The Screech Owls awoke next morning to the sound of helicopters flying low over the campsite and then off over the swampy land to the south. They were so close that dust was still swirling on the campground paths when the boys emerged from their tent.

“Army choppers,” Data announced.

“What’re they doing?” asked Travis.

“Maybe somebody’s lost in the swamp!” Data said, his imagination also swirling. “Maybe an alligator grabbed somebody last night!”

Travis didn’t think so. Maybe there was an air-force base nearby. Maybe they were on manoeuvres. They probably hadn’t been as close as it had seemed in the tent, the canvas shaking and the poles rattling as they passed directly overhead.

The boys saw Muck standing off to one side of their campsite, a big fist locked around a cup of coffee. He was staring after the helicopters.

“What was that all about?” Travis asked his coach.

“I have no idea,” Muck said. “First there’s searchlights passing through the campsite half the night, now these guys. I didn’t sleep a wink.”

This was no surprise to the boys. In a dozen long bus rides–including this one to Florida–and a flight to Sweden and back, none of the Owls had ever seen Muck sound asleep. He might doze a bit, but sound asleep? Never.

“Must be someone lost,” said Data, now more sure than ever.

“I guess,” agreed Muck, sipping his coffee. He had things other than helicopters on his mind. “We’re on at eleven against Boston. No morning swim–understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Travis said.

Travis knew Muck was worried about the strong Boston entry in the Spring Break Tournament. Muck figured if they could only get by Boston, they stood a good chance of making it into the championship round.

“I want everybody on the bus by 10:00 a.m.”

“I’ll have them there,” Travis answered. He was team captain. It was his job.

 

 

“We’ve got enough time!”

Nish was adamant. For breakfast Mr. Dillinger had prepared his great specialty–pancakes, sausages, hash brown potatoes, toast, and, on top of the pancakes, a scoop of blueberry ice cream–and after cleaning up there was still an hour to go before they had to be on the bus with their hockey equipment.

“No swimming, though!” Travis reminded Nish.

“How much energy does it take to look?” Nish almost shouted, shaking his head in disgust.

Travis gave in. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s get it over with.”

Nish gave one of his stupid yells–“EEEEE-AWWWW-KEEEE!”–and bolted for the tent to retrieve his ludicrous X-ray glasses. He and Andy had come up with another dumb idea to spy upon the gorgeous young woman staying at the far end of the campground. They’d located her tent the evening before, and today they’d go down early, when everyone was beginning to stir to start the day, and maybe catch her headed off to the showers again.

“This time I won’t drop my glasses!” Nish promised.

They set off, with Nish well out in front and Andy closest behind him. Travis, the least enthusiastic, brought up the rear, talking to Lars, who wasn’t much interested either. Lars also thought the idea of X-ray glasses was about as silly and immature and childish as anyone could get. But he seemed to get a kick out of watching Nish be immature and childish.

Simon was coming along as well. Nish had been about to go into his chicken act, but a sharp look from Travis had stopped him. Simon just seemed to want to be part of the gang.

The path leading out of the Owls’ campsite crossed a dirt road, and they had to wait for a truck to pass. The truck had searchlights on both sides, and even though the lights weren’t on, the boys felt like they were being examined. There were two men in the truck, both wearing dark sunglasses, both staring at them as the truck moved slowly by.

They hurried along the network of paths until they came to the far end of the campground. It was empty but for the campsite where the beautiful young woman was staying. There were more bugs there, and more undergrowth. It was a site most people would avoid unless they had no choice, Travis thought, but he supposed these people wanted to be away from everyone else.

“Shhhhhhhh!” Nish whispered, turning back and placing his finger to his lips.

The six Owls–Nish, Andy, Data, Lars, Simon, and Travis–all fell silent and ducked into the thick undergrowth by the path, where Nish led them, slowly, toward the campsite.

“We’re almost there!” Nish whispered, holding up a hand to halt them.

He stopped, fumbled in his pocket, and removed the X-ray glasses. He put them on and pulled them tight to his nose and ears. This time, they wouldn’t fall off at the crucial moment.

Nish took a step forward and fell flat on his face, his foot catching on a vine. He stifled a curse and yanked off the glasses. Then he stepped forward again, crouching low. He broke through the foliage–Travis could make out the campsite just over Nish’s shoulder–and then repositioned his glasses. Travis could see Nish looking from one side to the other.

“I can’t see anything!” he whispered back.

“I told you they wouldn’t work,” Travis said.

Nish turned back, his eyes bulging behind the strange-looking glasses.

“It’s not the glasses, stupid. There’s no one here!”

Andy pushed through and checked the tents, without the help of X-ray glasses. He confirmed Nish’s findings. “They’re gone.”

“Maybe they’re at the showers,” Wilson suggested.

“Naw,” Andy said. “We would have passed them on the way.”

“I’ll bet they’re at the beach,” Nish said, his enthusiasm returning.

“We haven’t time,” Travis warned.

“Quit your whining,” Nish snapped. “We’ve got time. Besides, these things were made for the beach–remember the package?”

“We can make it,” said Andy.

“Let’s do it!” added Data.

Travis looked at Lars, who simply shrugged to suggest they might as well get it over with.

With Nish and Andy leading the way, the boys began running for the beach. There was a back trail leading from this end of the campground to the lake. Perhaps this was why they had come to this out-of-the-way site, Travis thought. It had its own virtually private access to the beach.

The trail twisted and turned. They crossed a wooden bridge spanning a small creek, climbed over a fallen tree, and then came to a final bend in the path. The lake flickered blue through the opening.

Nish held up his hand to stop everyone.

“They’re here!” he hissed.

Beyond the trees he could see two men on the beach pushing a rowboat out onto the water. The lovely young woman was also there, in a bathing suit. She was already in the water, holding onto the boat as they pushed it off the beach.

“This way!” Nish hissed, heading away from the trail toward a stand of trees near the sand.

For once, Travis agreed with Nish’s tactics. It was a public beach, but somehow this morning it felt like the public was not welcome. Travis didn’t know how, but these people gave the impression they did not want company, did not even want to be seen.

Nish held up his hand. “Down!”

The Owls all ducked down and scurried up to the thick stand of trees. Travis put an arm out and pushed away a branch. He could see very clearly now. The men were getting into the rowboat, which had been loaded with a large bundle of some kind. The woman, still standing in the water, began turning the boat with her hands, pushing it out into deeper water. The man with the shaved head, sitting in the middle, put oars into the oarlocks and began rowing, turning the boat some more. The man with the ponytail seemed to be tying rope around the bundle.

Now the woman was wading back through the water toward the shore.

“They work!”

The five other Owls turned at once toward Nish. He had his special X-ray glasses on, and he was leaning as far out from his cover as he dared, staring hard and grinning from ear to ear.

“Fantastic!” he said.

“Lemme see!” Andy almost shouted.

“Me too!” said Data.

“And me!” added Lars.

Travis turned, looking at Lars with surprise. Lars shrugged and looked sheepish. “I just want to see if they work,” he explained. It didn’t sound very convincing.

“Cost you a buck each,” Nish announced.

“What?” they said as one.

“A buck a look,” Nish said.

“No fair,” complained Andy.

Nish made no reply. He simply stared, grinned, and kept congratulating himself. “Beautiful…fantastic…I can’t believe it…”

Andy couldn’t take it any more. “All right! I’m in. C’mon, lemme see outta them!”

“Who else?” Nish had to know first.

“Me,” said Data.

“I guess me,” added Lars.

“Me,” said Simon in a quiet voice.

“Trav?” Nish asked.

Travis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I already paid for half of them. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” Nish said. “Sorry.” He sounded more sorry for himself than for Travis, however.

“Lemme see,” said Andy.

“Everybody’s agreed then?” Nish said. “A dollar each.”

Everyone except Travis nodded.

Nish smiled and took off the glasses, handing them first to Andy. Andy fumbled with them, dropped them, grabbed them up, cleaned them with his fingers, and pushed them on. He moved a branch away and stared out toward the young woman, who was still standing at the edge of the water, watching the progress of the rowboat.

“Nothin’!” Andy protested.

“They work fine for me,” said Nish.

“My turn!” said Data.

Andy handed them over. Data put the glasses on and looked through the gap in the branches. He stared a long time before saying anything.

“I…think I see something,” he said, finally.

Data slowly removed the glasses and gave them to Lars, who looked quickly.

“Nothing.”

Lars handed the glasses to Travis, who knew even before he looked that he would see nothing. The lenses were ridged, so they gave a fuzzy-edged look to whatever you looked at, almost like a videotape on pause. Whatever the effect was, it wasn’t X-ray.

“A rip-off,” Travis pronounced. He handed the glasses to Simon, who didn’t even bother trying them on.

Nish was still smiling. “I can’t help it if they don’t work for you. They worked fine for me. And Data.”

Data didn’t know how to respond. “I…guess,” he said.

Travis looked back toward the water.

“Look!” he said.

“We have been!” said Andy.

“No! In the boat!”

The X-ray glasses and the beautiful young woman were forgotten as the six boys turned their attention to the rowboat, now well out on the water. The rower was standing up, as if keeping watch, and the man with the ponytail was attaching something to the tied-up bundle. The two men then pulled at the bundle and moved it to one side of the rowboat.

With an enormous effort, the men lifted the bundle, and Travis now saw that attached to it were two heavy concrete blocks. They steadied it on the gunwale for a moment, and then pushed it over. It splashed heavily and sank. The shift of weight caused the rowboat to rock so violently that the man with the ponytail fell back heavily. But the boat didn’t tip over completely. The one with the shaved head quickly began rowing back to shore, where the woman waded out into the water once again to catch the boat and haul it up onto the sand so they could jump out.

“What do you think they dumped?” Andy asked.

“A body?” Data suggested.

Data–the most naive member of the Screech Owls–had the wildest imagination and came up with the silliest, most ridiculous statements.

But this time no one laughed. And no one had a better idea.

“We’ve got a bus to catch,” Travis said.

The others seemed relieved to be brought back to reality.

“Let’s go before they see us,” said Nish.

He turned, took one look at the X-ray glasses in his hand, and tossed them into the bush. “What a waste,” he said.