“Oh, please, Artie, just a quick dip. I don’t think I can make it all the way back up the hill, I’m so hot.”
Arthur was still shaking his head. “What about my bike?”
“You could leave it here beside the bridge.”
“What if somebody steals it?”
“No one will steal it. We can watch it. We’ll just be down there, not that far away. Please.”
He looked longingly at the cool water splashing under the bridge. “Okay, I guess so. But only a quick dip.”
While he stashed his bike in a dusty bush beside the bridge railing, Sophie slid down the steep bank, hanging on to roots and weeds.
“Watch out for the rocks, Artie,” she called over her shoulder as she pulled off her shoes in the shade under the bridge. “They’re really slippery.” She stepped from the soft, muddy bank into the cool water. It swirled around her ankles and she wiggled her toes. Wow! That felt good. It smelled good, too. Fresh and woodsy and cool. She splashed the water into her face and hair and it trickled down her sweaty back. “You’ll love it,” she said, grinning at Arthur. “It’s so cool!”
He took off his hat and glasses and carefully set them on a dry rock. As he bent over the stream to splash some water into his face, a movement at the top of the bank near the bridge caught Sophie’s eye. She pushed dripping hair out of her eyes to get a better look. It looked like the boy from the paper shack who had teased her brother. The boy leaned over the bush where Arthur had stashed his bike. Sophie gasped and held her breath. He was taking Arthur’s bike!
“Artie!” she squealed. “That guy’s stealing your bike!”
Arthur fumbled for his glasses. “What?”
“Hey, you!” Sophie screamed. “Leave that bike alone!” She flew up the bank, clutching roots and vines, her bare toes digging into the soft earth. “You leave that bike alone, you thief! How dare you!” she yelled her loudest. She’d beat him into a pulp. “Get away, you! That’s my brother’s bike!”
The boy glanced over his shoulder and dropped the bike. He took off and raced down Brunette Street in a cloud of dust. By the time Sophie got to the bridge, he had rounded the corner and she could barely see him, but she shook her fist and yelled at his back, anyway.
Panting hard to catch her breath, she picked up Arthur’s bike from the gravel road and wiped the dust off the seat. It looked okay. Nothing appeared to be broken that she could see.
Soon Arthur had scrambled up the bank, as well. His glasses were on crooked and his hat was soaking, but his dark eyes were shining. “Way to go, Soph! You sure did scare him!”
She wiped her sleeve across her wet brow and grinned back at him. “Your bike looks okay. I don’t think anything’s broken.”
He nodded as he examined it.
“So can I help you with your papers again tomorrow?” she asked him. “Can I?”
“Yep,” he said, nodding. “Hey, you want to try riding my bike?”
Sophie couldn’t believe it. “Really? Sure. I’d love to!”
“I’ll hold on to the back and give you a boost.”
“I’ll just get my shoes,” she said, scrambling back down to the stream.
Soon she was back at the road. Stamping her shoes on, she gripped the handlebars tightly, swung one leg over the seat, and straddled the bike, standing on the pedals.
“Okay,” Arthur said, right behind her. “I’ve got it.”
She started pedalling. The bike wobbled a lot more than she had expected. She couldn’t reach the pedals if she sat on the seat, so she had to stand, but Arthur didn’t let go. He pushed her halfway up the hill before he got too tired. Then she got off and they both walked, following their long shadows the rest of the way home.
Since he was in such a generous mood, Sophie thought she’d ask him something. “Hey, Artie. Think we could go to Cap’s tomorrow and check if they have any used bikes that would fit me?”
“Sure, we could do that. I want to get another tire, anyway. My back tire’s getting pretty bald.”
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