Spider Lake Read Online Free PDF

kitchen.
    “Morning Mrs. Fisher.”
    Matt gave Ben a furtive glance.
    “Good morning yourself Matt, how about a couple of eggs?”
    “No thanks Mrs. Fisher, I already ate.”
    Matt gave Ben another conspiratorial look as he sat down across Ben at the table. Ben looked back and shrugged his shoulders in reply. Bo thought he would give the new boy a try and dropped his head on Matt’s lap, tail wagging.
    “How about a glass of milk or orange juice?”
    “No thank you Ma’am if I eat or drink something now I might explode.”
      Matt pushed his belly out as far as he could to make it appear absurdly full, while stroking his stomach with one hand, and the big yellow dog with the other. Another glance at Ben laced with a couple of twitching eye movements towards the door indicated to Ben that they should be vacating the premises pronto.
    “Matt Andersen if you are going to explode, don’t you be doing it in my kitchen! I have enough of a mess to clean up.”
    Ben and Matt smiled. They wanted to laugh, but that would indicate that Mrs. Fisher was actually hip or cool, and neither of them wanted to let that happen.
    “Mom, can I be excused?”
    “Go ahead, but be in the clearing when I leave. I want to be able to see you, and don’t forget the row-boat.”
    The boys made for the door with the dog close at their heels. When they got to the clearing at a far enough distance, Matt turned and spoke in a whisper: “What gives Ben? Our plan was to sneak out before it was light and meet at the tree fort! You know we can’t scope out the Rule mansion in broad daylight! We have a very small window of opportunity here. You know that old man McCann will be getting another Doberman as soon as he can!”
    “I know! I tried, but my Mom must have seen me oiling the screen door hinges yesterday, and she somehow de-oiled them when I was asleep. They gave me away and I was caught red-handed. I thought about bolting, but I have been doing too much bolting lately; besides if she had to stay home today because of me I would have caught hell for sure when I got back. We will just have to resort to plan B.
    “I don’t know man, you know old man McCann keeps rock salt in his twenty gauge. He blasted a long shot at Skip Wadley and Jim Fletcher last summer, and if they weren’t running a zigzag pattern down the hill he would have clipped one of e’m for sure. I sure as hell do not want you pulling rock salt out of my keester with a needle-nose pliers!”
    “Come on man! That old duffer couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if it was tethered to his ass. We will just belly crawl through the woods with camouflage on until we get a close look at the place. I have my Dad’s binocs stashed in the shed. There is something going on up there and I intend to find out what it is. You heard the stories Matt. You see Digger digging all the time. He is shoveling with a purpose. No man is that enthusiastic about planting flower beds! We could walk up and down fifty highways and never get enough bottle returns for old man Nerroth to match even one-tenth of the fortune hidden on that estate!”
    “I think them stories are all baloney Ben. That old place is just a relic from the past with a nutty care-taker. My Mom says old man Rule’s father made all his money in lumber, and that dried up a long time ago. Besides, I have no intention of crawling up through the woods only to see old man McCann’s shoe-laces as I break through the bushes like Skip and Jim did. That old man has a sixth sense like a rabid dog. He can smell when people are infringing on the property. I bet that old buzzard could smell a fart that was lit in the next county. I say we at least wait until you can get out before first light.”
    “Alright, we will try again tomorrow. My dad is still out of town for a few days. It will be way easier for me to get out with him gone. I will oil the hinges again today when my mom is in town. Tomorrow I will make my move earlier, say two a.m.