"I guess we've
come this far. No sense in turning around now!" said Uncle Marvin.
The two adventurers and their canine companion began to follow the
trail again. It crossed over the stream at a tiny stone bridge,
then turned to wander up the hill alongside the stream.
As they hiked
onward, Tina forgot all about taking a nap. She felt energized.
She marched through the trees, past a bunch of rocks, and over a
fallen tree trunk effortlessly. She was so intrigued by the mystery
at hand, she didn't even notice at first that the stream had suddenly
disappeared. "Hey, what happened to the water?" she exclaimed.
"I didn't notice
it turning away from us. It just seemed to end back there somewhere,
didn't it?" observed Uncle Marvin. "Shall we investigate?"
"Sure," answered
Tina, as she turned around. "I think it must have ended right back
here somewhere."
They backtracked
several yards before they found the small stream again. Tina and
Max followed the water to a place where it seemed to be bubbling
up through several cracks in a large rock formation.
"The water
must come from an underground spring below the surface," said Uncle
Marvin.
Suddenly Tina's
face lit up. "This is it!" she squealed.
"This is What?"
asked her uncle, somewhat puzzled.
"This is the
crying stone... from the clues!"
