Free Lost Cipher by Michael Oechsle Page A

himself hand over hand out to the bundle on the line. When he was halfway there, Lucas heard a faint electric popping as a switch was thrown somewhere in the office.
    George’s turn , he thought.
    Suddenly the sound of the camp bell blasted through the valley.
    Zack’s blond head twisted around in a sudden panic. He doubled his speed out to the bundle and hoisted himself the last dozen yards. Frantically, he went to work on the knot.
    The loudspeakers throughout the camp crackled to life, and the sound of George clearing his throat echoed through the camp.
    â€œGOOOOOOOD MORNING, CAMPERS! WE’VE GOT SOME TOTALLY EXTREME ACTION FOR YOU DOWN BY THE LAKE THIS MORNING!”
    Within seconds, the front porches of the cabins were filled with campers, their bleary eyes focused on the half-naked boy suspended from the zip line. Lucas checked the front porch of Zack’s cabin and saw Alex leaning out to enjoy the spectacle too.
    â€œIT’S EXTREEEME NAKED ZIP-LINING, STARRING EVERYBODY’S FAVORITE ZIP LINER, ZACK WARREN! C’MON, FOLKS. LET’S SHOW SOME APPRECIATION!”
    Over the sudden burst of applause, Lucas heard one girl shriek with laughter while other kids shouted back into their cabins to roust their roommates. One hollered, “Looks like he’s wearing a diaper or something!”
    While Zack struggled with the knot, Lucas slipped back into the bathhouse and stood on the bench outside the showers. He lifted one of the ceiling tiles and retrieved Zack’s clothes from where he’d put them a few minutes before.
    Back outside, he laid the clothes out neatly across an upturned canoe and whistled to get Zack’s attention. But when the older boy turned around, the knotted bundle came loose from the cable, throwing him off balance and flipping him upside down. The towels fluttered down to the water. Even worse, the one wrapped around Zack’s waist came loose, and he barely snatched it before it dropped from his reach. A roar of laughter rose from the cabins.
    â€œOH NO, CAMPERS!” George gasped dramatically into the microphone. “IT APPEARS ZACK IS IN SOME KIND OF TROUBLE!”
    Lucas thought for sure the older boy would tumble into the water, but one leg was still tangled in the harness, so Zack dangled upside down, trying to cover himself with the towel at the same time. Beyond the lake, Lucas spotted Maggie and another counselor heading down the hill toward the cabins. If George saw them too, he didn’t let it stop his show. Lucas heard him choke off a laugh before he regained his announcer’s voice.
    â€œWHOA!!!” he shouted. “ZACK’S PUTTING ON A GREAT SHOW FOR US TODAY, CAMPERS! IT DOESN’T GET ANY MORE EXTREEEEEME THAN THIS!”
    Zack bobbed up and down on the line, frantically clawing at the strap tangled around his leg with one hand while covering his privates with the towel. He tried to kick his tangled leg free, but instead began a dizzying spin, bringing more laughter from the cabins.
    Finally, still clutching the towel, he slowly descended, upside down, to the platform where he made a clumsy dismount. Free from the harness, he darted behind the lifeguard chair, momentarily trying to hide while he wrapped the towel back around himself before starting down the ladder. Halfway down, the towel slipped off once more, bringing the biggest roar yet from the campers.
    â€œTHAT’S ZACK WARREN! BEAST OF THE ZIP LINE! LET’S GIVE HIM A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!”
    Zack hopped off the ladder, covered himself again, and stormed toward Lucas, who was pointing at the boy’s clothes spread out on the canoe. Zack snatched up his clothes from the canoe and disappeared into the bathhouse. By then, Maggie and the other counselor were coming fast along the lake, but Zack was too enraged to notice them. In ten seconds, he was dressed and charging back out the bathhouse door.
    Alex had jumped down from Zack’s porch, and he