Maddie cries. “They must have gotten up before dawn and gone.” “But why?” Evelyn wonders out loud. “Rosie,” Maddie says. “She somehow convinced the others to leave us behind.” The moment Maddie says this, I know she’s right. She probably told them we were going to get into trouble for bringing the boys, so they should separate themselves from us. She could have said a lot of things: that we didn’t want to leave with them; that we had a different assignment and would catch up later. She might have said anything. I’m so frustrated and disappointed I want to cry. “Let’s not freak out,” Evelyn says. “They can’t have left too much earlier. It’s just getting light now. I have the compass, so we can find our way down. We might even get back to school before they do. I don’t know how they’ll manage without a compass.” Evelyn rummages in her backpack. “I know it’s in here,” she murmurs. Her digging becomes more and more frantic. “What’s the matter?”
