Ok, Moms, if you're getting close to Spring and the little ones are getting impatient, here's something you're bound to appreciate. Hopefully it will keep them out of harm's way, at least for a little while. 

Here's an Online Story entitled, The Camel's Tooth. 

Or try Eeney, Meeney, Miney, Moe!

Synopsis:

The Camel's Tooth is a juvenile mystery story.  It was originally written with the thought of an 'After School Special' in mind.  The reader is brought first hand into a summer destined to change a group of young boys' view of the world they live in!

While hiking and swimming during their summer vacation, they discover something very unusual.  Just when they think everything is under control, their situation takes a bizarre turn for the worse.  All too soon, they realize they're not dealing with a human being as their antagonist!  Before it's over, one of the young boys witnesses the paradoxical nature of the "other side".

                                                                   PROLOGUE

The time has come for each and every one of us to stop and think about our world.  Open up your windows, and your doors! Why is it when we don't like what we see, or what we hear, we close our eyes and deafen our ears?  Perhaps thinking TOMORROW will be the time to cheer. 

  This is a story about a family probably a lot like your family.  The parents and children are all innocently unaware that if the world continues to function in its present manner, it will likely disappear completely from its pollution!  Their ignorance is due in part, to their seclusion from the world and its frantic pace.  They live in a lovely, older house situated on a clean blue lake.  It is a beautiful place.  They eat fresh fish almost every night for dinner.  The air they breathe is pure, crisp, and invigorating!  One afternoon, the oldest boy in the family, named Sam, is going on a hike with a few other boys who also live on the lake.  It is something they have done many times before.  Only on this particular day, they are about to discover something they will never forget ...

And now the story-

Chapter One

As Sam and his friends hiked up through the woods they were joking amongst themselves, as most boys their young age do, when Sam suddenly heard a rustling sound.  "Hey, what's the matter, Sam? Do you think it's Bigfoot?" one of the boys behind him called out sarcastically. 

  "No, I think it's the Snowman!" Sam shouted over his shoulder in an equally obnoxious tone. 

  They kept walking until they came upon a large rock.  All the boys sat down on it to rest and eat some sandwiches they had brought along.  The woods were unusually dry for the time of year.  The rain had been scarce the past summer.  They finished eating and resumed their trek.  Sam's good friend, Toby, pulled up to the side of the path and said to the others, "Keep on going, guys.  I'll catch up to you shortly." Then he ducked behind a tree.  Sam hollered back, "I told you not to pour the whole bottle of soda down your throat all at once!" The other boys began to laugh and continued to make fun of each other as they hiked further up the path. 

  With all their carousing and treading up the hill, not one of them had given a second thought about Toby.  He hadn't rejoined the group.  They had gone about a mile up the trail when Sam finally did notice and said, "Hey, where's Toby?"

  "You got me," one of the boys answered. 

  "Maybe he went back home," Leo suggested. 

  "No, he wouldn't do that," Sam said, "we have a pact that says we all stick together.  Come on, we have to go find him."

  The boys started to jaunt back down the path.  "This is the spot where we left him," Leo stated.  They looked all around, but couldn't find Toby anywhere.  "We'd better go and tell our parents about this," Sam said in a notably concerned manner. 

  "Oh, sure," Ben spoke up, "that's really going to help our chances of convincing our parents to let us take our overnight camping trip tomorrow!"

  "Aw, you know that Toby is just playing one of his stupid jokes, anyway," Leo chimed in, "like always." 

  "Well," Sam answered, "we'll soon find out.  Come on, let's go!"

  The boys ran back to Sam's house.  His Mother was getting ready to take her two youngest boys out in the family boat to do some fishing.  "Mom," Sam called, "is Toby hanging around here?"

  "No, I haven't seen him at all today," she replied.   

  The boys decided to check Toby's house next.  "Toby told me he was going hiking with the rest of you boys," his Mother told Sam.  "If he isn't with you, then where is he?" she asked.  Then studying the group's faces for a moment longer, she added, "What aren't you boys telling me?"

  "N-nothing, we were fooling around and Toby took off.  That's all," Sam explained. 

  "Well, when you see him," she said sternly, "tell him to come home at once!  Do you all hear me?"

  Sam nodded, yes, and they left.  The boys returned to the woods and searched everywhere for their missing friend.  It was beginning to get dark and now they were getting seriously worried about Toby. 

  "Hey! Look at this!" Leo shouted from behind a tree.   

  "What - what?" Sam asked anxiously. 

  "This piece of material," Leo answered, "it must've come off the shirt that Toby was wearing today."

  "Hey, you're right!" Ben said excitedly.  That's when the boys started yelling Toby's name as loud as they could.  Over and over again, they hollered at the top of their lungs. 

  But nothing, there was no answer from their missing friend. 

  "This isn't funny anymore," Leo's voice faded off into silence.  "Do you think we should tell our parents?"

  Sam said, "No.  Come on, we still have time to look for more clues that might lead us to Toby before it gets dark."

  "We could build a fire," Ben suggested, "that'll give Toby a beacon to find us." 

  "Are you crazy?" Sam exclaimed, "the woods would go up like an atomic bomb!  What with no rain and all, we'd all be burned as black as coal!"

  The tired look on Ben's face told the story as he conceded, "Ok, ok, I didn't realize what I was saying."

  The boys were getting worn out, but continued looking.  Hoping for something else, anything, that might lead to Toby's whereabouts.  Nothing was found.  Finally they gave up their search in hopes Toby was already back home. 

On the way back, Ben said, "If Toby isn't home, I don't know what's going to happen, I'm getting scared just thinking about it."

"C'mon, let's hurry up," Sam replied.

They were halfway down the hill to their homes when they thought they might be imagining hearing Toby's muffled voice calling out to them. 

  "Quiet," Sam hushed the others, "did you guys hear that?"

  "Yes," one of them answered, "it's coming from over there, in back of those trees!"  The boys quickly ran over behind a patch of trees.  They glanced down at something moving on the ground - and there was Toby!  He was all tied up!  And he had a gag in his mouth!  

  Sam reached down and took the gag out of Toby's mouth.  Ben quickly was the first to ask, "Toby, what in the world happened to you?" 

  Toby was obviously exasperated as he gasped for air, "Untie me first!" 

  Leo untied him and Toby proceeded to tell the boys what happened.  How he'd been standing behind a tree doing what he 'had to do'.  And after he finished, a hand suddenly appeared from behind him and covered his mouth!

  "Was it a hairy hand?" Leo questioned.

  "Shut up and let him talk," Sam said, "you're still thinking about Bigfoot, Leo." 

  "No," Toby said, "it was a human hand, a man's hand.  Whoever it was, put a blindfold around my eyes and a gag in my mouth.  Then he took me up a steep hill.  My legs were getting so tired, I kept falling down.  But the man just pulled me up again.  I found myself standing on a large board, something made of wood.  It started to move!  I knew I was on the lake on a raft of sorts, because I could hear the water lapping back and forth underneath us.  After we got off the board, he took me up another hill.  Finally, we went inside a house, or something.  I can't be sure because I had the blindfold on the whole time.  He tied me up and left me there inside the place for a long while.  When he returned, he brought me back here the same way, removed the blindfold from behind me, then he left!  When it was beginning to get dark, I thought I'd be spending the night here ...   alone in the woods!  I'm sure glad you guys found me.  I still can't figure out what he wanted from me in the first place?"

  "Did he do anything to you?" Sam asked. 

  "No.  He didn't even talk to me."

  "This doesn't make any sense," Ben spoke up. 

  "He was probably a hobo or someone like that," Sam offered.  "My parents told me they come up here sometimes and live way out in the woods.  They don't work, just try to live off the land."

  Toby disagreed, "I don't think this person was a hobo, and I don't think the place he took me to was a shack!"

  "Did he ask you if your parents were rich?" Leo questioned. 

  "I told you already, he never talked to me," Toby answered in a tired voice. 

  "Oh, come on," Sam told the others, "it's really getting dark now.  We have to get down off the hill."  When the boys got to Sam's house, the clock said it was eight-thirty.  Sam's Father piped up with a note of discontent, "Sam, where have you and the boys been so late?"

  "I'm sorry, Dad.  I guess we just lost track of time," Sam replied. 

  His Father's eyes narrowed as he also lowered his voice, "Well, if it happens again, you'll not be allowed to go hiking for a month!  Do I make myself clear?" 

  "Yes, you do, Dad," Sam answered quietly. 

  The boys were just going out the front door as Toby's Mother and Father were pulling up to Sam's dock in their boat.  "Toby! We've been looking all over for you!" his Mom exclaimed. 

  "Oh, no," Toby sighed, "here comes the tenth degree.  See you guys tomorrow."

  Toby got into the boat with his parents, while Leo and Ben walked on home by themselves.  Sam wanted to tell his parents about what happened to Toby.  But he knew if he did that, they wouldn't let him, or the other boys, go hiking in the woods again until they found out who did it. 

  Keeping the incident a secret from their parents, was a foolish and immature decision that all the boys would later have to pay for. 

  Sam's Mother spoke, "There's leftovers in the refrigerator, Sam.  You'd better eat something."

  "No thanks, Mom.  I'm going to grab a glass of milk and go up to bed.  I'm beat," he told her.  When Sam got to his room, he wrote down exactly what happened earlier in the day on a piece of paper.  Then he placed the paper in the back of his closet, under his camping gear.  If Toby hadn't been gagged and tied up, Sam might've thought he was just trying to get attention again.  Sam knew tomorrow he had to find out who the mysterious person was, and why he did what he did to Toby.  He called Ben on the upstairs phone, telling him to call both Leo and Toby, and make sure they were all at his house the next morning - at five o'clock sharp!

  Sam set his alarm clock and went to sleep. 

  When the noisy alarm rang in his ears, he wanted to just turn it off and go back to sleep.  But Sam knew that he HAD to find out what really happened.  He half-fell out of bed and got dressed, putting his pocketknife into his pants pocket.  He quietly went downstairs and wrote his Mother a note saying he and the other boys were "getting an early start today".  Then he made himself some sandwiches, grabbed a coke, and left.  The other boys were all waiting for him outside.  Once again they started up the hill and into the thick woods. 

  Only this time they weren't joking around on the way. 

  The woods were still and the animals were out looking for their breakfast.  The day was cloudy and it felt like rain.  The dry woods could use some rain.  They hunted for any clues that might lead them to the person who kidnapped Toby.  As they came across a cave, Leo started inside it, when Sam yelled, "Stop! Don't go in there!"

  "What's with you?" Leo asked. 

  "There are probably bears in that cave," Sam cautioned. 

  "Aw, you watch too much television," Leo shrugged and stepped into the cave anyway.  A second later he poked his head out from the side of the cave and grinned, "Hey, did anyone bring a flashlight?"

  Sam just shook his head and exhaled, "You're nuts.  Come on, we don't have time for this now." Then he and the other boys began to walk away.  Leo was already yelling, "Hey, wait for me!" Sam asked Toby if he could remember the smell of a certain tree, or maybe some flowers along the hill he climbed while he was blindfolded.

  "Now that you mention it, when I fell down once, my hands touched something soft and spongy," he said. 

  "Like moss?" Sam asked. 

  "It could have been," Toby answered. 

  Sam was determined, "Then that's what we have to look for.  Come on," he said.  But Leo spoke up saying, "The woods are full of moss! So what's the big deal?"

  "The woods are full of trees too," Sam replied, "but can you remember which one we found Toby by last night?"

  "Leave it to good ol' Sam to be Scotland Yard," Ben said with a touch of admiration. 

  Sam asked Toby what he had meant by his description of a "board". 

  "Wasn't it a boat, or raft?" Leo asked. 

  "No.  It was just like a flat board surface," Toby assured them.  "It wasn't nearly as stable as a raft."

  "If we walk up the hill another six miles, we'll be behind the lakefront," Sam said. 

  "Before we do all that walking, I think we'd better eat," Ben hungrily pointed out.  So the boys sat down on the ground and ate before starting up the slope again.  A few minutes later, Ben spoke up, "Hey, what's that smell?" 

  "It smells like smoke," Toby replied. 

  "It can't be," Sam said, "a person would have to be crazy to start a fire in these dry woods."

  But the smell WAS getting closer. 

  "Quick! Get behind that rock," Sam directed the others.  The boys ran and hid.  In a moment they saw a man striding down the hill with a cigarette in his mouth.  He was walking with a decided limp, almost dragging one leg.  They watched as he strode by the rock, stopping to take the cigarette out of his mouth and flick it down onto the ground next to some dry leaves.  After he continued walking out of sight, Sam rushed out with his hiking boots and stomped it into the ground.  Then he put a rock on it. 

  "That stupid man!" Leo exclaimed, "he could have burnt down this whole forest within a matter of seconds!" 

  "Hey, you don't suppose he was the one who took Toby?" Ben said with a gasp.

  "Not a chance," Toby told them, "the way that man was dragging me up the hillside, he certainly wasn't limping like that."

  "Come on, we're going to follow him just the same," Sam ordered. 

  "What about hiking on up the hill?" Toby asked. 

  "If we don't tell that man to stop waltzing through the woods and throwing his lit cigarettes around, we won't have a forest to hike in," Sam answered.  The boys started running to catch up with the man.  They found him sitting on a fallen tree, smoking another butt.  The boys went charging towards him.  Sam yelled, "Mister, what are you trying to do? Turn our forest into charcoal?"

  "Where the hell did you brats come from?" the man squallored back. 

  "We all live here on the lake and this forest belongs to our parents," Leo said boldly. 

  "Yeah, you're on private property, mister," Ben added. 

  "Well, that's just too-oo bad," the man said.  "What are you going to do?  Run and tell Mommy and Daddy that there's a big, bad, wolf in the woods?"  He laughed an uncaring laugh. 

  Sam looked at him seriously, "No.  We're going to walk you out of these woods, and then you're free to go back wherever you came from."

  The man stood up fast and said sharply, "Look, if you little rug rats aren't out of here by the time I snap my fingers, I'm gonna tie you all to a tree and play matchsticks on your noses!"

  It was only a split second before the boys took off running towards their homes.  Sam went rushing in the backdoor calling for his Mother. 

  "Sam, what is it?" she asked.  Sam went on to tell her about the man.  That it wasn't anyone he knew from around the lake.  His Mother promptly called Robb Lasher, the local forest ranger.  "Mr. Lasher said he'd "get right on it," she said after she hung up the phone. 

  The boys decided to go in swimming while planning the next step in their quest to find the place where the mysterious kidnapper had taken Toby. 

  Later that same day, Robb stopped by Sam's house to ask the boys some questions about the man they'd found smoking in the forest.  They gave him a description of the man.  When Robb was about to leave, Leo's Mother stopped by for a visit.  Upon hearing the topic of their conversation, she shared the fact that she knew positively who it was smoking up in the woods earlier in the day.  She told Robb she'd been having a lot of trouble with her phone lately, and the phone company had sent out a repairman to fix it.  All the lines ran through the woods of course.  She admitted she should have mentioned to him how dry the woods were, but she was also busy putting up her living room curtains and-

  "Mrs. Lodge, with all the posters that are put up throughout the forest, a man would have to be blind not to see at least one," Robb said emphatically.  He also added, "All I can tell you people who own this lake and woods, is to watch out for people like him.  Or you won't have a home left to hang clean curtains and such in!"

  Then he left. 

  "He's right," Sam's Mother asserted, "from now on, we have to make sure that no-one goes in the woods other than the people who live and belong here." 

  "For land-sakes, yes," Mrs. Lodge agreed.  "We all know the cars and trucks that belong here on our road.  So whenever we see one that doesn't fit, we certainly have the right to stop it and ask what their business is.  After all, it is private property.  And we have the taxes to prove it!" she finished. 

  The boys had heard enough of their Mother's boring conversation and started to walk down the road.  Leo said, "You know, I still think we should tell our parents about what happened to Toby."

  "You heard Robb tell our Mothers how ALL of us are responsible for where we live," Sam said, "so we have to deal with this on our own.  There's no need to get our parents involved with Toby's mystery.  Today we got sidetracked, but tomorrow we aren't coming out of the woods until we find out what happened to Toby, and why!"

  The next morning the boys were back on the path.  And this time they didn't stop to eat or drink.  When they came to the spot by the lake where they figured the man had put Toby on the board, they knew they didn't have far to go from there.  "But how do we get across to the other side of the lake from here?" Ben asked. 

  "We'll have to swim," Sam said. 

  "It's too far," Leo complained.  "You know our parents have always told us not to swim where there is no one else around."

  "I know, I know," Sam nodded, "but how are we going to get over to the other side if we don't swim?"

  "Hey guys, look what I found!" Toby shouted with excitement. 

  They all looked up, and there by Toby, was a large board, half- hidden on the bank.  It was covered up with sticks and leaves.  The boys dragged it out and put it on the lake.  It was just about big enough for the four of them.

  "Probably the same piece of wood he had Toby on," Ben stated matter of factly.   

  "Just don't rock the board," Sam said.  Sam was only half-joking.

  They took a canoe paddle that was tied alongside of it and headed across the lake.  "What are we going to do when we find the place?" Leo questioned the others on the way over. 

  After a moment of silence, Sam blurted out, "How do I know." 

  "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Leo concluded. 

  The lake was so still, you could hear the water calmly lapping against the board as it was sailing along on the water.  "This is the same sound I heard that day," Toby told them.  When they reached the other side, they hid the board behind some trees.  Then they went to find the place where Toby was taken.  Sam asked Toby how far he remembered walking before they went inside the "place", or whatever it was. 

  "I think about twenty minutes, to a half-hour," he replied.  "I remember my mouth was getting so dry, all I kept seeing in my head was a tall bottle of coke!"  The boys walked slowly, making a back and forth search of the area.  Just about 30 minutes later, Leo yelled, "Look up ahead!" What the boys saw was a large stone house covered with green and white ivy.  The ivy was creeping up and down the cold-stone sides of the house, all over it. 

  "Just look at that place! It's practically a castle!" Ben gasped. 

  Leo wondered aloud, "How come our parents never told us about this place?"

  "I don't think they know about it," Sam said. 

  "But my parents hiked through all these woods before they bought our property," Ben added. 

  "Well, for sure this place wasn't built in a couple of days - or years for that matter!" Leo observed. 

  Sam as usual took the lead, "Come on.  Let's get a closer look."

  The boys scurried up and around to the side windows.  They tried to peek in, but the windows were too high. 

  "A ghost must live in this place," Leo said in a hushed tone. 

  "With all this stonework," Sam said quietly, "I bet you can't hear a thing coming from the outside, if you're inside the place." 

  "Well, let's find out," Ben suggested. 

  "What are you talking about?" Leo asked cautiously. 

  "I mean, let's make some loud noises!" Ben spoke louder. 

  "Wait a minute!" Sam demanded, "we've come this far to find this place, and now you want to go and ruin it?" 

  "Yeah," Leo insisted to Ben, "you keep your mouth shut." 

  Sam led everyone around to the back of the place.  But they still couldn't find anything that could tell them who lived there.  "We can't stay here all day," Leo moaned, "let's go back home.  It's gonna take us awhile to get back across the lake, then hike all the way down the hill."

  "No," Sam replied, "let's give it a few more minutes.  We have to find out who lives here."  Just then, they heard a loud bang, echo from inside the thick walls!  "Listen," Sam said, "I heard something."  The boys crouched down by the bottom of a window just around the corner from the back door.  They heard the door open slowly with a long creak.  Peeking around the corner, they saw a man come out of the house.  He wasn't dressed like a hobo either!  He looked like he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine.  He strode further up to the back of the grounds while looking at the lake and the trees.  The boys watched intently as he bent down and picked up a small piece of white paper.  Right after that, he walked back into the house. 

  "Did you guys recognize that man?" Sam asked the others. 

  "No, we never saw him before," they all said.  With the boys still crouched on the side of the eerie house, the man suddenly came out the front door and headed for the lake.  "What if he's looking for the board?" Leo rasped. 

  "How could he be? For all he knows, it's still across the lake under all the stuff he piled on it," Sam whispered. 

  "Then how come he's here and the board was still over there before we took it?" Ben asked.

  "Don't worry about that now, just come on.  Let's follow him," Leo said.  The boys stayed right behind him, just out of sight, all the way down to the lake.  The man for a moment, seemingly in clear view, suddenly disappeared entirely from their sight. 

  "Where did he go?" Leo said scratching his head. 

  "Harken! Come on over this way," Sam directed.  But when they looked behind the nearby trees, they still couldn't see him anywhere. 

  "Oh, he IS a ghost for sure," Leo started to shake, "come on, I'm getting out of here!"  Then he started to run back to where the board was.  The other boys didn't wait for an invitation either.  Once they were safely back on the lake, Sam told Leo he'd better start to grow up. 

  "That's what I'm doing by getting out of this place," Leo said, "I want to live for a long time to come.  And somehow I don't think that's more likely to happen if I start keeping company with a ghost!"

  "Oh, will you stop with that ghost stuff," Sam said in an annoyed manner. 

  "He just knows a shortcut we haven't found out about yet, that's all," Ben offered. 

  "Well, then it must be an invisible one," Leo defended himself.

  "We'll just have to come back here at nighttime," Sam said, "that's the only way we're gonna find out what's really going on around here."

  "But our parents won't let us sleep out in the woods all night long," Ben said. 

  "No," Sam grinned, "but they will let us sleep out on our front porches."

  Leo as usual had the question- "So big deal?  How are we going to find our way up through the woods, and then across the lake in the middle of the night?"

  Sam was still smiling, "Didn't you ever hear of a thing called a flashlight?  Now listen, tonight, all of you meet outside my place at midnight ..." 

  By this time the boys were back across the lake.  They carefully put the board back just the way they had found it, and headed home.   

Chapter Two

Sam walked up the steps leading to his porch when he overheard his Mother yelling at his two little twin brothers.   "Hey, Mom, what did they do now?" Sam asked her. 

  "They took the boat and were on their way across the lake!" she said sounding frustrated. 

  "How did they get the key to the lock on the boat ties?" Sam questioned further. 

  "They climbed up on a chair and got it, that's how!"  Sam's Mother was clearly exasperated. 

  Sam looked at Tony and Paul, saying, "You two could have been in a lot of trouble if the boat tipped over!" 

  Tony being a bit like Sam, bravely spoke up and said, "But we know how to swim."

  "Yes, I know you both know how to swim, but what if you hit your head on the side of the boat or something?  Then what would you have done?" Sam scolded them. 

  "Well, it didn't happen," Paul answered, "and Tony and I are sick of being treated like babies! We're six years old now."

  "If you ask me," Sam said, "you ARE babies to pull something like that.  When you start to grow up, you think of the consequences of something, or if you're doing wrong!"

  "Mom always wants us to stay right around the house," Tony explained. 

  "And we're having a terrible summer!" Paul added. 

  Sam's expression softened, "Well, why don't you find an adventure then?"

  "Some adventure we'd have going down to the dock and watching all the other kids have fun in their boats," Tony complained. 

  So Sam asked his Mother if she and Dad could start teaching Tony and Paul the basics of boating, along with the responsibility, of course. 

  "Sam," his Mother told him, "your Father works from five in the morning until nine at night, just to pay for our nice house on this clean and sequestered lake.  And with me taking care of the taxes for all the other people on the lake, along with my housework and trying to keep up with you and your two brothers - it's about all I can take everyday!  For heaven-sakes, I haven't even been in swimming once this year myself!"

  There was more than a hint of disappointment in her voice as she continued, "And to top it off, Sam, you're always running off with Leo, Ben, and Toby!" 

  "Mom, did you listen to what, you just said?" Sam asked. 

  Looking puzzled, his Mother replied, "What are you talking about now, Sam?"

  "Mom, you and Dad bought this place so all of us could have clean air to breathe in our lungs.  Isn't that right?" 

  "Yes," she said, "but that was only one of the reasons.  Your Father grew up in a stinking town that had a foundry with its smoke and clay dust blowing around day and night.  When your Father got sick before the twins were born, his doctor told him all the wheezing he had, was due to his childhood breathing all that pollution.  Your Father has never smoked one cigarette in his entire life.  Yet his lungs were like that of a five pack-a-day smoker.  Childhood," she pondered, "we are the foundation of our childhoods.  And if it starts to crumble while we're still children, then our adult life turns to white ash in a very short time, in all kinds of ways."

  "Mom, doesn't it make sense that we should enjoy all we have today?" Sam asked.  "When Dad comes home at night, you don't always have to have a big dinner with all the thanksgiving trimmings.  Take a picnic in the boat.  You can have dinner, and show Tony and Paul some boating tips too.  Gosh, Mom, you can take out all kinds of books from the library in town.  You can read to the boys before they go to bed and-"

  "Sam, what are you really trying to tell me?"

  Sam paused for a moment and continued, "That you don't digest your days, Mom.  You just swallow them.  I'll tell you what.  I can start right now for you by taking the boys down to the boat and showing them a few things, while you're getting dinner on the table."

  Sam, while going down to the lake with his brothers, hoped he hadn't hurt his Mother's feelings by telling her the things he did.  When Sam's Father came home, he walked down to the lake and called, "Hey guys, how's it going?"

  "Gosh, my Dad's face looks so worn out," Sam thought to himself as he greeted him, "Hi, Dad.  I'm helping Tony and Paul with a few pointers about boating."

  "You're a good son, Sam," his Father said and then walked back up to the house. 

  Later, they had dinner and it was around eleven o'clock when Sam's Mom and Dad turned in.  Tony and Paul had their bedtime set for nine o'clock during the summer, so they were already fast asleep.  Sam was thinking to himself, "Let's see, I've got all the things I need to take with me tonight."

  Around ten minutes before twelve, Sam heard the boys walking down the lake road to his house.  Ben shined a flashlight at the back porch.  Leo said, "Stop it! What are you trying to do? Wake up his parents?"

  As Sam closed the screen door behind him, it made a loud click.  He waited to see if his parent's light went on, but it didn't.  So they all left for the woods.  Sam checked if the others had their own flashlights.  They did. 

  The small, but determined group headed up the path. 

  "Boy, the woods sure look spooky this time of night," Ben said eerily. 

  "Look," Sam cautioned, "we all stick together.  Do you get that?"

  Sam was mainly addressing Toby. 

  "Yeah, yeh," Toby said. 

  When the boys finally reached the spot where the board was kept, they sat down on the ground and rested.  Ben took out some peanuts and started to crunch on them.  "All right, this is the plan," Sam directed, "we are going across the lake.  Then, when we get to the other side we're going to leave the board in the lake this time.  That way if something goes wrong, we won't have to be searching around for it if we're in a hurry.  Now, come on."

  "Alright, let's get moving," Leo said. 

  "And remember, no talking across the lake," Toby warned. 

  "That's right," Sam said, "you know how voices can carry on a still lake."

  So in the water went the board.  The boys got on.  They could hear the night sounds so clearly.  When they arrived on the other side, they pulled the board half up onto shore as was their plan.  Then they started to walk towards the house.  The lights were on inside when they got there.  "Come on," Sam said excitedly, "we can see what this place really looks like now!"

  The boys were especially in luck, because the front door was wide open .....  They edged in as close as they could. 

  "Wow, look at that!" Leo said. 

  "What?" Ben spoke up. 

  "What is it?" Sam chimed in. 

  The boys, with much wonderment, were seeing with their very own eyes, quite a spectacle.  A room filled with all kinds of wild animals!

  "Oh my gosh!  Look at that tiger!" Ben said breathlessly. 

  "And look at that leopard!" Sam added.  Just then, the same man whom they had seen yesterday came into the room.  "Look! He's walking around all those wild creatures," Leo said incredulously. 

  But Sam was watching incessantly.  Then he whispered, "Those animals aren't alive.  They're all stuffed!"

  Ben wasn't convinced, "Go on," he said, "look at their eyes and tell me that they're not moving!"

  Sam replied, "I know they look real, but they aren't.  Let's just watch and see," Sam told the group. 

  Ben spoke up again, "Look, what's he doing with that bag covered in the same fur as the jaguar?" 

  "Quiet," Sam hushed.  The boys all stared as the man made a small cut in the jaguar's side, then put the bag inside of it. 

  "What's in that bag?" Toby asked. 

  "How do I know," Sam whispered hoarsely.  The man paced over towards the front door and shut it.  A moment later, all the lights went off. 

  "Great, the movie just starts and he stops the film," Sam huffed with an exhale of tension.   

  "Well, we still have a few hours, so we'll just wait until something else happens," Leo said.  Sam asked Toby if he had known the animals were around him in the house while he was tied up. 

  "The only thing I remember is my mouth getting dryer and dryer," he said. 

  "Boy, oh boy," Ben said, "if that had been me inside with all that animal fur flying around, I would have sneezed the gag right out of my mouth!"  The boys waited for sometime, but finally knew they had to start back.  All the way back across the lake they didn't say a single word to one another.  Not until they were halfway down the path did Leo break the silence by saying, "You know, guys, that man is up to something.  Something that doesn't make any sense."

  "We just have to find out what he's up to, and why he took Toby there in the first place," Sam said.  The boys got back home safe and sound.  Sam went up to his bedroom and took out the same small piece of paper he had first written on, from behind his camping things.  He wrote down everything he'd seen this night also.  Then he went off to sleep.  But he didn't get to sleep for very long, because his two younger brothers came flying into his bedroom and started thrashing through his closet!

  "Hey, what's going on here?" Sam mumbled drowsily. 

  "Mom told us your old cubbie handbook was here in your closet, so we're trying to find it," Tony squealed. 

  "No!" Sam shouted, "you get out of my things!  Look at the mess you're making!" About that time, Sam's Mother came into the bedroom to ask what was going on. 

  "I don't want them wrecking my things, Mom," Sam complained. 

  "Boys, I told you to ask Sam where the book was," their Mother said, "not dig in his closet for it."

  "Well, he was asleep and we didn't want to wait, so we tried to find it ourselves," Paul said. 

  "I see," she said, "well, you both go downstairs and eat your breakfast." Then she told Sam she was sorry for the mess, but that today would be a good day to clean up his closet anyway.  To get it "organized". 

  "Mom, can't it wait for a rainy day?" Sam begged. 

  "No.  Today, Sam," she said firmly and walked out of his bedroom.  Sam put the pillow over his head.  He was already tired from not sleeping last night, and now this.  But he knew if he didn't clean the closet, his Father would hear about it that night over dinner.  Sam didn't want that, so he cleaned up his closet the best he could.  Afterwards, he went down and ate breakfast.  "Sam, I want you to watch your brothers this afternoon," his Mother instructed him, "I have to go into town and do some shopping."

  "Aw, Mom, can't you take them with you?" Sam asked in a pleading voice. 

  "Yes, I could, if I was only going to the store.  But I'm getting my hair done too," she said. 

  "But, Mom," Sam continued, "me and the boys were going hiking in the woods today." 

  "Now, Sam, this is the only day I have asked for your help since school has been out.  I don't think I'm depriving you of your summer fun."

  "Swell, Mom.  Just swell.  First you make me clean my closet because THEY mussed it up.  And now I have to watch them all afternoon to boot!" Sam moaned. 

  "You'll live," his Mother replied flatly, then left.  The two boys sat on the sofa looking at Sam.  "What are you both staring at," Sam said sounding agitated.  Paul spoke up and said, "Why do you hate us?"

  "I don't hate you," Sam replied, "I just don't like you today - that's all."

  "Well, will you like us tomorrow?" Tony asked with his big eyes widening. 

  That's when Sam realized he wasn't being much of a big brother.  After all, he didn't really spend that much time with them.  "Ok," he said, "let's make this a real fun day.  I will do anything you guys want to do.  How's that for a hateful person?" he said with a big smile. 

  "Really?" Tony exclaimed, "can we go out in the boat?!"

  "Anything, but THAT," Sam answered.  "You know the rules when Mom and Dad aren't home."

  "You're just like them," Paul groaned. 

  "When it comes to keeping you both safe, you're darn right I'm just like them!" Sam affirmed.  "How about if I get you started on your own adventure?"

  "Like what?" Paul asked. 

  "Well, do you remember the other day when the telephone man almost burned the forest down?" Sam questioned. 

  "Yes, we know all about that," they said. 

  Sam went on, "You both know the familiar cars that come and go down our road too, right?"

  "Sure we do," Tony said. 

  "Well, you're going to play undercover cops.  You know, like on television," Sam said, "and when you see a car or truck that doesn't belong here, you get the license plate number and write it down.  Do you think you both could do that?  And Mom and Dad wouldn't even have to know.  It will be our secret." Sam paused, then added, "Listen - wait!  I hear a car coming now.  Quick, get a pad and pencil, and get outside before it goes past the house!" 

  Within a minute, Sam's two brothers were outside, hiding down alongside the house waiting for the car to go past.  They came running in, saying it was only Ben's Mother coming home. 

  Sam spoke to them, "Alright, but you have to stick with it, guys.  Because you never know when that one car that doesn't belong here will speed by."                                             

  That was all it took.  The boys were back outside in a flash.  When Sam's Mother got home, she asked how the boys were.  "Oh, you know how they are, Mom," Sam replied, "they've been playing out by the side of the house, in the sand with their toy cars and trucks."

  "That's good, dear.  Now you're free to go," she said. 

  "Ok, see you later, Mom," Sam called as he ran outside.  He thought it was strange that the other guys hadn't come down to his place yet.  But when he knocked on Ben's door, he got his answer.  Ben yelled out his bedroom window that he would be right down.  When he came out, Sam asked what he'd been doing all afternoon.

  "Oh, my Mom had some chores for me while she went into town," he said. 

  Sam gave him a knowing look, saying, "I know just what you mean.  I had to watch my brothers, Paul and Tony, so my Mom could get her hair done."

  "Are we going back up to the house again tonight?" Ben asked. 

  "No, I don't think we should," Sam said.  "None of us got any sleep last night.  I'm afraid we'd just get too tired doing it a second night in a row."

  "Yeah, you're right," Ben nodded, "why don't we go in swimming down at Leo's?"

  "Great, I'll go home and put on my suit.  I'll meet you at my place," Sam said.  Sam went home and got changed.  The boys had fun taking turns diving off the board.  They fooled around in the lake for a couple of hours.  Then they went home.  All through dinner Sam could hardly keep his eyes open.  His Father finally remarked, "Sam, did you have a rough day today?"

  "I didn't get much sleep last night out on the porch," Sam explained. 

  "Well that's what you have a nice, soft bed for," Paul piped up. 

  "Thank you for reminding me of that," Sam said.  After dinner, Sam went to bed early.  He listened to his radio until he fell sound asleep.  When morning came he was well rested and ready for a new day.  He had breakfast.  Then he told Paul and Tony to keep up the good work, and grabbed his bow and arrows to head up to the spot where the boys always went to practice every morning.  But he was the only one there.  "I guess the other guys didn't want to come up here alone after what happened to Toby," he thought. 

  But it didn't bother Sam on this day.  A few minutes later, he heard Ben's big mouth saying, "Here we come, and we have weapons!  So, Bigfoot, you better run or we'll turn you into one of the biggest hairbrushes in the world!"

  Sam was already scheming, "I know I shouldn't play any jokes on them, but I can't resist it!"  He darted behind a tree and waited until the other boys had set up their targets.  When Ben began to shoot his arrows, Sam made a low, growling noise. 

  It was really very good.   

  "Wh-what was that?" Leo said nervously. 

  "I don't know," Toby said. 

  Next, Sam took the end of one of his arrows and moved it back and forth against a rock. 

  "That sounded like huge claws raking a tree!" Ben exclaimed. 

  They were now looking all around anxiously as Sam picked up a rock and threw it over behind them.  "Listen, listen!" they all kept repeating.  Finally, when Sam jumped out from behind the rock he was hiding behind, they all started to run!

  "Come back!" Sam hollered, "you would've been too late if I really had been Bigfoot!"

  "Oh, we knew it was you all along," Toby said trying to look unsurprised.  None of them were doing too well at acting composed. 

  "Yeah, what do you take us for, kids?" Leo snuffed. 

  "Alright, alright, enough.  Let's get in some archery practice," Sam said.  The group stayed in the woods for a couple hours, just enjoying being boys.  "Hey, Sam, are we going back up to the house tonight?" Ben finally asked. 

  "I think tonight would be good," Sam answered.  "So let's say we all meet at my place, same time.  Ok?"

  "Alright, we'll be there," they said and all headed for home. 

  Night came fast and the boys were getting excited about what else they might find.  Only this particular night, was a night they should have all stayed home, safe in their beds.  They were crouched out in front of the strange house like before.  Only this time the front door was shut.  And there were no lights on inside.  They sat quietly until around two o'clock in the morning.  That's when they heard a terrible sound!

  "What was that?" Ben said with a shudder. 

  "How do I know?" Sam was quivering also. 

  "It sounded like a wild bird shrieking, or something," Leo said with his heart pounding like a freight train on the tracks. 

  "I kn-know what you mean," Toby agreed. 

  Sam fidgeted, saying, "Oh, the guy probably has a house full of those talking myna birds, that's all."

  Then they heard it again!

  "I don't like this," Sam uncharacteristically said, "maybe we should go."  Just then, a light went on in an upstairs window. 

  "Look!" Leo pointed, "it's him! What's he doing?" 

  "I can't see a thing!" Ben said impatiently.

  But a moment later, the boys would see too much ....
============================================================

If you would like to read the rest of this story, click here!