The Sasquatch Mystery

“One more person has sighted a sasquatch.”
    “Yes, but this time it’s so far away that we’ll get a good night’s sleep without anyone having to stand guard.”
    “Trixie’s right!” Knut shouted. “Come on, let’s douse this fire!”
    “Let me do it for you,” Jim offered. “You’ll smoke your glasses.” To the girls he said, “It’s going to be pretty dark when water lands on these hot logs. You’d better run to your tents and turn on flashlights.”
    “Give us time to wash up,” Hallie reminded him. Minutes later, she repeated her nightly invitation: “Wanna giggle and gab?”
    That night, Di, Honey, and Trixie shouted, “Wanna!”

The Pack Rat ● 7

    LATER, getting settled in her sleeping bag, Trixie listened to the boys’ shouting as they splashed icy water over warm bodies, down at the creek.
    “This water is c-c-colder than Tank’s icehouse!” Knut yelped.
    “So’s your brain, honorable cousin, if you didn’t test the surface first!”
    Trixie grinned. That was Mart, of course, and judging from the following series of sounds, he had a pail of water dumped over his head.
    From her side of the tent, Honey said softly, “Doesn’t it feel good not to be scared for a change?”
    “Sure does, but— Oh, woe, it’s all so strange. We’re living with a mystery that some of the best scientific minds in the country haven’t been able to explain!”
    “The world, not the country,” Honey corrected her. “Knut told me that Russia has a multi-million-dollar project under way to investigate the yeti.”
    “I—” Trixie paused, not knowing how to express herself.
    “I think I know what you mean,” Honey guessed. “I’m on the side of the sasquatch, too.” Hastily she added, “As long as it doesn’t demand an arm or a leg!”
    “I kind of hope it comes back,” said Trixie. “So you can see it for yourself, Honey, the way I did.”
    Honey stayed silent.
    Long after Honey slept and the boys’ tents beyond the cooking area were quiet, Trixie lay awake. Mystery had intrigued her from the beginning of her conscious memory. Here was her chance to learn more about a more ancient mystery than any she had ever unraveled....
    Just on the verge of sleep, Trixie heard a whisper of sound.
    Quickly she turned her face on her pillow. Had Honey stirred in her bedroll? No.
    Trixie raised herself up on one elbow and stared into the dark. At first she could see nothing, but then patterns of starlight and moon-glow became visible. She could see the darker bulk of food chests and trees, and the pale expanses of canvas tents.
    There—something moved. Something upright. Something tall. The dark body merged with the other dark shapes of the food chests. Cre-e-eak. That was a hinge complaining. A food chest was being opened!
    Her heart throbbing, Trixie reached under her pillow for her flashlight. She pointed the torch toward the food chests, but she didn’t turn it on. She forced herself to stay calm.
    The only animal I know of in the woods that could stand tall and still open a food chest is a bear! she thought. But would a bear move so stealthily? Wouldn’t he bat things around until he tore open the chest with brute force? Until she was sure that it was not a bear, Trixie wasn’t eager to attract attention.
    She sniffed. She couldn’t detect any scent that reminded her of bear. On the other hand, she couldn’t smell rotten fish or field mice, either. If that was the sasquatch, would her flashlight frighten it away, or would it attract it, as it would a moth? Once again, Trixie hesitated to find out for sure. For just a moment, she let her tense muscles relax.
    The next thing Trixie knew, Honey was saying, “Don’t stab! I surrender!”
    Trixie bolted upright and stared around the brightly lit tent. Honey was sitting on the edge of her sleeping bag, lacing her boots.
    “Surrender to what?” Trixie gasped.
    “You, silly,” Honey teased. “You’re clutching that flashlight like a bayonet!”
    “How could I have fallen asleep?” Trixie scrambled out of bed and out of the tent. Her bare feet touched pine needles and pebbles, but that didn’t stop her from hobbling straight to the food chest she had seen from her tent. Miss Trask and Hallie were already preparing breakfast, but Trixie had to open that chest before she could even say good morning.
    “Yipes, it’s empty,” Trixie declared. “So I wasn’t dreaming!”
    “You’re not dreaming, but you are kidding,” Hallie