Free Disaster for Hire by Franklin W. Dixon

to take a breather?"
    "A breather?" she asked with a mocking smile. "Can it be that the all-American athlete is tired already?"
    Joe felt his face reddening. "Hey, give me a break!" he protested. "I'm fine, I just figured maybe you might be a little — "
    "You needn't worry about me," replied Clea coldly. "Any Greek could outlast you in crosscountry hiking. I see how the American tourists won't go anywhere if they can't take a bus or car. You're soft and weak, all of you."
    Joe's aching legs and back were forgotten in a rising tide of anger and resentment. He marched alongside her, demanding, "Why do you hate America anyway? What's your problem?"
    Clea stared at him in puzzlement. "Hate America? I don't. We Greeks owe a great deal to your country. America saved us from terrible things when my parents were young."
    Joe frowned. "I don't get it."
    "After World War Two ended, there were those who wanted Greece to become a Communist state. Many died in the fighting, and thousands of children, babies even, were carried off to be raised in Communist countries.
    When we became a tyranny, they would return as our new leaders.
    "If it had not been for American assistance, the Communists might have won. But when I see rich, spoiled American tourists who only want their comforts, I wonder if they could fight for their liberty if they had to."
    Joe had forgotten his anger as he listened to Clea's story. He walked a way before answering.
    "I never heard any of what happened in Greece back then," he said finally. "I'm glad you told me. But I do know a bit about America. Sure, there are some folks like the ones you're talking about, who come over for a good time only.
    "But I look at Bayport, where Frank and I live, and people don't look so lazy or spoiled to me. They work hard. My father, for instance, makes a good, comfortable living as a detective, but I can tell you, he's worked hard to help a lot of people."
    He looked down. "I guess that's one of the reasons my brother and I want to be like him."
    Clea shook her head. "What you say may be true, but that's just one town and only a small number of people."
    "Frank and I have met a lot of Americans. I'm not saying they're all perfect, but I don't think we're all that bad. In fact, I bet we're a lot like you. We look at some things differently, we do some stuff differently. But I guess we're the same in more important ways than we're different."
    Joe broke off, seeing Clea smile at him. He looked away, embarrassed at having gone on as he had.
    "Well, anyway, that's what I think," he mumbled. "Maybe it sounds pretty dumb, but — "
    "No, not at all," Clea protested. "I don't think it's dumb at all, Joe. I think that it is probably so. Perhaps I do not know Americans as well as I thought I did. Maybe we're both learning important things from each other."
    They went on in silence again — a friendlier silence than before.
    Near the crest of what seemed to Joe like the two hundredth hill they'd climbed, he raised his hands in mock surrender and said, "Okay, I give up. I want to take a breather, because I could use a break, all right?"
    Clea began to pull off her backpack. "If you hadn't said anything, I would have in a minute or so," she admitted. "I think we could both use a little rest and something to eat."
    Joe noticed a flat ledge of rock nearby. He walked over to it, shedding his own pack as he did. "This looks like a pretty good spot to sit down for a couple of — "
    Whap! Something smacked into the pack, ripping it out of his hands. Startled, Joe yelled to Clea, "Get down!"
    She stared in surprise but dove for the ground.
    Crouching, Joe scanned the barren hillsides around them. Somewhere out there, someone had targeted them. But there'd been no sound of a gunshot.
    "We've got to get behind those rocks," he said to Clea, glancing at the only cover nearby.
    Joe and the Greek girl managed to crawl only a foot toward shelter.
    Then something went spang off the rocks right between