The Rescue by Mary Cunningham, 1978.
Bob and Becca are going to stay at their aunt’s cabin in the mountains in California with their mother. Becca has been upset since she found out that her best friend, Elaine, will be moving to another state with her family. This trip is partly to get Becca’s mind off of losing her best friend, but Becca keeps thinking about how much she would have liked having her friend along on the trip. The only bright spot for Becca is that she might be able to write to Elaine about how nice the cabin, called Lantern Lodge, is or about the interesting things they might find to do. It’s not as good as having Elaine there to share the experience, but it’s better than nothing.
Lantern Lodge was originally built to be a guest cabin for friends of the movie star who once owned the mansion at the top of the hill. Now, the mansion is owned by an old man whose grandson is staying there with him. Bob wonders what the grandson is like and if he might want to go fishing sometime. There used to be a staircase leading up the hillside from the cabin, but it’s overgrown with brambles now.
Becca finds her way up the hillside by following a friendly Siamese cat, who shows her how she can use a cherry tree to reach the portion of the old stairs that is still climable. When she gets to the top of the hill, she admires the greenhouse where the old man grows orchids. She also discovers that Bob got to the top of the hill before her and has already met the old man’s grandson, Dan. Without revealing herself to the boys, she listens to what they’re saying. Dan explains that he’s taking care of his grandfather’s house and plants while his grandfather is in the hospital with pneumonia.
There’s a weather report on the radio that there’s a storm coming and that people in vacation cabins should watch for flash floods. Bob asks if that means his family should leave Lantern Lodge, but Dan says that there shouldn’t be a problem because the lodge is well-constructed. However, Dan says that Bob should wait until after the storm to go fishing. Bob agrees and heads back to the cabin. Becca, who still hasn’t shown herself to the boys, decides to stay longer because she’s curious about the old mansion and wants to look around more.
Becca heads back to the cabin when it starts to rain, although it’s difficult to get down from the stairs and tree when they’re wet and slippery. Becca manages to do it unharmed, but her mother slips and hurts her arm when she comes outside to look for her. When her mother’s arm swells up, Becca goes to look at the plants where she fell and realizes that there’s poison oak or poison ivy there. The rain has gotten worse, and the road has flooded, so they can’t leave the cabin, even if their mother was able to drive with her injured arm.
Fortunately, the phone at the cabin still works, and Dan calls them to see how they’re doing. They explain about their mother’s injured arm, and Dan gives them the name and number of a doctor to call. He also gives them other advice for dealing with the situation, recommending that they cook as much food as they can and bring it upstairs in case the lower floor of the cabin floods. They should also fill everything they can with clean water for drinking and prepare candles in case they lose electricity. They follow Dan’s instructions and call the doctor’s office. The nurse on duty gives them some instructions for caring for their mother’s arm and says that they’ll try to send a messenger with some medicine.
Dan calls again later to tell them that cabins in the area are being evacuated, and he thinks they should leave their cabin, too. Bob tries to explain that they can’t leave because the road is flooded and help hasn’t come for them, but the phone line goes dead. He doesn’t know how much Dan understood. They know that there is an emergency crew helping with the evacuations, but without a phone, they can’t call for help. There’s only one way left to communicate with the outside world, and that’s the old flagpole that’s been there since before the telephone was installed. A white flag run up the pole is supposed to signal distress, but the rope is rotten, and they can’t raise the flag. Their mother is now feverish and not very aware of what’s going on. What are Bob and Becca going to do?
The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.
My Reaction and Spoilers
I’ve never been a fan of disaster movies or survival stories, but I did enjoy this one. At one point, Bob says that he used to like seeing disasters movies, but it’s very different from experiencing one in real life. The children are scared, but they try to stay practical and do everything they can to deal with the situation and keep themselves and their mother safe.
It’s not a very long book, but it has some useful information about dealing with disasters. After the phone line goes dead, the kids find a book in the cabin about dealing with disasters. Most of the information in the book doesn’t apply to them, but they make use of the parts they can.
Dan eventually reaches them, but the tree he tied his boat to falls over, trapping him in the house with the kids and their mother. The situation is still dangerous at that point, but the kids realize that there is now one more person to help them. Although Dan was sure that the cabin would be solid, they soon realize that it’s starting to break up, and they have to get out fast. Because he has assisted with other rescues, Dan has the experience they need to help the kids get themselves and their mother to safety. Also, don’t worry about Becca’s pet mouse. I was afraid at first that the mouse wouldn’t make it, but the mouse is okay in the end!
Having survived a real disaster puts the more minor disaster of Elaine moving away into perspective for Becca. It’s sad when a friend moves away, but there are far worse things, and she and her family have come through them together.
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