Free 47 - Legend of the Lost Legend by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) Page B

They wander the forest.
They never stay in the same place for long. But I think you will find them in
the stone clearing if you hurry.”
    “Thank you!” Dad cried, shaking Luka’s hand.
    We all thanked Luka. Then we hurried off in the direction he had pointed. We
were so excited, all three of us talked at the same time.
    “Do you think they’ll be friendly?”
    “Do you think they’ll let us see the Lost Legend?”
    “Do you think they’ll let me borrow it?” Dad asked. “If I could only borrow
it for a few weeks….”
    “Luka said they might not be friendly.”
    “He said they might not part with it—for any price.”
    The journey across the two streams was not difficult. We walked for only an
hour.
    We were still talking excitedly as we drew near their camp. We stopped on a
low hill overlooking a wide patch of stony ground.
    The stone clearing.
    We could see rows of small tents made of animal hides. Several people,
dressed in brown robes, worked to build a fire in the center of the clearing. A
bunch of scrawny gray dogs wrestled and snapped at each other at the edge of the
clearing.
    “I can’t believe it,” Dad exclaimed, his eyes searching the small tent
village. “I can’t believe these wanderers actually have the Lost Legend.”
    “But will they let us see it?” I asked.
    “Only one way to find out,” Dad replied. He led the way down the hill.
“Hello, there!” he called out to the wanderers. “Hello!”

 
 
31
     
     
    “Hello, there! Hello!”
    As we stepped onto the stone ground, the scrawny gray dogs stopped wrestling.
Barking furiously, they came scurrying up to greet us. They lowered their heads,
bared their jagged teeth, and growled.
    Marissa, Dad, and I stopped. I saw three men in brown robes come running out
of tents. They quickly shooed the dogs away. The men, I saw, were as scrawny as
the dogs.
    “Hello,” Dad greeted them warmly. “I am Professor Richard Clarke, and this is
Justin and Marissa.”
    The three men nodded solemnly. But they did not speak.
    Two of them were bald. One had long, wavy white hair and a bushy white
mustache.
    Marissa and I exchanged glances.
    I could see that she was as frightened as I was.
    These brown-robed wanderers did not look friendly.
    The white-haired man spoke first. “How did you find us?” he demanded coldly.
    “Someone directed us to you,” Dad replied.
    “Why have you come here, Professor Clarke?” the wanderer asked.
    “We’re searching for the Legend of the Lost Legend,” Dad told him.
    The three men all gasped in shock. They leaned close and whispered furiously
to each other.
    When they finished their excited conversation, they turned back to us. But
they didn’t speak.
    “Do you have it?” Dad asked eagerly. “Do you have the Lost Legend?”
    “Yes,” the white-haired man replied. “Yes, we have it.”
    He whispered something to the two bald men. They spun around, their long
robes twirling with them, and hurried away.
    A few seconds later, they returned. One of them carried a small silver chest.
    “Oh, my goodness!” Dad declared, his eyes bulging. “Is that it? Is that
really it? Is that the Lost Legend?”
    “Yes,” the white-haired man replied. “Do you want it?”
    “Huh?” all three of us cried.
    The wanderer shoved the chest into my hands. I was so shocked, I nearly
dropped it!
    “It is yours,” the white-haired man said. He stepped back.
    Dad swallowed hard. “Are you sure ?” he cried. “Are you sure you want
to give it to us?”
    “Yes. Take it,” the man replied quickly. “Goodbye.”
    He and the other two turned and walked quickly back to their tents. To our
surprise, they instantly began to pack up.
    Dozens of wanderers began pulling up tents, packing up supplies, putting out
the campfire. In minutes, they had scurried away.
    The stone clearing stood bare. No sign they had ever been there.
    “How strange,” Dad said. “How totally strange.”
    We began to walk away from