Read Online Ghost Town by Annie Bryant - Free Book Online Page A

Montana. People flocked here when gold and silver were discovered. Towns sprang up near the mines, but once the gold was gone the people left too. Nothing is left here but the buildings,” Lissie explained.
    She’s obviously been reading up on the West
, Charlottethought. She had to admit that Lissie sounded like a real adventure guru—and a history buff too.
    â€œAnd the ghosts . . . what happened to them?” Avery asked with interest.
    â€œGhosts? Do these places have real ghosts in them?” Maeve wondered.
    Avery let out a low, wicked, ghostly laugh.
    â€œStop it, Avery. You’re creeping me out!” Maeve exclaimed, hiding her face in her hands.
    â€œLissie’s right,” Mr. Ramsey said. “Once the mines proved unprofitable, all the people moved away. Some mining towns have been turned into tourist destinations.”
    â€œI read about one Montana ghost town that’s now a state park,” Charlotte jumped in.
    â€œYes, I remember my grandmother talking about Bannack. It’s north of here,” Lissie said.
    â€œCan we stop, Mr. Ramsey? Aren’t you curious to find out what’s behind those doors?” Maeve pleaded.
    â€œSorry, girls, it’s getting late, and those clouds look like bad weather closing in quickly. I don’t think we can afford to stop.” Mr. Ramsey stepped on the gas and the road rose steadily as they rattled out of town.
    â€œWhat are those yellow poles?” Avery asked.
    â€œThose are to mark the edge of the road so the snow-plows won’t drive off it,” Mr. Ramsey informed her.
    â€œBut they’re like twelve feet tall!” Avery exclaimed. “Does the snow really get that high?”
    â€œSure it does!” Lissie said. “My grandmother told me about snowfalls of six feet with drifts up to twenty feet high in some places.”
    â€œBut that’s taller than a house!” Maeve cried.
    Lissie nodded. “Yeah. The weather gets pretty intense around here sometimes.”
    â€œYou don’t think it’s going to snow that much tonight, do you?” Charlotte asked her dad.
    â€œI hope not!” Lissie responded, as she looked out the window toward the darkening sky.
    I wasn’t asking YOU
, Charlotte thought to herself. Lissie was really getting on her nerves. She seemed to be making herself right at home, and she had only met the BSG a few hours ago!
    Mr. Ramsey turned the radio on to find a weather report, but the only station that came in was playing honky-tonk country songs. They were all laughing over the crazy lyrics of one song when the announcer broke in and warned of the oncoming snowstorm.
    â€œA winter weather advisory is in effect for this afternoon. Heavy snow will begin around three p.m. and last through the night. Precipitation to reach between eight and twelve inches in the Bozeman area, and up to eighteen inches in the mountains.”
    â€œAh, well,” Mr. Ramsey said. “Nothing we haven’t seen before in New England, right, kids? We’ll just keep moving and be snug in Big Sky before we know it.”
    Ole Nelly climbed out of the valley, chugging and straining on the hills as heavy snowflakes began to coat the ground. Suddenly, and without warning, the car started sputtering and stalled out.
    Mr. Ramsey carefully steered the car to the side of the road, slowly crunching over gravel before the car rolled toa stop. The inside of the Mountain Rover was completely silent for a moment.
    â€œSo how are you at fixing cars, Richard? Tell me you’re one of those handy guys,” Lissie said.
    â€œActually, I’m not that bad at diagnosing sick engines. I usually can figure out what’s wrong. But being able to
fix
the car is a whole other story,” he sighed.
    Mr. Ramsey got out of the Mountain Rover and opened the hood. “It’s a broken serpentine belt,” he shouted.
    Lissie pulled her cell phone out of her purse and flipped