The Adventurers

I hope you like long stories, because this story’s long!!!!!!!!

Ch.1: The Orphan
Sheila glanced up at the ceiling of the orphanage. She tried to forget how she got there. Then she drifted off to sleep.
Sheila was awoken by a cold blast of air. “Alright girls, time to get up.” The matron said. Reluctantly, Sheila got up with all the other girls & pulled her clothes over her head. She got in line for breakfast like the other girls. After breakfast, the matron gave 11- year old Sheila a list of chores. This is what it said:
1:Sweep the ashes from the fireplace
2:Buy some groceries
3:Pick up the parcels

Sheila swept the ashes into her box & took them outside. She scurried back in, for it was very cold out. The matron gave her some money for the groceries & said, “Now Sheila, IF you have extra money, you may buy yourself a snack of some sort.” Sheila nodded her head.
At the grocery store, Sheila bought herself an apple as a snack. As she was walking to get the parcels, she rested in an alley & started munching on the apple. A police officer saw her eating the apple, and thought Sheila had stolen it. The police officer grabbed her by the arm. “Come with me, missy.” The officer said as he pulled her by the hand. Sheila struggled along, not knowing what she had done. The police officer took Sheila to the police station & plopped her in a chair. “Now tell me why you stole that apple.” The officer asked. “Um, I didn’t, I used my own money. See? I still have 5 cents.” Sheila said as she pulled a nickel out of her pocket. The officer nodded and said, “Ok. Now go home. It’s getting late.” Sheila quickly thanked him & rushed out to get the parcels.

Ch.2: The Runaway
John pulled the thin blanket up to his chin. The night air was chilly. He was cold & tired. However, John knew if he went to sleep out there, he could freeze. So, John got up & wrapped his blanket tightly around himself. He soon found a deserted foxhole. John climbed in & went to sleep.
In the morning, John woke up & started walking. He slipped & fell in a puddle. John heard a rabbit & started running to catch it. He ran through some briars & his clothes were torn. The rabbit got away. Soon, John came to the town.
John had been in the town for a few weeks. Living there was hard, not adventurous as he had expected. John looked down at his feet, & saw a coin. He picked it up & bought himself an apple. A police officer saw John eating an apple. “Hey!” The officer shouted at him. John started running. He ran into an alley, & bumped into a young girl. The girl had a faded pink shawl on & a big carpetbag in her hand. As John bumped into her, the girl’s carpetbag splashed into a puddle. “Who are you?” John asked her. “Sheila, just plain old Sheila. Who are you?” Sheila asked the boy. He was slightly taller than she was. ”John Timberway. Why are you here?” John replied.
“ I ran away from the orphanage last night.” Sheila stopped. Maybe she shouldn’t tell this John Timberway what happened. Maybe he was a spy. “Go on, I ran away too.” John said. “Ok. As I was sweeping the hallway, a rich woman came in talking about a house cleaner. The matron called me down to see her. ‘Yeah, I guess she’ll do.’ The lady said.” “Oh.” John replied. “Anyway. I found a tunnel down here in this storm pipe. Wanna see?” Sheila asked. “Sure. I guess.” John replied. Just as Sheila was climbing into the pipe, the police officer rounded the corner. “Quick! Hurry up!” John said. They quickly got into the pipe. Sheila & John walked awhile. There was indeed, as Sheila had said, a tunnel.

Ch. 3: The Tunnel & the Caves

John & Sheila walked through the tunnel. The floor was rocky & wet, & it was cold & dark in the tunnel. They stumbled along. A boy walked up to them. “These two are the newcomers.” An older boy came over & took them into a dark cave. “What did we do?” Sheila whispered. John shrugged his shoulders. They turned right, & into a huge cave. The cave split into two smaller caves. Sheila was led into one, & John was led to the other. There were hard wood benches covered with straw & blankets. Sheila was led to a bench. It must be a bed, Sheila thought. She went to bed, & soon fell asleep.
In the morning, all the children got up. Sheila followed the other girls into another cave. She was given new clothes, & John was too. Sheila & a girl who looked somewhat younger than her got a bow & some arrows. John & a boy older than him received a sword. Then the four met at the Main Cave. The same boy who welcomed them came & introduced them. “John Sheila, meet Chrystin & Brian.” “Yeah, well, it’s nice to know them, but why do we gotta know ‘em?” Sheila asked. “Well, you’re going on an adventure with them. Sheila, you & Chrystin are a team. John & Brian, you’re a team as well.” The boy explained. “Yeah, well if we’re going on an adventure, where we gonna start?” Chrystin asked. “Well, you girls choose what direction they want to go. Then, the boys go opposite direction of you.” The boy said. “Well, then. Let’s get started!” Chrystin said excitedly. “Excellent idea.” The boy said as he left them to start their adventure.

Ch. 4: The Girls’ Adventure (Part 1)
Chrystin & Sheila walked west. “So, where exactly ARE we going?” Chrystin asked. “To the mid-west. Then we’ll go west until we go around the world.” Sheila said. “Ok. Fine with me.” Chrystin replied. Sheila & Chrystin walked out of the city. Soon they met a farmer. ”Sir, do you have any spare horses? We need two, & in exchange for the horses we’ll work for you for 2 weeks.” Sheila said. “I reckon you can work for me. But only for two weeks. No more, no less.” The farmer said. Chrystin & Sheila kept their promise, & so did the farmer. “Thank you!” Sheila & Chrystin said as they rode off. “Don’t mention it.” The farmer replied.
The girls stopped in Ohio. Chrystin discovered a deserted barn, & the girls rested for the night. “Psst, Sheila, what do you think we should call our horses?” Chrystin asked. “Well, I’m going to name mine Red-dust because it’s a dusty red color. “ Sheila replied. “I’m going to name mine Blacky. “ Chrystin said. Soon, Sheila & Chrystin drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Chrystin & Sheila jumped onto their horses. They rode awhile, until they came to a river. “We can’t go any further unless we swim!” Sheila said. The girls walked with their horses until they got to a soddy. “Well, good-bye horses.” Chrystin said sadly as they left their horses there. Sheila & Chrystin struggled against the current, & finally made it to the other side, but they were exhausted & cold. “Sheila, I’m tired. Can we stop?” Chrystin panted. “No, because I’m tired too, but we can’t stop. Not yet anyway. But we’ll stop in an hour or so.” Sheila replied. “Ok.” Chrystin sighed. However, before an hour was up, they did stop, because Chrystin had fallen asleep. Sheila tried hard to stay up. Then, just as she was about to doze off, a dark shape appeared over the hill!!

Ch. 5: the Stowaways

“Ok. The girls went west, so we go… east?” John asked Brian. “Yeah, I guess so.” Brian replied. They walked through the town till it got less & less busier. “Gee, it’s already been a day?” John asked. “No, we’re just in the part of town that rarely gets busier than this.” Brian told him. “Oh.” John said. They walked a while longer, until they were completely out of the town. “Can we stop? I’d feel better if we go through this next town in the daytime. “ John said. “Sure.” Brian replied. They made moss beds & slept.
The next day, Brian & John traveled farther than the last. They got through two towns & were approaching a city. “Let’s rest here.” Brian suggested. They rested a while & moved on. By dusk, they were almost to the sea village. “Hey Brian, I’m tired. We’ve traveled a long way today. Can we stop?” John asked. “We’ll just go a little further, ok?” Brian replied. Therefore, they trudged on. However, it was longer to the sea village than they thought.
After a good, long rest, Brian & John came to the village. They saw a ship, called the Empress Jewell. John & Brian bought a ticket & got on. “Where’s this ship going?” John asked, not noticing their tickets had fallen into the water. “England.” Brian said.

Ch.6: The Girls’ Adventure (Part 2)

Sheila felt a tingle goes down her spine. What was that black shape? As the shape got closer, Sheila made out what it was: A thin girl with tangled blonde hair & blue eyes. A thin, blue shawl was tightly wrapped around her shoulders. She stopped a few feet away & lay down. “Hey, what’s your name?” Sheila asked. “Tilly.” She said, & drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, Sheila was eager to find out more about Tilly. When Tilly got up, Sheila said, “Tilly, why are you going east? There is nothing there except Pennsylvania & the ocean. “ “Well, I’m going back to Switzerland on the Empress Jewell. Then from England, I’ll take the train to Switzerland.” Tilly explained happily. Sheila frowned. She had over heard the matron say the Empress Jewell was leaving on Friday. That was two or even three days ago! “Um, Tilly, the Empress Jewell left three days ago. Do you want to come with us?” Sheila asked. Tilly’s happy expression faded. “Me- come with you? I do not think so! I’ll just wait for the next ship!” Tilly said. Tilly walked away, leaving Sheila & Chrystin, who had woke up, alone. Sheila looked at Chrystin & said, “That went well, really well.” Chrystin looked puzzled. “Uh-uh! I heard the whole thing.” She told Sheila. “Its called sarcasm. I just hope the next person we meet is friendlier. C’mon, let’s go.” Sheila said. So the girls got up & walked away.

Ch.7: Onboard the Ship

When they were on the ship, Brian & John met a man who had sneaked on the ship. “Don’t tell anyone.” He asked them. They soon found out his name was Paul. “So, where are you going?” John asked him. “Um, I’m going to Germany.” Paul replied. Then he walked off. “He looks familiar.” John said suddenly. “Just a minute. Hey, Paul, come back!” Brian said. However, Paul kept on walking.
The next day, John & Brian walked out onto the deck of the ship. As they were looking at the scenery, Paul came out too. He smiled at John. His identity popped into John’s mind! How could you be so dumb! His mind screamed. Paul is that police officer that chased you in Pennsylvania! He is lying about going to Germany. He is checking to see if everyone has a ticket! John thought.
“Bryan, wake up!” John whispered. “Huh?” Brian mumbled, half asleep. “Get out our tickets!” John whispered. “Ok, ok. “ Brian said, & pulled out their sack. He dug around. “They’re not here,” Brian said. “We must have dropped them in the water.” “Then we’ve got to get off this ship!” John said. “Relax. No one will notice.” Brian said. “Paul will,” John mumbled. “He’s a police officer.” “Ok. We will get some supplies tomorrow, sneak off the ship in the lifeboat, & find land. No biggie.” Brian said. Then he fell back to sleep. “But…” John started. Oh, what is the use? He will not listen. Soon John fell asleep too.

Ch.8: The Girls’ Adventure (Part 3)

“Sheila, it’s getting cold. Where are we?” Chrystin cried. “We’re still in Ohio. Help me make a little shelter.” Sheila replied. “Ok. I will.” Chrystin said. The girls worked until they had built a little Soddy. Sheila pulled up some grass & made a bed in the shelter. Chrystin copied her. “Chrystin, it’s your turn to keep watch. I watched last night.” Sheila asked. “Ok, I’ll watch.” Chrystin said.
“Sheila wake up! Quick!” Chrystin screamed a few hours later. “Why?” Sheila murmured. “Something’s outside!” She cried. Sheila, now fully awake, grabbed her bow & arrow. She went outside. “Oh my gosh!” Sheila cried. A buffalo was charging toward the Soddy! Sheila shot an arrow. The buffalo fell to the ground. Chrystin came out of the Soddy. “What are we gonna do now?” She asked. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know how to skin it, but we can’t just leave it here.” Sheila said. “Oh, I know how to skin it, I just don’t know how to cook!” Chrystin replied. She pulled a knife from her pocket & skinned the buffalo. Sheila found some small logs & some sticks, built a fire, & cooked the buffalo. As they were eating, Chrystin & Sheila heard a rumbling noise, & it was coming toward them!

Ch.9: The Boys Escape
The following morning, The boys gathered supplies:
Food: 5 barrels
Matches: 22 boxes
Drinking water: 4 barrels
Fish: one crate full
Blankets: two
Then Brian helped John get all the supplies in the boat. They got in it & rowed away.
After a day had passed, John saw some land. “Hey Brian, I found some land!” He shouted. They rowed until they were on the island.
“Is this island deserted?” John asked. “Uh, I think so,” Brian replied. “We gotta find some more food.” The boys gathered fruit, walked around the island a little, & went to sleep.
In the morning, the boys looked around. The island was misty, dark, & rocky. “Hey, I thought when we got here it was sunny, warm, & sandy.” John said. “It was.” Brian said. He leaned on a rock. It opened to a tunnel. “I’ve had enough of these tunnels.” John said. “C’mon, let’s see where it leads. “ Brian said, walking a little ways into the tunnel. John followed him. The boys slipped into a hole. They landed in a cave full of… treasure.