tainly no mention of any possible snow. Perhaps this was just
another taste of their unpredictable mountain weather,
another tease of snow that would go as quickly as it came.
"By golly, I think I smell snow in the air," said Clyde as
he came in the front door and peeled off his wool gloves. He
leaned over Abigail"s desk and flipped through the mail,
chuckling. "Maybe that Michael Abundi has a direct line to
the big weatherman in the sky after all."
"What are you going on about now?" asked Abigail,
lowering her gla.s.ses and peering up at Clyde as if he were
going senile.
He briefly explained yesterday"s sermon, and Abigail
blinked in surprise. Maggie wasn"t sure if it was over Michael"s
sermon or due to the fact that Clyde had actually attended a
church service. "And so, Clyde Barnes," began Abigail with a
sharp note of cynicism, "are you saying that if it snows today,
you think it"s a result of this young man"s prayers?"
Clyde laughed. "If it snows today, Abigail, it"s more"n
likely the result of a Canadian air current gone south, com-
bined with some freezing temperatures and high humidity."
"But what about Michael"s prayer?" asked Maggie, sud-
denly feeling defensive of their faithful young visitor.
He shrugged. ""Might just be a coincidence.""
"Might not," she quipped back. "But coincidence or not,
I think it could be newsworthy. In fact, I think I should do
an interview with Michael for this week"s edition."
Looking for You All My Life77
"Good idea," said Abigail. "He"s such a nice person, and
I"m sure he has lots of interesting stories to tell about his
-homeland."
"Are you guys talking about Jed"s island friend?" asked
-~Scott, emerging from his office.
"His name is Michael Abundi," said Maggie. "Have you
met him?"
"Not yet. But my parents sure seem to like him."
lik "Well, I want to schedule an interview with him. And I"d
--e you to get a photo. Michael"s about your age, I"d guess.
He"d probably enjoy meeting you."
""Sounds good."" Scott started to head back to his office,
then stopped. "Hey, I almost forgot. I came up with a little
something in my research that might affect the develop-
-menL" The way he p.r.o.nounced "the development" left no
doubt as to his reference. And Maggie could tell by the tone
of his voice that his news bit might be worthwhile.
"What is it?" she demanded eagerly. "What did you
find?"
He smiled slyly. "Ever heard of wetland issues?"
Her eyes lit up. "Of course. But does the Westerly prop-
erty have wetlands?"
He nodded smugly. "First of all, the back end of Snider"s
land is a bog for most of the year-a great place for wild