Free Detective Camp by Ron Roy Page A

with braces called Hunter. Ian and Brendan, twins with blond hair so light it appeared white. Duke, a tall boy. And Campbell, a short blond kid with a big smile.
    “If you need to wash up or use the bathroom, that’s all in the big building on the other side of Fox Cabin,” Buzzy told the boys.
    “We have to go outside to the bathroom?” Josh asked.
    Buzzy nodded. “Yep. The showers are there, too,” he said. “And don’t let the hot water run too long, or someone gets a cold shower! You all need to be down at Shady Lake in about ten minutes, okay?”
    “Are we going swimming?” Hunter asked. “Are there snakes in the water?”
    “No and yes,” Buzzy said, grinning. “There are a few harmless water snakes,but we’re not going swimming today. We’re just having a meeting with all the other campers.”
    Dink and Josh headed for the only set of bunks not piled up with the other kids’ stuff.
    “I guess this one is ours,” Dink said. “Top or bottom?”
    “Top,” Josh said, tossing his sleeping bag up onto the mattress. “That way, if a bear comes in, he gets you first.”
    Dink grinned. “Bears can climb, Josh,” he said.
    “I’ll still take the top bunk,” Josh said. He grabbed his backpack and climbed the ladder.
    Dink unrolled his sleeping bag and fluffed up the pillow he found on his mattress. As he emptied his backpack, he glanced out the window just over his bed. He could see a wooden fence separating the lawn from deep woods.
    He arranged his clothes in a cubby that already had his name on it. He set his toothbrush and other toilet articles on the windowsill. He’d brought a couple of books, which he stood next to his toothpaste. The titles were
Wild Animals of Vermont
and
Danny Doon, Boy Detective
.
    Josh was on top, wrestling with his sleeping bag.
    “Are you ready?” Dink asked.
    “Almost,” Josh said. “My brothers used this sleeping bag last, and they tied about a million knots in the string.”
    “Okay, let’s hustle,” Buzzy called out. “Moose Cabin is never late! Now let’s go, little moosies!”
    The other six boys stampeded out the cabin door and raced for the path that led to the lake. A minute later, Buzzy followed them.
    Dink waited for Josh on the porch.

    Josh snuck up behind Dink and said, “Come back inside. I want to show you something.”
    “What?” Dink said as he followed Josh. “Come on, we’re gonna be late on our first day!”
    “Look,” Josh said. He was pointing to a small wooden chest under Buzzy’s bed. It had a hasp, and the padlock was in the locked position.
    “Josh, what do I care if—”
    “After the other kids left, I saw Buzzy hide something in there,” Josh said. “He was real careful, like he didn’t want anyone to see what he was doing.”
    “But Josh the snoop saw him, right?” Dink asked.
    Josh nodded. “This is Detective Camp, right?” he said. “Well, I’m being a detective!”

Dink and Josh ran down the path. A couple of minutes later, they heard voices and followed them to the lake.
    They found all the other kids sitting on tree stumps arranged in a big circle. In the center was a ring of rocks surrounding a pile of wood. A few yards away, a dock jutted out into the lake. There were several canoes piled upside down on the dock. Paddles stuck out from beneath each canoe.
    Ruth Rose had saved two stumps, so Dink and Josh sat on either side of her.
    “You two are late,” Ruth Rose said ina whisper. “Bad Moose boys!”
    Suddenly a loud whistle pierced the air. Angie was standing on a stump with her whistle in her mouth.
    “Welcome to Detective Camp!” she said. “Whenever you hear a whistle like this, you need to stop what you’re doing and listen. Later, you’ll be getting daily schedules. For now, the guys and I want to tell you what to expect over the next week.”
    She turned and pointed toward the dock. “No one is allowed on the dock or near the canoes unless you’re with a counselor,” Angie went on.