Dear Mom,

Our scoutmaster told us all write to our parents in case you
saw the flood on TV and worried. We are OK. Only two of our
tents and four sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none
of us got drowned because we were all up on the mountain
looking for Jeff when it happened. Oh yes, please call Jeff's
mother and tell her he is OK. He can't write because of the
cast. I got to ride in one of the search & rescue jeeps. It was
neat.

We never would have found him in the dark if it hadn't been for
the lightning. Scoutmaster Webb got mad at Hector for going
on a hike alone without telling anyone. Hector said he did tell
him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him.
Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will
blow up? The wet wood still didn't burn, but one of our tents
did. Also some of our clothes. Larry is going to look weird
until his hair grows back.

We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Webb gets the
car fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes
worked OK when we left. Scoutmaster Webb said that a car
that old you have to expect something to break down; that's
probably why he can't get insurance on it. We think it's a neat
car. He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot,
sometimes he lets us ride on the tailgate. It gets pretty hot
with 10 people in a car.

He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway
patrolman stopped and talked to us. Scoutmaster Webb is a
neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is
teaching his brother Doug how to drive. But he only lets him
drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic. All
we ever see up there are logging trucks.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and
swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Webb wouldn't let me
because I can't swim, and Jeff was afraid he would sink
because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the
lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under
the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Webb isn't crabby
like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life
jackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the car so
we are trying not to cause him any trouble.

Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges.
When Rob dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see
how a tourniquet works. Also Bruce and I threw up.
Scoutmaster Webb said it probably was just food poisoning
from the leftover chicken. He said they got sick that way with
the food they ate in prison. I'm so glad he got out and become
our scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get
things done better while he was doing his time.

I have to go now. We are going into town to mail our letters
and buy bullets.

Don't worry about anything. We are fine.

Love, Dave