steady and the smoke kept puffing up, but there was no flame.
“We need a spark,” Henry said. “We need some friction.”
Friction? I had an idea. I ran to get my skateboard.
“This may not be the best time for skating,” Arcadia said when I got back.
“The grip tape on the top of the board feels a lot like that little black strip on a matchbook,” I told them. “Maybe we can use it to make a spark.”
“Genius runs in the family,” Henry said.
There were plenty of sharp objects around. I grabbed a shard of metal and scraped it against the grip tape. Nothing. I tried throwing it at the grip tape. No sparks. A piece of glass from the windshield didn’t do anything either. Maybe grip tape wouldn’t work.
Henry picked up some rocks and rubbed each one against the grip tape. The first few didn’t do anything, but the fourth one made a tiny spark.
“Bring it over here!” Julia said excitedly.
Henry held the skateboard right next to the fireball and scraped the rock back and forth against the grip tape. Julia kept the beam of light focused on the spot and leaned over and blew gently on the fireball. The little plume of smoke kept puffing away. Then, somehow, Henry managed to shoot one of the sparks on the spot where Julia was focusing the sunlight.
A flame leaped to life.
CHAPTER 12:
Democracy in Action
“Fire! We have fire!”
It was so cool! The Vaseline ignited. That set the cotton ball on fire, which set the shredded money on fire, which set the little twigs on fire. It was beautiful.
Mrs. Herschel and Arcadia started dancing around like a couple of cavewomen who had discovered the secret of fire. Henry and I jumped up to join them.
Julia didn’t join in the fun. She grabbed more skinny sticks and made a little tepee over the flame. When that caught fire, she took some of the thicker sticks and crisscrossed them on top. Then she took the biggest sticks and put them on. With each layer of sticks, the fire grew bigger.
“We have to make sure to leave a little room for air to get in,” Julia said as she added wood to the fire and poked a stick into it to arrange it the way she wanted.
“Julia, you are The Man!” I said, so proud of my little sister. Everybody except David clapped her on the back.
The smoke rising off the fire wasn’t all that visible as it snaked up through the trees. It didn’t look like anyone would be able to see the signal. But Julia said we would build the fire bigger and that if another plane came by, we could throw some green leaves on the blaze to make the smoke darker. Until then, we had a nice little fire going that we could use for cooking, heat, light, and to keep bugs or animals away.
For the time being, there was something comforting about just staring into it. I always loved staring at a fire.
“I wish we had marshmallows,” Henry said, “and some hamburgers and hot dogs.”
I had been feeling hungry for a while, but it wasn’t until Henry said the word “hamburger” that I started to get that feeling in my stomach. It wanted to be filled. A hamburger would taste so good.
I tried to figure out how long it had been since my last meal. A day, at least. And that was just a bowl of corn flakes. I wished I had stuffed myself with food back then.
Maybe it would be better not to think about it, I decided. Just think about something else.
“Now that we’ve got a fire,” David said, “we have to get something to cook. Something to eat.”
“What are you going to do,” Arcadia asked. “Catch a bear?”
I shivered, imagining in my head a bear chasing us around and devouring us one at a time. What if there were bears in these woods? Or something more dangerous?
“Maybe we should sit down as a group and figure out what to do next,” Henry suggested.
Sounded like a good idea. David snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Do we have to debate everything ?” he asked. “Next you’ll be telling me we need a Congress and a House of Representatives. You
“We need a spark,” Henry said. “We need some friction.”
Friction? I had an idea. I ran to get my skateboard.
“This may not be the best time for skating,” Arcadia said when I got back.
“The grip tape on the top of the board feels a lot like that little black strip on a matchbook,” I told them. “Maybe we can use it to make a spark.”
“Genius runs in the family,” Henry said.
There were plenty of sharp objects around. I grabbed a shard of metal and scraped it against the grip tape. Nothing. I tried throwing it at the grip tape. No sparks. A piece of glass from the windshield didn’t do anything either. Maybe grip tape wouldn’t work.
Henry picked up some rocks and rubbed each one against the grip tape. The first few didn’t do anything, but the fourth one made a tiny spark.
“Bring it over here!” Julia said excitedly.
Henry held the skateboard right next to the fireball and scraped the rock back and forth against the grip tape. Julia kept the beam of light focused on the spot and leaned over and blew gently on the fireball. The little plume of smoke kept puffing away. Then, somehow, Henry managed to shoot one of the sparks on the spot where Julia was focusing the sunlight.
A flame leaped to life.
CHAPTER 12:
Democracy in Action
“Fire! We have fire!”
It was so cool! The Vaseline ignited. That set the cotton ball on fire, which set the shredded money on fire, which set the little twigs on fire. It was beautiful.
Mrs. Herschel and Arcadia started dancing around like a couple of cavewomen who had discovered the secret of fire. Henry and I jumped up to join them.
Julia didn’t join in the fun. She grabbed more skinny sticks and made a little tepee over the flame. When that caught fire, she took some of the thicker sticks and crisscrossed them on top. Then she took the biggest sticks and put them on. With each layer of sticks, the fire grew bigger.
“We have to make sure to leave a little room for air to get in,” Julia said as she added wood to the fire and poked a stick into it to arrange it the way she wanted.
“Julia, you are The Man!” I said, so proud of my little sister. Everybody except David clapped her on the back.
The smoke rising off the fire wasn’t all that visible as it snaked up through the trees. It didn’t look like anyone would be able to see the signal. But Julia said we would build the fire bigger and that if another plane came by, we could throw some green leaves on the blaze to make the smoke darker. Until then, we had a nice little fire going that we could use for cooking, heat, light, and to keep bugs or animals away.
For the time being, there was something comforting about just staring into it. I always loved staring at a fire.
“I wish we had marshmallows,” Henry said, “and some hamburgers and hot dogs.”
I had been feeling hungry for a while, but it wasn’t until Henry said the word “hamburger” that I started to get that feeling in my stomach. It wanted to be filled. A hamburger would taste so good.
I tried to figure out how long it had been since my last meal. A day, at least. And that was just a bowl of corn flakes. I wished I had stuffed myself with food back then.
Maybe it would be better not to think about it, I decided. Just think about something else.
“Now that we’ve got a fire,” David said, “we have to get something to cook. Something to eat.”
“What are you going to do,” Arcadia asked. “Catch a bear?”
I shivered, imagining in my head a bear chasing us around and devouring us one at a time. What if there were bears in these woods? Or something more dangerous?
“Maybe we should sit down as a group and figure out what to do next,” Henry suggested.
Sounded like a good idea. David snorted and rolled his eyes.
“Do we have to debate everything ?” he asked. “Next you’ll be telling me we need a Congress and a House of Representatives. You
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