The Mystery of the Mother Wolf by Carolyn Keene

Author:Carolyn Keene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

9

Trapped in High Placen

Bess screamed, her boots slipping in the muck as she ran toward a broken-down stall on the left. In the nick of time, she scrambled through the stall door and shut it behind her.

Nancy and George darted to the right. Just as the hog was about to butt them, the shed door opened.

The hog swerved aside as a loud rattling noise clanged outside. With its ears pricked forward, the hog galloped through the opening, grunting happily.

“Come and get it, Silo,” Rusty coaxed. “A bucket full o’ slops.”

Nancy cautiously moved to the doorway and watched as Rusty banged a metal bucket with a stick while the hog eyed him eagerly.

“Bess, George,” Nancy whispered, motioning them forward. “Come on, let’s get out of here before Rusty has a chance to shut the door again.”

The girls rushed outside, trying their best to appear invisible as they sidestepped Rusty.

“Hey! Not so fast,” Rusty said, dropping the bucket of slops in front of the hog, which instantly started to gulp it down.

Rusty whipped out his slingshot from his pocket. A small but sharp-looking stone rested in the elastic pouch as he pointed the weapon right at them. “You girls ain’t going nowhere till you answer some questions. By the way, how’d you like my little trick, girls? Silo here scared you silly, didn’t he?”

Nancy, Bess, and George studied Rusty warily. His puffy cheeks gave his eyes a squinty look exactly like Silo’s, and his raggedy gray beard hung halfway down his chest.

“Uh, he did scare us,” George said. “Can we go now?”

Rusty narrowed his eyes even more. A cold, angry look passed over his face as he spat out, “Go on—get lost. And if I see you girls here again, you’ll be in for a real tussle. No more fun and games like today. This here Silo is bacon bits next to his sister, Big Bertha. Now, there’s a silk purse sow for you.”

As he spoke, Nancy glanced down at his boots. Sure enough, they were big, and the tracks they’d made in the snow around him showed heavy treads. They could be a match for the ones in the snow last night, Nancy thought. I just wish those had been clearer.

Rusty lowered the slingshot as he locked Silo back into the shed. Meanwhile, Nancy rummaged inside her pocket and pulled out the Swiss army knife, which had been there since she’d shown it to Ross earlier. “Don’t worry, we’ll go,” she assured him. “Just let me ask you something, first. Is this yours?” She held the knife toward him in the palm of her hand.

As fast as a striking snake, Rusty snatched the knife from Nancy’s hand and dropped it into his pocket. “Never seen it before in my life,” he declared, “but I could always use one o’ these.”

“Hey, give that back,” Nancy demanded.

Rusty lifted the slingshot again. “Didn’t I say, get lost?” he snapped, aiming the stone right at her. “I don’t take kindly to nosy strangers.”

Nancy sighed, her spirits dampened.

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