Free Fabulous Five 030 - Sibling Rivalry by Betsy Haynes Page A

situation. Beth's breath came out of her nose in a
wispy-white vapor. She brushed a few more leaves over her and her brother. What
she wouldn't give to be sitting in front of the roaring fire in the lodge's
great room at that very moment.
    Suddenly she cocked her head. "Did you hear that?"
    "Did I hear what?" asked Todd.
    "It sounded like someone skiing!" She scrambled to
a sitting position.
    "I didn't—"
    Beth put her hand over his mouth and listened closely. She
heard it again!
    Jumping to her feet, she ran to the opening. There, standing
in the middle of the slope next to the crossed skis, was Marcel!
    "MARCEL, WE'RE OVER HERE!" she yelled.
    "Beth! Are you all right?" he called, gliding
toward her.
    "My brother's ankle is hurt," she answered.
"He's in a lot of pain."
    Marcel removed his skis and followed Beth to where Todd was
lying. He frowned as he knelt and examined Todd's leg.
    "Oui," Marcel said, resting his hand on
Todd's shoulder. "You have certainly hurt your ankle, Todd. It has swollen
a great deal. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
    "My ankle's enough," Todd replied grimly.
    Marcel nodded and stood up. He reached into his jacket and
unclipped a walkie-talkie from his belt.
    "Ski patrol, ski patrol, this is Goujon. Over."
    A voice responded. "This is ski patrol, Marcel, we read
you. What's up?"
    "I have found Beth and Todd. We are on Ze Jaws of
Death. Beth is fine. Ze boy has an injured ankle, possibly broken. We're
approximately a third of ze way down ze hill. We'll need a stretcher.
Over."
    "We'll come as quickly as we can," responded the
voice. "Out."
    "They're on ze way," Marcel said, clipping his
walkie-talkie back onto his belt.
    "Did you find us by accident?" Beth asked.
    "No, mademoiselle, I was looking for you," he
answered, removing his backpack and taking out a blanket. He spread it over
Todd and tucked it in around him. "I heard your sister talking to her
friends. She and ze others couldn't find you at ze bottom. She was worried
about where you were."
    "Brittany worried about me?" Beth grumbled.
"That's a laugh."
    "Oui," Marcel said. "I asked her where
you had started. She described where you had gone, and it sounded like Ze Jaws
of Death. I couldn't believe it. Did you not see ze sign?"
    Beth blushed. "No, and by the time I realized where I
was, I couldn't get back to the top of the slope. I'm sure glad you found
us."
    "I wouldn't have, except for ze fact that you stuck
your skis in ze snow. That was good thinking."
    "Thanks," said Beth. "At least I did one
smart thing."
    "It looks as if you did several things
intelligently," remarked Marcel, looking at the burrow and windbreak.
    "Beth dug a nest for us," Todd told him. "I'm
lying on a pile of leaves. It's a lot warmer than snow."
    "You were clever," said Marcel. "And this
shelter you made is very professional."
    "Don't flatter her too much," said Todd, grinning.
"If I know my sister, it's already going to her head."
    Marcel laughed. "From what I know of your sister, I
doubt that very seriously."
    Beth smiled and felt her cheeks warm. Such a compliment was
nice to hear, especially coming from Marcel.
    "Hey, Beth," Todd said, looking at her and
grinning.
    "What?"
    "I can't wait for that chicken dinner," he said.
    "Me, too." She laughed.
     
    It was completely dark when Beth heard the sounds of more
skis coming down the slope. She looked up and saw the silhouettes of three
orange-jacketed ski patrol men coming over the ridge above them. Two of them
were dragging a rescue sled.
    "We got here as quickly as we could," said one of
the men as he untied a bag from the sled.
    "Ze boy's in there," said Marcel, pointing to the
clearing.
    "I'll get the lantern, Ron," volunteered one of
the men.
    Working in the light of the lantern, two of the men took
Todd's boot off and put a plastic splint around his ankle. While they were busy
with Todd, the third man and Marcel tore down Beth's windbreak so they could
pull the stretcher into the clearing and place it next to Todd.