Read Online Sky Jumpers Series, Book 1 by Peggy Eddleman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Peggy Eddleman
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nine!”
I mentally crossed off half the groups. Maybe mine could win!
Carina held up her two clumps of Ameiphus and yelled our team’s total before Mr. Allen even called on her. “Eleven! We found eleven!”
“Us too!” Aaren said.
I grinned at Aaren. I couldn’t believe our teams tied! I was trying to figure out how six people could each have a turn at Mr. Allen’s desk in only five days, when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned to see Holden and his team crash through the bushes at the side of the road.
Holden took a few panting breaths before he managed to get out, “Fourteen!”
My hopes for a homework-free week fell.
“Congratulations!” Mr. Allen said. “I hope you enjoy spending the mornings of the next week taking turns on a cushioned chair, and the evenings doing something
other
than history homework. Now, remember what we talked about in class—choosing your split is a very important thing. You’ll want to choose one you enjoy, and today you’ll see what it’s like at the mines. Let’s go—Mr. Williams is going to show you something on this field trip that no other group has ever seen.”
After ten minutes of walking through the trees as they became more sparse, we entered a clearing, the edge of the lake in front of us, the mines at our right. Sandy, Mr. Williams’s golden retriever, ran up to meet us. She wagged her tail as we all tried to pet her at the same time, then she ran back toward Mr. Williams, like she couldn’t stand to be away from him for another second. We chased after her and sat down in front of Mr. Williams at the opening of the mine. Mr. Allen tied Arabelle to a post at the mine opening and sat down with us.
Mr. Williams scratched Sandy’s ears, then folded his huge arms and smiled, which seemed to spread his thick mustache even wider. “Raise your hand if you like rocks.Do you like to throw them, dig in the dirt with them, collect them?”
Most of us raised our hands.
“Then working in the mines might be the split for you.” He brushed his hands together, and a fine white powder blew away in the slight breeze. “Here at the mines, we get to play with several different kinds of rocks every day.”
Mr. Williams had us turn around to face the tunnel where the river flowed in from the other side of the valley—the only way into or out of White Rock. “You all know the green bomb made this crater, but the slope is steeper on this side of the valley.” He gestured over the river to the south, where no homes were built. “Does anyone know why?”
It hadn’t occurred to me
why
it was that way—it just was. A couple of kids raised their hands. Mr. Williams called on Sam.
“Is it because of the rock?”
“Very good. Most of our valley has a layer of dirt over it,” he said as he pointed north, “but a large seam of rock passes through on this side. When the green bomb hit, it couldn’t push the rock as far as it pushed the soil. Who can tell me what kind of rock gives White Rock River its name?”
The whole class raised their hands. Mr. Williams pointed to Ellie.
“Limestone.”
“That’s right. Limestone is important for a couple of reasons. It’s the softest rock in this seam, so when the green bomb hit, it pushed the limestone farther than it pushed the harder rock surrounding it. If it weren’t for the limestone, we wouldn’t have the opening into this valley”—he pointed to the tunnel at the other end of the river—“and there wouldn’t be a groove in the stone for the river to pass through. Instead of staying on the third ring, like it does now, the river would just come in through the opening and flow right down there to the middle of the valley, first flooding City Circle, and eventually filling the entire valley. Because of this seam, it flows into our little lake, which is actually just a place where the limestone seam widened considerably. It then flows through caves in the mountain and comes out the other side.”
Mr.
I mentally crossed off half the groups. Maybe mine could win!
Carina held up her two clumps of Ameiphus and yelled our team’s total before Mr. Allen even called on her. “Eleven! We found eleven!”
“Us too!” Aaren said.
I grinned at Aaren. I couldn’t believe our teams tied! I was trying to figure out how six people could each have a turn at Mr. Allen’s desk in only five days, when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned to see Holden and his team crash through the bushes at the side of the road.
Holden took a few panting breaths before he managed to get out, “Fourteen!”
My hopes for a homework-free week fell.
“Congratulations!” Mr. Allen said. “I hope you enjoy spending the mornings of the next week taking turns on a cushioned chair, and the evenings doing something
other
than history homework. Now, remember what we talked about in class—choosing your split is a very important thing. You’ll want to choose one you enjoy, and today you’ll see what it’s like at the mines. Let’s go—Mr. Williams is going to show you something on this field trip that no other group has ever seen.”
After ten minutes of walking through the trees as they became more sparse, we entered a clearing, the edge of the lake in front of us, the mines at our right. Sandy, Mr. Williams’s golden retriever, ran up to meet us. She wagged her tail as we all tried to pet her at the same time, then she ran back toward Mr. Williams, like she couldn’t stand to be away from him for another second. We chased after her and sat down in front of Mr. Williams at the opening of the mine. Mr. Allen tied Arabelle to a post at the mine opening and sat down with us.
Mr. Williams scratched Sandy’s ears, then folded his huge arms and smiled, which seemed to spread his thick mustache even wider. “Raise your hand if you like rocks.Do you like to throw them, dig in the dirt with them, collect them?”
Most of us raised our hands.
“Then working in the mines might be the split for you.” He brushed his hands together, and a fine white powder blew away in the slight breeze. “Here at the mines, we get to play with several different kinds of rocks every day.”
Mr. Williams had us turn around to face the tunnel where the river flowed in from the other side of the valley—the only way into or out of White Rock. “You all know the green bomb made this crater, but the slope is steeper on this side of the valley.” He gestured over the river to the south, where no homes were built. “Does anyone know why?”
It hadn’t occurred to me
why
it was that way—it just was. A couple of kids raised their hands. Mr. Williams called on Sam.
“Is it because of the rock?”
“Very good. Most of our valley has a layer of dirt over it,” he said as he pointed north, “but a large seam of rock passes through on this side. When the green bomb hit, it couldn’t push the rock as far as it pushed the soil. Who can tell me what kind of rock gives White Rock River its name?”
The whole class raised their hands. Mr. Williams pointed to Ellie.
“Limestone.”
“That’s right. Limestone is important for a couple of reasons. It’s the softest rock in this seam, so when the green bomb hit, it pushed the limestone farther than it pushed the harder rock surrounding it. If it weren’t for the limestone, we wouldn’t have the opening into this valley”—he pointed to the tunnel at the other end of the river—“and there wouldn’t be a groove in the stone for the river to pass through. Instead of staying on the third ring, like it does now, the river would just come in through the opening and flow right down there to the middle of the valley, first flooding City Circle, and eventually filling the entire valley. Because of this seam, it flows into our little lake, which is actually just a place where the limestone seam widened considerably. It then flows through caves in the mountain and comes out the other side.”
Mr.
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