The First Adventure Read Online Free Page A

all over his huge head and snout, murmuring, “It’s okay, sweetie. Everything’s going to be fine.”
    â€œHe wrecked our basement, you know,” Logan said bitterly. “And my folks think
I
did it. You should see how it feels when your own parents believe you chewed up a beanbag chair! After camp, I have to go into therapy.”
    â€œLet’s hurry up and get Luthor in the bag,” Ben urged, Ferret Face peering out of his sleeve. “If you miss the bus, all this is for nothing.”
    It took Savannah’s renowned skill as a dog whisperer to coax Luthor into the giant duffel. But he went, and lay down obediently, and even shut his eyes when she told him it was time to sleep. He objected a little when Griffin closed the zipper over his head, but Savannah’s constant soothing voice managed to calm him.
    â€œWell, have a good time — I guess,” Ben said dubiously. “I’ll text when I get to my camp.”
    The friends said good-bye, and Griffin and Savannah dragged the duffel, now even heavier than before, toward their bus.
    â€œWhoa! No way!” the driver exclaimed. “You’re not taking that on board. Load it into the baggage compartment.”
    â€œI can’t,” Griffin explained. “It has my computer in it. I promised my mom I wouldn’t let it out of my sight.”
    â€œFine. Take the computer out and stow that bag. We’ve got to get rolling. I swear — you kids bring more stuff every year! What have you got in there — a pool table?”
    In resignation, Griffin and Savannah dragged their precious cargo around the side of the bus. Savannah opened the zipper a few inches, and leaned close.
    â€œYou’re not going to like it, sweetie, but you have to be patient and stay calm.” From her backpack she produced a handful of dog biscuits and a plastic baby bottle filled with water. “Be a good boy, okay?” She kissed his nose and zipped him in again, leaving enough room for some air to get in.
    They re-boarded and settled in for the three-hour ride. The driver shut the door and put the engine in gear. The bus was actually beginning to pull out into traffic when there was a pounding on the door, and a foghorn voice called, “Wait! There’s one more!”
    The driver opened up and a large, stocky boy panted aboard, dragging a brass-bound trunk.
    â€œThanks, mister!” His piggy eyes met Griffin’s horrified ones. “Hey, Bing! You’re going to this camp, too?”
    Darren Vader was the last person you wanted around when there was a plan in progress. He was a cheater and a snitch, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to get Griffin into trouble.
    â€œListen, Darren,” Griffin said reasonably. “Camp is supposed to be fun, so let’s make a deal: I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, and we stay out of each other’s way.”
    The big boy flopped down in the seat in front of Griffin. “Not gonna happen,” he chortled with cruel satisfaction.
    The howling began five minutes over the Whitestone Bridge.
    â€œMan, does this bus ever need a tune-up!” complained the driver.

    C amp Ebony Lake was a breathtaking spot in the deep woods of New York’s Catskill Mountains, a circle of log cabins and small buildings surrounded by playing fields reclaimed from the dense forest. The lake itself was a vast black mirror, usually dead calm. According to the scientists at the research installation on the opposite shore, it was deeper in some places than Scotland’s famous Loch Ness.
    The tires crunched the gravel of the roadway as the bus pulled up to the main building. “Last stop, you guys,” the driver announced. “Just give me a minute to pop open the cargo bay, and you can get your gear.” He jumped to the ground, walked around the side of the bus, released the catch, and rolled up the panel to the baggage compartment.
    He never