Tread Softly

Chapter Twelve

Must we?' Alice complained. 'Why don't we play cards instead? Do you play bridge, Karen?'

'Not very well, I'm afraid.'

'I want a story,' Rose protested.

'Me, too,' said Heather.

'You girls were frightened out of your wits last night.'

'It was neat.''

'Too windy for cards,' Arnold said. He broke a dead branch over his knee, and placed both pieces on the fire. 'I'm for a story.'

Alice sighed. She didn't want to be a stick in the mud. On the other hand, she certainly didn't want a repeat of last night's shenanigans. The story itself hadn't bothered her. Not much anyway. But her idea of fun did not include being startled from a half sleep by the hysterical screams of her daughters. 'It's all right with me,' she said. She stared across the blazing fire at Nick. 'No funny stuff tonight. Promise?'

'Cross my heart,' he said.

'Who's got a story?' Scott asked.

'A real scary one,' Benny added.

'Karen?' Arnold asked.

'Someone else's turn. I did my damage.'

At least she had the good sense to realize she'd caused all the trouble.

Scott leaned toward the fire, grinning. 'There is, of course, the true story of Digby Bolles.' 'Oh, Dad.' Julie smirked at him.

'Go on,' Alice urged. This story should be harmless enough.

'Is it scary?' Benny asked.

'Listen and find out. Digby came to the mountains, insane with grief, to look for his missing daughter, Doreen.'

'The Doreen?' Karen asked.

'The very Doreen who vanished with Audrey so mysteriously earlier that summer. Well, Digby wandered the trails and woods and the high, barren passes, looking everywhere. Soon, his food ran out. But he didn't turn back. He kept searching. He lived on chipmunks and squirrels, which he ate raw.'

'Yuck,' Rose said.

'Squirrel tartare,' said Julie.

'October came, and a terrible blizzard hit. But Digby continued his search. He couldn't find any more squirrels. He was starving to death. Then one night he saw the light of a campfire in the distance. He trudged through the knee-deep snow, and came upon a lone camper. He staggered up to the man, who was kind enough to offer him a bowl of stew. But Digby had lost his taste for stew. The man, who happened to be a surgeon on a fishing trip, looked very appetizing to Digby. And he tasted as good as he looked.' Scott leaned back, folded his arms across his chest, and grinned.

'Is that all?' Benny asked.

'Great story, Pop,' Julie muttered, shaking her head.

'What happened next?' Rose demanded.

'Well, poor Digby eventually starved to death. He ran out of Dr. Scholl's.'

'Boo,' Julie said.

'That's awful,' Karen gasped as she laughed.

'Wasn't even scary,' Benny complained.

'The best I could do on short notice.'

Heather looked up at Alice, frowning. 'I don't get it.'

'That's all right, honey. It's just as well.'

'He ate the guy, stupid,' Rose explained.

'I know that. What I mean is, if he ate up Dr. Scholles and then died, who buried him?'

'We'll never know,' Scott said. 'One of those great, unsolved mysteries of life.'

'It's just a story,' Alice told the girls. 'None of it really happened.'

'But we saw his grave,' Heather said.

'Don't be a dork.'

Alice glared at Rose. 'Watch your language, young lady.'

'I want a real story,' Benny said. 'That wasn't even scary. It was okay, but it was just a joke. I want a scary one.'

Nick suddenly sat up straight and slapped his knees. 'I've got it! Let's all get our flashlights and go on a Doreen and Audrey hunt!'

'Neat!' Benny blurted.

Julie looked eager. 'They've gotta be around here someplace.'

'Can we, Mom?' Rose asked.

'Not me. I'm perfectly comfortable where I am.'

Arnold turned to Scott. 'What do you think?'

'I'm all for letting the kids go, if that's what they want.'

'Somebody might get hurt,' Alice said. She wanted to protest more strongly, but since Scott seemed to think it was all right.

'We'll be real careful,' Nick told her.

'And no funny stuff. I don't want you trying to scare the girls.'

He raised three fingers. 'Scout's honor.'

'Don't go wandering off too far,' Arnold said. 'We don't want to lose you.'

'We'll just circle the lake.'

'Maybe one of us should go with them,' Alice suggested. 'Just in case.'

'Jeez, Mom, nothing's gonna happen.'

'Nick's old enough to take care of things,' Arnold said.

She sighed. 'Well, be very careful. Somebody could fall and break a leg.'

'We'll be careful,' Nick assured her.

A flashlight shined in Benny's eyes as he hurried through the darkness. 'What took you so long?' Julie asked.

'I couldn't find my flashlight.' He shielded his eyes from the beam.

'Have you got it?'

'Yeah.'

Julie lowered her light. It made a pale disk on the ground at her feet.

'Okay,' Nick said. 'Let's stay close together.' Benny heard a slight tremor in the older boy's voice.

He was shivering himself. It was partly the cold, but he felt shriveled and shaky inside. I'm not scared, he thought. Just excited.

'Now watch where you're walking,' Nick said. 'We'll catch hell if someone gets hurt, and they won't let us do it again.'

'Maybe we can do it every night,' Benny said, thrilled by the idea.

They started walking single file along a footpath near the shore. Nick was in the lead, with Julie close behind him. The twins followed Julie. With hoods up, their hair was out of sight, so Benny couldn't tell which was which.

Looking over his shoulder toward the clearing, he saw the glow of the campfire. He wished Karen had come along. It would be a lot more fun with Karen, even if she was a grown-up.