Boxcar Children 61 - Growling Bear Mystery by Charles Tang, Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

The bear went over the mountain, to see what he could see.”
    Pretty soon the other children joined in. They shook their bear bells. They sang the bear song over and over until they reached the end of the trail, back where they had started.
    “Whew,” Henry said, when they reached the lookout area. “That was a close call.”
    “Let’s sit down on this picnic bench,” Jessie suggested. “I need to rest my legs.”
    Benny took off his pack. “Look, my knees are knocking together from seeing that bear.”
    The other children stared at Benny.
    “You saw the bear?” Violet asked. Her throat was completely dry, and her words nearly faded away
    Benny looked up at his brother and sisters. “Well . . . I almost saw the bear.”
    “Hey, Aldens,” they heard a familiar voice call out from a tour bus parked nearby. “Need a ride?”
    Henry stood up. “Grandfather! What are you doing here?”
    “I’m on my way back from my fishing trip,” he told his grandchildren. “Some folks wanted to stop to take pictures by the Continental Divide sign. I guess I should ask what you are doing here, though I can see by your backpacks that you’ve been hiking.”
    “Hiking and going the opposite direction from a bear,” Jessie told her grandfather.
    “We saw a bear. I mean, I almost saw a bear,” Benny said. “But I wasn’t scared. Know why? Because I had on these.” Benny held out his arm and jingled his bear bells.
    Mr. Alden laughed. “That’s the best bear repellent I know. Now, unless you want to hike all the way back to the lodge, hop on this tour bus. I want my companions to hear all about your bear stories. Then we can tell you all about our fish stories.”
    The Aldens boarded the bus. They were so busy entertaining Mr. Alden’s new travel companions that they didn’t notice a familiar car pulling out of the crowded parking lot right after the bus. All the way up and down the mountain roads, an old red car stayed right behind the tour bus.

    When the bus arrived at the lodge, Mr. Colter was standing out front to greet the passengers. “So you’re the grandfather of these splendid children,” he said to Mr. Alden. “We’ve had nothing but praise for them from everyone on our staff and all the guests who’ve met them.”
    Mr. Colter turned to Benny. “I see you’re back from your hike safe and sound.”
    “Almost not safe and sound!” Benny cried. “We saw a bear. I mean, we almost saw a bear. But we heard a bear for sure.”
    “Whew, Benny,” Mr. Colter said after Benny repeated his story. “That sounds like a close call. Oh, Mrs. Crabtree,” he added when he noticed Mrs. Crabtree had joined the group. “You and your husband are back early. How did you two enjoy your day in Cody?”
    Mrs. Crabtree was still smiling from hearing about Benny’s adventure. “Oh, I went to Cody alone. It was wonderful. Lester stayed behind to work on our trailer. He’s been there all day.”
    “All day?” Jessie said, before she had time to think. “Oops.” She covered her mouth.
    Mrs. Crabtree looked puzzled. “What is it, Jessie? Did you see Lester today?”
    The Aldens weren’t sure what to say.
    “Oh, we thought we saw Mr. Crabtree when we were hiking up by the Continental Divide.”
    Mrs. Crabtree smoothed her jacket nervously. “Oh, no. Mr. Crabtree spent the whole day at our trailer. Not that he got much done, mind you. It was his day off, after all. But he just told me he stayed in all day.”
    “Oh,” Jessie said. She suddenly made herself very busy adjusting the straps on her backpack.
    Just then Oz Elkhorn appeared. “There you are, Jimmy. And your grandkids, too. Mr. Colter said you’d be pulling up any second. I had a few errands up this way. I thought I’d wait around to tell you some good news.”
    “What’s that?” the Aldens all said at once.
    Grinning from ear to ear, Oz reached into his canvas bag. He pulled out a tube of paper and unrolled it.
    “You found the trapper’s map!”