Free The Case of the Hooking Bull by John R. Erickson Page B

And the more they looked, the madder they got and the louder they yelled at each other.
    Snort blamed Rip and Rip blamed Scraunch and Scraunch blamed Snort, and after a while they stopped looking for me and got into a big fight. You never heard so much snarling and carrying on.
    Well, I was sitting there in the water, feeling pretty proud of myself and listening to the brawl, when I happened to notice a sharp-pointed nose appear over the rim of the tank. Uh-oh. Snort had decided to take a look around.
    I took a gulp of air and slipped under the water. I stayed under as long as I could, then had to come back up. The same routine had worked on Scraunch and I felt pretty sure that . . .
    I could see Snort’s eyes flickering in the moonlight. He was looking straight at me. “Uh! What that swimming around in tank?”
    â€œQuack, quack,” I said.
    I could hear his nose testing for scent. “Uh! That goose in there?”
    â€œQuack.”
    â€œSound more like duck in there.”
    â€œQuack.”
    â€œSound like duck but smell like dog. Not make sense.”
    â€œQuack, quack.”
    â€œUh. Sound like pretty stupid duck.”
    â€œQuack.”
    â€œDuck not say quack just like that. Duck have different kind of quack.”
    â€œQuack.”
    â€œSound berry more like DOG quack than duck quack.”
    â€œQuack, quack, quack.” He was sniffing the air again, and I began to worry.
    â€œAh ha! Snort solve mystery of stupid duck! Stupid duck not stupid duck at all.”
    â€œQuack?”
    â€œStupid duck really Hunk dog trying hide in water! And coyote plenty mad for stupid duck-trick in water.”

    I had been exposed. “Now hold on just a minute, Snort, I can explain everything.”
    â€œSnort not give hoot for explain everything.”
    â€œI was just taking a bath, see, taking a normal everyday kind of bath, and thought it might be fun to, uh, play ducks.” Two more coyote heads appeared over the rim of the tank. “Well, by George, look who’s . . . I was just telling old Snort . . . I’ll admit it sounds strange, a grown dog playing ducks in a stock tank, but if you’ll hear me out, I’m sure you’ll agree . . .”
    Scraunch ran his tongue over both sides of his mouth, a real bad sign. “Time for big eat. Hunk get out or coyote get in?”
    I studied the faces before me—the gleaming eyes, the gleaming fangs, the hungry looks. “So this is it, is that what you’re saying?” Three heads nodded. “There’s no chance that we could work this out on paper?” All three shook their heads. “In that case, boys, you’d better come and get it, ’cause there’s no free lunch on this ranch!”
    I swam to the middle of the tank and prepared to make my last stand. The coyotes yipped and hollered, and Scraunch came diving over the side.
    â€œScraunch, it’s only fair that I tell you that I’m a black belt in Water Karate.” He kept coming toward me. “Listen, that deal with the duck was only a joke, honest.” He kept coming. “It’s still not too late to . . .”
    Before I could finish my sentence, he sprang at me, clamped his powerful jaws around the scruff of my neck, and plunged my head under the . . . blub, blub.
    Gurgle, blub, gargle, blubber.
    . . . water.
    I had just about checked out of this old world when . . . that was odd, Scraunch released his death grip on my neck and . . . let me come up for air? That didn’t make any sense, unless he wanted the fight to go more than one round.
    But whatever, I accepted the offer and came up gasping for air, just in time to see three coyotes drag their dripping selves over the side of the tank. They ran through the beam of two headlights and vanished into the night.
    Headlights? I hadn’t noticed any . . . holy smokes, somebody had come to my rescue! Or was I dreaming?
    I heard a car door open and close. Then