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to remove two feet of the difficult snow.

    “We need shovels,” Josh said.
    “You’re right,” Dink said. “Why don’t you send a text message to your local hardware store and order a few for us.”
    “Okay, give me your cell phone,” Josh said.
    “I’d give a million dollars for a cell phone,” Dink muttered. “Keep digging.”
    A half hour passed. They had created a cave. All five were in the cave, digging on their hands and knees.
    “Guys, I think I hit the van!” Marshall cried.
    They all began clawing wildly at the snow and ice with their hands, like five dogs digging in the sand.
    “You’re right!” Dink said. “It’s the rear bumper!”
    Suddenly they heard the roar ofengines. A strong beam of light lit their snow cave. When they turned, the light blinded them.

    Dink backed out and stood up. He put up a hand to keep the bright lights from his eyes. He saw two snowmobiles parked next to the weakly burning fire.
    Dink swallowed. He felt his stomach lurch into a knot. A man sat on one of the snowmobiles. The other rider looked like a woman. Ace and Jo. They’d come back!
    “Run!” Dink screamed.

CHAPTER 8
    Josh, Ruth Rose, KC, and Marshall all tried to back out of the cave at the same time. They tripped over each other’s feet as they tried to escape. The snow mobiles’ headlights created frantic shadows on the snow.
    Dink was knocked to the ground. He felt Josh crawling over him.
    Then he heard a bark. Were they being attacked by wolves, too?
    “Natasha!” KC cried. More barking.
    Dink sat up. Natasha was lying on top of KC, covering her face with kisses. The dog’s red sweater was caked withice and snow. As the other kids watched, Natasha stopped licking KC’s face. The dog whimpered once, then rolled over into the snow.

    “Something’s the matter with her!” Marshall said, crawling over to KC.
    The man and woman climbed off their snowmobiles. Dink realized that they were not Ace and Jo Payne after all. The man was too short, for one thing. And his voice sounded young when he said, “Your dog is awesome. She led us here from a mile away.”
    He was wearing some kind of padded snowsuit that zipped up the front. Ski goggles and a helmet covered most of his face. Only his eyes showed.
    Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose were kneeling in the snow next to Natasha, who wasn’t moving. KC was stroking Natasha’s icy fur and whispering in her ear.
    “What’s wrong with her?” KC asked.
    “Probably hypothermia,” the woman said. She was dressed like the man, in ski goggles and a helmet. Dink realized they were teenagers. “I’m Loren, and this is my brother, Tinker.”
    “Hypothermia can be pretty bad,” her brother said. “One of my buddies got lost in the snow last year. It was real cold and he stayed out way too long. When he didn’t come home, his folks called the cops. They found him asleep in a snowbank. His face was blue, and his temperature was way down. He almost died.”
    “Oh no!” KC cried.
    “Don’t worry,” Tinker said. “We’ll get your dog to our house. Mom knows a lot about animals. It’ll be cool. Let’s load her up on my snowmobile.”
    “We can take you all,” Loren said. “But you’ll have to sit on top of eachother. What’re you kids doing out here, anyway?”

    “It’s a long story,” Dink said.
    “Cool, but tell us later,” Tinker said. “Let’s hit the road!”
    Dink and KC wrapped Natasha in one of the packing blankets. Tinker carried the bundle to his snowmobile and held her on his lap. Dink, Josh, and KC scrunched together into the passenger section behind Tinker’s seat. Marshall and Ruth Rose climbed on the other snowmobile behind Loren.

    In moments, they were skimming over the snowy road. Dink’s eyes blurred as they whipped past trees and snow-covered fields. The moonlight made everything seem like a dream.
    Ten minutes later, Tinker aimed his snowmobile up a long, plowed driveway. At the end sat a small house. Dink smelled smoke from