EPISODE NINE

WELCOME ELIZABETH (PART ONE OF TWO).

The gang traveled on in their search for the Cities of Gold. On their way they talked about everything that had happened to them and were amazed at how much they had to overcome on their journeys. "Seems like you got the most, Stephanie," said Matthew. "You got knocked into the ocean and almost drowned, and then you almost got sacrificed. We ought to start calling you the Near-Death Girl!"

"OK, Matthew, no need to rehash all that," said Stephanie. "And I wasn't completely unfortunate. I found Ben on this trip, didn't I?" She squeezed Ben's arm and smiled at him. Ben kissed her.

"This has been one amazing trip," Ben commented. "If only Dad could see me as a pilot!"

"He'd certainly be proud of you, young man," Lionel said, smiling warmly.

"We're sorry we ever doubted you," said Alexis. "We didn't think you were old enough to know how to fly a plane."

"No hard feelings," Ben assured them. "Matthew, our trusty navigator, how far is the Andes?"

Matthew looked at his compass and his map. "About an hour that way," he replied, pointing straight.

"Thanks," said Ben.

After flying for an hour, they came upon the Andes mountains. Ben landed the plane, and the adventurers climbed out of the plane.

"The Andes are so beautiful!" Stephanie marveled.

The explorers walked through the mountain range in a single file line: Lionel, Alexis, Ben, Stephanie, and Matthew. The area was very steep, so they held onto the side of the mountain. After walking for four hours, they found a flatter place in the mountains near a little house and sat down with a picnic lunch to rest. There were tuna salad sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and plenty of boxes of lemonade in their big cooler.

As they were eating, Stephanie looked up and saw a young girl coming out of the house. It was her younger sister Elizabeth! She ran toward her sister and gave her a big hug. "Oh, Elizabeth, I'm so happy to see you! How are you? How did you get to the Andes?"

"I'm a foreign exchange student here," said Elizabeth. "A girl my age named Monica Juarez is staying at our house. Have you found any of the cities of gold yet?"

"No," Stephanie said, wiping tears of joy from her face, "but we're getting close. One is on a mountain trail in the Andes. Let me introduce you to everybody. These are Lionel and Alexis, the tourists and our chaperones, and this is my boyfriend Ben and our friend Matthew." Everybody said hi to Elizabeth. Elizabeth blushed when she saw Matthew. Then she invited the group in to meet the Juarez family: Nico, Silvia, and Carlos. Afterward she asked them if she could cut her stay there short to join her big sister and her new friends on their quest for the cities of gold. The Juarez family, believing that would also be an educational experience for her, agreed. So Elizabeth packed all of her clothes and went off.

All day Elizabeth couldn't stop looking at Matthew or thinking that she wished they could get together. She decided to dress up really nicely for him. Casually she asked Stephanie if she could borrow her pretty clothes and makeup. Stephanie smiled. "Sure," she said, "but you look fine the way you are."

"I'm trying to impress a boy I met up here," Elizabeth explained.

"Ohhh," said Stephanie, still smiling. "By all means, go on."

And Elizabeth did. She put on Stephanie's pink skirt and purple blouse, eye liner, mascara, blush, and lipstick. Then she went to see Matthew. "Hello, Matthew," she said.

Matthew looked her way and laughed. "Oh, Elizabeth, you dressed up like your big sister! You little girls sure love playing dress-up! How cute!"

Elizabeth's lip quivered, and tears came to her eyes. She turned and ran away.

Stephanie saw everything. She tried to stop Elizabeth, but Elizabeth ran back into the airplane and started crying. Stephanie went over to Matthew and whapped him upside the head. "Matthew, you hurt Elizabeth's feelings!" she cried.

Matthew frowned. "Why? I said what she was doing was cute!"

"You idiot! She wanted to dress up to look nice for you! She likes you!" Stephanie shouted.

Ben sighed. "Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, you're the one who wanted to get a girl, remember? Now that a girl has noticed you, you blew it!"

Matthew nodded. "You're right. I'd better go apologize to Elizabeth. I'll tell her she's a very nice girl but I only see us as friends and do it nicely." He went back toward the plane, only to discover it was gone.

"She flew off!" Matthew cried.

Stephanie was alarmed. "She doesn't know her way around here!" she cried. "She..she'll get lost!"

Ben, Stephanie, and Matthew looked at each other worriedly.

TO FOLLOW...

The gang goes off in search of Elizabeth, who is lost somewhere in the Andes. She falls asleep on a hard step to a large building, and when she awakes she finds she has found the first city of gold! Read the next episode of THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD REVISITED.