McKenzie’s Oregon Operation (11 page)

“This is gorgeous!” McKenzie exclaimed, peering at the rocky, jagged coastline. The waves crashed against the cliffs, spewing fountains of water high into the air.

Ally gathered the tour group close. She pointed to a large dark opening in the face of the cliff about a hundred yards away. “On your left, you will see one of the most notorious caves in our area. Hundreds of years ago, it was common to see shipwrecks along these rocky shores. According to a legend, a band of thieves scoured the wreckage searching for valuables. They would then fill their boats with these treasures. During high tide, the caves would fill with water. The thieves would then sail their boats into these underground water passages and deposit their valuables, hiding them until they could return.”

“So the thieves had to wait for high tide again, before they could sail back into the caves and get their loot?” one of the teenage boys asked.

“No,” Ally explained. “These caves were the perfect hideaway. Most of these underground caves have another entrance, usually higher up the cliff. The thieves knew these underground passages like the backs of their hands. They would enter the caves from inland and haul their treasures out.”

“Wow! Is that story for real?” Alex asked, snapping a picture with her camera.

“No one knows for sure. It's the stuff legends are made of—stories that get passed down through the generations.” Ally held up her hand and called the group together. “We need to head back to the bus now. So watch your step, folks.”

The trek back up the trail was harder than going down. By the time they reached the bus, McKenzie was breathing hard. She slumped into her seat with relief. The bus pulled back onto the highway. McKenzie's mind raced with jumbled thoughts of Ally's story.

Alex leaned over in her seat, her eyes dancing with excitement. “That legend reminds me of the book I've been reading. A man tried to scare all the people out of an old western town because he was storing oil in the mines. He didn't want anyone to find out about his treasure. He wanted it all for himself. Just like the thieves in Ally's story.”

McKenzie glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “You know that cave we went in the other day while we were sailing? It was low tide when we were there. Do you think the water would get deep enough to sail a boat in there during high tide?”

Alex looked questioningly at McKenzie. “I don't know. But a boat could definitely get farther into the inlet, anyway.”

“I keep thinking about Mr. Franks capsizing us. Do you think he really was trying to scare us away from that inlet so we wouldn't find that cave?” McKenzie said softly. “Maybe there is a clue in there that would help us find Mario and Bianca.”

“Oh, no!” Alex's eyes grew wide. “You don't think he's got, uh, you know…skins in there, do you?”

McKenzie shook her head. “No. You were the one who pointed out that no one would steal sea lion pups for their skins. Adult sea lions maybe, but not pups.”

“I just started thinking about how sometimes rich people wear exotic furs. Sometimes for trimming on their clothes. Baby sea lion fur would certainly be exotic,” Alex pointed out. “Let's hope he's not doing that! But there's no way we can go back to the cave from the cove. Maybe there's another entrance, like in the story Ally told.”

“But how in the world could we find it? We might have a chance, if Mr. C. could find his book with the maps.” McKenzie sighed.

“If that woman you saw in his cabin stole it, we'll never find another cave entrance.” Alex drummed her red painted fingernails on her camera.

“We can't give up. We have to figure out what happened to Mario and Bianca so it doesn't happen to any other sea lion pups. We owe it to Susie to find her babies.”

Ally rose from her seat as the bus rolled into another parking lot off the side of the highway. She announced that the tour had arrived at the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

“Maybe I can get some whale shots from the lighthouse with my zoom lens,” Alex said as she climbed off the bus. “I really wanted to enter one in the photography contest in Florence. But my time is running out.”

“I would enter something, too, but I'm not a very good photographer. I'll just take pictures to put in my scrapbook when I get home.” McKenzie pulled her camera from its case and looked up. “Wow! I've never seen a real lighthouse.”

In front of them, perched high on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean, sat a tall, round white tower with red trim. A matching keeper's house and other buildings sat nearby, while spruce trees loomed on the cliff above the lighthouse. Waves crashed against the rocky shoreline far below.

Several tourists settled onto benches overlooking the ocean, while others headed for the trail that led to the lighthouse. McKenzie and Alex brought up the rear, stopping now and then to take pictures of the coast as well as pelicans and bald eagles flying overhead.

“I see whales!” Alex exclaimed as she focused on two bounding gray spots in the ocean. She groaned as she lowered her camera. “Even with my zoom lens, they're still too far away.”

“Hey, we'd better hurry and catch up. Everyone else is already going into the lighthouse.” McKenzie tugged Alex's arm and they raced past the lighthouse keeper's house toward the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

They slipped through the door as the rest of the group began climbing the spiral staircase to the top. McKenzie peered out a narrow window, feeling dizzy as she stared down at the top of the lighthouse keeper's house. Even inside the tower she could hear the crashing of the waves on the rocky shore far below.
I wonder how many secret caves are hidden in those cliffs,
she thought.

After taking pictures at the top, the group headed back down the stairs to the trail leading to the parking lot. When the bus was loaded, the driver headed toward Cape Perpetua for the final tour stop.

After the bus parked, the girls followed the group and the tour guide down the trail to the shore. McKenzie breathed in the tang of the ocean as they approached a black rock ledge. The woman with the two small children pushed the baby in a stroller and held the hand of her young daughter.

Crash!
The waves hit the rocks below them, exploding over the sides and sending a towering spray of water high into the air. A fine mist floated on the breeze. Despite the warmth of the day, McKenzie shivered as the cool droplets touched her skin.

“Wow! I see why they call this Devil's Churn,”

McKenzie said as wave after wave struck the rock. The spewing water reminded her of erupting volcanoes she'd seen on TV.

Alex clicked away on her camera, focusing on the spraying water. She snapped shots of the craggy cliffs. On the distant beach, McKenzie saw a group of sea lions gathered on a ledge and heard their barking. She zoomed in with her camera and snapped a picture.

Stepping away from the group, McKenzie wandered down the rock to a tidal pool set back from the shoreline. She noticed a small pool left behind from the high tide. It was filled with sea stars and shells.

McKenzie reached into the cool water and pulled out a shimmering white stone. As she turned the rock over in her hand, she heard a cry from above.

She turned to see a look of horror etched on the face of the woman. The woman screamed again. Her outstretched arm pointed to the Devil's Churn.

McKenzie gasped. A flash of a yellow dress disappeared beneath the surface of the spouting, churning water!

McKenzie froze as shrieking voices cut through the roar of the crashing waves.

“Help!” the woman screamed, trying to dash down the steep path with the stroller.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Out of the corner of her eye, McKenzie saw someone jump into the water. She gasped as she recognized Alex's thin figure plunging into the water and disappearing beneath the surface.

“Alex!” she screamed. Her knees trembled as she ran toward the Devil's Churn.

Oh, dear God, save them both!
McKenzie prayed urgently.

McKenzie's heart raced.

Alex, where are you?

She scanned the dark water. Her stomach twisted like the fury of the Devil's Churn.

Please, please, please, God. Don't let the little girl or Alex drown. Help them!

Suddenly Alex's dripping form rose from the churning black waters, clutching a small figure. The little girl's tiny arms clung to Alex's throat like a necktie. Her dripping yellow dress was plastered to her tiny body.

“I'm coming!” the mother yelled.

“Somebody grab the little girl!” another voice cried.

All around her, people scurried, frantically trying to help. McKenzie heard an ambulance siren. Someone had called for help. She realized she needed to stay out of the way.

Instinctively, McKenzie raised her camera to her eye. She snapped a picture seconds before a teenage boy jumped into the water. He pulled the little girl from Alex's grip and carried her to safety. A middle-aged man grasped Alex's arm and pulled her out of the swirling water.

The crowd cheered as the mother grabbed the soaked child. An older woman stood a distance away with the stroller. The mother stroked the little girl's wet hair, clinging to her sobbing daughter.

Scampering up the rock, McKenzie threw her arms around Alex's trembling body. “Are you okay?”

Alex nodded and panted. Water ran down her legs. She flung her wet hair out of her eyes and shivered.

“I'm fine,” she said through chattering teeth.

A white-haired man slipped his jacket around Alex's trembling shoulders. He guided her to a rock out of the wind so she could sit in the warmth of the sun.

“You were quite the hero, young lady,” he said patting her shoulder.

“Are you all right, dear?” his wife asked, settling beside her.

Alex simply nodded as a crowd of people gathered around, fussing over her. She kicked off her tennis shoes. After pouring a stream of water out of them, she set them on the bench beside her. A young man in a blue uniform arrived with a first-aid bag. He raced to the little girl, still huddled in her mother's arms.

Another young man in a blue uniform appeared at Alex's side with a blanket. The bus driver rushed up with a thermos and poured some coffee into a Styrofoam cup. “Take a drink of this. It'll warm you up.”

Alex lifted the steaming cup to her mouth. She shuddered as the liquid touched her lips. “Yuck,” she cried.

Everyone laughed as Alex handed the cup back to the driver. A man came out of the visitor's center with two T-shirts from the gift shop, and handed them to Alex and the little girl to put on.

“Some people will do anything for a free T-shirt,” he said with a grin.

Alex thanked him and slipped into the visitor's center to change. When she returned, she carried a large bag of caramel popcorn and an orange slushy.

“It pays to be a hero—you get all sorts of goodies,” she said with a giggle.

Now that the little girl had been pronounced okay, the young mother pushed through the cluster of people and hugged Alex tightly. The little girl shyly clutched her mother's legs. Alex bent over and hugged her.

When Ally announced it was time to leave, everyone climbed onto the bus and found seats. The other passengers smiled at Alex as they walked down the aisle. Several shook her hand.

“You were so brave, Alex,” McKenzie said, turning to her friend. “I just stood there and did nothing. You saved that little girl's life.”

Alex brushed her damp hair out of her eyes and blushed. “I guess because I've grown up around the water I jumped in automatically.”

“Weren't you afraid you might drown?” McKenzie asked, taking a handful of popcorn that Alex offered.

Alex's eyes grew serious. “I didn't have time to think about it. I could only think about that little girl.”

McKenzie shuddered at the thought of what might have happened. Gazing at the camera in her lap, she thought,
I sure hope the picture turns out. I want to surprise Alex with it.

As the bus traveled down the road, McKenzie rested her head against the seat back and stared out the window. She watched the waves crash against the jagged rocky shoreline. Beside her, Alex leaned her head to one side, her eyes closed.

McKenzie's eyelids began to droop.
Beep!
Her eyes popped open as she dug her cell phone out of her pocket.

The message read that one message was stored.

How did that happen? Maybe it rang during the excitement, and I missed it,
she thought.

She punched buttons on the phone and listened to Kate's message. “Hey, McKenzie. I've been doing some research and have found out some weird things. I did a background search on Mel and Tia Franks, and printed off tons of articles.

“I wasn't going to be able to look at them until later, but guess what. Biscuit the Wonderdog pulled a page out of the printer and brought it to me. There was a picture of the Frankses and a story about them leading a spelunking expedition about ten years ago. You know, they explore caves and stuff. They even helped that guy write the book of Mr. C.'s that is missing. Give me a call when you can. Bye.”