridge. My grandmother sprinkled corn on the bridge to let the ducks know it was for them. Now the ducks use the bridge all the time.”
    Everyone loved the idea.
    Mr. Plank, the shop teacher at the high school, raised his hand. “The kids in my class can design the bridge,” he said. “When we’ve collected enough money, I’ll help them build it.”
    Now the bank was nearly full. On Monday morning the money would becounted by Mr. Fiskell, the president of the Green Lawn Savings Bank. As soon as school let out next week, Mr. Plank and the high school kids would start building the bridge.
    Josh finished counting his money. “Nine dollars and ten cents,” he said. He rubbed his stomach. “Money makes me hungry!” He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a tin of chocolate chip cookies. He also had some apples, carrots, and dog biscuits.

    In her stall, Polly the pony lay sleeping on a pile of hay. Josh’s dog,Pal, was curled up next to her.
    Outside, June crickets were chirping in the field behind the barn.
    “I’ve got ten dollars and twenty-two cents,” Dink said. “What about you, Ruth Rose?”
    “Fourteen dollars and thirty cents,” Ruth Rose said. “How much do you suppose is in the duck bank?”
    Ruth Rose liked to wear all one color. Tonight her outfit matched her sleeping bag: she wore lime green shorts and T-shirt.
    “A lot,” Josh said. “It’s up to the duck’s neck. And the three of us are putting in over
thirty
dollars!”
    He opened the tin of cookies, took two for himself, and passed the rest to Ruth Rose.
    “We should think of a name for the bridge,” he said. “How about Waddle Way?” He kicked off his sneakers and slipped into his sleeping bag.
    Dink switched off his flashlight. “What about calling it Duck Drive?”
    “How about Critter Crossing?” Ruth Rose said.
    “I like that,” Dink said, yawning.
    Josh shut off his flashlight. He snorted. “Critter Crossing, Ruth Rose? Gee, why not call it Bunny Bridge?”
    Ruth Rose laughed in the dark barn. “Critter Crossing is good because other animals might use the bridge,” she said. “Bunnies, turtles, raccoons.…”
    “Buffalo,” Josh added.
    After a few minutes, the kids drifted off to sleep. Polly whinnied softly in her stall. Pal snored on his pile of hay.
    Much later, something woke Dink. He sat up in his sleeping bag. Next to him, Josh and Ruth Rose were only lumps in the darkness.
    Then Dink heard Polly stamp her hooves. When his eyes