

The sky was overcast. It was a day when
the air hung heavy. Standing on the dock, Julie glanced up the hill
and called, ”I’m going out in the canoe, Hank, want to come along?”
“No way. It looks like a storm coming up.
You’re nuts to go out,” yelled Hank.
Julie adored her older brother and usually abided by
his decisions. An adventurous thirteen year old, however, she relied on her
own judgment this time.
She headed out in her canoe for the opposite shore.
The lake was small, surrounded by dense wooded hills and one high mountain
named Murder Mountain.
The wind blew stronger as a dark cloud loomed in the west. Julie was
almost to the opposite shore when she decided to turn around and head back.
Because of the high waves and the rough waters, she had to back-water her
paddle rapidly. The wind whipped her canoe around and finally forced
her to succumb to its mercy and beach it.
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