Chapter Eight ~ Clues

as told to Jenn by Diana,
and overheard by kellykath and cestmoi

Diana blinked her violet eyes in disbelief. Just when she thought nothing could top the chaos of the morning food bandit, Mart and Cap were on the verge of all-out war. She folded the towel she had used to dry the last of the breakfast dishes and stepped toward the arguing boys, determined to try to restore peace. She stopped short as Cap threw up his hands and stormed out of camp. She came up on the ball of her foot to sprint after him, but hesitated, unsure if someone should follow him. Spur of the moment actions could backfire, especially now with an unknown creature roaming the woods that may or may not be stealing their provisions.

Mart was the first to speak. “Where do you think he is going?” he asked Hallie.

In response, Hallie simply shrugged. “He’ll be back by dinner, if not before. When Cap gets hot under the collar, he goes into the forest to cool himself down. He’s got quite a temper, for a birdbrain.”

That was an understatement, Diana thought, Cap wasn’t the only one with a temper either. She glanced at Mart. Clearly short fuses ran in the Belden family. Diana was fond of Mart Belden, but he wasn’t so different from his sister when it came to fits of temper. She let out a breath. She wasn’t sure she could be so nonchalant if one of her brothers had just stormed off into the wilderness. On the other hand, the wilderness seemed to be an extension of the Idaho Beldens’ backyard.

“I noticed.” Mart whistled, the irony of his flaring temper completely missing him. “I feel like an idiot -” Mart kicked at the dirt with his foot.

“Don’t torture yourself,” advised Hallie. “Cap takes his camping pretty seriously, but he’ll have forgotten all about your spat by the time he gets back.”

“Should he have gone off alone like that?” Trixie asked, mirroring Diana’s thoughts. “Has he ever done it before?”

“Happens all the time,” Hallie said casually. “Nobody, not even the sheriff, ever worries about Cap.”

Clearly, no one was in a hurry to chase Cap down. In fact, from Diana’s perspective, if anyone could take care of himself in the forest, it was Cap. He would get whatever it was out of his system and be back before nightfall, Diana hoped. She crossed her fingers for luck, looking around at the other Bob-Whites, who likewise looked considerably more concerned than Hallie and Knut. An awkward silence fell on the group. Diana shifted her feet uncomfortably, wishing she could think of something to say. Her eyes darted toward Honey, known to be the most tactful of their club, but even she seemed to be at a loss for words.

Finally, much to Di's relief, Knut stepped forward. For a moment Di wasn't sure he was going to say anything after all, he just seemed to be taking in the group, ‘assessing the situation' as Mart would say. He cleared his throat, offering up a suggestion that was clearly an attempt to break the tension. “Have you ever picked huckleberries up on the saddle? It’s like being on top of the world!” The inflection in his voice caught everyone’s attention. “I’ll make everyone a deal. You help me pick a pail or two of berries to take to Gloria’s mother, and I’ll let all of you horn in on my date Friday night. Okay?”

Knut really was desperate to change the subject, if he was offering up that kind of promise. Who would want to have a gang of teen-agers horning in on a Friday night date? But given all the strange things that had been happening lately, Diana was not opposed to an evening in civilization for a change, so she wasn’t going to argue. The others seemed similarly amused by the offer.

“That’s quite a trade-off,” Jim chuckled.

“But it’s a deal,” Trixie said.

“Come on, Trix,” said Hallie. “Let’s break out the carton that has the pails. We want to get to the saddle before noon, or we’ll fry to a crisp.”

As Trixie and Hallie sprinted off to get the pails, Diana wandered toward the creek carefully making her way along the deer trail, tiptoeing around the muddy spots. The morning sun flecked through the canopy above and speckled light onto the trail in front of her. She spotted some Syringa blossoms near the underbrush just off to her right. A bouquet of the Idaho state flower would definitely brighten the mood of their picnic table, especially for when Cap returned. She would certainly feel better with the group back together. She took in the fragrance of the orange scented blossoms and reached through the brush. Her eyes caught a glimpse of something on the trail and she gasped.

“Trixie!” Diana croaked, realizing what was in front of her. She found her voice. “Trixie!” she frantically hollered.

Diana heard a commotion and Hallie’s voice called out to her. “Whatever you’re doing, Di,” Hallie shouted, “just stop doing it till we get there!”

Diana carefully bent down in front of the trail and hovered over her found treasure. She had found a clue - a real life, legitimate clue. These moments were usually reserved for Trixie and Honey, not her. She took a breath to savor the moment.

Trixie and Hallie burst through the bushes with such zealousness they nearly careened into her.

Trixie stopped short. “Are you hurt, Di?” she asked.

Hallie was right behind Trixie. “Who knocked you down?” Hallie demanded.

“I found a clue!” Di exclaimed. She guarded a bit of earth as if it were a gold mine. She shifted ever so slightly revealing the broken eggshell spilling out its yellow yolk and sticky albumen into the dirt.

“An egg?” Hallie drawled. “What kind of clue to anything is that?” Hallie tilted her chin to peer into the branches over her head. “Probably fell out of a nest,” she concluded dismissively.

Diana shook her head vigorously. “Look,” she insisted. “It’s a hen egg.”

Realization sprang into Trixie’s eyes as she considered the shattered remains. “You’re absolutely right, Di. That was one of ours.” Trixie poked around the vicinity with a small stick in hopes of finding additional remains of their breakfast supplies. Diana quickly joined her, using her hand to disperse the leaf litter in the search.

Their efforts were interrupted by Honey’s voice coming from somewhere down the creek. “I found it!” she was shouting. “Come and see!”

Hallie slapped her brow. “How many detectives are there around here, anyway?”

Diana beamed at the thought of being included as a ‘detective’. She generally only went on Trixie and Honey’s adventures when she had no other choice, but sometimes she wished that she could be as fearless as those two.

“Gleeps, we need all the help we can get,” Trixie declared barreling in Honey’s direction. Diana followed as Trixie bushwhacked her way through the cheat-grass, thimbleberry, ocean spray bushes, skunk cabbage, pussywillows, and ground-hugging plants. All Trixie needed was a machete to complete the vision.

With each step, Diana’s hair became more snarled with pollen, seeds, and dust. Thankfully, her long sleeves and jeans protected most of her skin from the brambles preventing scrapes. While Trixie’s tight blonde curls seemed to repel the elements; she and Hallie’s long tresses were in a losing battle with Mother Nature. Emerging from the underbrush, Diana’s skin was starting to tingle and she realized might be allergic to whatever plants she had just plowed through. Seriously, Trixie, she thought, could you not be bothered with finding a more practical path? But that was Trixie, always making a beeline to where she wanted to go.

Honey was protectively huddled over a patch of earth. “I found,” she dramatically paused, “a print of a bare foot.”

“How big is it?” Trixie asked hesitantly. Diana held her breath, hoping against hope that it was not Sasquatch sized.

“Nowhere near eighteen inches,” Honey announced. “I can’t figure it out – I’m sure the boys stayed near their tents last night when they took baths.” Logically, they must first consider if any of their group could have left the print.

Trixie and Honey carefully considered the dimensions of the footprint. Diana was confident that Trixie and Honey would be able to determine if the footprint was similar to one of their brothers. Diana, too, had a general idea of the approximate shape and size of the boys’ footprints. Although not 100% sure, it seemed as though this print was wider than any that the boys might have left.

Trixie consulted with Hallie. “Does it look like one of your brothers’ footprints?” she asked.

Hallie gave the footprint a glancing look, hooting, “Cap barefooted?” She shook her head. “That birdbrain probably wears his moccasins to bed. As for Knut, his foot is skinnier than a ruler.” Hallie evaluated the print again. “Nope, that print doesn’t belong to us Beldens. We all have long big toes.”

Further discussion was interrupted by Knut’s voice calling the girls back to camp.

“And there is a long-toed Belden now,” said Honey with a giggle.

“He must be ready to leave,” Hallie said. “Come on, let’s get at those huckleberries.”

Instead of heading back through the underbrush, Hallie moved toward the creek. “Let’s wade up the creek to get back to camp. It will be faster.” The girls followed Hallie to the edge of the creek and hurriedly took off their boots and socks. Diana carefully pulled her jeans up as far as she could get them and tentatively stepped into the cool creek water. Actually, the water was hovering around frigid. She felt the rough bottom under her feet and weighed the pros and cons of making a run for it versus taking it slower to avoid the additional discomfort from the rocky bottom.

Making their way into camp, the girls hopped and hobbled across the campground. Miss Trask, Brian, Mart, and Jim were huddled around the picnic table sharing a laugh. The girls squeezed in around the table and Diana wiped the sand from her feet. Her feet stung from the cold and pressure of the rocky bottom. Trixie was replacing her boots when she suddenly exclaimed, “Honey, that is how it was done – that thief waded the creek to get here! He must have had his boots stashed someplace. Now I wonder why –“

Knut interrupted Trixie detectiving. “Come on, you guys,” Knut prodded, “or it’ll be midnight before we get there.” He motioned toward the group to get moving.

Mart rose sighing. “Gathering our sustenance one berry at a time sounds strenuous enough,” said Mart, “but executing it in nocturnal obscurity is completely unwarranted.”

Diana sighed and rubbed her left foot, which was starting to throb from her trek through the creek, not to mention whatever she got into that she was allergic to. She absently scratched her ankles, which had been exposed during the cross-country scramble. She was not looking forward to traipsing across the saddle in search of huckleberries.

“Come on, then,” urged Hallie rising from the bench.

Miss Trask used her paperback book to fan her warm face. “Count me out, please. Somebody should stay here. Then in case Cap comes back, he won’t find a deserted camp.” I wish I’d have thought of that. Although I suppose I wouldn’t want to stay in camp alone, in case the sasquatch comes back.

“Good thinking,” said Knut. “But you shouldn’t stay alone.” Bingo! Knut to the rescue!

Diana jumped at the opportunity to avoid berry picking. “I’ll stay with Miss Trask,” she quickly offered. “We can get dinner started, so it’ll be ready when you get back.”

Trixie hesitated, turning to Hallie, “Will Cap be back pretty soon?” Trixie seemed uneasy about this plan. Diana wondered if one of the guys had offered to stay with Miss Trask, would Trixie have the same concerns?

Hallie grinned reassuringly. “He sure will if these kids get a head start on dinner,” she said. With a farewell wave, the rest of the group headed off in the direction of the truck, leaving Miss Trask and Di at the campsite.

After seeing the truck off, Diana busied herself tidying up while Miss Trask gathered kindling from the perimeter of the campsite. Diana double checked what was left in the inventory from the early morning theft and decided that there were enough provisions for a kitchen sink soup. At least that is what her mother called rounding up the leftovers from the week before. Diana hadn’t been born into money and it had taken a long time to find her identity after her father’s cunning investments had paid off. Nowadays, she didn’t have much opportunity at home to play in the kitchen with the household staff seeing to her every need. But out here in the wilderness, she relished the creativity and comfort of pulling a meal together for her friends. This was something she could do.

Their fresh perishable food had been pilfered, but there were still plenty of canned goods that could be whipped up into a serviceable soup. She lined up the rations on the picnic table, calculating in her head the number of likely servings. She retrieved the large stockpot from the kitchen stores and cringed as a daddy longlegs hurried over the edge of the pot hightailing it to safety. As a precaution, Diana grabbed a kitchen towel and wiped the interior of the pot. She didn’t want any extra protein in this dish.

She brought the stockpot over to the fire. Miss Trask had topped off the blaze with a few additional logs. “What’s your plan?” she asked Diana.

“I think we can use the diced tomatoes, beans, and stock for the base of a soup. Hopefully, the rest of the crew will stop in town to get a few things to top it off.” Diana paused in thought. “Perhaps we can use the lard and flour to make some biscuits?” she wondered out loud. “They won’t be as good without milk, but I’m sure they will be passable.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea.” Miss Trask said nodding her head. “How can I help?”

“Okay, let’s clear out a spot in the fire for the pot to rest,” Diana instructed. “We will want to use more indirect flames to simmer the soup, as opposed to putting the pot directly in the center of the fire.”

“This stick might be the right length and width to adjust the kindling,” Miss Trask handed Diana a sturdy branch.

Diana eagerly accepted it. “It’s perfectly perfect,” she declared.

She poked and prodded the logs, adjusting their placement until a flat area was cleared just bigger than the dimensions of the pot.

In that moment, a figure appeared from across the campground. It was Cap. Diana let out a relieved sigh and waved in acknowledgment. “Where have you been?” she called out.

Cap returned Diana’s wave. “Give me a minute and I’ll tell you all about it,” was the reply. Cap turned toward the creek and out of sight.

“Thank goodness, he turned up,” Miss Trask professed. “I’m not sure how much longer I would have felt comfortable knowing he was missing,” she admitted.

From the creek came a roar and Diana could have sworn she had jumped right out of her skin. Without thought, both Miss Trask and Diana moved toward the sound. “Cap!” they hollered in unison. “Where are you,” Diana pleaded.

Approaching the creek, they heard sounds of a struggle and came upon Cap raising his hands to protect himself from the large furry creature that appeared to be attacking him. Miss Trask tripped over an exposed root, tumbling head over heels onto the trail and Diana could barely stop herself from meeting the same fate. She made out the silhouette of the creature’s long arms engulfing Cap in an exaggerated bear hug, lifting him off the ground, and dragging him out of sight.

Diana pulled Miss Trask to her feet. “Oh my gosh,” she stammered. “That thing has Cap!” She clutched Miss Trask’s arm. “What do we do? What do we do?” she repeated the pitch of her voice rising in octave.

Silence surrounded them. Miss Trask looked toward where they had last seen Cap and back up the trail that would take them back to the campsite. “I don’t know that we should follow it,” she admitted.

Diana wanted to be brave, but a very large wave of relief washed over her as Miss Trask discarded the idea of following after the beast. If it could walk off with Cap, the two of them were no match for it. Trixie undoubtedly would have charged headlong into the forest and given chase, but Di knew that tendency also got Trixie into a lot of trouble. She suddenly realized that she no longer wished that she was as brave as Trix and Honey. She was happy to stay behind and try to use her brain to figure things out. And, she suddenly realized, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Miss Trask turned in the direction of their campsite. “We need to get help and fast,” she concluded. “We have to find the others.”