Action—Mystery—Danger
The story was exciting. It had stealth and action which I really like. My favorite character is the dog, he’s great. I love all the Catacomb books, can’t wait for the next one.
Isaac Lea
(12 years old)
The Mystery of the Puzzle Bone's was a great story of learning to trust in God. I liked it and I think everyone who reads this book will not want to stop reading. I didn't want to stop at all!
Elizabeth Timm
(Age 11)
As a mother of sons and grandsons I highly recommend this book. It has great action in it while continually impressing the help a relationship with Jesus can give us in everyday life. It is not “preachy” but has the Gospel while still being an exciting mystery. It’s nice to be able to give them a book they’ll really like with a great message.
Mrs. Miller
(Grandmother of five)
It’s a tight story with the sickest skateboard spot ever. Even if you don’t read much you’ll like this. It talks about Jesus in a real way with no fake and the end was way cool.
Trevor Sund
Ramp Ministries
(Age 28)
The Boardunders Club
Mystery at Lizard Lake is the third book of the Boardunders Club series.
Jadon, Caleb, Ethan Brandon and Roscoe the dog go on an exciting camping trip to Lizard Lake.
Everything is going great until they have a terrible accident that endangers their very lives. Suddenly a strange face appears in the trees and seems to be following them as they discover the long hidden secret of Lizard Lake.
The Boardunders Club Series
Mystery of the Puzzle Bones
Mystery of the Running Shadow
Mystery at Lizard Lake
Coming Soon
Mystery at Rattlesnake Ranch
Book Three
T.A. Smith
Smashwords Edition Copyright © 2010 by T.A. Smith
Christian Action Adventures
Published by StoneHouse Ink
Boise ID 83686
http://www.ChristianActionAdventures.com
All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.
All rights reserved. Except for teaching purposes or brief quotations in printed reviews and blog commentary, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (printed, written, photocopied, audio or otherwise) without the permission of the publisher.
Scripture quotations are used in everyday language for ease of understanding and not copied from specific copyrighted text.
First Edition 2010
Cover by Jeff Stevenson, Sabre Enterprises
Table of Contents
Accosting—to approach boldly or aggressively
Adrenalin—the result of a gland in the body that produces a burst of strength or energy
Anguish—to feel agonizing physical or mental pain; torment
Apparatus—device or object that accomplishes a physical task
Arrogant—prideful or know-it-all attitude
Confirmation—to check for validation or correctness
Counteract—to act directly against; check, neutralize, or undo the effect of with opposing action
Disintegrated—to come apart or dissolve
Entranced—to be in the consumed state of a trance
Exasperation—to irritate or annoy very much; make angry
Exertion—to put great effort into something
H3 Hummer—a large expensive four-wheel drive Sport Utility Vehicle
Heeled Over—to be over on a side, at an angle
Sasquatch—Native American name for Big Foot—a never discovered creature much like a gorilla
Tiller—handle of the rudder that steers a boat
Wheelin’—slang word for driving off road in a four-wheel drive vehicle
Road Trip
“Look out!” Ethan yelled pointing out the front windshield.
“What?” Caleb’s dad, Ben Johnson cried out as he swerved quickly steering the big old car with a jerk of the wheel.
“That squirrel.” Ethan spun around in his seat trying to look out the back window. It was hard to see over the camping gear crammed almost to the roof.
Caleb and Jaydon had crowded in the back seat with Roscoe the dog. They squished closer together with the sudden swerve. Roscoe fell sideways into Caleb’s lap with a thump.
“Ethan!” Jaydon said in exasperation while trying to help Caleb get the big dog off of him. “Stop worrying about those stupid squirrels—you’re going to get us killed.”
“Well, they just stand there and won’t move,” Caleb said a little meekly, glancing at Caleb’s dad who gave him a sideways squint.
Caleb looked back out the front windshield at the towering tight forest that created a tunnel affect over the highway. It was his first trip to Lizard Lake, and the excitement of the day had him wired up until he couldn’t sit still.
They followed a black H3 Hummer. It too was loaded down with camping gear. Brandon’s dad Jack O’Brian drove it with Brandon riding shotgun and Ethan’s dad Dan McAlester in the back seat.
The dads had decided to take them on a camping trip in reward for helping to catch a drug ring in their neighborhood. The gang had nearly killed them, and Jaydon still had a cast on his arm from crashing off his skateboard.
“Are we there yet?” Caleb called from the back seat.
“We must be getting close.” Caleb’s dad turned on his blinker and followed the black Hummer onto a dirt road.
They bounced along the dirt road and stopped at the park entrance building. Ethan could see Mr. O’Brian handing the attendant some money and pointing back at their car. The attendant handed a pink paper to Mr. O’Brian and they started to move again.
As they passed the building, Ethan could see the attendant was dressed in dark green with a Smokey Bear looking hat on. He smiled and waved them on.
Mr. O’Brian led them down a long dirt road in an area where the sunlight could barely penetrate the dense forest. The smell of pine trees and camp fires drifted in and Ethan took a deep breath. He loved camping.
There was something so cool about staring up at the top of the trees and watching them move with the wind—even when there was no wind to feel down below. Like the top of the trees was another world you could escape into.
The Hummer pulled into a camp site, and Mr. Johnson pulled up next to him, the brakes on his old car giving a high squeak. The car hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Ethan had his seat belt off and was rolling out the door.
Caleb and Jaydon bounded out behind him with Roscoe trying to jump up on them. The bulldog spun around, tangling the leash Jaydon was trying to hold with one hand.
Brandon came running over. “Isn’t this awesome?”
Ethan looked around the campsite excitedly then over at the lake. Small sailboats and canoes bobbed up and down in the water off the Lizard Lake dock just a couple hundred yards away. And a bait shack sat on the rocky beach next to the dock with several people walking in and out.
The camp site had wooden logs around a stone fire pit, and the forest surrounding them felt like another world with huge trees all around creating a feel of adventure and wilderness.
“Way cool!” Jaydon agreed.
“Come on, let’s check it out.” Brandon started toward the bait shack.
“Boys,” Ben Johnson’s voice called, bringing them back to earth. “Set up camp first, then you can explore.”
They stopped and Brandon gave out a slight groan.
“You got it Mr. Johnson,” Jaydon said to Caleb’s dad and pulled on Roscoe’s leash.
“Easy for you to say,” Caleb smiled. “With that arm in a cast you can’t do much.”
“I can boss you around,” Jaydon grinned back.
They walked over and started unloading camping gear. It took nearly an hour to get the three tents set up.
Brandon’s dad, Jack O’Brian, had brought a huge two-room tent with all types of special chairs and even an air-cushioned cot. He also had a special square, outdoor night lamp hanging on the doorway of the cabin style tent.
Ethan and his dad Dan had a small two-man pup tent while Caleb, Jaydon and Mr. Johnson shared an old canvas four-man tent.
Caleb and Jaydon pulled hard on the tent rope, trying to get the heavy canvas taunt.
“My grandfather used this tent when I was a boy camping with him,” Mr. Johnson commented as he pulled from the other side.
Jack O’Brian walked over and stood watching, but didn’t offer to help. “I believe it, that’s old school,” he said with a sneer. “Expensive neoprene is so much lighter and stronger than that ancient, cheap, smelly, canvas stuff.” He turned away.
Ethan saw Jaydon look over at Caleb’s dad who was smiling for some reason. “What’s so funny?” he asked.
He shook his head and whispered just loud enough for the boys to hear. “I hate to admit it, but I like that old smelly canvas odor. It has a lot of good memories for me.”
It was becoming clear where Brandon got his money and attitude about having the best “stuff.”
They finally got everything situated and a small fire going, even though it really wasn’t that cold. “If you boys want to explore now go ahead—just be sure you’re back by six for dinner,” Mr. Johnson directed, watching Jack O’Brian pull a beer out of a cooler and recline in a camp chair.
The boys didn’t wait to hear anymore but took off running toward the dock. Roscoe bounded along behind, barking and leaping.
Ethan ran out onto the dock and looked around at the lake with his buddies. Small white caps started to kick up around several of the small sailboats cruising back and forth.
“Dad said we can rent this stuff tomorrow and go sailing and canoeing,” Brandon said excitedly. “We were going to bring our jet skis, but our jet skis are too powerful. They don’t allow powered boats on this little lake.”
Ethan caught Caleb’s eye roll and couldn’t help but laugh. He tried to turn the laugh into a cough. “Um…let’s check out the bait shop.”
Together they ambled over to the bait shop. It smelled of fish and dry wood. Jaydon looked back at them as if about to say something while reaching for the door. But before he could grasp the knob, the door swung open and his momentum ran him smack into a girl, knocking her onto the floor of the shop. Roscoe, following Jaydon closely, couldn’t stop in time either. He hit Jaydon in the back of the knees, sending Jaydon down on top of the poor girl.
“Roscoe,” Jaydon yelled as he fell and tried to roll off the girl. Rolling onto his side, he found himself face to face with Ashley Lauren.
Really Bad
Jaydon stared in shock. Ashley was the prettiest girl in the world and she just so happened to live in Ethan’s neighborhood. Jaydon wanted to talk with her so badly, but every time he had a chance something went wrong. Never this wrong, though. He’d practically tackled her.
Roscoe leapt over Jaydon, landing square on top of Ashley licking her in the mouth.
“Roscoe!” Caleb grabbed the big dog’s leash and dragged him back off the gagging Ashley.
Jaydon couldn’t say anything. He just laid there, staring in horror.
“We are so sorry.” Caleb shoved Roscoe over to Ethan who fell down to the floor with Roscoe’s weight.
“Hey, get that dog out of here!” the clerk yelled from behind the counter.
Caleb helped Ashley to her feet and picked up the bag she was carrying. “I am so sorry, Ashley,” he repeated as he handed the bag to her.
Ashley didn’t comment but was trying to wipe her mouth with her sleeve as she grimaced, obviously still in shock herself. She walked out the door and hurried up the path toward the campsites.
“The dog!” yelled the man behind the counter again. “Get him out of here. It’s state regulations boys, and I better not see him in here accosting customers again.”
“We’re going. Sorry sir.” Caleb pulled Jaydon to his feet, leading them back out of the store.
“Well—that went well!” Brandon commented, watching Ashley disappear up a path leading into the woods toward the camp sites. “What was Ashley doing here?” Brandon voiced the question they were all thinking.
“Well, it is a popular camping spot, probably the same thing we are doing,” Ethan answered more to himself than to the group.
“Nice going, Roscoe.” Caleb gave the dog a hard look, then glanced over at Jaydon.
Jaydon was completely white like he was sick.
“You hurt your arm?” Caleb asked in concern.
Jaydon slowly shook his head still staring at the path where Ashley had disappeared into the woods. She would never want to see him again. “Bad,” he replied. “Really bad!”
“Your arm?” Caleb asked, sounding as if he thought Jaydon was talking about his injury.
Jaydon just kept shaking his head. Finally, he tore his eyes off the spot where Ashley had been. Looking over at the three of them, he winced. “That was really bad.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Ethan offered.
“It was Roscoe’s.” Brandon pointed at the dog.
Roscoe looked at the four of them then quietly lay down, putting his head on his front paws.
“It was an accident,” Caleb defended Roscoe as he leaned over and ruffled the sad dog’s ears.
“Let’s go down the beach and explore.” Brandon started to walk that direction.
Caleb and Ethan looked over at Jaydon. “Come on, maybe it will help you get your mind off of it,” Caleb encouraged.
“I think I’ll just go back up to camp.” He trudged up the trail, giving Roscoe a pull on his leash. “You guys go. I just need to sit a while.”
Caleb stood watching his buddy walk up the path for several minutes.
“Come on guys, he’ll get over it,” Brandon called out from the edge of the water.
Caleb sighed as he turned to join Brandon.
“He’s really got it bad for her, doesn’t he?” Ethan whispered.
Caleb didn’t answer but nodded his head slightly, squinting out over the water.
The air off the Lake smelled fresh and clean. Odd pieces of driftwood had snagged along the shore. Soon they had forgotten the incident as they roamed the rocks and sand of the little beach created by the small waves lapping along the forested shore.
Looking for flat rocks, Caleb tried to skip them over the rough water. The rocks kept hitting with a “plump” and disappearing.
Brandon threw a large one hard out into the water. “You can’t skip rocks unless the water is flat. We’ll have to wait until the wind stops.”
Caleb threw several more. One hit the top of a wave just right and took off like it had rocket boosters for another thirty feet. “Hey! You guys see that one?”
Brandon was bent over digging with a stick in the sand, and Ethan didn’t turn but stared up at the top of the trees next to them.
Caleb shrugged. “Just when you get a good one, nobody’s watching,” Ethan heard him mumble then he called out louder, “What are you looking at anyway?”
Ethan kept staring up at the top of the trees and pointed. “Look how thick the branches are at the top. I bet I could go from one tree to the next easily.”
Caleb looked up too. The trunks at the bottom were all he ever noticed. The bases were huge and went up twenty feet before any branches started out of the trunk of the trees. “Sure, but there’s no way to climb up there because the branches start so high off the ground. Come on, I think it’s getting close to six o’clock.”
Brandon flipped a dead fish with his stick at them and nearly hit Caleb in the face. Laughing he took off running with Caleb and Ethan chasing him. He ran into the trees and through someone’s camp site. Caleb and Ethan slowed and took the long way around on the path they had come down to the beach on.
As they approached their own campsite, the smell of hot dogs cooking drifted over to them. Brandon laughed while rocking in one of his dad’s camp chairs. Jaydon didn’t look up but was practicing a kick flip on his skate board next to the car.
“Come on boys, dinner is ready.” Caleb’s dad wiped his hands with a paper towel.
Caleb grinned and pointed at Brandon. “That was cheating to go through somebody’s camp site.”
Brandon shrugged grinning back. “Got away with it, didn’t I?”
“You boy’s aren’t bothering people, now are you?” Caleb’s dad Ben asked suspiciously. “You need to be respectful of other people out here.”
Brandon’s dad, Jack, popped open another beer. “As long as he got away with it, who cares?”
Ben looked over at Jack but didn’t respond.
Caleb walked over to Jaydon. Roscoe stared at him from under the car with big sad eyes.
“Hey.” Caleb gave Jaydon a little punch in the shoulder. “You going to have a good time or mope over some girl.”
Jaydon kicked up his board and grabbed the end as he peered at Caleb from lowered eyebrows. “What girl?” he challenged.
Brandon started singing from his camp chair. “Jaydon and Ashley sitting in a tree, K-I-S…” He stopped singing and jumped out of his chair as Jaydon charged after him, making everyone in the camp start laughing.
Ben took a hot dog and tossed it to Roscoe under the car. “You too, Roscoe. We’re suppose to be having a good time camping.”
Roscoe drug himself out from under the car and gulped down the hot dog. He looked up at them with a snaggletooth poking out from under one lip and gave an excited bark.
Caleb and Ethan laughed again as Jaydon caught Brandon and gave him a rubbing head burn with his one good arm.
Brandon pushed back on him and looked out into the woods. “Stop. Stop! What was that?” he asked breathlessly.
Everyone looked out into the darkening woods in the direction Brandon stared.
“What?” Ethan didn’t see anything but thick trees and ferns.
“I thought I heard something.” Brandon’s eyes roamed the foliage in a creepy way.
“Just the ghost of the Hard Rock Miners,” Jack sneered.
Hard Rock Miners
It was pitch black now in the dense forest. The campfire light cast eerie shadows across Jack O’Brian’s face. His voice was low and spooky as he looked around at the boys staring at him from across the fire. “The legend goes that these four men killed the Indian medicine man who showed them the secret passage under the mountain then threw him in the lake. The medicine man’s Indian name was…” Jack paused, looking around slowly at each of the boys’ faces again, “Lizard Man.”
Ethan felt a cold shiver go down his spine and he trembled. “So that’s why they call it Lizard Lake. Then what happened?” he asked in a whisper.
Jack leaned closer, his voice getting lower. “The Hard Rock Miners dug deep into the mountain, and rumors began to circulate that they had found a huge stash of Indian gold. They killed anyone who tried to come into this valley. For three years, they dug deeper and deeper into the mountain. Then one day…” Jack’s hushed voice made the boys lean in closer to him to hear. “Bang!”
Ethan jumped back, but at least he didn’t tip his chair over like Brandon.
Jack lowered his voice back down to a whisper. “The men disappeared, never to be heard from again.”
“What happened to them?” Ethan’s heart beat so hard, he felt like his hotdog was going to come up.
“No one really knows,” Jack’s voice could barely be heard over the crackling of the fire. “But it is said this campground is haunted. Things disappear, never to be found again.”
Ethan looked at his buddies to see if they felt the same darkness creeping up behind them.
“It’s said that the Hard Rock Miners were cursed by the Indian Medicine man to live forever, trapped in the darkness of the mine during the day and the darkness of the woods at night. Because they are doomed, in anger they steal at night from those who come into their valley.”
Ben chuckled under his breath.
“What are you laughing about?” Jack asked, staring intently at Ben.
Ben shook his head. “Ghost stories. I know they are a camping tradition, but I’m not so thrilled about scaring kids in an environment they should be having fun in.”
Jack leaned back and looked around at the dark shadow of trees surrounding them. “Say what you want, Ben, but I’ve been coming here for years, and there is definitely something odd about the place. I’ve lost water jugs, food, you name it. I believe it’s haunted.”
“Then why do you keep coming back?” quizzed Ben frowning.
Jack shrugged. “It’s close and easy to get to. But I know that something is out there in those woods.” Ethan glanced over at his dad to gauge his reaction to Ben and Jack.
“Well,” Ethan’s dad Dan stood and stretched. “I’m so full of s’mores, I don’t care what the Hard Rock Miners ghosts steal tonight. I’m getting some sleep.”
Ben stood up and took a bucket of water over to the campfire, sloshing it onto the embers until is sizzled and hissed like a snake.
Jack yawned and walked over to his cabin tent closely followed by Brandon who was looking quickly left and right into the darkness around them. Jack lit a lantern creating a glow that outlined the fancy cots and table in the tent.
Jaydon pulled on Roscoe’s leash waking the dog from a twitching dream and drug him half asleep over to the Canvas tent. Caleb pulled back the tent door and peered into the pitch black tent.
Ethan couldn’t help but grin as he saw Caleb give Roscoe a push on the butt saying, “You first Roscoe, make sure there aren’t any boogie men in there.”
“Very funny,” Jaydon grumbled as he went in after the dog.
Ethan followed his Dad over to their small tent. The small gleam of the flashlight his dad had gave off low light in the small pup tent. Dan worked his way into his sleeping bag with Ethan kneeling there shivering slightly. It was cold, but not as cold as his spine felt.
Finally, he wiggled into his own sleeping bag next to his dad. As soon as his dad zipped the front door closed he realized he needed to go to the bathroom. Ethan didn’t care—there was no way he was going out in the dark all alone.
Within minutes, Ethan could hear his dad’s slow, heavy breathing. An odd rattle was coming from outside, and Ethan held his breath listening intently. Ethan realized it was Jack snoring just ten feet away.
Ethan heard Caleb and Jaydon give out low “ughs” as Roscoe landed with a collapsed thump in-between their two sleeping bags.
Caleb gasped as Jaydon’s dog made their close quarters a little more apparent.
Ben gave out a gasp, too. “Was that Roscoe?” He yelled loud enough for everyone in the campsite to hear. “My gosh, Jaydon! If that dog is going to pass gas like that all night we’re going to die in here.”
Laughter could be heard from every tent, and Ethan giggled so loud he woke his dad and had to explain what had happened.
Dan chuckled slightly. “That is pretty funny son, but try not to wake me again.” He rolled over.
Ethan lay there staring at the top of the pup tent. He really had to go the bathroom now. He tried to think of something else. The story of the Hard Rock Miners began to go through his head. How true was the story? Was there a stash of gold just up in the mountains a few miles from them? What had happened to the Miners?
Was there a curse on the valley? Could the Indian Medicine Man have doomed the Miners to live in darkness? Were they stealing things from people at night in revenge?
Scary. He wished he knew more about that kind of stuff. Caleb was always reading his Bible and telling them what it said. Ethan wondered what the Bible said about stuff like this. Thinking about the Bible seemed to take a little bit of the fear away.