Free Mango Lucky by Bill Myers Page B

now. I finally found it."
     
    I grabbed his shoulders with both hands and shook him. "You're leaving now. Either on your own, or I'm carrying you out. Nothing you've found here is worth losing your life for."
     
    He looked me in the eye and said, "You have no idea."
     
    Then he shook his head, picked up his detector and said, "You're right. It's not worth dying for. And I can't let Jake drown."
     
    I pointed, "You first." Not trusting that he would follow me.
     
    When we reached the top of the dune, we could see how far the Indian River stretched out in front of us, and how it had flooded the road.
     
    The man said, "Damn. I didn't realized it was rising this fast. I've got to get Jake out of here."
     
    Apparently, Jake was the dog's name.
     
    We climbed down the dune to the car. Jake was barking inside, happy to see his owner return.
     
    At the car, I said, "See if you can drive out. If not, we'll pull you out."
     
    The man nodded, and used his remote to unlock the car. He opened the back door and put his metal detector and sand scoop inside.
     
    He then climbed in the driver's seat and started the motor. Putting the car in gear, he tried to pull forward, but his tires just spun in the sand.
     
    I tapped on his window. "Kill the motor. I'll get the tow strap and we'll try to pull you out."
     
    Back at the Land Cruiser, I filled Anna in on the situation. The guy was metal detecting in the storm. Didn't realize the water had come up. Now his car was stuck and we needed to get him out.
     
    My plan was to connect the tow strap from the Land Cruiser to the car. I'd signal Anna when it was time to pull.
     
    Connecting the strap to the Land Cruiser was easy. It had large tow hooks below the front bumper. Took only a minute to get it done.
     
    Connecting the other end of the strap to the car was much more difficult, as half of the car's front end was under the rising water.
     
    It took me about ten minutes to dig out the sand under the car's bumper and find a place to secure the tow strap.
     
    When it was secure, I tapped on the driver's window and said, "Start your motor, hold your foot on the brake, and put the car in neutral. When you see the tow strap tighten, take your foot off the brake so we can pull you out.
     
    "When you see the Cruiser stop and the tow strap go slack, put your foot on the brakes. Don't hit the Cruiser."
     
    The driver nodded, and I signaled Anna to start pulling.
     
    She put the Cruiser in low four, then in reverse, and began backing up slowly.
     
    The tow strap pulled taut and I signaled the other driver to get off the brakes. I moved behind his car, just in case the strap broke.
     
    At first, the Cruiser seemed to struggle, all four tires trying to find grip on the wet pavement. Then it dug in, and the car at the other end of the tow strap jolted as its tires broke loose from the sand.
     
    With the car released from the sand's grip, the Cruiser had no problem pulling it through the flood waters and out onto A1A.
     
    Anna continued in reverse, pulling the car to dry pavement just beyond the edge where the Indian River had flooded the road. Seeing the car was high and dry, she coasted to a stop.
     
    I tapped on the now unstuck car's window, "Kill the motor. I'll unhook the tow strap."
     
    Not wanting to be accidentally run over, I waited until the driver put the car in park and turned off the motor before I attempted to disconnect the strap. Then I got down below the car's bumper and got to work.
     
    As I lay on my back on the wet road, trying to untie the knot in the tow strap that had been pulled tight, I noticed the wind was creating small white caps on the flood waters that crossed the road.
     
    This was not turning out to be a good week. I was laying on my back on a wet road. I was soaked to the bone, cold, covered in sand, and for the second day in a row, I was outside in a dangerous storm.
     

     
    After finally getting the tow strap unhooked, I went back to the driver