Read Joan Hess - Arly Hanks 13 for Free Online Page A

troubles if they found out you were nothing but a common thief and they had to drive all this way. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
    "No ma'am."
    "And that is exactly what I'll do if I catch any of you behaving in an ungodly fashion," she added to the kids hovering nearby. "You are here on a mission, not to paint your toenails and put ribbons in your hair."
    Brother Verber staggered to his feet and clung to the back of a folding chair as if it were his pulpit. "'Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth for ever.'"
    Darla Jean stared at him. "So it doesn't much matter, since we're all gonna die anyway?"
    "That ain't precisely what I was getting at," he said nervously. "It's just that vanity's a sin, same as stealing cookies."
    "If I'm going to die this week, it ain't gonna be because I got a splinter in my toe repairing up some goddamn rotten bleachers!"
    Mrs. Jim Bob's jaw dropped. "Darla Jean McIlhaney, I will not tolerate blasphemy! You go back to your cabin and stay there until I have a chance to decide how to deal with this unseemly outburst. Once you've simmered down, I hope you'll take the opportunity to pray for forgiveness."
    "Don't bet the farm on it," she said as she spun around and banged out the door. I caught her partway down the stairs to the lawn. "Calm down," I said. "Go on back to the cabin, and rather than pray, get the broom in the bathroom and sweep the floor. I'll bring you a sandwich as soon as lunch is over."
    "Just leave me alone. I brought some chips and candy bars, so it's not like I'll starve or anything."
    "You sure?"
    "Yeah."
    "And you're not going to run away?" I persisted. "We're a good three miles from the highway, and more than seventy-five miles from Maggody."
    "Have I ever lied to you?" she said defiantly.
    Well, yes.
     
     
     
    3
     
    "So what now?" Heather whispered at me as I came back inside the lodge. She wasn't spitting out the words, but I sensed dampness on my face. "I can't believe you'd let Darla Jean run off like that! Her and Billy Dick came real near breaking up last week. She's liable to -- well, do something!"
    "And I'm supposed to know that?" I whispered back at her. "Do I look like my name's Ann Landers?"
    Mrs. Jim Bob glared at Brother Verber, who was hiccuping in a corner, and said, "Mr. Lambertino will take the crew to the baseball field, with Arly as second-in-command. The Dahlton twins will remain here in order to start preparing lunch. We'll be having tomato soup and cheese sandwiches, so work up your appetites."
    "Cheese sandwiches?" echoed Billy Dick.
    "And tomato soup," she said. "Our menu for the week is both nutritious and filling. Tonight, if I remember correctly, we'll have spaghetti, along with lima beans and applesauce for dessert."
    "Applesauce?" I said, my expression as appalled as those of the teenagers. I dislike applesauce, and lima beans make me think of diseased kidneys harvested from lab animals.
    Mrs. Jim Bob held her ground, despite the very real threat of a rebellion. "Yes, applesauce. You may not be aware of it, but excessive sugar and sodium cause unseemly urges in adolescents, and I must say this group in particular can profit from a lesson in self-control. Our meals will consist of nothing but wholesome foods that will cleanse our systems and help us focus on our goal. At the end of the week, if we have met the Lord's challenge, we'll have a campfire with marshmallows."
    "Whoop-dee-do," muttered one of the Dahlton twins.
    I grabbed Larry Joe's arm and shook it until he stopped blinking at Mrs. Jim Bob and gave me his attention. "Okay, boss, let's go chop us some cotton."
    He gestured at the teenagers. "Yesterday I dropped off a load of lumber next to the field. Jarvis, you and Big Mac get busy knocking together some sawhorses. Billy Dick and Parwell, grab those toolboxes out by the bus. I don't