"It was a troll, although I didn’t know it then."
They spent the whole day practicing, only breaking for lunch. Tad went a step farther than just assigning events. He paired the campers up so that each event had a back-up competitor, in case someone was sick. Also, that meant they practiced together, so no one was ever alone. Shy was paired up with Daniel, though he had hoped it would be Sam so he could practice archery. Tad then took each group and instructed them on practicing one event before lunch, and one after. When it came to Shy and Daniel, Tad explained further.
"After this first week of practicing geo caching during the day, you will start practicing at night…. And I will have some specific instructions for you before we start that. Yes, Daniel?"
"What is geo caching? And why do we have it at night?"
"Geo caching is using GPS devices to find hidden caches. Think of it as finding hidden treasure. You would like to find a hidden treasure, right? Well, you will be given a treasure map of sorts, and you will have to use it and the GPS to find the treasure. This will be good practice and teach you to use maps, a compass, and other skills to find your way through the wilderness, or to find a specific location. You will learn how to use the map and compass first to find your way. That way, if the GPS doesn’t work, you can still find your way, and not get lost. Once you master that, you will learn to use the GPS. I will hide something ahead of time, and give you latitude and longitude coordinates. You will enter those into the GPS which will then get you close to the geo cache. You will still need to look hard to find your treasure. It will be hidden, and the GPS will only get you close. Use your creativity when looking. So, your question, why do they do this at night? Well, quite frankly, it's because it is much harder at night. It makes it more difficult. This is probably the hardest of all the events…. And the most dangerous too."
At this point, Shy felt a sinking in his stomach. He looked at Daniel who didn’t seem fazed by the fact that this was the hardest event. In fact, he seemed energized. Daniel’s excitement continued throughout the day. Matter of fact, throughout the day, Daniel bragged to each of the boys that they would get to be out hiking after dark. One by one, they brought it up with Shy, who was not so excited. All he could think about was the light he saw the night before. Would they run into something like that? Was it really safe for them to be out at night?
Shy was able to block out his worry for the remainder of the morning because he had to use every ounce of his energy to keep up with Daniel on their first practice run. Tad had them run to the Lodge and back. Not only was Daniel a good runner, fast and long-winded, but he was also very sure-footed. Shy, on the other hand, tripped and fell twice on roots or loose boulders. Besides those falls, though, Shy was pretty happy with his performance. He didn’t totally embarrass himself. In fact, he kept up well when he was not falling down.
After an uneventful lunch, they began orienteering. Tad had placed a red flag up in the hills above the cabins. He made sure they had the map and compass. He then gave them a sheet of instructions, and a waterproof spiral notebook with a pencil. The instructions included a starting point, and then also several of what Tad called change points, with distances after them. Tad then took the two boys over to a path. He had measured off 100 yards of flat path. He instructed both boys to count how many paces it took them to walk 100 yards. Then they had to divide that number by three and write down the result. This final number was the average number of feet they covered with each pace.
So, they were to start at the starting point on the instructions, use the compass to face the direction listed on the instructions, and divide the distance listed by their average number of feet per pace. That should get them to the first change point. From there they would repeat the process, changing direction for a new distance. This would continue until they reached their final destination. If they did it correctly, they should see the red flag that Tad had placed.
After ensuring they had basically grasped the concept, Tad brought them to the starting position, and said, "Go get it!"
They struggled initially, but Shy, who had always loved looking at maps, made the connection in his head of how to find the flag. After a few quiet suggestions to Daniel, who looked completely lost, Shy began to assume control of the expedition. He found that the topographic map allowed him to visualize the terrain in his head. He was able to check their progress on the instruction sheet against the map, and what physical features of the terrain they should be by. At the change points, Shy would use the compass to turn the correct direction, then, before starting off, he would pick a visual target off in the distance that was the direction they needed to head. He used that target to check that they always stayed on track. As he led them past ravines, over rocky outcroppings, and through dense forest, Shy found Daniel sneaking wondering glances at him. Stopping suddenly, Shy spoke up.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
"Like what?" Daniel stalled. Finally, when Shy didn’t answer he said, "I just didn’t know you were so smart. You’re really good at this. I don’t think I could do this. Where did you learn to do this?"
Shy shrugged. "It just seems like I can see how the land should look by looking at the way these lines curve on the map. See…. The closer together these lines are, the steeper the hill."
Daniel looked, but Shy could tell he was not getting it.
"It’s OK. You are a way better runner than me, so this works out good. Let’s go find this red flag. We are almost to the last change point. It should be close now, so keep your eyes open" Shy said.
They found the flag a short time later. Daniel spotted it in the low branches of a scrub tree. Happily they worked their way back to the camp.
By the time they had returned, the other boys were all gathered in the clearing. Most were trying to keep cool, as it was a real scorcher out. Henry was explaining his throwing technique for skipping rocks. The other boys looked bored. They all agreed to go up to the Hive in hopes of Tom T having some cold drinks ready to cool them down.
As they relaxed on the bean bags with their icy glasses and talked, Shy decided he was going to draw a map of the campground. He was still proud that Daniel recognized his abilities with maps and wanted to take it a step further.
He found some paper and pen and began to sketch. Soon, several of the boys were watching him, and making suggestions.
Tad appeared shortly thereafter to lead them to supper, but upon seeing the map, he insisted they post it up on the wall of the Hive.
"We are grilling out tonight! Burgers, dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, soda…. Mmmmmm…" he said as he tacked the map up next to the zip line exit.
The boys trooped into the clearing behind the lodge. There they found picnic tables lined up, again with their cabin names sitting on them. The boys sat down, and for the first time Tad stayed with them. To their surprise, their names had already been carved into these tables also. Sawyer got Tad’s attention, and called him over. Tad took a seat on the bench, next to Ralph, across from Sawyer. Sawyer lifted up his hands, which had been strategically placed in front of him, covering his name.
"What is this? It’s on our table in the dining hall too! We didn’t do this… somehow it carved itself. Look, we all have them," He whined to Tad as he pointed at Shy’s name in the table.
Tad smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to ask about that. There is a nisse that lives in the lodge also. It seems that this creature likes everyone to have an assigned seat. Don’t worry about it."
"Yeah, but that Clancy lady… the director… she told us that we would get in trouble for carving on the tables," Ralph spoke up.
"Well, you better not let her see it," Tad smiled even bigger now.
As if on cue, Mrs. Clancy appeared next to Gust up by the grill. Some campers were still filing into the clearing.
"How was day two?" Mrs. Clancy boomed through her megaphone. "Did you all get your events chosen? I hope so. Work hard because the winning cabin gets a super prize! Another note, before we sit down to dinner. We will be holding a stargazing party in three days. We should be able to catch the meteor shower that night if this beautiful weather holds and the sky remains clear. The party will take place on the shoreline, and we will have a bonfire and snacks. Please join us… remember to travel in groups, preferably with your counselor. That’s all for now… enjoy the barbecue!"
As she was finishing her short speech, the Cave cabin boys walked past Shy’s table. Crutch held out his elbow and dinged the back of everyone’s head as he walked past. His buddies snickered. Sampson, who was the last to get nicked, jumped up furiously and pushed the bigger boy from behind. As Crutch turned, one of his cronies pushed Sam from behind. Sam spun to face the new attacker. Then Crutch got him from behind.
All the boys jumped up, but the Cave cabin boys were all older and bigger. Shy looked for Tad, who had now disappeared. He then looked for Gust, up at the grill. But he too was not noticing. Sam had stood up for Shy, so Shy could not let this happen. He waded into the uproar, pushing Crutch’s buddy from behind. Instantly everyone joined in, and it turned into a free for all. The Forest cabin boys got the worst of it.
The brawl did not last long. The counselors, Clancy, and Gust all waded in to split them up. It was not stopped before blood was spilled though. Sawyer and Sam had a bloody nose and lip respectively. Shy was scraped on an elbow after being pushed down.
The only visible injury to the Cave cabin boys was Crutch’s closest ally, Clod. At least that was the name Shy had attached to him. In a petty way, it made Shy feel better to think of his name as Clod. Clod had scraped his head on a table when Shy had pushed him from behind.
After they were split up, Mrs. Clancy rearranged the tables, so that the Lake cabin was now in between the Forest and Cave. As the Lake cabin table was moved, and the girls transferred tables, Claire again caught Shy’s eye. She shook her head, as if to say, how could he be so immature. She just didn’t understand. Shy pretended not to see her look.
While they were waiting to go up to the main table set up by the grill for their food, the boys had to first endure a lecture by Clancy, then from Tad. Clancy said how any additional aggressiveness would not be tolerated, and campers may be sent home if there were any more occurrences. After she walked away, Tad leaned over the table and motioned the whole gang to come in close. As they leaned in and gather around, they expected more of the same. What Tad had to say surprised Shy.
"We have been together for two days now. None of you knew each other before this camp, right?" There was agreement all around. "That is what I thought. I am really impressed by the courage and loyalty you all showed in this little incident. I have been watching those other boys. They really seem to be a bullying sort of group. It’s not just us that they have picked on. I have witnessed other incidents. I think part of it stems from their counselor. He was once a camper here too, just like me. In fact, we were here for several summers together. We, too, had our share of run-ins… maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime. Anyway, I am proud of you."
As Tad paused, many of the boys exchanged glances. This is not what they were expecting. Then, Tad continued.
"That being said, you all need to be smarter than this," He said as his voice turned sharper, harder. "You are obviously smaller as a group, and probably, knowing the type of kids they seem to be, you all are probably less experienced at fighting. So, is getting into a brawl a smart way to go to deal with them? No. Simply no. I do not want any of you sent home. This is going to be a great summer, I can already tell," He continued as he snuck a glance at Shy. "Be smarter than them." And with that he ended their session.
Gust had just approached. "Who is ready for some gooood eatin? Head up and get some vittles boys."
***
The remainder of the BBQ passed without incident. This time it was Henry who remembered to grab a chocolate chip cookie to bring back for Tom T. The sun was starting to set as Tad lowered the Elevator. He looked at the boys, and smiling again, walked around to the opposite side of the platform. The boys followed, exchanging glances. Here there was a rope with the excess looped up many times, tied off and hung on a dead branch stub. Tad untied the rope, and played out the excess with his hands. Shy looked up. Down came a rope ladder from a pulley system that was attached to another platform, high above. Shy had never thought to look above the Elevator platform, but he remembered Tad mentioning something about a lookout way at the top of the Sentinel. It was such a huge tree that it could easily support another platform higher in the massive branches.
"We are heading up to the Crow’s Nest," Tad explained. "This is the highest point in our whole cabin system. We will be above the other trees here, and we are going to enjoy a Northwood's sunset."
After the fight at dinner, and the calming effect of watching the sunset from the perch of the Crow’s Nest, the boys easily settled into the comfy bean bags and hammocks of the Hive. They watched Tom T devour the cookie in short time. This night, Tad decided to settle into one of the hammocks, with one leg hanging off. He rocked himself back and forth. The air was beginning to cool for the evening, after the sunset. Tom T, with his snack gone, began to get the bonfire started. Tad sighed happily. Shy could feel it too. He had friends. The last two days had showed him that if he believed in himself, others would too. If he stood up for his friends, they would do the same. He already felt a bond with many of the other boys, as he looked around the room. He looked at Tad. The counselor had begun to feel like an older brother. Shy felt happy. He still missed his mom, Shep, and summer weekends with his dad, but the homesickness was softened. This camp was beginning to feel… comfortable.
"I suppose you want to hear my story about the trolls?" Tad’s voice shook Shy out of his thoughts.
"Yeah!" The boys answered as one, and Henry went so far as to do an I-am-so-excited-I-have-to-pee dance. The boys all laughed at the natural entertainer.
"Well, it basically started my third year at this camp. I was twelve by then. My first two years we had disregarded the warnings about not going out at night alone…. In fact, we had begun to dare each other to go to the river gorge rim and back… alone. You boys have already had more experience with these mythical creatures in two days, than we had had then, in two summers."
Shy and the other boys looked at each other, feeling important, and tried to keep the smiles from their faces.
"I am not sure why that is," Tad continued. "Maybe we were just not as aware as you all, maybe not as imaginative, or maybe you all have something special about you that attracts the attention of these creatures. Whatever it was, we had gone two summers, hearing the warnings, but not seeing or experiencing anything beyond Tom T that would give us a reason to heed the warnings.
"So, by this time, we were very bold. The scary part of the dare wasn’t running into will-o-wisps, trolls, or the huldra; rather, we were scared of wolves, bears, and those types of natural predators. So, one night in my third summer, about halfway through camp, the guys dared me to not just run to the river gorge rim and back, but to yell a challenge into the river gorge. You know, ‘Here I am. Come and get me.’ That type of thing. Needless to say, I did it. I went down the Elevator…. I told you guys I was in the Forest cabins right?" He continued after seeing nods from several boys. "So, I went down the Elevator, and began to run. Some of the guys cheered me on from the Crow’s Nest. I ran for a bit, but it was difficult to see the roots and rocks in the dark, so I slowed to a fast walk."
Tad paused with a distant look in his eye, staring off at nothing. Shy thought he must really remember this story well. The boys waited, not wanting to disturb him.
Tad shook himself from his memory and continued, "The night was cool, like it gets up here. I could see my breath in the moonlight, and I remember shivering as the body heat from running melted away. I only had shorts and a T shirt on. As I walked, I alternately watched the path in front of me, so I didn’t trip, but I also kept looking ahead down the trail. I was really nervous, but wasn’t sure why. I had made this trip several times already that summer, with no problems.
"Finally, I reached the rim of the river gorge… actually right by the overlook that we stopped at today. I walked carefully out to the ledge and yelled my challenge. Then I waited, silent. I heard several things. The first, I can barely describe. It was almost like a bellow. You know, kind of like the trumpeting of an elephant, but much shorter. It seemed to come from the forest all around the cliffs. I got scared real quick…. And the warnings came back to me. I was so scared, however, that I was frozen to the spot. I literally could not move. The next thing I heard was…." Again Tad paused.
Shy looked around the room. The boys were so focused on Tad’s story, that it looked like they were under a spell that could not be broken. The only one who met Shy’s glance was Ralph. His eyes were wide.
"The next thing I heard," Tad repeated, "I don't need to try to describe to you. You all heard it this morning. I will say this, that high keening, wailing, laughter is much scarier at night, by yourself, than during the day with a bunch of friends." He shivered. "I am not sure what makes that noise, but some of the old farts around this area claim there are flying creatures that live in that gorge. A long time ago the Native Americans in this area would scare their children by saying the flying dragons would carry them away….
"Anyway… At this point, I was able to move… and I ran! I tripped on a root, and as I was getting up, I saw a light in the distance on the path. It appeared just for a second. I saw it, and then it went out. It seemed to me at that point like something had moved in front of it, and blocked it out. I didn’t know what to do. I stayed on my knees for a minute and stared at the spot where I saw the light. Out of the corner of my eye, off to the right, I saw a brief light flash behind some pines. When I looked that way, I thought I saw a faint silhouette moving behind some trees. It was huge and hulking!" Tad stood up to emphasize how big this figure was that he saw; from his tiptoes he reached his arms up as far as he could, then spread them as wide as he could. "I felt like I should just stay on the ground, try to crawl off the path and hide. So, I slowly moved off the path, backwards, away from the direction of both lights. Next, I experienced the scariest moment of my life…."
Again Tad paused. It almost seemed to Shy like it was difficult for him to tell the story. Shy couldn’t blame him. He felt terrified just hearing about it! The pause stretched on as Tad closed his eyes.
"Tell us…" Henry whispered. The boys all nodded in agreement.
Tad cracked his eyes open dramatically. "I am only sharing this with you, so that you do not make the same mistake and underestimate the warnings and legends…. So, as I backed away a vice clamped down on my leg, just above the ankle! I was roughly jerked into the air like a doll. I screamed. Then I screamed again. I think I continued screaming for some time. I was lifted higher into the air and turned to face my captor. It was a troll, although I didn’t know it then. I am not sure if they can't hide themselves with the magic we call Glamour, like Tom T does, or if I could see the beast because it was touching me. I sure could see it though. It was hideous!
It held me up with a huge, muscled, long, hairy arm. It held some type of lantern in the other hand (I realized later that the lantern light was a swarm of lightening bugs that flashed on and off, but there was so many of them that the light didn’t even waver). It seemed to be examining me. I screamed again, and this time, I could hear the response of the strange laughter from within the river gorge fading to the edge of hearing. It almost sounded like acknowledgement of the fact I had been captured. Like, 'OK, troll, you got to him first… He's all yours.'
"Anyway… Trolls are such an unbelievable creature to describe. They have a face that I can only describe as a hippopotamus. They have a very broad snout, and thick short whiskers that almost look like they have been singed. The face narrows slightly from the snout to the main portion of the head. Their eyes are kind of squinty, and they have large square teeth. Their heads really look like a hippo’s. Their bodies are extremely well muscled, they are covered in coarse gray - black hair. Of the three I saw, two had tried to fashion some form of clothing, which partially covered them, but the other just didn’t seem to care. The strangest part about them, though, is they have only one leg! They use their long arms, with hands balled into a fist, to walk. It ends up looking a lot like an ape or gorilla. So, this one that had caught me could only hold his lantern up to see me for a few seconds at a time… while he balanced on one leg. Then he needed to put that other hand, with the lantern, down onto the ground to balance himself. Eventually, he moved to where he could lean against a tree. Then he began to study me again.
In the meantime, two other trolls, the ones with clothing, showed up. They seemed to talk in some kind of guttural language. The one holding me was obviously the leader. He would raise his grunts and expressions to a louder level, and the others would seem to give in to whatever he was saying. It all sounded very harsh to me.
It was at this point that I realized the bellows that I had heard after yelling my challenge, must have been these trolls. I felt not only scared, I felt foolish! To be out, by myself, yelling challenges… Stupid! That is why I am telling you all this. Don’t relax your guard, follow the rules!
"The leader threw me over his shoulder, and began to head off to the north. One iron-like arm clamped down on me, while the other held his lightening bug lantern on high. I struggled a bit, to see if I could get free, but it just made him grip me harder. While hanging over his shoulders, I watched the two clothed trolls follow us for a bit. The way they walked was amazing. They would use their long arms very similar to the way you or I would use a crutch, swinging the huge stumpy back leg forward. Then, balancing on their one leg, they would swing the crutch arm forward. Once they got their momentum going, they were able to move at a very rapid pace. They created a rhythm as they passed through the forest. Plant leg, swing arm, plant arm, grunt, plant leg, swing arm, plant arm, grunt….
"Soon the two other trolls drifted off in other directions. I found myself heading down a narrow path, stone walls on each side. It was more like a giant crack in the cliffs, than a path. I could still hear the waterfall but it sounded muffled, like the sound couldn’t penetrate the chasm we were in. The troll slowed and set me down on damp stone. My calf felt bruised where he had gripped it, I was cold and damp, but more than anything, I was terrified! I started to try to edge back up the rough stairwell, but he knew instantly. He swatted at me with one huge hairy arm. It knocked me sideways into the jagged stone of the chasm walls. I must have hit my head because I could feel the warm blood running down my forehead and temple. He stood over me now, drooling and growling. He raised his arm again, threatening, as if to tell me to stay put. As he moved away to cave entrance in the chasm wall, I went to wipe the blood from my face, and a sharp pain shot up my arm. I realized that I must have broken my arm.
"It looked hopeless, and as the troll dragged out a huge black metal cauldron, I began to sink into despair. I knew that my time had come… and I might soon be troll dinner!"
At that point Tad stopped his storytelling. He got up and stretched, moved next to the fire to warm his backside. The boys were all alert now. Some of them sat up. They wanted to hear the end of the story. When Tad remained quiet and showed no signs of continuing, Henry finally spoke up.
"What happened?" Henry asked. "How did you get away?!"
"Oh, you wanted to hear that part?" Tad asked in mock surprise.
"Yeah!" Several boys answered in unison.
"Well, OK. It does make a nice exciting ending. It seems that my fellow campers, after I didn’t return, admitted to our counselor about daring me to make this fateful trip to the river gorge. He immediately zipped down to the lodge. There he alerted Clancy and Gust… they have worked here for a long time. Clancy went to gather the other counselors, while Gust and my counselor set off immediately in search of me. Gust is really an interesting guy. You boys should get to know him. He is not what he seems. I have heard some rumors that he was in the Special Forces in the Vietnam War. After the war, he became a wilderness guide. He knows these woods and their legends better than anyone.
"He led my counselor on some seldom used paths. He arrived at the site of my attack quicker than any of us could have. He bent over the marks on the path, studying them closely. My counselor told me all of this afterwards. He said that after a few minutes of quietly studying our prints in the path, Gust took off swiftly in pursuit. He said that Gust seemed like a different man. He moved through the forest like a giant feline on the hunt. He moved with the strength, agility, and fluidity of a much younger man. In fact, my counselor said that he could barely keep up. It was not long before Gust came across the locations that the other two trolls had split off from me and my captor. He whispered to my counselor that two trolls had spilt off and one continued with me. My counselor asked what they were planning, and he said that Gust looked up at him very seriously and said, ‘They will probably cook him and eat him.’ Then, he was swiftly moving off in pursuit again.
"Meanwhile, I was beginning to sweat it out. I watched in horror as the troll filled the cauldron by carrying smaller buckets to it from a hidden spring of water that flowed from some cracks in the chasm wall. The beast had built a fire under the pot, and I could hear the water beginning to bubble and boil. Every time I tried to inch away, the troll knew instantly. Twice more, I got a swipe from the rough backside of its arm. By this time, I was bleeding in numerous places. After the last time I was swatted, just when the troll turned away, I felt a pebble hit me right in the cheek. I looked back up the path into the gloom, and could barely make out two shadows, crouched low up against the wall. They seemed to move closer. As the two figures came more clearly into view, I could see it was Gust, with my counselor behind. I looked back at the troll. He was still filling the pot, seemingly ignoring me. I glanced back up the path at Gust. He was motioning some hand signals to me. He made the running motion with his fingers and then pointed at me. I shook my head no, and motioned at the troll with my head. Gust seemed to understand. He pointed at me, raised his hand with five fingers extended, as if to say in five minutes. Then, he pointed to himself and made a walking sign, then pointed down the path, to the other side of the troll. Then he pointed to me and made the running sign again. So, I took him to mean that he would walk around to the other side of the troll. It would take him about five minutes. Then, I was supposed to run. I nodded my assent, and turned back to the troll. I was scared to death, but anything would be better than ending up in that pot.
"The minutes ticked by, and I became more nervous every second. I strained my eyes to the other side of the troll… down the path. Did I see movement down there? Had it been five minutes? I wasn’t sure of either. I didn’t know what to do. Then, I heard some laughter and talking from down the path. The troll had filled the cauldron, and was walking toward me. At the sound of the laughter, he froze, and listened. He began to sniff the air, and then he let out one short bellow. It sounded like a warning bullhorn. Quickening his pace, he thumped up to me and smacked me once again. I tried to block it with my arm, and yelped at the impact. He had such unbelievable strength and mass. I was only able to deflect it, and was sure I had broken my arm in the attempt. The troll had already turned and moved down the path toward the new noise.
"The instant he passed the curve in the path, I was up and running. I did my best to hold both broken arms tight to my body. To my surprise, my counselor sprang out of the shadows and assisted me up the damp, slick, pathway. 'We have to hurry,' he whispered. As if to emphasize his point, we heard a troll bellow, not behind us, but in front! One of the other trolls was coming!
"We continued to run for a time, but strained our ears and eyes for any sign of the troll’s friends. Shortly, we caught such a sign. We could hear brush snapping off to our left, and the thump of the troll’s one heavy foot moving rapidly. My counselor tried to pull me off our current path and onto an offshoot, but I resisted because it seemed that we would be headed in the direction of the oncoming troll. He gave one of my broken arms a yank, and I gave in from the pain. We could hear the new troll’s breathing as we passed him on a parallel path. He must have caught our scent, or heard our passing because the thumping paused, then he crashed through between our paths and was now within sight behind us. We ran faster! Soon we arrived at the Elevator. Yes, the very same one you guys use. We hopped on and my counselor desperately pulled us up.
"The troll burst out of the trees full tilt, and we were only five feet into the air! As he hurtled toward us, my counselor grabbed high on the rope, and yanked with all his might as the troll jumped. One hairy hand caught the base of the Elevator. It swung precariously. My counselor held the rope and stomped on the hand. With a bellow, the troll fell onto his back with a great expression of air, as the Elevator swung through. We looked at each other and he renewed his efforts to pull us up. When we got higher and safer, we looked down, and the troll was nowhere to be seen. As we reached the platform, we heard multiple bellows in the distance. I wondered how Gust was doing. Had they caught him, or had he survived? I felt a huge lump well up in my throat, as I began to realize what he had done for me. I guess I fainted, because the next thing I know is that my counselor was carrying me into the Hive.
"And that is my troll story" Tad concluded. "I hope you all now understand why we must be careful."
Seven hands shot into the air at once with questions.
"Yes Henry?"
"What happened to Gust? How did he escape the trolls?"
"Well, he tricked them!" Tad laughed. "Turns out that trolls are brutal, strong, and stubborn, but not particularly bright. The troll that had captured me took off after Gust, but Gust had already laid a false trail down to the river before coming up to where he got our attention. So, he simply ran around a corner and ducked into a crevice. Now trolls have a really great sense of smell, even better than their eyesight. Gust was counting on the fact that the troll was angry and surprised to see him, and would run right past the hiding spot and on down the false trail, to the river. That, my friends, is just what happened. When the troll reached the river and Gust was nowhere to be found, it must have figured out that it had been tricked, or maybe it was just angry at losing its prey. It bellowed out to its fellow trolls, and a few answered. I think most came to see if they could pick up the scent from the other side of the river. Of course they couldn’t because Gust had never been to the other side of the river. A second after the troll passed his hiding spot, he was out and back up the trail. He almost caught up to us, and when the troll crashed through onto our path and was hot on our trail, he was not far behind. After he saw us escape he headed back to the lodge to inform Clancy. The story of what happened passed through camp quickly, and everyone was much more careful from then on. It seems like there is one big event like this each year that wakes everyone up to the seriousness of these woods. It’s a fun camp, but part of the fun and excitement comes from the fact that there is real danger involved."
Tad looked around again at the boys. Several were whispering to each other, and a couple had their hands raised with questions. Shy hesitantly joined them, and as his hand went up, Tad looked to him.
"Shy?"
"What was that light I saw last night? Was it a troll with his lantern… like the ones in your story?"
"I don’t know Shy. I suppose it could have been, or it could have been a will-o-wisp. Either way, don’t ever consider following it!" Tad paused for effect. "If it was a troll, he must have had a reason for being that visible. That is probably not a good sign, especially since he allowed you to see him, or his lantern at least."
The other boys were now looking at Shy. He squirmed uncomfortably. A log floated on the air to the fire as Tom T worked at what he considered to be his chores.
Henry broke the silence by moving over to Shy and asking, "What did you see exactly, Shy? When did it happen?" Before Shy could answer, Henry turned to Tad and blurted, "What do you mean it’s not a good sign?"
The remainder of the evening was spent discussing trolls, and answering the questions Henry voiced for all the boys. Later, as Shy lay wide awake in his hammock, worried that he was going to dream of hippo faced trolls, he heard Tad stir from across the room.
"Having trouble getting to sleep?" Tad asked.
"Kind of."
"Look, these creatures are serious business, but I can tell you are a smart, brave boy at heart. Trust yourself, believe in yourself, and you will make the right decisions. Things will work out the way they should."
"OK."
Shy closed his eyes, but it was a long time before he drifted off to sleep.