Baartock stood watching Mr. Fennis for a minute, then he had an idea. He went over and took his hand. "Come," he said, leading him to the end of the path. "I call. You come cross bridge." Baartock ran back across the bridge and into the woods on the other side.
Mr. Fennis stood waiting for a minute, then he faintly heard Baartock call "Now!" It sounded like he had run way off in the woods. Not sure what the game was, Mr. Fennis walked back to the bridge and started to cross it.
Just then there was the most awful noise he had ever heard. He stopped to look around. And Baartock came running and screaming up from under the bridge. Mr. Fennis stood there for a moment with his mouth wide open, then he found himself running off the bridge, and running away into the woods. He was quite a long way into the woods when he realized that the noise had been made by Baartock. It had been terrifying. He stopped beside a big tree and leaned on it while he caught his breath. He wasn't used to running, or to being scared like that. He was still standing there panting, when Baartock came walking up to him. Mr. Fennis didn't know what to say.
"Good bridge," was what Baartock said, with a huge grin on his face. He had done it. On his first day. He really had scared someone.
Mr. Fennis stood, leaning up against the tree, and thought of some things he could say, but "Shouldn't we go back now?" was what he said.
With Baartock leading the way, they walked back toward the stream bed. Not far below the bridge there was a place where they could get down easily. They were starting down when Baartock suddenly stopped.
"Mother call," he said and raced off down the hill.
Mr. Fennis hadn't heard anything, but he was too out of
breath to call for Baartock to wait. When he could have called, Baartock was out of sight, so he just slowly walked down the hill after him. When he got to the clearing in front of the cave, Mrs. Jackson and Baartock's mother were coming out of the cave.
"We were starting to wonder where you were," said Mrs. Jackson.
"Baartock was showing me his bridge," said Mr. Fennis. "Though he told me he built it."