Chapter 10 - Snow Trek

XL, Beeba, and Max left the post office. The bridge leading to the island was on their left, and they walked toward it. As they were walking, XL pulled a remote control out of his pocket and pressed a button.

Within a minute a large shadow covered them as Saucer 1 pulled into place above them. XL pressed another button and Saucer 1's elevator came down. "Let's get our skis," said XL.

Beeba was eager to explore the island. One thing about Beeba that made him so pleasant to be with, is that almost always he was smiling and cheerful. He ran with XL to the elevator, with his reddish brown hair blowing in the wind. Even Max ran, so he wouldn't be left behind.

Five minutes later they were back on the ground wearing their ski boots, with each of them holding cross country skis and poles.

"You realize this is a bit old fashioned, don't you?" said Beeba. "With all your tech, I thought maybe you would have some rocket skis."

"Exercise will never be old fashioned," pointed out XL's dad. "You don't build a healthy body by riding everywhere."

"It's my natural inclination to be lazy," said Beeba, "but I like to explore so let's go!"

"Right," said XL, "there is a big difference between skiing and running on a treadmill. This way you will have fun!"

"I always have fun," said Beeba as he clipped on his skis.

The bridge to the island was right next to them, covered with snow. There were parallel tire tracks running down the middle, so they avoided those and skied through the soft snow on the side. Max went first, and the boys followed in the ski tracks that he made as he moved forward.

Once on the island, they found ski tracks heading through the forest. "The map shows the ski trail," said Max. "It goes right by Fred's house, and it's the shortest route."

"Better yet," said XL, "I see that the local ski club has recently groomed the trail. We can go fast."

The trail had compressed snow with a pair of ski slots on each side. XL choose the slots on the left, while Beeba chose the right and Max followed him. At first the trail was flat, and they zoomed along with a diagonal stride. Then they came to a slight rise. It was a bit slower going up that. Sliding was no longer possible, so they had to step up the hill, leaving herringbone-shaped tracks behind them.

At the top, they found themselves looking down into a little valley. The trail went straight down, with trees to the left and right. "This is the part I love the best!" said XL, as he pushed off the top of the hill and began sliding down the trail.

"Absolutely!" said Beeba. He bent his knees a bit and leaned forward with a slight crouch, and then pushed off with his poles. "I love a free ride!"

Max followed. At the bottom the trail turned to the left. He almost caught up to the boys as they finished going around the curve.

"I almost fell on the curve," said Beeba. "I used the snowplow turn to slow down and follow the path, and I wasn't quite sure if I would make it."

"Don't worry," said XL, "the snow is soft to fall on."

"How about you demonstrate that!" commented Beeba.

"O.K." said XL, immediately falling over to the snow on his left.

"Come on boys," said Max. "It's afternoon already and we don't have time for silliness." Max skied next to XL and reached his hand to him. XL grabbed Max's hand. Max pulled, and XL was standing again.

They continued along the trail, going through small hills and valleys, and passing around the edges of a few frozen swamps.

"In the summer this is a hiking trail," said Max, "but the swamps are filled with mosquitoes. It's much more pleasant in the winter, when there are no bugs."

XL and Beeba agreed with him. It was a lovely sunny day, just a few degrees below freezing, and the trees blocked what little wind there had been in the open areas. Soon they were skiing by the back-sides of some cottages on the far side of the island.

Most of the cottages faced the lake, with the road passing behind them. The ski trail was right next to the road, on the inland side.

Max had been watching the numbers on the gates to the cottages as they passed. "Here it is!" he exclaimed, as they came to Fred's address. They found a small white house, in a very large yard.

"It looks like nobody has been here in a while," said Beeba. "There is snow all around the house without any footprints or tracks of any kind."

"We still don't know for sure if they moved away," commented Max. "They might have just gone south for a winter vacation."

"I'll bet Fred has children," said XL. "Look there!"

To the side of the house, there was play equipment for small children that had been constructed in the yard. There was a slide, and there was a set of swings that included a dolphin-shaped swing with a baby-sized seat in the middle. Also there was a set of monkey bars, with a climbing net attached to the side of it. However, the net was torn, and most of it was lying in the snow, in a pile.

"There was a storm here a while ago," commented Beeba, pointing to a picnic table nearby. The benches next to the table had fallen over, and there were a lot of twigs lying about on the snow, fallen out of the trees.

"Hey, I saw something move!" said Beeba.

XL saw it too. It looked like there was some movement under the net.

All three of them skied over to the play structure. As they got closer, they could see that there was a white rabbit under the net.

"Maybe it hid under those cords for shelter," said XL. "Do you think it can get out?"

"A wild rabbit wouldn't normally let us get this close," answered Max. "It looks like its leg is tangled."

"Do you think we should free it?" asked XL.

"What if it is one of those ferocious bunnies that we heard about in Blarney town?" asked Beeba.

"Don't be silly!" answered XL. "You are so gullible!"

"The greater danger around here would be coyotes," said Max. "They're not dangerous to us, but frightening to a rabbit."

"So if we free it, it might get killed anyway," said XL.

"True," said Max. "That's nature. Probably lots of rabbits and other animals get killed all the time. And if this one isn't killed it may die of starvation, because I think it is really stuck."

XL moved closer.

"Are you going to free it?" asked Beeba.

Reader, what choice do you recommend for XL to make?

Choice A	Free the bunny. It's cruel to let it remain in fear, starving.
Choice B	Leave it alone. You can't rescue all the animals. Let nature take its course.
Choice C	Cut off its leg for a "lucky rabbit's foot."

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