“Broker, Benny,” said Violet. “Yes, it looks as if she did. This card must be what she tried to give Nora and what Nora threw down.”
Jessie said slowly, “If Lucy isn’t real — and we haven’t found any scientific proof that she is — do you suppose that Geena Bush could have something to do with the rumors . . . and with the sounds we heard last night?”
“Or Drew?” suggested Henry.
“But if Geena Bush had driven up to the lake last night, we would have heard her car. Remember how sounds carry across the lake?” said Nicole.
“True,” said Jessie.
“What if Drew and Geena Bush are working together?” said Violet.
Henry nodded. “It could be. Maybe he sneaked out last night and hiked to one side of the lake to make the sound.”
“What we need are more clues,” said Jessie. “But how do we find them?”
“We keep looking,” Benny said. “It’s a mystery and we’re good at solving mysteries. We will solve this one, too!”
The Aldens had finished dinner and were sitting on the screened porch of their cabin. A soft rain that had been falling for the last two hours had just stopped.
They were glad to sit on the cozy porch and rest. It had been a long hard day, and they were a little discouraged because they were no closer to solving the mystery of the lake monster. No one was talking very much.
“Grrr,” Watch growled suddenly.
“What is it, Watch?” asked Violet.
Watch pressed his nose against the screened porch and peered down into the darkness. “Grrr,” he growled again.
“Watch hears something, don’t you, boy?” asked Henry. He patted Watch’s head. Watch wagged his tail, but he growled again.
“Maybe it’s a bear,” said Violet, sounding a little scared.
“I doubt that,” Grandfather Alden said. “It is unlikely a bear would come this close to the cabin. More likely it is a raccoon or opossum. Or it could just be rain dripping from the leaves.”
“But you have to stay inside, Watch, whatever it is,” said Jessie. She paused. Then she said softly, “What if it is Lucy?”
Watch ran to the other end of the porch. He pressed his nose against the screen and peered intently into the night. He uttered a short, sharp bark and looked over his shoulder as if to say, C’mon!
Henry walked back through the cabin and picked up the largest flashlight from the table by the door. He went back to the porch and clicked it on, throwing a powerful beam out into the night.
In the beam of the flashlight, they could see trees and a glint of water and the lighter color of the lakeshore. But nothing was moving.
Henry turned the beam in the direction that Watch was now peering. No one could see anything.
“There’s nothing in that direction, Watch, except the other cabins and the lodge,” said Henry.
Watch stood on guard for a long moment after that. Then he turned and trotted back to Jessie and jumped up onto her lap. Henry clicked the flashlight off.
“Whatever it was, it’s gone now,” said Grandfather. He stood up and stretched and yawned. “Time for bed. I’m going to do a little fishing tomorrow and I want to get an extra-early start so I can be back in time for a late breakfast with you all.”
“Yes, and we have work to do, too,” said Benny.
“That’s right, Benny,” said Jessie. The Aldens went back into Black Bear Cabin to get ready for bed. Benny was the last one to leave the porch. He stared out through the screen, trying to see through the night to the lake.
“Benny,” Henry called. “Come on. It’s time for bed.”
“Coming,” answered Benny. He leaned close to the screen. “Good night, Lucy,” he said softly before going inside to join his family.
CHAPTER 6
Enormous Footprints
“Benny? What are you doing up so early?” Jessie whispered the next morning.
“Are you awake?” asked Benny. He was dressed. Watch was standing beside Benny with his paws on the edge of Jessie’s bed. He was staring at Jessie, and she noticed that his leash was attached to his collar and that Benny was holding the other end of it.
Jessie yawned and rubbed her eyes. She said, “I guess I am now.”
“Good,” said Benny. “Grandfather left a little while ago to go fishing. That’s when Watch and I woke up. Let’s go down to the lake. We can see if we can find what Watch was barking at last night.”
In the bunk across from Jessie, Violet mumbled something in her sleep and rolled over, pulling her covers up over her head.
“Shhh,” said Jessie. She yawned again. “Whatever was out there is long gone, Benny . . . but okay. I’ll meet you on the steps of the cabin in five minutes.”
Jessie left a note saying where she and Benny had gone in case Violet and Henry woke up before they got back. She went outside and walked with Benny down the path that led from the cabin to the lake.
A faint mist rose from the water. The leaves were wet on the trail from the rain the night before. Drops of water rolled off the leaves they brushed against. The sun had not yet come up over the mountains to begin to dry up the puddles.
“Let’s whisper,” said Jessie. “Remember how sound carries? We don’t want to wake up everybody on the whole lake.”
Benny nodded. “Hear that, Watch?” he said.
Watch wagged his tail briefly and pulled on the leash. He was panting a little; he was excited.
The empty beach curved away from them. It was made of rocks and coarse sand. Benny Watch, and Jessie walked slowly up and down the beach, but they didn’t see any footprints. The rain had washed the shoreline clean.
“Maybe Watch heard a bird flying by,” said Jessie. She stifled a yawn.
Just then, Watch began tugging hard on the leash. “What is it, Watch?” asked Benny. He let Watch lead him down the beach toward the canoes. Suddenly Watch veered off and pulled Benny toward a thick clump of bushes.
“Whoa. Slow down,” said Benny.
Watch didn’t slow down. He stopped and stared at the low bushes.
“Look,” said Jessie. “Those bushes are all mashed and the branches are broken as if something big had crashed through them.” She started forward to examine them. But Benny stopped her.
“Look.” He gasped. “Look at those footprints!”
There was a trail of huge footprints on a smooth swath of sand just at the edge of the bushes.
Keeping a tight hold on Watch, Benny leaned cautiously forward. Jessie did, too.
The footprints weren’t human. They had four long toes with webbing between them. The toes ended in claw marks. The prints were huge, easily a foot long.
“These are Lucy’s footprints,” said Benny, forgetting to whisper. “I know it!”
“They could be, Benny,” said Jessie, forgetting to whisper, too.
“Then Lucy is real,” said Benny. “I knew it! That’s what Watch heard last night. It was Lucy!”
“We need to make a cast of a footprint as soon as possible,” said Jessie. “And take a picture. Watch and I will stay here to guard the footprints and you go get Henry and Violet — and the wax candles we saved in case we found footprints.”
“I’ll be right back!” Benny promised.
He ran back to the cabin. Benny threw open the cabin door with a loud crash.
“Wake up!” he cried. “We’ve found Lucy!”
Henry ran out of the bedroom in his pajamas. His hair was sticking out all over his head. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked Benny.
Violet ran out of her bedroom hopping on one foot and trying to pull a slipper onto the other. “What happened?” she said.
“Lucy,” said Benny.
Violet looked quickly around as if she expected to see the lake monster in the cabin.
“Where?” asked Henry.
“Down by the lake. Bring the candles! Hurry!” Benny said.
“They’re coming,” he reported to Jessie as soon as he ran back to join her. A
few minutes later, Henry and Violet came running out onto the beach. Violet had her camera around her neck.
“What is it?” Henry called breathlessly.
“Look,” said Jessie. She stepped back and Benny pointed dramatically.
Violet and Henry stared. Then Violet said in a hushed voice, “Maybe there really is a lake monster.”
“Yes,” said Jessie, trying to sound calm.
Violet held the camera up and took a picture of one of the footprints. Then she took a photograph of the crushed bushes and broken twigs around it. Moving carefully, she took another photograph of the footprint from a different angle, and then another.
Jessie used a tape measure to measure one of the footprints. “This one’s thirteen inches long,” she said, “and seven and a half inches wide.”
“That’s big, isn’t it?” asked Benny.
“Yes,” answered Jessie.
Then Henry took the candles out and lit one. He used it to melt the other candles into the outline of a footprint. When he was finished, he had used up all the candles. Carefully he snuffed out the stub of the candle he’d been using. He dipped the end of the match into the lake and put the match and candle into his pocket. He didn’t want to start a fire — or be a litterbug.
“We have to let the wax harden now, before we lift the cast up,” said Jessie.
“Maybe we should look for more clues,” Violet suggested.
“Good idea,” said Henry.
The four Aldens spread out and looked around carefully. They didn’t see any more trampled bushes or broken limbs in the woods near the footprints.
“That means she didn’t come from the woods,” said Jessie.
They found several large rocks that had been knocked over and some sharp scratches in the sand that looked as if they had been made by claws. “She could have done that,” said Henry.
“Yes,” agreed Jessie. “But why did she come out of the water here? And why did she go back in?”
“Maybe when Watch growled, she heard him and it scared her,” suggested Benny.
“But if Watch was growling at Lucy, why was he facing in the other direction part of the time when he was growling?” Jessie went on. “Remember? He went to the other end of the porch.”
“Maybe Lucy was swimming away,” said Henry. He checked the cast of the footprint. The wax had hardened. Very carefully Henry lifted the wax out of the footprint. Sand and grit were embedded in the bottom of the cast. He held both hands under the enormous wax impression so that it wouldn’t break.
Violet pulled some branches over all the footprints. “We should show them to Dr. Lin,” she suggested.
“Yes,” Jessie said. “But first let’s take this cast up to the cabin and put it in a safe place,” said Jessie. “We don’t want anything to happen to it.”
They took the cast up to the cabin and Jessie put it in the lower drawer of the bureau in the room she and Violet were sharing. Then, although it was early, they went to Dr. Lin’s cabin.
But Dr. Lin wasn’t there.
“I wonder where she is so early in the morning,” said Violet.
Henry looked down at the wet grass in front of the cabin. “I don’t know. But I don’t think she’s been here all night.”
“Why?” asked Benny.
“Look at the wet grass,” said Henry. “We made a trail through it when we walked up to the cabin door. But there was no trail before we got here.”
“You’re right!” Jessie said. “Do you think she’s all right?”
“What if Lucy got her?” Violet said.
“Lucy wouldn’t do that,” said Benny.
“I’ll write a note and we can leave it on her door,” said Jessie. “I think we should talk to Dr. Lin before we do anything else. After all, she is a scientist.”
“Yes,” said Henry. “Maybe now that we have a cast of the footprint, she’ll listen to us and help us solve this mystery.”
CHAPTER 7
A Monster Bite
“This is good,” said Benny. “I was hungry.” He finished the last bite of his sandwich and looked over the picnic spread out on the flat rock by the lake.
The Aldens and Nicole were hiking around the lake again, looking for clues. The Aldens hadn’t told anyone about the footprints except Nicole. They were still waiting for Dr. Lin to get back to her cabin. Nicole had told them that Dr. Lin often went away for overnight camping trips while she was doing research. “She always tells Nora,” Nicole explained. “That’s so if she gets lost, they’ll know to go look for her.”
“That’s good,” said Benny.
When they had run into Drew earlier, Benny had immediately told him of their plans to hike around the lake. “So if we get lost,” he explained, “you’ll know where to look.”
Drew had nodded. “Good for you. You’re already learning important lessons in wilderness safety,” he said. “I’ll tell Nora, too.” He paused. “It is beautiful here,” he said, almost to himself. Then he said, “Stop by the lodge before you go on your hike. I might have a surprise for you.”
The surprise had been a picnic lunch that Drew had made especially for them.
Benny now picked up another peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “Drew is a great cook,” he said happily.
“This is good,” agreed Jessie. She was eating a sandwich stacked high with tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese, and a delicious pasta salad. “It was nice of him to make lunch for us. He even remembered Watch.”
Hearing his name, Watch wagged his tail and kept on chewing on the giant dog biscuit that Drew had packed into the lunch in a brown paper bag that said FOR WATCH.
“I didn’t like Drew at first,” said Violet. “But now I think he’s not so bad. It’s hard to get used to a new place and new people. Maybe he’s just shy.” Violet could understand that. She was a little shy herself sometimes.
They ate in silence for a while. Then Nicole glanced out over the water. “Look,” she said. “Someone has taken one of the canoes out on the lake.”
Henry picked up the binoculars and peered through them. “It looks like your brother,” he told Nicole.
“Jason? I don’t believe it!” Nicole said.
Henry handed her the binoculars. Nicole peered through them and said in a surprised voice, “It is Jason. That’s the first time this whole summer he has taken the canoe out. Maybe he’s starting to like it here after — oh, no!”
“What?” asked Henry.
“His boat just turned over. We have to help him!” gasped Nicole.
She jumped up and began to run back along the trail toward a spot closer to the canoe. She was still holding the binoculars.
The Aldens jumped up, too. Looking out over the lake, they could see the bright green bottom of the canoe upended on the water.
Jessie squinted. “I think I see Carl.”
“Come on,” said Henry, “let’s go help.”
The Aldens ran after Nicole. Just as they caught up with her, they saw Carl and Jason wading out of the lake near the trail. Wildman stood on the shore, half in and half out of the water. He was barking.
“Jason, Jason, are you all right?” Nicole cried.
“Of course I’m all right,” said Jason. He sounded angry. “I had a life jacket on and I can swim.”
Carl growled, “Yes, but if you’d been hit on the head when you fell out of the canoe, it could have been worse for you.”
Jason reached the shore and pulled his arm free from Carl. “I don’t need your help,” he said crossly.
Nicole said, “Jason, Carl helped you. He didn’t know whether or not you were hurt. He went in the water after you. He saved your life. He’s a hero!”
Carl’s deeply tanned cheeks reddened. “None of that, now,” he said. “I’m no hero. I did what anyone would have done if they saw someone fall out of a canoe.”
“I didn’t fall out of my canoe!” Jason almost shouted.
“Then what happened?” Jessie asked.
“Someone grabbed
my paddle and pulled me out. And turned the canoe over!” Jason said. He held up the paddle angrily. “It happened too quickly for me to see who did it.”
Everyone froze.
Then Violet said in a soft voice, “Jason, what happened to your paddle?”
Jason looked at the paddle for the first time. His eyes widened. He let go of the paddle, and it would have fallen except that Henry caught it.
The tip of the paddle looked as if someone — or something — had taken a huge bite out of it.
“Lucy!” gasped Nicole. “Lucy bit your paddle. Lucy turned your canoe over.”
Carl stood as still as a statue. Now he seemed pale beneath his ruddy tan. “It’s not possible,” he whispered.
Jason recovered his wits. “You’re right. It’s not.” He glared at Nicole. “Is this your idea of a joke?”
“A joke?” Nicole’s voice rose. “A joke?” she repeated. “I would never do something like that.”
“Besides, how could she?” Henry said reasonably. “She was with us.”
“Maybe you’re all in it together! Maybe you would do anything to prove that some phony monster is real,” said Jason.
“We didn’t turn you over! We were having a picnic,” said Benny.
“Besides, none of us is wet,” Jessie pointed out. “Even if one of us was able to swim out to your canoe and turn you over, we would be wet now.”
“And we saw a footprint, too,” cried Benny. “Of Lucy’s. On the beach. She’s real. It wasn’t us who grabbed your paddle. It was Lucy.”
Jason looked from one of them to the other. Then he said, “Somebody did this to me. And it wasn’t the monster. In fact, the only monsters I see around here are you little kids.”
With that, he turned and walked away. His sneakers made squishing sounds as he walked.
Carl still hadn’t moved. His gaze was fixed on the paddle that Henry held. Then he began to shake his head slowly.
“Are you okay?” Jessie asked him.
Carl looked up. He seemed surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to see them.
“Are you cold? We have a blanket with us. I could go get it for you,” Violet volunteered.