Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing

Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing Read Free

Book: Elizabeth's San Antonio Sleuthing Read Free
Author: Renae Brumbaugh
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750-foot-tall tower with a revolving restaurant at the top. As they left the tower, he said, “I love the view from the top! Too bad the restaurant wasn’t open yet. Let’s take another riverboat ride, then get some lunch. I never get tired of riding those little boats!”
    Now, as Elizabeth sat in a River City Cruise boat watching the bridges and sidewalks for any signs of the boy with the red cap, she heard a strange noise.
    Pu–pu–pu–put, puput, pu–pu…rrrrrr…rrrrrr…pu…put…pu
. The engine of the small riverboat groaned and sputtered. Then it died, as concerned tourists looked at each other in confusion.
    â€œThat’s nice. I fork out ten bucks to ride this heap of junk, and now we’re stranded,” called a tall, thin, middle-aged man from the back of the boat.
    â€œI’m very sorry for the inconvenience, folks,” replied the frustrated boat captain. “All of your money will be refunded, as soon as I push this boat to shore. Just report to the ticket office and tell them what happened.”
    Elizabeth felt sorry for the captain. The crowd gasped in surprise as he suddenly jumped overboard! Their surprise turned to laughter, however, as he stood up. The water of the famous San Antonio Riverwalk only came to the man’s waist.
    Another riverboat passed but didn’t stop to help. Its captain looked long and hard at the stranded group. The man leaned forward, one foot propped on the boat’s railing, and the sun glinted off his polished shoe.
    Is he smiling? thought Elizabeth. Why doesn’t he offer to help us? She noticed the competing company’s logo on the side of the boat—Santa Anna Tours. Maybe they have rules about helping the competition or something…
.
    â€œHere, let me give you a hand,” said Elizabeth’s father, leaping into the water. Together, the two men pushed the boat to the edge of the water and secured it to the cement siding with ropes.
    The riverboat captain hefted himself onto the sidewalk then held out a hand to help Mr. Anderson. “Thank you, sir. I’ll make sure your family gets free rides for the rest of your visit here in San Antonio.”
    â€œThat won’t be necessary,” said Robert Anderson. “I was happy to help.”
    The captain helped his passengers disembark. The tall, grumbly man from the back row stepped off. In a loud voice, he said, “I’d rather have a refund than a free ride. From now on, I’ll take my business to Santa Anna Tours. Now
that’s
a boat you can count on.”
    The rude man walked away, continuing his tirade as he went. The riverboat captain kept a polite smile pasted on his face, but Elizabeth wasn’t fooled. The man was concerned about his business.
    â€œHey, can I jump in before I get out?” asked James. Elizabeth’s little brother loved an adventure. And he loved to get wet.
    â€œNo, you can’t,” replied Sue Anderson, helping the six-year-old off the boat. “One wet male in the family is enough for now.”
    Elizabeth helped her mother step across to the sidewalk. “I’ll go swimming with you when we get back to the hotel,” she told James. Moving close to her father, she listened to the conversation between him and the captain.
    â€œI don’t understand what could have happened,” the man said. “We service the motors every week. But this is the third time this has happened in two weeks!”
    â€œThat is strange,” replied Elizabeth’s dad. “Who services your boats? Perhaps they’ve started doing something different…ordering parts from a new company or something.”
    â€œMaybe so…,” said the man. “Thank you again for your help.”
    â€œNo problem,” replied Elizabeth’s dad. He was sopping wet from the waist down, and he looked pretty funny. “Let’s go eat Mexican food!” he said to his

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