The Swamp by Patricia J. Birtwistle

Chapter 1
A hand was there in the mud. On the hand was a ring with a big red rock. By the hand was a locked bag.  It was spooky!
The sun was hot, and it was wet in the swamp. The sun hit the bag, and it looked wet in the sand. The hand looked like a stick. Big bugs went up and down the hand.
There was no skin on the hand, but it had a ring on it and it was like a man’s hand would be. No one came into the swamp. Why was it here? The swamp, where the hand was, is big. It is too wet for a lot of things but it is a hot spot for kids.
The kids’ folks did not want them to go there, but the kids liked the swamp. There were a lot of things for kids to do. They did not tell their folks that that was where they hung out.
The kids on Nick’s block liked to go there too. They went there a lot. It had lots of rocks and hills. The swamp land was a spot for kids, and they had lots of fun in the gaps in the rocks.
The kids looked for things in the sand. Lots of things died in the swamp. They kept looking for stuff.
It was hot, so Nick and Kim went to the swamp. A gap in the rocks looked like a cool spot. They went up and sat down on a rock. Then, Nick looked down and saw it. The hand in the sand. It just looked like a stick. The sun was hitting the red rock on the ring. They had not looked at this spot before and they had not seen the hand.
So, Nick jumped off the rock to look at the hand and bag. Kim did not go with him. She just sat there. When Nick went up to the locked bag, he yelled to Kim. She got up and went  down to him. That was when she saw the hand.
They stopped and looked at the bag and the hand. Nick kicked the sand by the hand, but there was just the hand. The rest of the man was not there. They had to think. What should they do?
It was getting cooler now. The sun was getting dim. They had to think of what to do before the sun set.
“Should we get the cops?”  asked Kim.
“If we tell them, it could get bad!”  said Nick. “What do you think?”
“No! But, what can we do?” Kim asked.
So the kids just went back to the rocks and sat down. Should they tell the rest of the kids on the block? Should they go to the cops?
Nick’s mom and  dad would get mad if they went to the cops. The kids were not to be in the swamp, and that could be bad for them. Should they just tell Kim’s mom and dad? They would not get mad.
At last they got up.
The sun was going to set. The kids had to get back, but they had to think of what they should do. They were in a mess and they could not get out of it if they did not tell. They did not want to upset the folks, but the hand could not just be left there. And, what was in that bag?
Now, they just wanted to get out of the swamp. They went back to the block so they would get back before the sun set. All they could think of was what they should do now. Should they tell? Would the hand be there when they went back? Kim wanted the ring with that rock, but she could not think of what to do to get it. What to do? What to do?