Amazon Adventure (Barclay Family Adventure Ser)

66 Pages·2003·0.28 MB·English

by  Ed Hanson

AAmmaazzoonn
AAddvveennttuurree
BY
Ed Hanson
THE BARCLAY FAMILY ADVENTURES
BOOK 1: Amazon Adventure
BOOK 2: Danger at 20 Fathoms
BOOK 3: Desert Ordeal
BOOK 4: Forest Fire
BOOK 5: Hostages
BOOK 6: Lost at Sea
BOOK 7: Mountain Blizzard
BOOK 8: Tornado
BOOK 9: The Pass
BOOK 10: The Swamp
Development and Production:Laurel Associates,Inc.
Cover and Interior Art:Black Eagle Productions
Three Watson
Irvine,CA 92618-2767
Website:www.sdlback.com
Copyright ©2003 by Saddleback Educational Publishing. All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without the written permission of the publisher.
ISBN 1-56254-550-7
Printed in the United States of America
08 07 06 05 04 03 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
1 The Riverboat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 The Mighty River . . . . . . . . . . .12
3 Lost on the Amazon . . . . . . . . .21
4 Uncharted Territory . . . . . . . . .27
5 Deep in the Jungle . . . . . . . . . .32
6 The Mud Bog . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
7 Anaconda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
8 Piranha Feast . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
9 The Deadly Army . . . . . . . . . . .51
10 A Deserted Village . . . . . . . . . .55
11 Safe at Last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
MEET THE BARCLAYS
Paul Barclay
~
A fun-loving father of three who
takes his kids on his travels whenever
he can.
Ann Barclay
~
The devoted mother who manages the
homefront during Paul’s many absences
as an on-site construction engineer.
Jim Barclay
~
The eldest child, Jim is a talented
athlete with his eye on a football
scholarship at a major college.
Aaron Barclay
~
Three years younger than Jim, he’s
inquisitive, daring, and an absolute
whiz in science class.
Pam Barclay
~
Adopted from Korea as a baby, Pam is
a spunky middle-schooler who more
than holds her own with her lively older
brothers.
CHAPTER 1
The Riverboat
The small Presidente Vargas Airport in
western Brazil was nearly empty. One of
the few people there was Paul Barclay, a
construction engineer. He was in Brazil to
work on the construction of a big dam.
Before long, a plane landed. The tall
American waved as he saw his three
children exit the aircraft. As they came
down the steps, he ran forward and
hugged them one by one.
“Gee, you kids look great!” he said.
“School must really agree with you!”
Jim, the oldest at 16, laughed. “Yeah,
we’re doing okay, Dad.”
Nine-year-old Pam hugged her dad.
“Oh, school’s okay, I guess. At least I have
a lot of neat friends.”
Aaron, 13, was the next to speak up.
“I’m the top student in my science
class, Dad!” he said.
5
AMAZONADVENTURE
Paul Barclay led his family toward the
baggage claim area.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he told
them. “Now—I have a surprise for you.”
Jim groaned. “I know—another long
ride on an airplane.”
After the kids claimed their bags, Paul
led the way to a taxi in front of the
terminal.
“No,” their father said. “We’re not
taking an airplane ride.”
The taxi was old and rusty. Its engine
sputtered as it rolled into the village. All
three Barclay kids looked around them in
wonder. The dusty streets and the small
wooden buildings were a strange sight.
They even passed donkey-drawn carts
piled high with bananas!
The streets were full of people, the
men in cotton shirts and jeans. The
women wore brightly colored clothes.
Most of them carried baskets.
“Where are we, Dad?” Jim asked. “I
thought we were going to that modern
6
The Riverboat • 1
city they’ve built near the dam. I think
you said it was called Boa Vista.”
“That’s right,” Paul said. “But the
airline that serves Boa Vista is on strike.
We’re going there by boat.”
“Great!” Pam sang out. “I love boats!”
“Hey, a boat up the Amazon!” Aaron
shouted in delight. “Wait until I tell the
kids at school about this!”
All of them grabbed for something to
hold onto as the taxi screeched to a
sudden stop. The driver yelled out words
they didn’t understand at a man on a
horse in the middle of the street.
At the next corner, they crossed a
small, busy square. A soccer ball came
bouncing out of the noisy crowd, and
several children ran after it.
“I hope it’s not this crowded on the
river,” Jim said.
“It won’t be,” their father promised.
After a few more jerky stops and angry
shouts from the driver, the rusty old taxi
left the village.
7
AMAZONADVENTURE
Trees were thick along both sides of
the road. As they went on, the surface got
worse and finally turned into a bumpy
track. Jim pointed to some small shacks
by the roadside. They were made from
sheets of tin, scraps of wood, and
cardboard boxes.
“What are those shacks?” Jim asked.
“They call them favelas,” their father
said. “Poor people live in them. There’s
not much work here.”
“They look pretty flimsy. What
happens when it rains?” Pam asked.
“That’s why some of the favelas have
no roofs, honey. They were washed away
by the last storm.”
“I bet it rains a lot here, doesn’t it,
Dad?” Aaron said. “After all, we’re going
into a tropical rain forest.”
“That’s right, son,” his father agreed.
“The Amazon is one of the biggest rain
forests in the world.”
“We studied rain forests in school last
semester,” Aaron went on. “The whole
8
The Riverboat • 1
human race depends on them for
survival—isn’t that right?”
“True,” said his father. “We haven’t
preserved our rain forests very well. So
many of them have been cut down,
they’re actually disappearing! And so are
the tribes who live there.”
Soon, both Paul and the kids were
aching from the rough ride. It was a great
relief when the taxi finally stopped.
Here, the track led down a winding
slope. At the bottom, a view of the river
opened up before them.
“Well, here we are,” Paul said. “This is
the river station.”
“Yuck! That water looks really dirty,”
Pam cried, wrinkling her nose.
The muddy river water was moving
surprisingly fast. Now and then big logs
and tree branches floated by. The bank
on the other side looked very far away.
“I didn’t think the river would be this
wide!” Jim exclaimed.
“The Amazon is one of the world’s
9