CHAPTER SEVEN

Another Morning Scare

After fajr the next morning, the Khan boys found themselves back on the front porch of their cabin. Yusuf and Ali had gone back to bed after saying their prayers, to catch up on some more sleep before breakfast.

“Do you think we’ll see anything unusual?” asked Zayn.

“I hope so,” said Ibrahim.

“Yusuf and Ali are pretty scared,” said Zayn.

“I know,” said Ibrahim. “I’m starting to think George has nothing to do with this.”

Once the early sunlight began to filter through the trees, Zayn grew impatient.

“Let’s wake up Yusuf again and go down to the lake,” he suggested. “I have to catch a fish for my scavenger hunt item.”

“Your scavenger hunt item is a fish?” asked Ibrahim, in disbelief.

“Yeah, why? What’s yours?” said Zayn.

“‘A smooth, hard, flattened sphere, found by a lake, a beach or a pier’,” said Ibrahim, pulling a small grey pebble out of his pocket.

“Well, mine is a fish,” said Zayn, getting up to grab some fishing poles.

Reluctantly, a sleepy Yusuf agreed to join them.

“It’s only 5.30! We don’t need to be up until 7.00,” he said. Looking down the hill, he added, “Doesn’t the lake look creepy with the fog hanging over it?” rubbing his hands together for warmth.

“I think it looks cool,” said Zayn. “Like the Sherlock Holmes mysteries Ibrahim’s reading all the time.”

Getting into the canoe, Ibrahim slowly rowed out to the middle of the lake. Zayn, who had put some bait at the end of his fishing rod, tossed his line out.

“It really is peaceful out here,” said Ibrahim. “It’s nice to not be scared of this ‘ghost’ fellow. We know Allah is our Protector.”

Not five minutes had passed when the boys heard a familiar moaning sound, along with splashing noises by the shore they had just left.

“What’s that?” asked Yusuf, panicking.

“I see something,” said Zayn, squinting thought the mist. The thick fog made it difficult to see the shore.

“Careful, guys,” warned Ibrahim. “You’re rocking the boat.”

“It’s the ghost!” yelled Yusuf, quickly standing up. The sudden motion made the canoe flip over with a loud splash, landing all three boys in the cold water. Yelling and screaming, the boys finally made it to shore.

“Where—Where’d he go?” asked Yusuf, out of breath.

Instead of a ghost, the boys found Mrs. Morris, Mr. Barnell and Billy Jones staring down at them.

“What in the world do you boys think you’re doing?” asked Mrs. Morris, with her hands firmly on her hips. “It is 6 o’clock in the morning!”

“I—we—,” Yusuf tried to explain.

“We were trying to catch my scavenger hunt item,” said Zayn.

“But we saw something– that thing that’s been pretending to be a ghost,” said Ibrahim. “We panicked and tipped over the canoe.”

“Scavenger hunt item?” asked Mr. Barnell. “What were you looking for in the middle of the lake?”

“The fish!” said Zayn. “You know, the thing with overlapping scales that’s open when dry and closed when wet.”

“That’s a pinecone!” said Ibrahim, Mr. Barnell and Yusuf, all at the same time.

“Oh…” said Zayn. “Sorry.”

“Well it is the best time of day to catch fish,” said Billy Jones, who was laughing so hard his belly shook. “You boys had better get into some dry clothes before you catch a cold.”

Before the group left the water’s edge, they heard more splashing.

“Who’s there?” asked Mrs. Morris.

“Hello,” said Mr. Parker, coming out of the water in his swimsuit. “Are you boys enjoying a cool morning swim, too?” he asked. “You might want to try it without the jeans next time; it’ll help you float better,” he chuckled.

Grabbing his towel, Mr. Parker wrapped it around his waist and headed in the direction of the camp.