The next night, all of the stones from the Salamander Step were gone.
“What happened?” Cricket asked, walking up and down the curb, looking for the ramp Tyler had built the night before.
“The rain this morning must have washed the rocks away,” Tyler said.
“Or cars could have scattered them,” Shilo suggested.
“Well,” Tyler said, shrugging his shoulders, “I guess it wasn’t such a great idea after all.”
“No, it was a wonderful idea,” said Dr. Kate. “A permanent Salamander Step would be a great solution, but I’m not sure how we could do that.” She handed each of them a recycled bucket from the Pizza Palace.
“I wish there was something more we could do to help,” Cricket said.
“We are,” Shilo said, picking up three salamanders at the bottom of the steep, smooth curb. They were too tired to try climbing it anymore.
“Let’s get these little guys measured and marked as quickly as possible,” Dr. Kate said. “They need to get into the cool grass.”
It was easy to pick up the tired salamanders because they hardly squirmed at all. But Cricket worried that maybe some of them wouldn’t survive.
“Long-toed salamanders are pretty sensitive,” said Dr. Kate. “There are all kinds of things that can harm them, not just birds or cars or this new curb.”
“Like what?” Shilo asked.
“I bet the salt is bad for them,” Tyler said.
Dr. Kate nodded. “Only a little salt stays on the road until summer, but it’s enough to irritate a salamander’s moist skin. And there are other chemicals on the road and in the water that are bad too,” she said.
“I wouldn’t want to swim in a lake full of chemicals!” Shilo said.
“Neither do you, right, big guy?” Cricket said, holding a tiny salamander up close to her face.
Everyone laughed. They continued working until it was almost dark and Shilo had to leave.
“Is your friend not allowed out after dark?” Dr. Kate asked as she watched Shilo pedal away on her bike.
“She just doesn’t like the dark,” Cricket answered. “Oh, Dr. Kate, look!” Dozens of salamanders were creeping out of the grass.
“This is exciting. I think we’re getting pretty close to the peak of the migration,” Dr. Kate said.