Page 75 of Mr. B

“Emily, you know not to eat anything that hasn’t been identified and proven safe. What did they look like?” She shrugged, and he coaxed, “Emily?”

“Small purple berries. They kind of look like blueberries.”

He sighed. “Elderberries.”

“We saw deer eating them, and a rabbit.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re safe for humans.”

She started to cry. “I’m so sorry. Did I poison all of them?” She lowered her voice. “Are they going to die?”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “No. They just might want to for a few hours.”

Wes stood and went to Cassandra. “I’m guessing you have more experience than I do with sick kids. Any suggestions? Do I need to go for help?”

“Across the dark lake in a canoe?”

“Whatever I need to do.”

“Let’s not go there yet. I thought people made pies out of elderberries.”

“They do. They’re safe to eat after they’ve been cooked. But raw, you get…this.” He looked around at the kids. “What can we do for them?”

“We need to keep them hydrated.”

“Okay.”

“Just little sips of water every twenty minutes or so.”

“Will they keep it down?”

“Hopefully.”

“Okay. I’ll get some water bottles.”

“And paper cups.”

Wes went to the supplies and got a few bottles of water and six paper cups. Cassandra filled each cup with a few sips of water, then began handing them out. “Drink this.”

Most of them didn’t want to, but she was insistent, and after a few minutes, they’d all had some water.

Wes stood in the middle of them. “At first light, I’ll send Robby back to camp. Coach Porter can bring the boat and get you all back.”

One of the girls looked at him. “Are you going to call our parents?”

“Yeah. I think camp is over for the six of you.”

Emily held up a hand. “I’ll be fine, Mr. B. I want to stay.”

“We’ll see how the next couple of hours go.”

When the sun finally came up, it was a welcome sight. The vomiting had slowed, but it hadn’t completely stopped for some of the kids. All of them were still suffering from stomach cramps and were exhausted. Wes went down to the beach to talk to Robby.

Robby was asleep, and Wes knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Robby?”

Robby startled, then sat up. “What? What happened?”

“Nothing new. Did you get some sleep?”