Free Fear Stalks Grizzly Hill by Joan Lowery Nixon Page B

Sean.
    “He isn’t obeying them now,” Sean said.
    The man’s face grew red with anger as he continued to shout at Rusty.
    Alan said, “That’s Mr. Trent Everitt. He lives in the house on the far left. Rusty only obeys Mr. Everitt when he feels like it, but he obeys when other people tell him to stay or sit. Mr. Shaw taught those commands to Rusty.”
    “Who owns Rusty?” Brian asked. “Mr. Shaw or Mr. Everitt?”
    “Mr. Everitt,” Alan answered. “But he travels a lot, and when he does, Rusty stays with Mr. and Mrs. Shaw.”
    Rusty finally tired of his game and settled down. Alan introduced Brian and Sean to Mr. Everitt.
    Mr. Everitt didn’t smile. He glared at Brian and Sean. “I moved to this development after I retired because it was supposed to be quiet ,” he snapped. “You boys are not only making much too much noise and exciting my dog, you’re also littering!”
    “Littering?” Sean asked in surprise.
    With his free hand Mr. Everitt pointed to the upturned bowl and the splatters of plaster of paris.
    “I can explain,” Brian said. “I’m making plaster casts of some of the animal tracks around here for my science class project. The plaster spilled, but …”
    Mr. Everitt interrupted. “No excuses,” he grumbled. “Just clean up that mess you’ve made.”
    Brian picked up one of the first plaster casts. “This one’s dry already,” he said and held it out. “Look. See the short, wide footpad and the marks from claws?”
    Mr. Everitt stopped scowling and stared at the cast. “Where did you get that?”
    “Right here,” Brian said. “And I’ve made casts of more of the tracks in the forest.”
    “Do you know what kind of animal made those tracks?” Mr. Everitt looked at Brian warily.
    “Not yet,” Brian said. “Do you?”
    Mr. Everitt studied the paw print. “It could be a cat. Glen Webber recently brought home some cats. One of them might have gotten out last night.”
    Brian shook his head. “It would have to be an awfully big cat to have long claws like these. Have you seen Mr. Webber’s cats?”
    “No,” Mr. Everitt grumbled. “Glen’s not the friendliest of neighbors. He keeps pretty much to himself. I’ve never been inside his house.”
    “Tomorrow we’re going to look for tracks around the grizzly’s den,“ Alan said. “We may even find the animal that made them.”
    “Don’t count on it,” Mr. Everitt snapped. “Go home, where your parents can keep their eyes on you. If you care anything about the safety of animals in the wild and the peace of the people who live here, you’ll leave the forest alone.”
    Tugging on Rusty’s leash, he stomped off toward his house.
    “Don’t pay attention to him,” Alan whispered. “Mr. Everitt is always an old crab. Besides, we’re not bothering the animals.”
    Brian studied the plaster cast in his hands. “The animal who made these paw prints isn’t large enough to be a grizzly, but the pads on his feet do look something like a bear’s.”
    “I told you!” Sean said, his heart racing. “That thing we were tracking is a bear! And where do bears go? To their dens, that’s where. If we crawl into that grizzly’s den tomorrow, we’re going to find him waiting for us!”

3

    S TOP WORRYING ABOUT BEARS ,” Brian said. “Help me pick everything up.” He scraped up the splatters of plaster and put them into the empty measuring cup. Then he, Sean, and Alan collected the casts of the strange-looking tracks.
    Brian examined each one, brushing the dirt from them. “Most of these are good,” he said happily. “They’ll be great in my report. The only problem is that I’ll have to identify them. What animal made the tracks? And where are we going to find it?”
    “C’mon,” Alan said. “I’m getting hungry. We can take a shortcut home through the Shaws’ backyard. They won’t care.”
    Sean looked around and saw that they had traveled in a semicircle through the edge of the forest behind the houses on