The Sasquatch Mystery

campfire itself. Everyone else hurried inside the truck. Trixie shivered when she saw that Miss Trask was laying out the first-aid supplies.
    At the road, Ron, carrying the heavy camp ax, slid from the tailgate of the truck. He walked down the dim ribbon of dirt road to the bridge. Di was given the first station, after being assured that the bear was long gone. Honey blended in with the night as she chose the spot where the “sasquatch” had disappeared into the bushes after the chase down the road that morning. Hallie was left at the blackberry patch.
    With her brothers and cousin, Trixie crept through the undergrowth that hid the old station wagon. Each click of sound, dislodged stone, snapped dry stick, or swish of living growth being parted by hands was almost more than she could stand. She could hear her own heart thumping like a drum.
    Unexpectedly she stepped into a thick, yielding mass of soft fur. Her jaws clenched to keep from screaming. “S-Something’s got me!” she gasped.
    At once Brian’s flashlight poured a puddle of light around Trixie’s feet.
    “The sasquatch!” Trixie choked.
    “It’s that snowsuit,” Brian told her, breath exploding with relief. “We’re on the right track.”
    Willing herself to stop shaking, Trixie whispered, “Oh—th-there’s the wagon.”
    Knut, Mart, and Brian crept toward the wagon, prepared to jerk open doors and turn on lights before the Swishers realized they were surrounded. Trixie’s thumb trembled on the switch of her own flashlight. After an eternity, lights blazed, and Knut shouted, “Come out of there with your hands....” His voice died; then he yelled, “There’s nobody here!”
    “Yes, there is!” Trixie screamed. She swung her light and caught a glimpse of Opie Swisher plunging toward the road. Trixie dashed after him, whistling bob , bob-white again and again, to warn Hallie and the others that a Swisher was on the loose.
    Trixie remembered the shotgun, but she realized she had to keep track of Opie. Brian and Knut caught up with and passed her, while Mart was left to search the grounds for Fred, the biscuit-eating sasquatch. Lights swung crazily, now that there was no need for secrecy. “I’ve found the gun!” Mart shouted.
    “Take it back to camp!” Knut shouted back. Soon Trixie heard more whistles and knew that Opie had passed Hallie, then Honey.
    As Trixie started toward Hallie, Hallie was heading back in Trixie’s direction. “Where are you going?” Trixie cried. “We’ve got to hurry if we’re going to catch up. Come on!”
    “Not till I’ve put that wagon out of commission,” Hallie said grimly. “They’re going to have some motor trouble. You go on; I’ll catch up in a couple of minutes.” Hallie crashed through syringa bushes and on to the wagon’s hideaway.
    In no time at all, having completed her mission, Hallie was running at Trixie’s side. Shortly, the two girls reached Honey and finally Di, who stood in the middle of the road like a patrolman directing traffic. “He’s on the mine trail,” she told them.
    “Then that’s where I’m going!” Hallie said.
    “Me, too,” said Trixie.
    From the minute she had first made the connection between the sniper’s tools in the creek and the gold pan in the station wagon, Trixie had been sure that gold was involved in Cap’s disappearance. Now that Fred may have stolen Tank’s snowsuit, it was possible that Fred might this minute be trying to find Tank’s cache of gold from the mine. He would think himself safe. Tank had plenty of food, so Fred wouldn’t have to steal from the food chest, as Opie must certainly have done. After the barrage of stones, Fred would think he had the mountain to himself. Well, he was in for a big surprise!
    “Opie’s trying to warn Fred,” Trixie guessed.
    “Then it’s up to us to get there first,” Hallie decided. “The boys are following Opie, but we’ll take a deer trail that’s a shortcut!”
    “Oh, Hallie,” Honey said doubtfully, “should we?”
    Hallie scowled. “Those guys know what happened to my brother. If you think a deer trail is going to stop me, think again.”
    By this time, Ron had joined them. With no disagreement, the group started up the trail at a ground-eating pace.
    The trail was narrow, but flashlights showed the hard-beaten earth. Trixie could hear the squeaking and groaning of pines, and the chit-tering, grunting, squealing, and swishing that was the night voice of the forest. Just when