Chapter 9

SPENCE’S HEELS DUG TWIN FURROWS in the ground in front of him as he was forcibly moved closer to the gorilla. Having easily lured the ape outside the quarry building with another piece of candy, Mike and Ben were finding it much harder to coax Spence any nearer at all.

“Go on, Spence,” Mike urged. “It’s okay!”

“Yeah,” Ben added, now anxious to show off his courage. “He’s not vicious or anything.”

Ben thrust a candy bar into Spence’s fist and then forced the boy’s hand forward by pushing on his elbow with both hands. Spence’s eyes widened as the gorilla looked up and stretched out a thick arm covered in long, dark brown fur.

“Go on,” Ben prodded. “He’s waiting for you.”

Spence stretched the hand holding the chocolate to the farthest reach of his fingertips and leaned until he was as far forward as he could manage without falling over. As if mimicking his behavior, the ape also extended only two fingers and gingerly took the tip of the candy wrapper before gravely drawing it back and opening it.

“Wow!” Spence exclaimed. “But . . . where did he come from? This is no bigfoot, but the arid terrain of the desert is not the usual habitat for gorillas either.”

Mike shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he escaped from a circus or something. He seems tame enough, like he’s used to being around people.”

Back at the quad runners, Jake, tied by his leash to Mike’s machine, kept up a running monologue of barks, yips, yelps, and other signs of warning and unhappiness. “Jake’s sure not used to him yet,” Winnie observed.

“Oh, wow!” Ben announced in his listen-to-this-great-idea voice. The tone made Winnie roll her eyes even before she heard what he had to say. “I wonder if our folks will let us keep him. I mean, talk about a great mascot!”

Winnie just shook her head. There was no point in saying anything; Ben was just Ben. The girl turned her face away from the scene and by doing so caught sight of some movement over by the derelict conveyor hoists. “Guys!” she said. “We’ve got company.”

Through the haze and dust they could see a man dressed in a blue fleece-lined jacket, walking toward them. Mike thought at once that he looked familiar, and as the figure came closer, Mike said, “It’s Dan Plummer. Hey, Mr. Plummer,” he called, waving his arms.

At that moment Plummer pulled a shotgun into view from where he had carried it in concealment by his side. Winnie was the first to give the alarm: “Mike, he’s got a gun!”

Mike spotted the weapon also. “Hey!” he yelled. “Hold on!”

Plummer brought the shotgun up to shoulder level, aiming it straight at the gorilla. “You kids get out of the way!” he ordered roughly.

Instead of obeying, the four friends ran toward him. “Wait! Please!” Winnie shouted.

“It’s okay, Mr. Plummer!” Mike pleaded. “He’s gentle!”

There was a roar and a puff of smoke from the gun’s muzzle. The ape flinched and grabbed his side in obvious pain, then toppled over onto his side in the dirt.

“You killed him in cold blood!” Winnie accused as Plummer walked between the astounded Last Chance Detectives. “You’re as bad as a murderer!”

Plummer bent over the body of the ape. “He’s not dead,” he said calmly, reaching into the thickly matted fur and withdrawing a small, red-feathered dart from the beast’s hide.

“A tranquilizer dart?” Winnie exclaimed.

Plummer nodded and pocketed the barb. “Eight cc’s of Thoralen. He should be out for a while. But don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

Though reassured that the gorilla had not been harmed, Mike knew that a lot needed explaining here. Why did this man show up here and now with exactly the right weapon to subdue a jungle animal? “Mr. Plummer,” Mike said firmly, “what’s going on?”

Plummer grimaced as he stood and rubbed his hands against the legs of his jeans. “Mike, I owe you an apology,” he said with evident sincerity. “The other day I wasn’t exactly honest with you and your grandpa.”

“What d’ya mean?” Mike demanded.

Holding up his hands as if to ward off Mike’s suspicions, Plummer continued, “Oh, it’s true, I did fall asleep at the wheel. But those scratch marks and the hair you found, they were from this big fella when he got away from me after the accident. I’ve been tracking him ever since but wasn’t having much luck until I saw your dog got on his trail.”

Winnie let her eyes roam back to the tracks made by the quads as they pulled up at the quarry and then thought about the direction from which Plummer had appeared. “You followed us!”

Plummer nodded with a sheepish grin.

“But why didn’t you just tell us the truth?” Mike demanded.

Plummer looked embarrassed. “I couldn’t exactly. See, if the authorities knew that I had him, I could be in some very serious trouble. That’s why I need you kids’ help.”

Ben folded his arms across his chest with suspicion. “What kind of help?”

Pointing at the ape, Plummer explained, “We need to keep our gorilla friend here a secret. Just between us.”

Winnie was not sympathetic. “He doesn’t belong to you, does he?”

The tone Mr. Plummer took was soothing and pleasant. “I don’t think a beautiful animal like this can really belong to anybody. That’s why I liberated him, so he could be released back into his natural habitat.” The man looked from face to face, reading what impression he was making on each of the detectives.

“Liberated?” Spence quizzed. “From where?”

Now his manner changed to one of an adult dealing with kids. “Look,” Plummer urged, “the less you know, the better. But trust me when I say that the previous owners were only concerned with making a profit. He,” Plummer paused to wave gently at the sleeping gorilla, “was living under such inhumane conditions—he wouldn’t have lasted another year.”

“But a gorilla like this has got to be worth thousands,” Mike pointed out, remembering the discussion with his mother. “Was it right to just take him?”

Now Plummer sounded stern. “The question is, Would it have been right to just leave him there? Think about it, Mike. It’s the same thing you guys did for Jake, and for just as good a reason. If you stop and think about it, I think you’ll realize that we’re on the same team!” Plummer again scanned the group. “So . . . can I count on you guys?”

There was a long silence. Mike looked from Jake to the gorilla and then back to Plummer’s smiling, expectant face. “Yeah, I guess so,” he said.

Plummer looked relieved. “Good! I knew you kids were—” Plummer interrupted himself as he saw a vehicle approaching. “Hey!” he said abruptly. “Who’s that?”

Spence peered at the advancing gold pickup and replied, “It’s Sheriff Smitty.”

“The sheriff!”

“It’s okay,” Ben said. “He’s our friend!”

Plummer ignored the reassuring words and instead rushed toward the gorilla, which he covered with a tattered discarded canvas. While arranging this screen, he was giving orders. “You kids gotta cover for me! I’m sure he’s a swell guy, but if he finds me with a stolen gorilla . . .” Plummer ducked inside the warehouse and pulled the door closed. As he did so he added, “Mike, listen. That gorilla—his life is in your hands. Understand?”

The line of kids stood in confused silence as Sheriff Smitty’s truck roared up to the scene. “So, um, guys,” Mike said out of the corner of his mouth. “What do you guys think?”

Winnie was wavering. “It’s not like Mr. Plummer’s an escaped convict.”

“He seems okay,” Spence added.

Ben only shrugged and looked at Mike for leadership.

“Then it’s agreed,” Mike said with more assurance than he felt. “We hold off telling . . . for now, until we can think things over.”

By now the sheriff’s pickup had rolled to a stop. Smitty got out, wearing his cowboy hat and sunglasses, and walked toward the group. “What’s going on here?” he said cheerfully.

“Nothing much, Sheriff,” Mike mumbled.

“Your mom got worried, Mike,” Smitty explained. “She asked me to come out here and take a look.”

“Oh, ah, no problems here,” Ben chattered, spreading his hands wide.

“Nope,” Winnie added.

“Everything’s under control,” Mike concluded.

The officer squinted at the Last Chance Detectives and wiped his forehead. “You all are acting kind of funny. You sure nothing’s wrong?”

“Positive,” Ben agreed. “Have a look around for yourself.”

Winnie shot Ben a how-could-you-say-that look.

Smitty scratched his head. “Well, I suppose—” Suddenly he stopped, removed his sunglasses, and focused on some movement behind the kids.

Despite the heavy sedation of the tranquilizer, the gorilla grunted and rolled over beneath the tarp, pulling the canvas off of his hairy body.

In shocked surprise, the sheriff drew his gun and stumbled back a step. “What in blue blazes? You kids, get back!”

For the second time in ten minutes, the four friends found themselves defending the gorilla. They ran in front of the ape and knelt down, blocking Smitty’s shot. “No, no, Sheriff!”

“No, Sheriff Smitty! Don’t shoot!”

“He’s tranquilized!”

Smitty ordered, “You heard what I said! Get behind me . . . now!”

“But . . .” Mike protested. Then he had another shock: Plummer was sneaking up behind the sheriff with his shotgun. Mike’s protest to Smitty changed to a warning shout. “Noooo!”

But it was too late as Plummer swung the butt of the shotgun, cracking Sheriff Smitty in the back of the skull, dropping him to the ground.

Winnie was the first to recover from her surprise. She ran to Smitty, followed by the rest of the kids. They looked at Smitty with concern and cast accusing glares at Plummer.

Plummer picked up Smitty’s gun, a guilty expression on his face. “Well, why are you looking at me like that?” he demanded. “You saw what happened. I had no choice! He could have shot the gorilla.” He emptied the handgun and threw it in the brush.

“He was trying to protect us!” Winnie exploded.

Plummer was through arguing with a bunch of kids. “I don’t have time for this. I’ve gotta get my trailer. You kids stay put.” And the blue-jacketed man ran off to retrieve his pickup truck and trailer.

“Oh, Smitty,” Winnie sniffed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Is he gonna be okay?” Ben asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Winnie answered in an angry voice.

“Man, how’d we ever get ourselves into a mess like this?” Ben moaned.

“Mike, what are we gonna do?” Winnie asked. Everyone looked to Mike for a response.

“We’re gonna do what we should have done in the first place,” he said firmly. “What we knew right from the start.”