The Sasquatch Mystery

brighten with her wide smile.
    After a while, Hallie asked, “How are your hands?”
    Trixie answered, “Fine.”
    Then both girls stared at the fire. Hallie returned to making lint balls.
    “Listen,” Trixie said. “I think I hear the truck.”
    All heads turned.
    “It’s not Knut,” said Hallie. “It’s coming upriver.”
    Trixie could hear the grinding roar of a motor in low gear. “Who else could it be? It’s so late.”
    “Oh, ’most anybody,” Hallie said listlessly. “Berry pickers who waited till sundown to leave a good patch. Strangers who looked at a map and thought they could make it to a motel for the night. Fishermen heading for home. Indians moving a summer camp....”
    The truck came closer, then passed the campground.
    “I hear another truck,” Honey said.
    Hallie stood and dumped her handful of lint into the fire. “That’s Knut!” she said.
    Again Knut drove into camp instead of parking on the road. He helped a sleepy Di from the
    high seat of the cab, then began handing down the supplies he had bought.
    “Easy,” Knut warned. “There are eggs here someplace. And Gloria’s mother sent cream for our berries.”
    “Ice cream, too,” Di reminded him. “Packed in dry ice.”
    For the next few minutes, all hands were busy, storing supplies.
    Then Hallie faced her tall brother and demanded, “Well, what happened? In the first place, who was in that truck that just passed?” Knut looked surprised. “Didn’t meet him,” he said. “The only traffic between here and the pass was a sow bear with a couple of cubs.”
    “And a porcupine,” Di added.
    “Anyway,” Knut went on, “I didn’t try to call Mom and Dad. Instead, I asked Gloria’s mother to call Dad’s mine office for his location tomorrow. If they’re far into the back country, it may take several days to locate them. Mom and Dad might take too many chances getting to a telephone or telegraph office and putting their own lives in danger, only to find that Cap had shown up in time for breakfast. We’ve handled big problems before and come through safely. We’ll manage this time, too.”
    “Didn’t you tell anybody?” Miss Trask asked anxiously. “I mean, besides Gloria and her mother?”
    “I went to the sheriff’s office and caught Sheriff Sprute and a deputy on duty. I told them about Cap’s disappearance, but everybody in the county knows Cap’s reputation. The sheriff knows it’s not unusual for Cap to go off alone for two or three days at a time. When I told him about the beast, he said he’ll keep an eye out for him and he’ll keep in touch with the Duncans.”
    “Who are the Duncans?” Trixie asked. Without taking her eyes from Knut’s face, Hallie answered, “Gloria and her family. The Duncans are family friends.”
    “How long does Cap usually go without food?” Brian asked.
    “He could live off the land indefinitely if he had to,” Knut said with quiet pride.
    “I just hope he isn’t hurt,” Brian worried.
    “We have to believe he’s all right,” Knut said soberly. “Ron Duncan—that’s Gloria’s brother— is going to come out and help us search for Cap.” Knut frowned suddenly. “You look like a friendless group. What happened here while I was gone?”
    “Tank’s missing,” Hallie said bluntly.
    “Tank, too!” Knut polished his glasses and stared at the fire. After a long pause, he said,
    “Well, the same thing can be said of both Cap and Tank. Tank spends his life coming and going, without reporting to anybody.”
    “It looked like somebody had ransacked the cabin,” Jim said and went on to describe what they’d found.
    Knut rubbed his eyes, as much from worry as from road weariness. Then he managed a small smile. “Sorry about the mess we’re making of your Idaho visit.”
    “Jeepers, don’t worry about us!” exclaimed Trixie. “It’s Cap—and Tank—”
    “The best thing everyone can do for them now is head for bed,” Knut said firmly, propping his feet up on a log. “I think I’ll just sit here and unwind a little while until the fire dies down.”
    Jim moved a chair close to Knut’s. “I’ll sit with you.”
    Later, when Trixie and Honey were in their sleeping bags, Trixie could see two heads, the one black, the other red, bent close together. She could hear the rumble of young male voices. Her throat ached because there were no bursts of laughter.
    Long after the murmuring in the various tents had ceased, discomfort in her hands kept