Jason decided to change his approach.

"Fine, Annie. You just sit there like a bump on a log. Darry and I will go across and we’ll have so much fun that you will never be able to catch up to us if you have nothing but fun for the rest of your life!"

That bold claim made Darian giggle despite any misgivings she might have had about trying to cross the creek. Jason seized the moment. He grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the creek. He looked at her with a demonic expression and said "Let's do it! Trop facile!"

Darian started laughing hysterically and they ran as fast as they could towards the creek, jumping off the edge with their last step. Jason landed two feet squarely onto the opposite bank but Darian's right foot slipped off the bank and into the water. It took all of Jason's strength to pull her away from the water. They fell in a heap onto the muddy grass beside the creek where they lay like rag-dolls, panting from the exertion of the jump.

"Was that great or what?" Jason beamed at Darian and, after a moment's hesitation she had to nod her head.

"Yeah, it was pretty amazing all right. You're a freak, you know."

"Maybe, but here we are, safe and sound! Hey Annie, you want to try by yourself? I'll catch you."

I looked at my two mud-stained siblings with a mixture of admiration and envy. Even so, there was no hesitation in my response.

"No thank you. I'm quite happy to stay on this side. But I have to admit it did look pretty cool. Maybe I'll try when I get bigger."

The bravado faded from Jason's face just for a moment and was replaced with a smile that made me feel like he really did care about me.

"OK - you stay right there and relax. Don't try anything dumb. We won't be very long."

As Jason wagged his finger to emphasize his instructions I mocked him by playing an imaginary trumpet with my thumb on my nose. Jason just shook his head.

Jason and Darian headed back into the forest and within a few steps they had to start climbing up a slope that got steeper and steeper. Soon they were scrambling over patchy grass punctured by numerous jagged outcrops of bedrock. In places they slipped on loose gravel, suffering many minor cuts and scrapes as they went.

Having conquered the roaring creek Darian often led the way. It was after about five minutes of climbing that she stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at a dark shadow that nestled amongst some boulders just ahead of her. As Jason caught up she pointed her arm towards the spot.

"Look Jason. I think it’s a cave. Do you think anything might be living in there?"

Jason twisted his face into a knot trying to see past the darkness without success.

"Could be. There's no way of knowing without going inside."

Jason crossed his arms and frowned. Darian gave him a side-long glance then started walking brusquely towards the cave. Jason held back for just a few seconds before he ran up to her side.

At the mouth of the cave they both stopped and peered in. Somewhere towards the back of the short cave there was a small hole in the ceiling and a shaft of light, pencil thin and pencil straight, diluted the darkness just enough for them to see that the cave was empty.

They crouched down and stepped into the cave, Darian still in the lead. Near the back of the cave they stopped and sat down.

"This is a real find, eh?" Jason's rhetorical question elicited an enthusiastic response from Darian.

"Yeah. There might be some neat stuff lying around here buried in the dust; maybe some bones or arrow heads or something. As she said that she started sifting the powdery floor of the cave with her fingers. Then she looked up at the source of the pencil light and followed the shaft down to the spot where it disappeared into the dust. She drew a circle around the spot with her forefinger.

"You know, if we stay here for a few minutes we'll see this spot of light move out of the circle. I can tell my science teacher that we measured the rotation of the earth."

Jason rolled his eyes.