Free Far Country by Karen Malone Page A

off the ramp into the water.
               
“Son of a…”
               
“What?” Jill asked, with a worried expression.
               
Chuck took a deep breath and smiled reassuringly.  “Nothing.  Just
stepped into a hole, caught me off guard.”  He steadied his tube and
flopped backwards into the donut. The current grabbed him immediately and he
spun away. “C’mon, kids!” He admonished.  Nobody’s gonna pick up a bunch of hitchhikers with inner tubes.  The quickest way back is
two hours down this river!”
               
Jill went next, and gave a small yelp of shock as she stepped into the rushing
water.  She turned stiffly, and through gritted teeth looked at Deb. 
“Watch that first step,” she warned.  Clumsily, she flung herself belly
down on the straining tube and shot after Chuck.
               
Deborah stepped off the ramp more cautiously than Jill and Chuck.  Her
reaction was immediate.  “You’re nuts!” She screamed after the bobbing
figures already far ahead.  She turned back to Pete and Steve, who were
making no moves to join her in the river. “This is freezing!” She yelled in an
accusatory tone.
               
“Yeah,” Steve replied sadly.  “I figured it would be.”  He turned to
Pete. “What do you say, man – bonsai?”
               
Pete nodded, never taking his eyes off of Deborah, who still stood indecisively
in the thigh deep water.  “Bonsai it is,” he agreed solemnly.
               
Raising the tubes over their heads, Pete and Steve launched themselves at a
dead run off the ramp, deliberately flanking Deborah as they landed belly down
on their tubes. Deb howled as the spray from their belly flops soaked
her.  She shook herself like a cat caught in a downpour, and promptly lost
her hold on her tube.  It quickly floated out of reach and she stumbled
forward, screaming and lunging awkwardly into the center of the muddy
flow.  She tripped on the rocky bottom and went under for a moment, only
to shoot up gasping at the shock of it.  Luckily, her tube had been washed
out of the strong current and spun just out of reach, under the tree branches
on the far bank.  Deborah hurled herself at it and landed in an ungraceful
sprawl on the rubber donut.
               
“Sorry about that!”  Pete called, not sounding repentant in the least.
Steve just grinned and waved.  “Don’t worry!  The sun will dry you
out in no time – if it doesn’t rain again,” he added glancing pointedly at the
huge thunderheads lurking on the horizon.
               
Deborah glared but didn’t bother to answer as she struggled awkwardly to flip
herself over on the tube. A moment later it shot out from under her, and she
disappeared under the water yet again.
               
“It’s easiest to sit in the tube in the shallows!” Steve called
helpfully.  Pete splashed Steve in a warning.  “Don’t tell her that!
If she manages to catch up before she dries out some, she’s gonna drown us both.”
               
Steve grimaced. “Right. Sorry.”  He was still perched belly down, balanced
on his forearms and thighs, intent on keeping as much of himself out of the
water as possible.  Even so, he found that he was glad to be out of that
small office and away from the dullness of his work. The enforced inactivity
had worn on his soul. Cold water and all, being outside in the sun was a
relief!
               
Before long, Steve grew tired of trying to keep himself suspended above the
water. Carefully, he twisted his body until he was able to drop into the donut
hole on his back, wincing momentarily as the cold river washed over his mid
section. Settling in more comfortably, he looked around for his comrades. 
He saw that Deborah had finally managed to get her own tube under control and
was quickly catching up with the rest of the