The Legend of the Howling Werewolf Read online

  Violet reached in her pack for her camera. “Is it okay if I get some pictures?”

  “You bet.” Ellen pointed her feet like a ballerina then leapt forward like she was running.

  Violet took several photos. “I’m doing a school project about our weekend here,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Violet. And thanks everyone for your help.” Ellen went to the fountain to fill Kamu’s water bowl. He followed her, but started whimpering. His tail went between his legs.

  “Oh, Kamu,” said Ellen. “Don’t worry.” She gently took his collar and led him around the muddy area. She set his bowl in the grass so he could drink. “See what I mean?” she said to the Aldens. “Sometimes I forget how nervous he is around water, even puddles.”

  The children watched Ellen jog through the park with Kamu. The dog kept glancing up at her. He seemed reassured to be running on the dry path.

  Benny crossed his arms with a serious look.

  “What’re you thinking about, Benny?” Henry asked.

  “I’m thinking Kamu might be the werewolf,” said Benny. “He’s huge! Or maybe he’s a werewolf’s best friend.”

  “I don’t think so,” Jessie said. She and Violet laughed kindly.

  Henry ruffled his little brother’s hair. “Remember, Benny?” he said. “Werewolves are only a myth. There has to be another explanation for what’s going on around here.”

  Claw Marks

  Falling leaves dropped a patchwork of colors throughout the park. As the Alden children explored the festival grounds, they scuffed and crunched through the leaves. They kicked them in the air, laughing. They scooped them up and tossed armfuls to one another.

  “These would be great for an art project,” Violet yelled.

  “There are even some purples,” said her sister. “Your favorite.”

  They came to an old farm wagon where Mrs. Riley was unloading decorations. She gave them a friendly wave. “I so appreciate you all helping,” she said.

  “You’re welcome, Mrs. Riley,” Henry said. “Just show us where to start.”

  “Okay,” she said. “You’ll find some hay bales in the barn. They’re quite heavy but are on a cart you can roll out here. We can use them for extra seating near the picnic tables. We’re going to have a contest there.”

  “We love contests. What kind?” Violet asked.

  “Carving jack-o’-lanterns from sugar beets. Yes. Sugar beets,” she said when she saw their surprised faces.

  “Like pumpkins at Halloween?” Benny asked.

  “Exactly,” Mrs. Riley said. “It’s a local tradition. And a lot of fun because sugar beets have so many interesting shapes. I’m expecting a good turnout this afternoon.”

  “I thought the festival wasn’t for two days,” Jessie said.

  “That is when everything will be judged,” Mrs. Riley said. “We decided it was best to hold the competitions beforehand. There’s less pressure on everyone that way.”

  “What else can we do?” Jessie asked.

  “The sugar beets are also in the barn,” said Mrs. Riley. “Can you also bring them out here?”

  “Yes!” Benny replied eagerly.

  The Aldens and Watch followed a path to the large, red barn. It was being used as a maintenance shed for the park. When the children stepped inside, they could hear the cooing of pigeons high in the rafters. Tall rows of windows were gray with dust. It took a moment for the children’s eyes to adjust to the dim light.

  Soon they were able to see. But when they looked around, Jessie gasped. “Oh no,” she said. “What happened in here?”

  “This doesn’t seem right,” Violet said. She got out her camera to take pictures.

  Smashed sugar beets and pumpkins littered the floor. Their stringy insides oozed into the dirt. Bales of hay had been ripped open. Straw was strewn around like confetti. Brochures for the event had been ripped into shreds.

  “What a mess,” Henry said. “It looks like someone is trying to sabotage the weekend.” He walked around the piles of debris. Watch followed him, sniffing the ruins. “I wonder who did this.”

  “Maybe the people posting on the website?” Violet asked.

  Henry continued to study the damage. “Could be,” he said. “They might think a werewolf will sneak into the park and hurt someone.”

  “Boy, Mrs. Riley is going to be upset,” Benny said.

  Jessie looked up at the rafters. “Someone wrecked all these decorations so the festival will be canceled? So if no one’s out here on the harvest moon,” she continued, “no one will get hurt?”

  “Sounds about right,” her older brother said. “If we’re going to help Mrs. Riley, we need to prove there’s no such thing as a werewolf. And do it fast.”

  “Let’s tell her what happened,” said Jessie. But they were interrupted by a shout.

  “Hey everyone,” Benny yelled. “I know who did this! Come look.” He had wandered to an empty horse stall and was looking at a pile of loose hay. The wire strap that had held the bale together had been cut. He poked a stick at it and looked at the dirt underneath. “The werewolf has been here!” he cried.

  The others hurried over. “Werewolf?” Violet asked. “What do you mean, Benny?”

  “Right here. See?” Benny knelt down, pointing his stick. Something had clawed the hay and clawed the dirt. The marks were deep. Each had five rows, like long fingers. Benny showed them the smashed sugar beets. Their tough shells also had these marks.

  “See?” Benny said.

  The children stared wide-eyed at his discovery. Watch sat on Benny’s foot, as he often did during a serious discussion. The terrier seemed to be listening carefully.

  “Hmm,” Henry finally said. “I agree this is weird.”

  “Wait a second,” Jessie said. “Even if these are claw marks, wouldn’t a werewolf rather hunt animals? Like sage grouse? Why would it sneak into this barn and wreck stuff?”

  “To make sure the festival is canceled,” someone behind them said. A badge on the man’s vest read Volunteer. He had stepped into the barn when he heard the children’s voices. “I saw the website. Werewolves come to life during the harvest moon. They’re dangerous. Someone just wants to keep people home where it’s safe.”

  Before the children could respond, the man hurried away. In the parking lot, he spoke to other volunteers who had just arrived. One by one they drove off.

  Mrs. Riley noticed them leaving. She rushed to the barn. “What’s happening?” she cried.

  When the children showed her what had happened, Mrs. Riley stared in disbelief. “I don’t understand why someone wants to sabotage everything,” she said. “The festival would be fun for families. And good for the community. What a mystery this has become.”

  At the word mystery, the Alden children gave one another knowing looks. “We’ll try to help you figure things out,” Jessie offered.

  Mrs. Riley smiled. “Thank you. But at the moment I’m not sure what to do,” she said.

  Henry said, “At least we can help clean up.”

  “And we’ll rescue what’s left of the sugar beets,” Violet added.

  The children found a tarp covering a woodpile. They pulled it off and shook the dirt out of it. After spreading it on the barn floor, they filled it with bumpy brown beets. Then they each grabbed a corner and with shuffling steps carried it out into the sunshine.

  “Oof, this is heavy!” Jessie groaned.

  “Ugh, sure is,” Henry said.

  “Over here!” Mrs. Riley waved them to one of the long tables. “Thank you,” she said. “I feel we should carry on with the festival despite this damage. So please arrange them here, and people can choose the one they want to carve. Do any of you like to draw?”

  Violet answered by holding up colored markers from the art box.

  “Oh good,” Mrs. Riley said. “Here’s some poster board. It’s to announce the contests. Your grandfather is at the store buying award ribbons.”

  On the pos
ter Violet and Benny drew sugar beet jack-o’-lanterns with grinning faces. They added curlicues and pine trees. They glued assorted leaves onto the edges then wrote in big letters: Harvest Festival Contests Begin at 1:00 p.m. Today. All Are Welcome.

  “Beautiful, you two. Thank you,” Mrs. Riley said. Then she went to hang up the sign at the park entrance.

  The Alden children returned to the barn. They found a broom and shovels. They scooped up the smashed beets into a barrel with a green lid. The lid said: Compost, Vegetable Matter Only.

  “It’s for recycling,” Henry reminded the others. “The barrel with the blue lid is for paper and aluminum cans.”

  “I’ll sweep up the paper,” Violet volunteered.

  Benny found a rake to gather up the loose hay. While making a pile near the horse stable, he bent down to look at the dirt. “Uh-oh,” he said, loud enough for the others to hear.

  “What’s the matter, Benny? Are you okay?” Henry asked.

  “I think I made a mistake,” he answered.

  Henry hurried over with his sisters. “What kind of mistake, Benny?” Jessie said.

  Benny dragged the rake toward his feet. It made five deep marks in the dirt. Then he raked the dirt alongside the claw marks from earlier. He sighed. “They’re the same,” he said. “I guess the werewolf hasn’t been here after all.”

  Henry put his hand on Benny’s shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “You made a smart observation, Benny. Now let’s go have some fun.”

  The Aldens ate bagged lunches Grandfather had prepared for them, and soon after they were done, groups of people started arriving for the carving competition. Sugar beets ranged from the size of a tennis ball to a tall cookie jar. There were plenty of carving tools and spoons for scooping out seeds. There were magic markers, glue, and scissors.

  Violet chose a tall, narrow beet that was a little crooked at the top. She carved out two eyes, a nose, and a goofy smile. She glued purple leaves on each side of its head for ears. Then she pasted yellow leaves around the top, as if they were a golden crown. Benny, Jessie, and Henry chose beets the size of bumpy cantaloupes. Their carvings were equally cheerful.

  “We’ll put candles in them this evening,” said Mrs. Riley. She looked at the tables where kids were still decorating jack-o’-lanterns. “I just hope no one comes and destroys these beautiful works of art.”

  After the children were done helping out at the competitions, they headed back to Mrs. Riley’s house. Daniel was not in his yard when they passed his place. His wheelbarrow lay on its side with branches and twigs spilled out onto the ground. A bag of soil had been ripped open.

  “That’s weird,” Violet said. “It looks like he left in a hurry. I wonder if—”

  “He’s probably on an errand,” Jessie said.

  They continued down the road, and Henry stopped suddenly. He pointed to the trail behind Mrs. Riley’s house. A stooped figure was moving through the brush.

  “Is that Daniel?” Benny asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Jessie said. “That person is all hunched over.”

  “But what if he’s about to change into the werewolf?” Benny said. “Can we follow him?”

  Henry looked toward town. Streetlights had begun to blink on. “Okay,” he said. “But we better hurry. It’s getting dark.”

  A Pile of Bones

  It was late afternoon as the Alden children climbed the trail behind Mrs. Riley’s house. They kept Watch on his leash so he wouldn’t scare any wildlife. When Watch stopped at a creek for a drink, Henry said, “Good idea, Watch. Let’s take a break.” He unzipped his pack for his water bottle. The others did the same.

  “We need to stay hydrated like Watch, especially in this dry climate,” Jessie said.

  Violet laughed. “He would chase fish if we let him. See how he splashes right in?”

  “Watch is smart all right,” Benny boasted. “I bet he’ll help us find clues up here.”

  Henry said, “Let’s follow the creek up to that ridge then turn around. We need to get back before dark.” He picked up the pace. As they continued to hike through the sagebrush, they noticed footprints in the path.

  “You can tell all sorts of people have been up here,” Jessie observed. “This waffle pattern must be from a hiking boot.”

  “And over by the water. Aren’t these prints from bare feet in the mud?” Violet asked.

  “I think so,” Henry said. “Someone must have gone wading.”

  Suddenly Benny hurried forward in the trail. He pointed to a set of paw prints. “Hey! A big dog was here. But, wait a minute. Where did it go?” Benny looked in every direction, but the prints had disappeared.

  His sisters followed the path then stopped. “That’s weird,” said Jessie. “It looks like the dog just vanished. I don’t know where it could have gone.”

  “The werewolf!” Benny cried. He held his finger in the air to explain his idea. “The human part had to take off his shoes before changing into the animal part. These big ol’ paw prints are before he went back to being a human.”

  “Then where did he put his shoes?” Violet wanted to know. “They must be somewhere around here so he could wear them when he became human again.”

  Benny gazed at the trail then looked over at the creek. He shrugged. “I guess I don’t know. But let’s keep looking.”

  The children continued up the hill, past a wall of black lava. The trail switched back and forth as they climbed higher. At the ridge they rested to enjoy the view of Townsend. The tree-lined streets and the park resembled a miniature village. They could see the volleyball court and the barn. People sat on benches, watching children on the playground. Tiny flecks of light came from the picnic tables.

  “Oh, they’ve lit up the jack-o’-lanterns,” Jessie said. “They’re pretty from up here.”

  Henry surveyed the scene then said, “People hiking up here have a good view. Someone could have been watching the barn.”

  “Waiting for it to get dark,” Jessie said, finishing her brother’s thought. “They would have known when to sneak in with the rake.”

  “And smash things up,” Benny finished.

  With worry in her voice, Violet said, “All those kids worked so hard on their jack-o’-lanterns. I hope no one wrecks them.”

  “Same here,” said Henry. “Let’s go a little farther while there’s still a little light. We might find more clues to help Mrs. Riley.”

  As they went up the hill, Watch began tugging at his leash.

  “What is it, boy?” Henry asked. “Where are we going?”

  Watch pulled harder. He led the children off the trail through a cluster of juniper trees. Around a bend they came to a rocky clearing. It was high enough that the final minutes of sun lit the area.

  “Oh gross,” Violet cried. “Something died here.”

  Watch pulled Henry ahead to a patch of flat rock. The black stones were covered with bones and antlers. A man was crouching in the middle of the clearing. He was packing the bones into a burlap sack.

  “Daniel?” Henry called from a distance.

  But when the man turned to look at Henry, he stepped back. It was not Daniel. The man had a full beard. His hair was dark and curly to his shoulders. His bare arms were covered with hair.

  Watch barked just as Jessie, Violet, and Benny arrived. Startled, the man dropped the bag and ran through the woods.

  “Who was that?” Henry said. “I feel bad that we scared him.”

  “Well, he scared me!” Violet said. “I’ve never seen anyone that furry except for a bear at the zoo. And what was he doing with all those bones?”

  Once again, Benny had an idea. “How about this?” he said. “Maybe that hairy man is related to the werewolf. Maybe he was cleaning up after the wolf’s last meal. They eat animals, don’t they?”

  Even though the bones didn’t smell and there was no meat on them, Violet and Jessie backed away from the pile. “I’m not touching those things,” Violet said.

  “M
e neither,” her sister said. “I say we head back. It’s almost sunset.”

  The western sky glowed orange and pink as the sun slipped behind the mountains. The air grew chilly. Without discussion the Aldens took out their sweatshirts. They drank sips of water. Then they dug in their packs for their flashlights. The trail downhill quickly grew dark. Henry led the way, and Jessie brought up the rear with Watch. She kept looking over her shoulder.

  “I hope that hairy man doesn’t come this way,” she called to the others.

  “I think he went in the other direction,” Henry called back, slowing their pace. “Hey, everyone, be careful where you step. It’s rocky.” He looked over the edge. The trail narrowed as it twisted down the hill. Henry often glanced back at Violet and Benny to make sure they were okay. Their lights bounced against the growing shadows of dusk.

  They reached the bottom of the hill as a light went on in Mrs. Riley’s kitchen. They could see her through the window. She stood at the stove with Grandfather.

  Benny yelled, “Hooray, I smell spaghetti! I’m starving.”

  “How was your day?” Grandfather asked when all were seated at the table.

  The children described the mysterious damage in the barn.

  “They were a great help cleaning up,” Mrs. Riley said.

  “And then we got to make jack-o’-lanterns!” Benny said with excitement. “Mine is the one with a cowboy hat made out of leaves.”

  As Grandfather and Mrs. Riley discussed the weather, the children grew sleepy. They were tired from the long day and their big hike. When it came time to help with the dishes, they had forgotten to mention the hairy man and the pile of bones.

  After dessert, Mrs. Riley brought in wood for the fireplace. “Sometimes it snows early in Idaho,” she told the children. “Especially in these higher elevations. I want to make sure you’re warm tonight.”

  Since this was their second evening in Townsend, the Alden children felt at home. The den was cozy with shelves of books, games, and magazines. A jigsaw puzzle was spread out on a card table. Soon the children unrolled their sleeping bags in front of the fireplace. The rising moon cast a glow through the blinds as they drifted to sleep.