Free RUNAWAY TWINS (Runaway Twins series #1) by Pete Palamountain Page A

impossible for us. So we go up, not down, over the top and into Idaho.”
    There wasn’t much of value inside the SUV, but they did find a small lightweight silver tarp, a bag of potato chips, and a partially eaten tuna sandwich.”
    “Yech!” said Janie when she picked up the sandwich.”
    “You’ll be glad we have it, believe me,” said Justin. He rubbed his face. “Not much help here. I was hoping for a cigarette lighter. But we’ll have to start our fires the old-fashioned way.”
    They laid their stash on the hood of the SUV: Flashlight, sheathed hunting knife, chips, sandwich, silver tarp. The three young people stared at their treasures and exchanged smiles. “Lewis and Clark would think we’re crazy,” said Justin.
    “Maybe we are,” said Janie.

15
Into the High Mountains
    Justin led the twins about four hundred yards up the logging road, telling them not to worry about making tracks, for he had a minor diversion in mind that he hoped would confuse any pursuers. He then turned north, off the road and into the woods. He continued in that direction for several hundred more yards. Next, he led the girls east, down the mountain and back toward the road until they’d reached a point close to the SUV where tracks were nearly impossible to read because of all of the activity around the vehicle. Then they crossed the road again, this time heading south. “It won’t help much,” said Justin, “especially if they have an experienced tracker along. But it might slow them down a little.”
    They continued to track south-southwest for the next four hours, Justin gauging direction from the sun, which had begun to peek through the clouds, and from the shadows cast by strategically placed sticks. He also used his non-digital watch to make more accurate measurements.
    “What if we lose the sun again?” asked Rachel.
    “Well, I can’t be as accurate, but I think I can keep us from heading back the way we came. For example, we look for fallen trees, examine the stumps. Trees up here grow stronger on the equator side—the growth rings are farther apart. The rings are closer together on the side that faces the North Pole.”
    Janie said, “I’m glad you’re with us, Justin. We’d march right back into their clutches if you weren’t here.”
    “What about at night?” asked Rachel.
    “We won’t be traveling much at night—hopefully,” Justin said. “But if we’re forced to, and the moon and stars are out, we’ll be okay. No moon, no stars, it’s going to be tough.”
    They were hiking steadily upward, deeper and deeper into the wilderness, and even Justin had no idea how many hours or days it would take them to reach the spine of the Bitterroots and cross the Continental Divide. And once in Idaho they still wouldn’t know the height of the mountains or the locations of any towns or villages. But the three twelve-year-old adventurers forged ahead, knowing that what lay behind was far worse than what lay ahead.
    After several more hours, their stamina began to falter and they stopped to rest beneath an overhanging rock that jutted from a massive granite cliff face.
    “It looks like two, maybe two-and-a-half hours till dark,” said Justin. “We’ve got two big problems for now. First, we still need to put as much distance between us and Flack and his gang as we can. They might not be moving yet, but we can’t be sure. Second, we need warmth and shelter for tonight. The temperature’s already starting to drop. If we stop now, right here, we can use this ledge—pile boughs against the sides and front, build a fire, make a snug little house.”
    The girls examined the ledge above them and the way it stuck out on the sides. “It looks perfect,” said Janie. “Food, water?”
    “We melt snow for water, and we’ve got the tuna sandwich and the chips.”
    Rachel raised her head to the late afternoon sky. “There’s still a lot of light left. I say we keep going, get as far away from them as we