"Shhh…" I held a finger to my lips. "I want to hear the story."
Hal began, "About 50,000 years ago, the Iowa Indians lived up on those bluffs. At one time, there was a chief named Red Hawk and his daughter Badger Tooth, who were much beloved by their tribe. The Indian princess was sixteen and nearing marriageable age. Her father, the chief, wanted her to marry a young brave from the tribe, but Badger Tooth had no interest in that."
"Why did they name her Badger Tooth? It's not very pretty," Kaitlyn interrupted.
"You're right," Hal conceded. "It wasn't a pretty name. It was given to her because she was so tough and brave."
"Okay," Betty decided, "if it can't be Sparkly Unicorn, we'll take Badger Tooth."
"I'm glad you agree," Hal said seriously. "Years passed, and Chief Red Hawk grew older. He wanted Badger Tooth to lead the tribe after him, but since she wasn't interested in getting married or having children, he was worried that his line would die out."
"What does that mean?" Inez asked. "How can a line die out?"
Ava spoke up. "By erasing it with an eraser, of course."
Hal didn't miss a beat. "So without any heirs, there would be braves fighting to rule. And Red Hawk only wanted peace. He demanded Badger Tooth choose a husband and have children."
"That's mean!" Kaitlyn cried out.
"Yes, it is," Hal said. "The princess made him a deal. If any of the young men in the tribe could beat her in a footrace, he could have her as his wife."
"I like where this is going." Lauren nodded.
"Shhh," I found myself saying. "Let the man finish, please."
Hal smiled. "On the day of the race, they set a course that would start at the banks of the Mississippi, right where Aunt June lived." He gave me a look. I guess he knew who I was. "The race wound up the bluffs, ending where the ceremonial burial mounds are now. Three men decided to compete. And when they had all assembled at the river, the chief gave the signal, and the princess and the three young braves took off running."
He paused dramatically. We were all leaning in, wanting to hear the rest of the story.
"What happened?" Inez pleaded. "Who won the race?"
"As the race started up the bluffs, one of the braves caught up to Badger Tooth, who was in the lead."
"Naturally," Betty said.
"He tried to push her aside as he gained on her, but he tripped on a rock and fell off the cliff into the river. He was never seen again."
"That's the ghost!" Ava gasped.
Hal went on. "Not long after, the second brave caught up to her. And since he didn't see anyone else, he thought he was winning. As he passed Badger Tooth on the outside of the path, it gave way, and he too fell off the cliff and died."
"Two ghosts!" Lauren clapped her hands.
"What happened next?" I inquired.
"The last fifty feet of the race lay ahead," Hal stated. "And the last man caught up to Badger Tooth. He knew he'd started out last, and he also realized he hadn't passed by the other two. Since the princess was faster than they were, he had an idea of what had happened. He decided that going around her was too dangerous."
"Because she pushed them off the cliff," Betty said with a shrug.
"That may be true," Hal said. "We will never know. But the third brave, whose name was Two Owls, was the smartest in the tribe. He came up behind the princess, scooped her up, and threw her over his shoulder, all while running. Badger Tooth punched, bit, and scratched him, but he wouldn't put her down until the end of the race. Just before the finish line, he gently set her down on her backside and then won the race before she could get to her feet."
"That was smart!" I whistled. "So Badger Tooth married Two Owls, and the other two men are the ghosts."
Hal grinned. "There are three ghosts. The princess married Two Owls. And right after she gave birth to twins—one girl and one boy—Two Owls fell off the bluff and died."
"She killed him?" Ava, who loved a happily ever after story, was horrified.
"Badger Tooth didn't want to share rule with any man," Hal said. "And rightly so. When she had her little prince and princess, she decided she didn't need him anymore. It was never proven that she killed him or any of the others. But she was a well-respected leader, so no one thought anything of it."
"But she was a killer!" Kelly finally declared.
"Things might have been different to them back in the day," Hal eased. He was really sweet with all of us. "The story is, late at night, you can see the ghosts of the three young men running up the cliff and falling to their deaths."
We burst into applause, and Hal took a little bow.
"That's a great story!" Lauren shouted.
"We're totally having a night hike tonight!" Kaitlyn insisted.
"I like her," Betty said with a curt nod.
"Thank you, Hal," I said. "Badger Tooth would've made a great, if somewhat murdery, Girl Scout."
The girls carried the bags out to the car with Kelly as I paid.
"How much for the lanyards and name tags?"
Hal waved me off. "On the house."
I stared at him. "Really? They look expensive."
The man shook his head. "I won't take a cent for them."
"Thanks." I wasn't sure I'd be thanking him by the end of the trip. "But I'm sure I'll be fighting to keep them in bed all night."
He shrugged. "At least I didn't tell them about the aliens."
CHAPTER SIX
The girls chattered like magpies all the way back to the lodge to unpack and then back into town to Fancy Nancy's for dinner. This time, almost every parking spot on the street was taken. Sure enough, we walked in to find the restaurant packed.
Nancy waved us over to the table we'd had earlier. There was a sign on it that said
