Wildfire! Read Online Free

Ben called. He wrenched the top off the box and took out a rocket. Then, aware again of the nearness of the pines, he hesitated.
    â€œLet’s get started,” Lucy said.
    â€œIt’s not dark yet,” Jimmy Kyler objected. “Anyway, I don’t think we should be doing this.”

    â€œ Come on, before everybody chickens out,” Lucy urged Ben.
    Elliot strolled up. “Maybe Ben’s the chicken.” He smiled coolly.
    â€œWho, me?” Quickly Ben took out a rocket. “This is it! Get ready!” He stuck the rocket’s long balsa-wood tail into the Coke bottle and set the bottle in the sand. Now the rocket’s black nose was pointed to the sky, slightly over the lake.
    Ben’s hands were sweating. They shook a little as he lit a match and ignited the fuse in the tail. He shouted, “Stay back, everybody!”
    They all knew it was dangerous to get near the rocket once that fuse was lit. The puppy barked, confused, following first one person, then another. The fuse burned up to the rocket’s red body, the part that was filled with explosives. When it reached it, the rocket shot into the air in a high arc. It made a shattering noise and burst into a shower of colored floating sparks. They drifted toward the water, and toward the towering pines.

    The puppy yelped in terror and rushed away, running for shelter in the forest.
    Ben yelled, “Come back!” But the dog was gone, out of sight.
    Elliot said, “Hey! That was great!” He moved toward the box. “How about some more, Ben?”
    Suddenly the fun was over for Ben. He could hear the puppy, yelping still. He slammed the box shut and said to Elliot, “You better get your dog! He went into the woods!”
    â€œOh.” Elliot looked around, then groaned. “How am I supposed to find him in there?”
    Ben didn’t answer. He plunged in among the trees. “Here, boy,” he called. He wished the dog had a name. “Come back, fella!”
    Behind him, one of the kids said, “I need to get back to my folks.”
    â€œMe, too,” Lucy Johnson decided.
    They began to disperse.
    â€œHey, Ben, wait for me!” Elliot called. He blundered toward Ben through the pines as the terrified little dog scampered ahead.

6
    â€œDo you know where we’re going?” Elliot gasped after a few minutes.
    â€œNo,” Ben admitted. He had never been in this part of the forest before. He seldom roamed in the woods, even near his own house. Much of the ground was rough, littered with fallen sticks and branches from past hurricanes, and overgrown with vines and scrub palmettos.
    They could hear the headlong flight of the puppy ahead. Finally they glimpsed him and trailed him deeper into the woods.
    Sunset faded from the sky. A weird misty dusk
blanketed the forest. The boys ran on and on, first this way, then that. At every twist and turn they could see the pale form of the puppy, scrambling, small and desperate, far ahead of them.
    â€œIt’ll be dark soon.” Ben heard the fear in Elliot’s voice.
    â€œI know that.”
    After a while the puppy slowed down. For a few moments Ben thought they were gaining on him. Then the dog spotted an armadillo and dashed sidewise after it, barking. With surprising speed, the armadillo raced off through the fallen palm fronds. The puppy, following in this new direction, went after it.
    Ben and Elliot groaned. The pup was farther away from them than ever. But he couldn’t reach the armadillo. At last he faltered and gave up.
    â€œGood boy! Come here!” Ben called. He clapped his hands.
    The pup looked in his direction.
    â€œThat’s it! Come on!” Ben called.
    Exasperated, Elliot echoed, “Here! Now , you dumb dog!”

    The pup took several steps toward them. Then his attention seemed to be diverted. He looked away. After a minute Ben saw what the dog saw. About forty feet away, a group of wild pigs were