Chapter Nine

The kids were halfway home when the big white National Park Warden truck pulled up beside them.

Warden McKay rolled down his window. “Do you kids want a ride home?”

“Yes, please!” Cricket said. She and Shilo climbed in the passenger side, and Tyler jumped into the back seat. They did up their seat belts just as the radio squawked.

“Warden McKay, this is headquarters. What is your location? Over.”

Cricket’s dad picked up the radio. “I’m in the village, Sarah. What’s up?”

“The trap alarm just went off again. That’s twice in the past half hour. Did you set the bear trap, sir?”

Warden McKay rested the radio on his knee. He seemed puzzled.

“Sir? Do you want me to go out and check on it?” Sarah asked.

“No, I’ll come back right now. It’s probably just a malfunction.”

“Ten-four.”

Warden McKay returned the radio to the console and glanced at the girls. They couldn’t hide their excitement. “Okay, what’s up? Do you know something about that trap?”

Cricket nodded. Her dad’s face changed from puzzled to worried to angry. After he finished telling them how dangerous the trap was and that tampering with the trap was illegal, he took a deep breath and turned the truck around.

Tyler leaned over the seat. “Do you really think the trap malfunctioned, Dad? Do you think it could be a cougar?”

“I don’t know what to think, Tyler.”

“It’s not even dusk,” Cricket said. “Cougars don’t hunt at this time of day.”

“Maybe he couldn’t resist the bait,” Shilo said. “Maybe he’s starving.”

“Or maybe it caught something else,” Cricket said. She crossed her fingers inside her mittens.

When Warden McKay parked the truck, the headlights shone into the trap. The mesh door was down, and the light only shone in partway. The back of the trap was pitch black. They all sat and watched for a minute. Nothing happened. They rolled the windows down. Silence.

“You kids stay here while I check it,” Cricket’s dad said as he climbed out of the truck. The kids watched as he unlocked his rifle and checked that it was loaded. This wasn’t an adventure anymore—it was serious.

Cricket held her breath.

“Do you think there’s something in there?” Shilo asked.

Cricket nodded. She leaned forward. “Did you see that?”

“What? What did you see?” Shilo stared hard into the dark trap.

“See the eyes, there at the back. Did you see that?”

“No, Cricket, I—”

Loud angry barking erupted at the back of the trap. Both girls jumped in their seats. Tyler banged his head on the back window. Warden McKay jumped away from the trap. A huge animal charged at the mesh door, barking and snarling.

“That’s not a cougar,” Shilo squeaked.

“It’s not a wolf either,” Tyler said.

The giant dog stood at the door with its head down, growling. Bits of slobber streaked its black snout and sprayed the brown fur on its shoulders.

“I’ve never seen such a big dog,” Shilo said.

“But I can see his ribs,” Cricket said. “No wonder he climbed into the trap for the bait. He is starving.”

The dog had stopped growling. He quivered, but Cricket couldn’t tell if he was angry or afraid.

Warden McKay returned to the truck. “I think you might have caught the troublemaker. I bet the cougar is miles away from here.”

That evening Cricket, Shilo and Tyler walked over to Jeremy’s cabin.

“What did you want to show us?” Cricket asked as they took off their boots and coats.

“I’ve found Elvis,” Jeremy said.

Cricket’s heart jumped. “He’s not in town again, is he?”

“You haven’t told anyone, have you?” Shilo asked.

Jeremy held up his hands. “Whoa, he’s nowhere near town. In fact, he hasn’t been around for a couple of days.” He turned and pointed to the map on his computer screen.

Tyler leaned forward and studied the map. “That looks like Crandell Mountain. And this could be Red Rock Canyon.”

Jeremy nodded. “That’s right. He went through the canyon late last night, then continued west. It looks like Elvis is trying to get away from Waterton as fast as he can.”

Cricket sighed with relief.

“It had to take him at least a day to get that far,” Jeremy said. “He must have been heading out of town when he followed the snowshoers on that trail.”

“Which means he couldn’t have done any of those things in town,” Cricket said.

“Except kill a deer—and hide it right in our schoolyard!” Shilo said.

“True, but after that he was gone. He didn’t cause any of the other problems,” Cricket said.

“You were right all along, Cricket. The town really did catch a bad case of phantom frenzy,” Jeremy said.

“I’m glad he got away okay, but I kind of wish I had seen him, even for just a second.”

Jeremy smiled and picked up a folder from his desk. “I know it’s not quite the same thing, but I printed these for you.” He handed each of them a large night-vision photo of a trail deep in the woods, lit by a carpet of white snow. In the middle of the picture, staring right into the camera, was Elvis. His front paw was raised as though he had paused in midstride. His eyes glowed brightly.

Cricket grinned. This was better than seeing Elvis in town, where he was in danger. In the forest he was at home and safe.