11

The tiny elevator creaked with every pull as Bernard tugged a rope running through the center of the rickety wooden box. Jordan and Eldon were stuffed up against him, and Jordan strained to look past the Skunk Ape’s smelly armpit through the hole at the top, hoping to catch a glimpse of a pulley or some sign of the top of the elevator shaft. All he saw was darkness.

“Are you sure this thing is safe?” Jordan asked Bernard.

“Of course. It’s old, but strong, reliable—and doesn’t need tending to. Just like me.”

At the top, Eldon opened the door and stepped off. Jordan followed, happy to be out of the tiny death trap. “Although I insist that I don’t need your supervision,” Bernard said, “it has been a pleasure meeting you, and I suppose we’ll be seeing each other again soon.” He took his paw off the rope to shake Jordan’s hand and—WHOOSH!—the car and its oversized cargo dropped, disappearing down the shaft. Jordan and Eldon heard a CRUNCH! that echoed up the dark shaft, followed by Bernard’s voice. “I’m okay . . . !”

“Yeah,” Eldon said sarcastically. “He doesn’t need anyone to watch him.”

Eldon and Jordan approached a door with a knothole above it, which let in a stream of sunlight. Eldon peeked out the hole, then swung open the door. The thick tangle of overgrown vines told Jordan they were back on swamp level.

“Are you coming back to Waning Acres?” Jordan asked.

Eldon shook his head. “I have to stay here and prepare for my trip tomorrow. I’m leaving first thing in the morning. But if you walk straight in that direction, you’ll reach the wall. Okay?”

Jordan nodded, and Eldon handed him something. “In case you lose your way.” It was a clear crystal or glass ring, with a small red bead on top. “If you press the center, it emits an olfactory signal into the air. Bernard will receive it, and he’ll come find you, wherever you are. But I really don’t like to give Bernard a reason to wander, so please use it only if you’re lost, or about to be eaten, or something like that.”

“So it’s kinda like Skunk Ape GPS.”

“You’re off by two letters.”

Jordan studied the ring closely. It was smooth and see-through, with a Creature Keeper insignia etched into it, along with the letters GJG. Jordan looked up at Eldon. “This was my grandfather’s.”

Eldon smiled. “He was Bernard’s original Keeper. It makes sense that you should have it.”

Jordan slipped it on his finger. “I won’t let you down,” he said.

“I know. And I’m sorry this isn’t the big adventure you’d hoped it was. But being a Creature Keeper isn’t about big adventures. We do little stuff, for a bigger cause. Remember the three Hs on our banner: Helping, Hiding and—most importantly—Hoaxing. The greatest skill a Creature Keeper has. To pull off a just-fake-enough-looking hoax makes humans think what they saw wasn’t real, that it was another human playing a trick on them. That seems like a small and silly thing, but without skilled hoaxsters, the cryptids would’ve been discovered long ago.”

“Thank you.” Jordan turned and walked a few yards away from the tree trunk, but was still under the long branches of the great lemon tree when Eldon’s voice stopped him.

“Oh, one more thing you’ll need. Hold out your hands.” Eldon reached up and thumped a low-hanging branch with his fist. A half dozen lemons fell out of the tree directly above Jordan, landing in his open arms. “Remember to run my lemonade stand while I’m gone, will ya? The folks in Waning Acres need a glass a day or they get cranky. Badger’s honor?”

Jordan looked up from his armful of lemons and smiled. “Badger’s honor,” he said.