the lake of adventure by trevor j. bolton

7/28/2019 The Lake of Adventure by Trevor J. Bolton

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The Lake of Adventure

By Trevor J Bolton

CHAPTER 1: ELKVILLE AT LAST

"Just look at those rapids! Do slow down, Bill!" yelled Philip, an excited fourteen-year-old boy,sitting next to the driver. After passing through countless miles of forest, it was a delightful surpriseto see the swiftly flowing river suddenly come into view alongside the road. "Phew, I thought thatforest was going to go on for ever. A change of scenery at last!"

"And look, there are people riding the rapids in canoes!" added Philip's equally excited youngersister, Dinah sitting behind him. "I bet that's fun! Does this mean we're near a town at last?"

"That's the Indian River and the Indian Falls," replied Bill casting a quick glance out of thewindow as he slowed the car down. "So yes, Elkville's not far away now. That's where we'll fill upwith petrol and buy one or two items we still need."

"There's no sign of the Moose Lakes," remarked another fourteen-year-old boy sitting betweenhis sister, Lucy-Ann, and Dinah. He had red hair, green eyes, his face covered in freckles. "Mind you,we've already seen plenty of lakes on this journey as well as miles of forest."

"We won't see the Moose Lakes until we reach Elkville, Jack," explained Bill. "Elkville is asmallish settlement spread along the short stretch of water between Little Moose Lake and GreatMoose Lake."

"I hadn't realised there were so many lakes in Canada," said Lucy-Ann, the youngest of thechildren, whose physical appearance was incredibly like her brother's except her hair was morecurly. "We haven't seen a town for ages!"

"There aren't many towns in this part of Canada but there are hundreds of lakes," explainedBill, carefully steering the big estate car along the now twisting road just above the river. "Elkvilleis the only town serving Little Moose Lake although there are several small ones scattered aroundGreat Moose Lake."

"There's a sign indicating that Elkville is just five miles away," pointed out Philip. "Have wemuch further to go to reach our cabin, Bill?"

"From Elkville we follow the north shore of Little Moose Lake before taking the track over thehill to Otter Lake," was the reply. "Otter Lake is horseshoe-shaped, almost two lakes. Theconnecting stretch of water is the opposite end of the lake to our cabin. We'll have the lake very

much to ourselves as ours is the only cabin on our section.""The only cabin!" exclaimed Dinah. "I bet you chose that on purpose as it will be completely out

of the way. Come on, Bill, own up. Is this really just a holiday or are you on the track of something?You can tell us now we're almost there."

"Let's say I'm combining a tiny bit of business with a great deal of pleasure," answered Billevasively.

"I knew it!" declared Dinah triumphantly. "And we all know what the word business meanswhere you're concerned."

They did indeed! Bill Cunningham was a special agent who helped to track down criminalgangs, often international ones. The four children had first met him when he had introduced himselfas Bill Smugs, an ornithologist. He hadn't reckoned on meeting Jack, a very enthusiastic andknowledgeable young ornithologist, who soon realised Bill was no such thing.

Bill had actually been on the trail of a gang operating on the mysterious Isle of Gloom wherethe children had, themselves, become unwittingly involved in an exciting adventure. Since then


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they had experienced many more hair-raising escapades with Bill. However, the most importantthing from their point of view was that, after several of these adventures, Bill had married Dinahand Philip's widowed mother, Mrs Mannering.

Mr Mannering had died many years previously so his widow had to work hard to provide for thechildren. Eventually she had managed to set up a successful art agency which gave her a reasonableincome.

Jack and Lucy-Ann Trent were orphans whose parents had been killed in a plane crash. The twohad run away from Mr Roy's school to stay with Philip and Dinah and had been adopted by MrsMannering before she married Bill Cunningham. The four children got on well and had enjoyed manyan adventure together. Now they were on holiday again, this time in Canada.

"I admit I have to keep a look-out for one or two criminals who are known to be in the Elkvillearea and for anything suspicious," confessed Bill after pausing a while. "Don't worry, the criminals inquestion may have heard of me but they don't know me. If I do see anything or anyone of interest, Isimply report back to Headquarters in Toronto. Now there's nothing dangerous about that. After aweek or so, someone else will take over our cabin while we move to another one, this time on GreatMoose Lake where there's plenty going on."

"Hopefully Mother will join us by then," said Philip. "It's so annoying that she's having to care forAunt Polly when she could be on holiday with us but Uncle Jocelyn is useless when it comes to

looking after people. He needs looking after himself! It's such a pity."

"What a pity! What a pity!" came a mournful voice from the back of the car making everyonejump. "Poor Polly. Pretty Polly. Pity Polly."

This was Jack's beautiful scarlet and grey parrot, Kiki. She had been fairly quiet on the journeyas she was annoyed at having to travel in a cage at the back of the car but could not resist joining inthe conversation when she recognised certain words.

"You're right, Kiki, it is a pity," said Jack turning round to stroke the bird as she peered throughthe bars of her cage. "Thank goodness Aunt Polly is not as bad as we had first thought and is nowrecovering. That means Aunt Allie will be able to join us next week. You know, I'm actually lookingforward to seeing a little town again."

It was not long before the forest gave way to scattered houses marking the edge of Elkville.

The sky, which had been largely hidden by the trees, opened up, a clear, blue sky with scarcely acloud covering it. The river, now flowing more gently, twisted out of sight behind the buildings. Inno time they reached what seemed to be the centre of the small, but fairly busy town, beyondwhich was the waterway Bill had referred to.

Everywhere was a great variety of stores and eating places. People were milling around, almosteveryone dressed in casual wear as most were on holiday. Bill parked outside a fairly large store."You can stretch your legs if you want to while I make a few purchases," he said, getting out of thecar. "I'll put my dark glasses on. That way it's easier to study faces without it being too obvious whatI'm doing, not that I'm likely to recognise anybody on the first day."

The children were also glad to have the opportunity to stretch their legs so they, too, left thecar and wandered to the waterside behind the store. A delighted Kiki was now on Jack's shoulderstartling passers by with her comments.

"That's enough, Kiki!" reprimanded Jack sternly, as a severe looking lady opened her mouth inastonishment on being told to wipe her nose. "And don't you dare make one of your plane or trainnoises."

"Plane or train, plane or train!" echoed Kiki, who loved words that rhymed. "Train or plane."

"Look at Great Moose Lake at the end of this waterway!" exclaimed Philip, running his handthrough his tuft of brown hair that refused to lie flat. "It's enormous! You can't see the far shore."

"Bill did say that the Moose Lakes are huge," reminded Lucy-Ann, her green eyes shining withdelight. "Isn't it great to see all those sailing boats and motor boats out on the water? It makes youreally feel you are on holiday." She turned round. "And that must be Little Moose Lake we can seebetween the trees over there. But what's that? There seems to be a wall where this waterwayleaves it and several buildings. How odd."

"I seem to remember Bill saying something about a small hydro-electric power station at theElkville end of Little Moose Lake," said Dinah looking at the power lines leading from the buildings."That's obviously it and the wall is probably a dam."


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"Listen, what's that coming from the direction of Little Moose Lake?" asked Philip, his head onone side. "It's too loud to be a motor boat and, in any case, it's approaching much too quickly."

"It's a plane!" said Lucy-Ann pointing. "See? Over there. It's ever so low."

"It must be coming down!" exclaimed Dinah in horror as the plane passed over the rocky landon the other side of the waterway. "Oh no! It's going to crash into Great Moose Lake!"

"Don't worry, it's an amphibian!" laughed Philip, slapping his sister on the back. "It can land andtake off on water. You really are silly, Di!"

"Don't call me silly!" said Dinah, flaring up. "And don't slap me on the back, either. We all makemistakes, clever clogs, even you!"

"Clever clogs, clever clogs!" repeated Kiki, dancing up and down in delight on Jack's shoulder."Silly billy, silly clever clogs." This was followed by a rather loud squawk.

"That's right, you tell her, Kiki," said Philip grinning as he fortunately dodged what would havebeen a large slap aimed at him by his angry sister.

"Don't for goodness' sake start an argument here, you two," said Jack as people began lookingin their direction. "We missed seeing the plane land ... oh, it's taxiing in this direction."

The black plane with silver lettering in fact came quite close to where the children were

looking over the railing. It was skilfully manoeuvred towards a long jetty, then there was silence asthe engine was switched off. Two men climbed out, one immediately mooring the plane to a post.

"He looks very grim," said Dinah, forgetting her squabble as one of the men turned round. Hewas bald, very stout, with a seemingly fixed scowl spread across his red, round face. "They can't beon holiday although they are dressed fairly casually."

"Look at the side of the plane," pointed out Jack. "It says LARSEN TOURS. Perhaps they're goingto pick up some passengers. I wonder where they take them. Over the lakes, perhaps."

"Oh, there's Bill," said Lucy-Ann looking back towards the car park. "He's probably wonderingwhere we are. No, he's seen us."

Bill, holding a large and full shopping bag, was walking towards the car so the children hurriedover to him. "It's strange seeing all these people after the miles of deserted road we've just drivenon, isn't it?" he said as he placed the bag in the back of the car. "You carry on looking around while I

go and find a gasoline station as they're called here. Then we'll make for our cabin. OK? I'll meet youtowards the end of the store car park in about a quarter of an hour."

With that, Bill got into the car while the children slowly returned to the waterside.

"What's Bill up to?" muttered Philip as they watched the activity on Great Moose Lake.

"Whatever do you mean, Philip?" asked Lucy-Ann in surprise. "He's only gone to fill up withpetrol. What's odd about that?"

"Perhaps I imagined it but I felt he didn't want us to get into the car with him just then,"answered Philip. "After all, we're only killing time here. We could easily have driven straight fromthe filling station to our cabin."

"Well he can't do much in a quarter of an hour, especially if he's filling up with fuel," laughedJack. "I think your imagination is getting the better of you, Philip."

"Silly billy," added Kiki pecking Jack's ear. "How many times have I told you...?"

"Plenty of times, Kiki, plenty of times," answered Jack fondling the bird. "Is it my imaginationor is that man over there staring at us? It's a bit hard to tell as he's wearing dark glasses."

"Now you're being mysterious," laughed Philip, giving a quick glance in the man's direction.."Most people stare at us because of Kiki."

"No, Jack's right," said Dinah quietly. "That man wearing dark glasses, with black hair andcrooked moustache he hasn't just been staring at Kiki but at all of us."

Philip and Lucy-Ann looked towards the man who immediately turned his head and walkedcasually along the waterfront.

"Let's go and wait for Bill in the car park," said Philip. "There, we'll be out of sight of the man,not that I can see anything unusual about him, quite frankly. Loads of people are staring at us."


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The four retraced their steps past the front of the big store where plenty of colourful goods,many relating to activity on the water, were piled up outside. In about ten minutes, Bill returnedand parked quite close to the children.

"Ready now?" he said with a huge grin. "Climb aboard for the last leg of the journey."

As soon as they were seated, Bill started up the engine and slowly drove the car towards thecar park exit. Almost immediately Dinah, who was looking out of the window, drew in her breathsharply. "That man's watching us again," she said urgently. "And there's another man with him. Look.See who it is? He's the stout one with the scowling face from the aeroplane!"

CHAPTER 2: BILL'S UP TO SOMETHING

"This all sounds terribly mysterious," said Bill with a wry smile as he drove slowly along thehighway. "Describe the two men who you saw."

Dinah and Jack described the dark-haired man with the crooked moustache whom they hadnoticed staring at them. Dinah also described the second man as being bald, very stocky and red-faced. Both men had been wearing dark glasses.

Before Bill could make any comment, Philip looked around in surprise. "We're going the wrongway!" he exclaimed. "You said we had to go along the shore of Little Moose Lake. That's in the otherdirection!"

"It's all right, Philip, I just want to drive around Elkville to see what's here," replied Bill, tryingto sound casual whilst looking quite serious. "We'll turn at the junction ahead then, after anotherjunction, rejoin the lakeside road leading to our cabin."

"Well, do you know the men, Bill?" asked Dinah impatiently.

"I'm sure your description would fit no end of people I know," laughed Bill staring straightahead. "I reckon your men were just interested in Kiki. I don't suppose there are many parrots inElkville." He then spoke in a more serious tone of voice. "You are quite right to note any charactersyou consider suspicious and to let me know. You said the men came from a plane that had just

landed. What can you tell me about this plane?""There was nothing special about it," said Lucy-Ann shaking her head. "It was a black or a very

dark colour and fairly small. Oh, and it had a name on the side, but I've forgotten what it was."

"It was Larsen Tours, or something like that," said Jack remembering. "Does that mean anythingto you, Bill?"

"Larsen Tours? Yes, I've vaguely heard of them," was the reply. "If my memory is correct, theyoperate from one of the neighbouring lakes. They're quite a small concern apparently. There aremuch bigger touring companies around Great Moose Lake."

After two or three more junctions, Little Moose Lake finally came into view and the childrenforgot about the two men, not that Philip was really interested in them. There, beyond thehighway, the lake spread out like a sheet of sparkling glass. It was clearly smaller than Great MooseLake as the opposite shore could be seen. There were plenty of small boats dotted about on thecalm water and a fair number of log cabins were spread out at intervals along the shore. All aroundthe lake, apart from in the Elkville area, were gentle tree-clad hills. The children eagerly looked atthe inviting scene in front of them.

"You did say we'll have a boat at the cabin, didn't you?" asked Philip, longing to be out on thewater.

"Yes, there's a sailing boat and, I believe, there's a small motor boat as well," replied Bill, nowspeeding up a bit. "I've been told where to find the key to the boathouse so we can explore after ourmeal. Most of the cabins on the shores of the lakes are let to holiday makers and come completewith boats. Fishermen like to stay on this particular lake as there are no distractions such as lakecruisers and Elkville is conveniently at the far end. We're going to enjoy ourselves, no doubt aboutit."

They came to a junction on the highway where they turned right, the left hand road continuingover the hills to more lakes and a distant town. There was now little traffic as the highway merelyserved this side of the lake and various tracks leading into the forest.


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After a few miles, they passed by a colourful store where the brightly painted head of a smilingmoose was over the entrance. It was appropriately named Moose Store. Several people were sittingon the adjacent restaurant terrace, enjoying a meal in the late afternoon sun.

"That's where we'll have to purchase fuel for the motor boat," pointed out Bill. "We need to buyseveral cans at a go but I expect we'll be using the sailing boat most of the time."

"Can't we simply drive here in the boat?" asked Jack. "Presumably our lake is linked to thisone."

"It is, but there are little rocky falls and rapids between the lakes," explained Bill. "Moose Storewill also be a convenient place to replenish basic food stocks to save driving all the way intoElkville."

There were fewer cabins along this stretch of the road. On the other side of the highway werewoods, mainly of pine, spruce and maple, into which rough tracks led at intervals. After drivinground several bends, they passed the final cabin before the road came to an end in an empty carpark.

"Wherever do we go now?" asked Lucy-Ann. "We're at the end of the road."

"This is where we have to walk over the hill with our luggage," replied Bill, his eyes twinkling.

"But Bill!" began Lucy-Ann in protest, but was interrupted by Dinah.

"He's pulling your leg, silly," she said with her laugh. Then, as Bill stopped the car, she added,"at least, I hope so."

"Yes, I am," confessed Bill, "and it was worth it to see the looks on all your faces, not just Lucy-Ann's! I warn you the ride is going to be a bit bumpy from here onwards as we drive along a trackthrough some forest and over the hill. So hold tight!"

"Hold tight, hold tight!" called Kiki from her cage. "Humpy, bumpy, dumpy."

"Sorry about this, Kiki," said Bill driving over a track leading through the trees. "Yes, it is goingto be a bit humpy, bumpy, but it's the only way to reach Otter Lake. You'll be relieved to know thata Jeep comes with the cabin and a Jeep is made for this sort of rough territory."

At first they drove among trees but, as they went higher, they reached the tree line and soonhad a grand view over the tree tops of Little Moose Lake. It sparkled and glittered in the afternoon

sun, the various boats on it looking like toys. Then, reaching the top of the hill, they had anothersuperb view, their first of Otter Lake.

The part of the lake they could see was more or less oval in shape, much smaller than LittleMoose Lake, but they knew there was another section over the hills. Indeed there were hills allaround, mostly no higher than the one they had just driven up, covered mainly with the nowfamiliar pine, spruce and birch trees. As the track began leading down, the children at once lookedfor their cabin but, to their surprise, they could not see it.

"Where's the cabin, Bill?" asked Philip, his eyes searching the shore. "I would have expected itto easily stand out."

"Do you see that bit of land jutting out into the lake a bit further round?" said Bill. "That'swhere the cabin is, in the trees but at the edge of the lake. We're nearly there."

The track now led quite steeply down the hillside towards the lake where it levelled out. In ashort while, Bill suddenly made a turn to the right along a much narrower track which disappearedinto the trees. In fact, after another sharp turn, they found themselves in front of a sturdy log cabinwith a boathouse to one side. Parked nearby was a canvas-topped Jeep.

"Here we are," said Bill bringing the car to a halt. "I must say I'll be glad to use the Jeep overthe rough tracks around here. It's far more suitable on this terrain than a car. Well, let's have a lookinside our new home for the next few days. I see it's called Pine Lodge and it seems to be veryspacious."

As soon as they had clambered out of the car, the children noticed the refreshing smell of pinewood wafting through the air. "What a lovely scent to wake up to, just like perfume," said Dinahsniffing loudly. "Pine Lodge is a very apt name." She sniffed in the fragrance once again.

"Don't sniff, where's your handkerchief?" said Kiki at once, remembering the words Jack and

Lucy-Ann's cross old Uncle Geoffrey used to utter so often. "Wipe your feet!""Let's get inside first, Kiki," said Jack as Bill opened the front door.


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"Go and select your bedrooms," said Bill. "They're all the same size and I'm not particular whichone I have."

The girls at once chose the back bedroom overlooking the lake. Outside the window was averanda which extended along the rear of the cabin. The lake could also be seen from a sidewindow in the boys' room at the front of the cabin.

"That means this other front bedroom will be mine," said Bill lugging his case into the room."Your cases are in the hall so let's unpack, then we'll think about having something to eat. I don'tknow about you but I'm feeling quite peckish."

"Like Kiki," said Lucy-Ann with a grin. "Come to think of it, I'm feeling a bit peckish, too."

"Peck, peck, peckish!" squawked Kiki flying out of the girls' room into the boys' room where shelanded heavily on Jack's shoulder. "Jack Spratt. Peckish Jack."

"Mind, Kiki. I've got to unpack," said Jack lifting his case on to the bed. "I'd better find yourseeds if you're peckish."

"Oh look, Freckles, red squirrels!" exclaimed Philip suddenly. He had been gazing out of thewindow after putting his case on his bed ready to unpack. "Aren't they lovely? Most of those at homeare grey ones although I remember seeing red ones on one of our holidays. I must go and pay them avisit later on."

"Don't for goodness' sake encourage one in here," said Jack at once, knowing Philip's love ofanimals and his uncanny ability to make friends with them. He gave a quick look out of the window."I agree they look lovely creatures but they can do an immense amount of damage indoors. Whenyou go outside I'll come with you in case there are some unusual birds, not that I've seen any yet.Let's hurry up and finish unpacking. I'm really quite hungry. Oh, good, here are Kiki's sunflowerseeds."

Being used to living out of a suitcase, Bill had finished his unpacking long before the children.He went into the kitchen at the side of the cabin to prepare a meal.

"Smells good," said Lucy-Ann, eventually entering the kitchen. "What can I do to help, Bill?"

"How about setting the table on the veranda?" suggested Bill. "It'll be nice to eat outside,listening to the water lapping almost beneath us. I'll call the others to get a move on."

Soon all five were tucking heartily in to the meal as they were all very hungry after the longcar journey. It was delightful out on the veranda seeing the lapping water of Otter Lake stretchingout in front of them and breathing the fragrance from the pine trees. They were just finishing themeal with some fresh fruit that Bill had purchased in Elkville when there came the sound thechildren had heard earlier. It resembled a motorboat but they knew it was an approaching plane.

At once Bill jumped up and leant over the veranda rail to see the aircraft. "Quick, tell me, isthat the same plane you saw earlier?" he asked turning round.

"Yes, I'm pretty certain that's the one," declared Dinah, joining him as the plane flew over thefar end of the lake. "It was the same colour with silver letters on the side."

"Larsen Tours I must check up on them again," muttered Bill.

"Why on earth are you so interested in that plane?" asked a puzzled Philip. "And why the needto check on Larsen Tours? Come on, Bill. You're up to something."

CHAPTER 3: A RED SQUIRREL AND TWO BOATS

Bill paused for a moment before answering. "I was just interested in seeing it for myself," hesaid, once again sitting down.

All four children now looked at him.

"Come on, Bill, why all the secrecy?" pleaded Jack. "It's perfectly obvious you're interested inthat plane. What's so special about it?"

"I didn't want to alarm you unduly in Elkville," replied Bill, sitting back casually in his chair and

looking round at the children. "While I was in the store, I happened to glance through a window andthought I recognised one of the people I am instructed to look out for. He's known as Crooked


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Charlie on account of a crooked lip. When you described one of the men from the plane as having acrooked moustache, I realised this must have been the person I'd noticed. Naturally it was Kiki whodrew his attention when you saw him but he maywell know my connection with four children and aparrot. He may even have been informed that I could be in the area."

"Did he see you, Bill?" asked Lucy-Ann, now feeling a little concerned.

"I don't think so," said Bill shaking his head. "We've never met but he will have seenphotographs of me. When you spotted him with his companion while we were driving away, I don'tthink they saw me as they were on the wrong side of the car. In case they did suspect I was withyou, I drove in the opposite direction to the Otter Lake highway."

"I knew it!" declared Philip triumphantly. "You wanted them to think we were stayingsomewhere on Great Moose Lake."

"Are the men dangerous?" asked Dinah.

"They haven't been arrested for any major crime but seem to be around when there have beenpolice operations some successful, some unsuccessful against large scale criminal activity,"explained Bill. "I think they're minor players covering for the main criminals, the ones we alwayswant to catch. They're involved because they're well paid. If I suspected they were dangerous, Iwould certainly not have brought you with me at least, not to this quiet lake."

"Does that mean you suspect Larsen Tours?" asked Jack. "You did say you've heard of it.""I'm merely aware of it as I had to know as much as possible about the area before coming

here," answered Bill. "I hadn't linked Crooked Charlie, or any other suspicious character for thatmatter, with the company until you told me about seeing him come from the plane. He could beworking quite innocently for Larsen Tours, but I doubt it. And the person with him could well be BigJoe Gregory. They often work together."

"Big Joe Gregory," repeated Lucy-Ann. "Yes, the man we saw with Crooked Charlie was big sothe name would suit him."

"Scowling Joe Gregory would suit him better," said Dinah. "He had such a miserable face."

Philip was just about to ask another question when everyone looked at each other in alarm.Once again came the throbbing noise of the plane's engines but, the strange thing was, it seemedoverhead even though they had not heard it approaching.

"It sounds as though it's hovering just above us!" shouted Lucy-Ann. "What's it doing? Is it goingto land?"

Then, as abruptly as it had started, the sound ceased and there was silence. Jack at once ranto the edge of the veranda and peered upwards. There perched on the edge of the roof was Kiki,cackling with laughter. Then she opened her mouth and, once again, they heard the sound of theaircraft.

"You really fooled us, you naughty bird!" said Jack laughing. "I honestly thought the plane hadreturned."

"Plane and train!" said Kiki, delighted at the attention she was receiving. "Pretty Polly!"

"Well, I'm glad it was just Kiki," said Lucy-Ann. "I really thought the plane had come after us. Ithink we've had enough excitement for one day."

"I have a feeling we're going to have lots more," declared Philip, giving Bill a sly look.

Bill gave a grin. "I hope not," he said. "Come on, let's clear the table. We've all finished."

They were just clearing the table when there was a strange scratching noise to one side of theveranda. Kiki at once looked in the direction of the sound, her head on one side. "Whoisit, whoisit?"she called loudly. The scratching stopped for a moment before resuming. As everybody looked,wondering what was the cause of this strange noise, a quivering nose appeared over the rail. Thiswas followed by a little red body and a large, bushy tail. It was a beautiful red squirrel!

Dinah, who had been holding her breath, gave a scream and retreated to the furthest corner ofthe veranda, while Philip at once slowly leant on the rail a short distance from the creature. Bill,Lucy-Ann and Jack looked on without moving. After a few seconds, the squirrel moved along the railto Philip, its nose still quivering. Philip's animal magic was at work again.


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"Look at this lovely creature," he said quietly, reaching out a hand to stroke it. "See how thepure white tummy contrasts with the reddish fur? It's not like the grey squirrel I had at Mr Roy's butlike those red ones we saw in Wales. Come on Sammy, little fellow."

Bill watched, impressed and fascinated. How did Philip manage to gain the confidence of evenwild creatures in a matter of seconds? Spotting one of Kiki's sunflower seeds on the floor, Philippicked it up and, placing it in the palm of his hand, offered it to the squirrel. The little animal

waited a moment, looked around, then cautiously approached the boy's outstretched hand. It tookthe seed and began contentedly nibbling it, quite oblivious to the fact it had an audience.

Then it again approached Philip who, finding another sunflower seed Kiki had dropped, offeredit to the squirrel. The animal accepted it and sat nibbling it, hoping there might be another one.Unfortunately, this was too much for Kiki who gave a loud screech and flew from Jack's shoulder onto the back of the chair closest to the squirrel. She then began growling like a dog. At once thelittle creature scuttled back along the veranda rail, darted down to the grassy patch below andproceeded to seek refuge in a nearby birch tree.

"You naughty, naughty bird!" reprimanded Jack wagging his finger at the parrot. Kikiimmediately tried to bite it then, changing her mind, flew on to Jack's shoulder and began gentlynibbling his ear. She knew he was not very pleased with her.

"What a pity, poor Polly, naughty, naughty," she said. "Polly's down the well ... "

"That's enough, Kiki, you're not funny," said Lucy-Ann, also sounding cross. "Fancy causing a fusswhile Philip was trying to make friends with that lovely squirrel."

"Well I'm glad she did," said Dinah, leaving her corner of the veranda now that the animal hadgone. "You shouldn't encourage wild animals on our veranda, Philip. If that creature returns, shoo itaway and don't you dare bring it indoors. It's like a rat with a bushy tail and you know how I haterats."

"By all means befriend a squirrel, Philip," said Bill with a smile, "but I do agree with Dinah overone thing. It must not come indoors. It could do a lot of damage."

"I don't suppose Sammy will bother to even come back on the veranda after being frightened byKiki's noises and Dinah's long face," muttered Philip looking downcast. "Mind you, I suppose I waspartly to blame because I did offer it a couple of Kiki's sunflower seeds."

"I'm sure it will return if it sees you out here," said Jack good-naturedly, then changed thesubject. "Well, as everything is just about cleared away, isn't it time we had a look in theboathouse? I'm longing to see the boats. Have you got the key yet, Bill? You said you knew where tofind it."

"Yes, the key was on top of the cupboard in the hall," replied Bill, "so that's where we'll keep itwhen we're not using it. Come on, let's take a look outside. These steps leading off the veranda overhere seem to go down to the boathouse."

The five went down the steps which did, indeed, lead to the landing stage and the boathousewhere Bill wasted no time in opening the door. Everyone peered inside where there were two boats,separated by a wooden platform, the larger one a sailing boat, the other, a motor boat.

"Just look at this!" exclaimed Philip, looking at the boats in awe. "We're going to have a greattime out on the lake in these boats."

"Can't we take one out now?" begged Dinah, her eager eyes ablaze. "They look ready for acruise on the lake."

"Not now, Dinah, but we'll take one out in the morning, immediately after breakfast," promisedBill. "I'm sure they are completely ready to go on the lake but I'll need time to check everythingfirst. No doubt Kiki will try to imitate the sound of the motor boat's engine once she's had her firstride in it."

"Blow your nose, wipe your feet!" said Kiki, hearing her name mentioned and hoping she wasback in everyone's good books. She then puffed herself up ready to make one of her loud noises but,fortunately, Jack stopped her.

"Quiet, Kiki," he said. "We don't want any of your noises in here. If you must make a noise, gooutside."

"What a pity, what a pity," was the reply as the parrot flew out of the building and perched onits roof trying out various sounds.


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"It'll be easy enough taking either boat out of the boathouse but you'll need more care enteringas you'll have to use the oars," said Bill looking around. "Now where are they? Oh, there they are,fixed to the back wall surrounded by all that fishing gear. I'll place a pair in each boat now as wemustn't go out on the lake without them."

"Where are the cans of fuel?" asked Philip. "I can't see any in here."

"Apparently they're in a small store just outside," answered Bill. "One of these keys fits it. Assoon as the oars are in the boats, we'll find the fuel cans. The store can't be far."

While Bill carefully placed the oars in the boats, the four children went outside where Lucy-Ann immediately spotted a small store. Unlocking the door and opening it, they found half a dozencans of fuel Bill had ordered.

"Everything seems to be in order, not surprisingly," said Bill, closing the door and locking it. Heturned to lock the boathouse door. "Those cans should last us a while, especially as the motor boat'stank is already full. You carry on looking around while I move the car to a position under the trees."

"Why do that?" enquired Jack. "Surely it's all right where it is."

"I'd prefer it to be hidden from view, including from above," explained Bill.

"In case Crooked Charlie spots it from his aeroplane," said Philip giving Bill a knowing look. "As Isaid earlier, I have a feeling we're in for an exciting holiday."

And Philip was right. It was going to be an exciting holiday. Veryexciting!

CHAPTER 4: OTTERS!

"If anyone calls, I merely want it to look as though the Jeep is our means of transport," said Billpatiently. "Everyone in the Moose Lake area uses Jeeps. When I've moved the car, I'll go indoors toradio headquarters to make the first of my daily reports and to try to find out how Mrs Sullivan is."

"I do hope she's no worse, poor thing," said Lucy-Ann who was ever grateful to Aunt Polly forallowing her and Jack to stay at Craggy Tops. "She's had a tough life."

"I'll keep you informed and will see you later," said Bill returning to the cabin. "I assume you'restaying out here for a bit."

"Come on, let's explore," said Philip, then, giving his sister a sly look, added, "We might findsome very interesting creatures among the trees."

"If all you're interested in is finding nasty animals then you and Jack can explore byyourselves," retorted Dinah. "Lucy-Ann and I will go our own way."

But, as usual, Lucy-Ann wanted to be with Jack, something Dinah just could not understand.She was only too pleased when there was some distance between her and Philip in case he hadfound something she considered unpleasant, as was often the case. Poor Dinah did not share herbrother's love of wildlife, something he had inherited from their father. In the end, all fourremained together, enjoying a lakeside walk and chatting excitedly about taking a boat out the nextday.

The following morning, the children were up quite early and hurriedly ate their breakfast, sokeen were they to go out in one of the boats. Kiki sensed their excitement and flew around makingridiculous comments, angrily raising her voice as everyone ignored her.

Bill had received the good news that Aunt Polly was rapidly recovering from her illness whichmeant Mrs Cunningham would definitely be able to join the family in a week's time. While he was ona case, his department could always be relied upon to find a seat on an aircraft for a member of hisfamily, however short the notice.

At last they were ready to go on the lake. As there was a breeze blowing, Bill suggested takingout the sailing boat so he could see how the children coped as it would be more difficult tomanoeuvre than the motor boat. Once everyone was aboard, he rowed out on the lake, well clear ofthe boathouse, before putting up the bright blue sail which flapped eagerly and noisily in the stiffbreeze.


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"Let's see how you get on with this craft," said Bill looking at the children. "Dinah, take thetiller, Jack, you're captain so take over the sail from me. I am merely a passenger. Lucy-Ann andPhilip are deck hands until it's their turn to take over."

It really was delightful on the lake. The hillsides, which were mainly in the shadows earlier on,became bathed in the gentle light of the morning sun, their carpets of trees now in various shadesof green. The water cheerfully sparkled, the breeze causing little waves to gently rock the boat as

it scurried across the lake. Kiki attempted to balance on top of the mast but her feathers became soruffled in the wind that she gave up.

"Poor Kiki, poor Kiki, what a pity, poor Polly!" she screeched, flying around feeling sorry forherself. Nearby birds looked on in amazement. A bird talking like a human! How peculiar!

"This is lovely," said Lucy-Ann dangling her fingers into the cold water. "The water is so clearthat I can see the bottom. We seem to be halfway across this part of the lake already and look, isn'tthat the way to Little Moose Lake over there?"

"Yes and we must keep well away from there," warned Bill, a serious expression on his face."Well away. There are rocky waterfalls and little rapids between us and Little Moose Lake and avery strong current we don't want to be shipwrecked on our first day out!"

"Well, I'm more than happy here," said Lucy-Ann. "We're so lucky having a lake to ourselves."

"Make the most of it as we'll be with hundreds of other people when we move to Great MooseLake next week," said Bill, admiring the way Jack and Dinah were coping. "Now we'll soon reachwhere we connect with the other part of the lake so, steer a course over there, Captain Trent. We'llhave a look at it."

Jack carefully made an adjustment to the sail and, with Dinah still at the tiller, the boatveered towards the gap between the hills linking both sections of Otter Lake.

"You know, when we tire of the lake, it would be great to go exploring in the hills some time,"remarked Jack gazing around. "I bet there are plenty of wild birds there. Do you remember thosedonkeys we had in Wales when we rode among all those beautiful hills and mountains?"

"The Mountain of Adventure!" stated Philip, thinking back. "What a thrilling time we had."

"We've had so many adventures together," said Dinah. "I wonder if we'll have one here withCrooked Moustache."

"Crooked Charlie, you mean," giggled Lucy-Ann. "I hope not. I just want a nice, peacefulholiday with no adventure to spoil it."

"Fancy not wanting another adventure!" exclaimed Dinah scornfully. "Mind you, I can't thinkwe'll have one with Crooked Charlie as we're not likely to see him again. And, what's more, you'renot likely to spot him or anyone else here, Bill. It's so isolated. You won't have anything to report."

"I have to regularly drive into Elkville," replied Bill. "And as you've discovered that our friendsCrooked Charlie and Big Joe are associated with Larsen Tours, that's something of interest to report.I shall hopefully be receiving more information about this company during the afternoon. But that'sbusiness. Let's not mix it with pleasure."

"You've said that before, Bill," said Jack with a knowing grin. "It's lovely and peaceful out hereon the lake surrounded by these quiet hills but, when you're around, anything can happen! What are

you looking for, Philip?""As this is called Otter Lake, I was looking out for otters," said Philip, still closely watching the

shore. "It would be great to see some otters playing about on the shore and in the water."

"If we do see any, I shall steer in the opposite direction," declared Dinah at once, tighteningher hold on the tiller. "We'll keep a respectable distance from them. Nasty, slimy creatures!"

"No they're not slimy, they've got plenty of fur on them so it shows how little you know!"snapped Philip looking scornfully at his sister. "To be honest, Di, I think you'll like them, especially ifwe see them at play. You don't have to touch them and you won't get near them."

"I doubt it very much," said Dinah pulling a face. "I'm enjoying sailing in this boat and don'twant nasty smelly creatures to spoil everything."

"We might even be lucky enough to spot a beaver or two," teased Philip while Dinah glared at

him. "I bet there are some around here."


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"We're already approaching the other half of Otter Lake," said Jack, hoping a full scale rowwould not develop between Dinah and Philip. "Oh look, there's an island ahead. I wonder if we canland there."

"I expect it's possible but let's just sail around the island and think about landing another time,"said Bill. "Once round it, we'll have a change of crew. I say, those hills ahead are much higher thanthe ones around our lake and the Moose Lakes. In fact, I'd call them mountains."

The hills ahead were, indeed, mountainous as they had sharp ridges and towering peaks. Therewere plenty of rocky outcrops, some with waterfalls tumbling over sheer drops. It all looked verybarren in contrast to their section of the lake, with little sign of vegetation except for a few treesand a scattering of forlorn looking bushes and shrubs.

"They really are high!" exclaimed Lucy-Ann, gazing in awe at the mountains peering down onthem. "Otter Lake is clearly the last lake in this direction."

"It's the last in this chain of lakes," confirmed Bill, "but, needless to say, there are more lakeson the other side. Not even the Jeep will take us anywhere near those mountains but it doesn'tmatter as there are plenty of hills to explore all around. Well, here we are. Otter Lake, part two,and just over there, Otter Island!"

This section of the lake and immediate shore was very much like their own part. Trees

stretched down from the hillsides to the water although there were what appeared to be grassybanks in some places and tall, rocky headlands in others. Jack and Dinah were skilfully manoeuvringthe boat around one side of the island when Philip gave such a loud yell that Kiki flew up in the airin shock. Even Bill jumped.

"Look, on the island otters!" cried Philip, rocking the boat in excitement. "Jack, Dinah, turnthe boat towards the bank and stop. Just look at them playing."

Bill at once leapt up to assist Jack and Dinah who were clearly going to have some difficultymaking a sudden turn, especially as Dinah was showing some reluctance to use the tiller. "We can'tsimply stop, remember," he said adjusting the sail. "We're not in a rowing boat or a motor boat. I'lltake in the sail a bit and hopefully we'll manage to glide round in a circle."

Despite the awkward movements of the boat, the children were able to watch a group ofotters splashing about in the water. Others were on the muddy bank where, to everyone's surprise,

even Dinah's, they seemed to have made a slide down into the water."I do believe they're actually enjoying sliding down like we do on a water slide!" squealed Lucy-

Ann in delight. "That means they're really playing."

"I told you earlier, otters do play," said Philip who was longing to land and approach thecreatures. "I must say they look bigger than otters at home, but they're having fun in the same way.And just look at those long whiskers. Take us round again, Bill."

The otters paused for a short while as the boat passed close by then resumed their entertainingantics on the shore and in the water. Kiki flew over to watch them from a safe distance then beganto copy their strange, bird-like twittering sounds. The otters ignored her so she flew back to theboat, still twittering.

"What a strange noise they make," said Dinah, suddenly taking an interest. "What do they livein? Dens?"

"They live in holts which will be on the shore nearby," answered Philip. "There should be quitea number of them judging by all the otters we can see. Gosh, I bet there are plenty of other ottersaround the actual shore of the lake. We might even have some as neighbours at Pine Lodge."

"There's bound to be plenty of wildlife all around here," observed Bill. "It's so secluded. OtterLake and its surroundings must have few visitors. People tend to flock to the Moose Lakes."

"That's why the otters appear to be so tame as they're not used to people coming here," saidPhilip. "We're lucky to see them as they often only appear out at night. What a good job we're in thesailing boat. The noise of the motor boat's engine might have stopped them playing. Oh look, there'sa sort of an inlet there, beyond those overhanging branches."

"It twists its way round some trees," said Lucy-Ann. "It can't go far as the island isn'tparticularly big."

"Well, you've seen what you wanted to, Philip, so I think we'll carry on sailing now," decidedBill. "You can always return to Otter Island another time. Right, now we're continuing our little


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voyage, Lucy-Ann, take over the tiller from Dinah. Philip becomes the captain as long as heconcentrates on the task and doesn't keep daydreaming about having an otter for a pet!"

"Ugh!" muttered Dinah. "I confess I quite enjoyed watching them but, to have one as a pet.Ugh!"

"Ugh! Ugh!" copied Kiki, delighted with the new word. "Ugh! Pop goes the weasel. Ugh!"

"Pop goes the otter, you mean," laughed Jack, sitting down while Bill gave Philip a hand withthe sail. "I'm going to do a bit of bird watching through my field glasses now my hands are free."

He swept the hills but, although he spotted some birds, they were too far away for him torecognise them. He was hoping he might see an eagle or two. Then he focused on the end of thelake, having become aware of a movement to one side of a group of rocks. Yes, there was definitelysomething there. The something moved causing him to stiffen in surprise, scarcely believing whathe could see. He rubbed his eyes, and looked again.

There was no doubt about it. Somebody at the far end of the lake was also using field glasses.What's more, they were focused on the sailing boat!

CHAPTER 5: THE LAKE AND THE WATERFALL

"Bill, we're being watched," said Jack urgently. "There's somebody at the far end of the lakewith field glasses trained on us."

"Here, let me see," said Bill, almost snatching the glasses from Jack. "Where exactly did yousee this person?"

"To the right of that rocky outcrop in line with the group of trees on the hills way down there,"replied Jack, somewhat surprised by the urgency in Bill's voice. He strained his eyes to try to makeout the watcher.

"I can't see anyone," said Bill trying to steady himself as the boat was now swinging round

"Oh drat, we're changing direction!" exclaimed Jack. "Philip, Lucy-Ann, can you veer a bit to

the right? Blow!""Blow, blow, blow!" cried Kiki hearing a familiar word. "Blow your nose. Wipe your feet. Ugh!"

"Don't interrupt, Kiki!" reprimanded Jack. "You should be able to spot the person near thoserocks, Bill."

Although Philip and Lucy-Ann altered course so that the far side of the lake could again beclearly seen, Bill was unable to focus on anybody. Standing next to him, Jack tried to point towhere he knew he had noticed whoever it was with the field glasses.

"I expect Jack has imagined seeing someone," said Philip shrugging his shoulders. "He waslooking for a bird and that's probably what he saw."

"A bird looking through field glasses!" exclaimed Jack scornfully. "That'll be the day! Don't bean ass, Tufty. I tell you, field glasses were being used and only humans use them. There was a flashas though the sun's rays were being reflected and look, the sun is in just about the right place."

"Ifthere was somebody watching, he will know that you were watching him," reasoned Bill."That's why he is no longer visible."

"Are you concerned Bill?" asked Lucy-Ann.

"Not really, I just like to be aware of who's around, especially if I'm being watched," replied Billhanding the glasses back to Jack. "I was surprised that anybody should be over there on the shore asOtter Lake is so out of the way. It was probably an ornithologist like Jack or a naturalist like Philip,surprised at seeing us."

"So why was he watching us?" demanded Jack.

"If he was a birdwatcher, he was probably watching Kiki," answered Dinah with a laugh.

"Very funny," retorted Jack.

"Very funny," echoed Kiki. "Funny, funny, very funny.""It's not funny at all," said Jack. "I don't like being spied on by someone using field glasses."


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At that, Philip burst out laughing. "But, Freckles, that's exactly what you were doing, and whatBill was doing!"

"I expect whoever it was is staying in that cabin I can see," said Lucy-Ann peering ahead. "It'sgot a boathouse next to it like ours. And look. What are those strange buildings next to it? Theyseem to be very close to a river."

"I don't know who owns the cabin now but it was constructed to house the workers of a verysmall and disused hydroelectric power station," explained Bill. "It proved to be quite useless as theriver it was constructed over dried up one hot summer so construction of a new power station tookplace in Elkville. Those strange buildings are what's left of it. We'll have a better view when we getcloser. In the meantime, let's just follow the shore."

They continued sailing around the lake, Jack sweeping the shore with his field glasses, theothers enjoying the magnificent scenery all around. At first all was calm, then, for some reason, thewater suddenly became surprisingly choppy. Several times the spray shot through the air causingeveryone to squeal when it hit them as it was so cold. Then sheets of water began to fly over theprow to land with a splash in the bottom of the boat. Kiki screeched indignantly whenever dropletslanded on her.

"I can see the river further down the lake where the derelict buildings are but I suspect there'sanother one entering the lake a short way ahead," said Bill standing up again to assist Philip. "It's

clear we must veer to the left. No, don't turn the tiller sharply, Lucy-Ann, or we'll capsize. Gentlydoes it, that's right."

"Whatever's making us bump up and down?" asked a startled Lucy-Ann, gripping the tiller tightlyas the boat leant over alarmingly. "If it carries on like this, I shall be quite seasick or lakesick!"

"Gosh, there's an enormous waterfall coming into view behind this jutting out bit of land," saidJack, leaning over the side and excitedly pointing as he peered through his field glasses. "My word,it really is huge! Just look!"

Everyone immediately peered in the direction Jack indicated. Dropping from a great heightwas a foaming waterfall which splashed furiously on the rocks below as it gathered momentum,sending showers of spray in all directions. On either side of the main body of water, a fine mistseemed to hover over the rocky face of the mountain, resembling a shimmering veil, ever changingin shape and density. All around were the colours of the rainbow, sometimes faint, sometimesintense. It was a most spectacular sight.

And what a roar there was! Even from the boat it sounded like thunder, rolling continuouslyand angrily across the lake as the water tumbled incessantly from its lofty heights to hit the waitingrocks.

At first, nobody said anything. Even Kiki remained quiet before breaking the silence byuttering, "Ugh!", but this was scarcely noticed above the perpetual din.

"I think that's quite the wrong word," shouted Dinah looking in awe at the cascading water. "It'sa magnificent sight. It reminds me of the superb waterfall in that beautiful deserted valley wherewe had that wonderful adventure finding the hidden treasure."

"The Valley of Adventure," said Philip thinking back. "That was a great adventure. It's weirdbecause we heard that waterfall long before we reached it, yet how come we didn't see or hear this

one as we approached, despite being so close?""That's because the base of the fall was completely hidden by that high rocky outcrop on the

shore to the right of the waterfall," explained Bill in a loud voice. "All we could see on our tripacross the lake was the top of the fall way up there. We didn't notice the sound of waterfall abovethe swishing sound of the boat cutting through the water until it came into sight all of a sudden.How about landing for a closer view?"

"That's great," said Jack gazing upwards. "We shan't be able to climb up very high but we shouldbe able to get close to the bottom of the longest fall. I bet it'll sound fantastic."

"We'll make for the left of the waterfall," decided Bill changing the course of the boat. "Theshore is quite low that side and there are some bushes we can tie the boat to. We'll soon be out ofthe choppy water, Lucy-Ann. I hope your lakesickness isn't too bad."

"The surprise of seeing that wonderful waterfall made me forget I was feeling funny," laughedLucy-Ann. "But it'll be nice to be on firm land once again."


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"Soon be there," said Bill reassuringly. "We'll make for that sort of a bay straight ahead thenwe'll do a bit of exploring. Steady now. Turn the tiller gently. Here we are. This seat is a bit wobbly it seems to be working its way loose. I must find some tools and fix it some time. Well, we'vearrived."

The sailing boat drifted alongside the bank where Bill leapt out and deftly tied the mooringrope around a nearby bush.

"All out!" he shouted above the roar of the waterfall. He glanced towards the hillside. "See thatpebbly looking area where I'm pointing? That's scree. We've met it before on our travels so you knowto avoid it if possible or exercise extreme care if you ever need to cross it. It looks as though we canavoid it by keeping to this rocky area. It's quite likely there was a landslide here once."

It was slow going up the hillside as it was very uneven underfoot. At times the slope was quitesteep and they had to go around the many huge rocks and boulders scattered all over the area.Some of the boulders were so enormous that the lake became hidden and, for a brief moment, thesound of the waterfall diminished. But the top of it, towering above them, never disappeared fromview.

After much scrambling, they reached a fairly flat area almost on a level with the foot of thefall. The noise was thunderous, the sight breathtaking! The water was crashing incessantly onto thewaiting rocks, splashing wildly in every direction. Above hovered a swirling mist through which the

torrent poured while a swiftly flowing stream cascaded down the hillside to the lake.

For a while, nobody said anything, not that normal conversation would have been possible.Even Kiki's squawks of apprehension and excitement were drowned by the noise of this magnificentwaterfall.

Almost without realising it, Bill and the children were becoming soaked by the fine spray, someshooting out from the foot of the fall, some gently floating down from the misty heights above. Itwas quite refreshing after the slog up the hillside which had made them all feel quite hot. Hatingher feathers becoming wet, Kiki flew over to some rocks just out of reach of the spray and startedpitying herself.

Eventually the five turned to look at the view below. Spread out before them was Otter lakeand the hills beyond. The cabin could be clearly seen down on the right but the derelict buildingsthey had noticed earlier were hidden from view by the many rocks strewn on the hillside. Behindthem rose the sheer, majestic cliffs of the mountain range.

"Let's move along a bit," yelled Bill above the sound of the waterfall. "I'd like a better view ofthe cabin and the old power station. I think we may have to go down a little to avoid the scree wesaw when we arrived. Everyone ready?"

The children nodded and carefully followed Bill across the uneven hillside. Again, rocks andboulders frequently interrupted their view although these were replaced by shrubs and bushes thefurther the little party moved from the waterfall.

It was while they had stopped to have another look at the lake below that Lucy-Ann's sharpears heard a sound above that of the waterfall.

"I'm sure I can hear an engine of some sort over there," she said gazing at the hills opposite.

Everyone strained their ears. "You're right," agreed Dinah after a few moments. "And look. See

what's making that sound?"

They looked towards the hills over which a dark object was approaching. Bill pursed his lips butsaid nothing. The Larsen Tours plane was back!

CHAPTER 6: VERY MYSTERIOUS

"keep still," ordered Bill at once. "I want to have a good look at that floatplane. Can I borrowyour field glasses, Jack? It would be interesting to see if I recognise the pilot."

"Who knows? You might see Crooked Charlie at the controls," laughed Philip as Jack handed

over the glasses. "It's certainly coming straight in this direction."


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The engine became very audible as the plane approached Otter Lake. Kiki, of course, could notresist copying the sound of the engine but nobody objected out on the open mountainside.

Once the aircraft had cleared the hills between Little Moose Lake and Otter Lake, it descendedslightly. As it banked, the name LARSEN TOURS could be distinguished on the dark fuselage and thepilot could just be seen at the controls. However, nobody could tell if it was Crooked Charlie, noteven Bill using the field glasses

The plane continued to descend then, just when it seemed it might land on the lake, it roseand went over the hills before circling the lake once again. With the glasses held firmly in bothhands, Bill tried to make out the identity of the pilot but to no avail.

"Drat, drat, drat!" he exclaimed, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "It's just impossible to seeinside the cabin because of the angle of the plane. This is all very weird. It's the Larsen Tours planebut, clearly, there aren't any passengers. So why fly a tour plane down the lakes with only the piloton board?"

"For one moment, I thought it was going to land," said Jack, watching the plane now flyingback in the direction of Elkville. "Perhaps it was a practice run. As you say, Bill. It's weird."

"There it goes, on its way back," said Lucy-Ann still gazing at it. Then she turned and spokefirmly to Kiki. "The plane has gone so stop copying the sound of its engine."

"Drat, drat, drat!" said Kiki, remembering Bill's words. "Drat, drat, drat. Ugh!""Absolutely, Kiki," said Bill with a laugh. "I couldn't agree more."

"I take it you're still rather suspicious of Larsen Tours?" enquired Dinah, noticing the mystifiedlook on Bill's face.

"Only because of the association with Charlie and Joe," replied Bill. "I wonder if the pilotspotted our boat, not that a boat on a lake would be likely to interest him."

"It might, being on this particular lake," said Lucy-Ann.

"Well, the plane's gone so let's carry on along the hillside and have a look at the old powerstation," suggested Philip. "It can't be far."

"I don't suppose there's much to see," said Bill, "but we may as well continue with our walk. Imust say, I'm very much enjoying all this invigorating mountain air."

Onwards they traipsed across the rugged terrain where the towering peaks seemed to frowndown upon them. They made fairly good progress, despite the uneven ground, but had to beextremely careful when they reached a scree slope. As it was not steep, Bill decided to cross it,keeping a watchful eye on the children once he had reached the other side.

"Well done," he said approvingly when they were all safely across. "We can't go much furtheralong here as there's a cliff face ahead, but it doesn't matter. Look, we can now see the oldbuildings down there."

Peering down, they could see a collection of buildings on either side of a narrow river. Bits ofold machinery were scattered about and a rusty looking footbridge crossed the river. Some of thebuildings on the far side of the river were without roofs although those actually constructed into thehillside were in a better state of repair.

"It all looks rather sad, forlorn and forgotten," said Lucy-Ann. "Sort of left behind like anunwanted toy." The others smiled, but inwardly, couldn't help agreeing with her description.

"It seems incredibly small for a hydroelectric station!" exclaimed Philip in amazement. "I knowpart of it has collapsed but what purpose would it achieve? Why ever was it built?"

"As far as I know, Otter Lake was going to be developed for visitors," explained Bill. "Visitorsrequire electricity so a developer began to have this power station constructed to provide it. It wassoon realised that this was quite the wrong place to have a power station, especially as the river isnot exactly fast flowing, so it was decided to build a big one at Elkville where there was a constantsupply of swiftly flowing water. There, they could, and did, develop the Moose Lakes. Personally, Icannot think why they even considered building anything here. It's so wild."

"I know we're some way away from it but the cabin itself looks in good shape," observed Dinah."Very different from those derelict buildings down there."

"It's almost certainly owned by somebody," said Bill. "It's probably hired out to visitors like PineLodge."


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"I think you're right, Bill, because we're being watched again," said Jack looking through thefield glasses. "Yes, there is definitely somebody watching us from behind the cabin. Oh, he's justmoved. Blow!"

"Blow!" repeated Kiki. "Blow, drat, pooh, pah, ugh!"

"You do say the right thing sometimes, Kiki," said Jack. "I suppose none of you believes me."

"I do believe you," said Bill, "because I definitely saw a swift movement behind the cabin. So, itlooks as though the cabin is let, and to someone who is puzzled by the fact he keeps being watchedby a boy with field glasses!"

Jack turned and grinned sheepishly. "Why doesn't he come out into the open like we are?" heasked. "He keeps hiding. Why?"

"Bill told you why," laughed Dinah. "Because he doesn't like being watched. I bet it's abirdwatcher like yourself."

For several minutes they stood taking in the view. There was no sign of the watcher downbelow and they gradually forgot about him.

"Well, I don't know about you, but this walk has given me an appetite," said Bill. "Unless youwant to stay any longer I suggest we make our way back to the boat and to Pine Lodge for a bit oflunch."

This suggestion was met with instant approval as the little party turned to go back along therugged hillside. Jack could not resist one quick glance at the cabin through his glasses but there wasno sign of anybody.

Bill noticed a way down the hillside which would avoid the unpleasant scree slope and theywere able to make reasonable progress along the shore of the lake. At first, it seemed as though theboat was no longer there. A concerned Lucy-Ann ran ahead and spotted it hidden by the large bushto which it was moored.

They clambered aboard, hoisted the sail and off they went, at first through the choppy watercaused by the waterfall, then across much smoother water. Gradually the sound of the tumblingwater receded into the distance and everyone could once again talk at a normal volume.

"That magnificent waterfall really was a great surprise," said Philip as they sailed towards the

island. "Look, those huge cliffs are already hiding the fall from view and we can hardly hear it now.At least we know why the water in the lakes is so cold."

"I began to shiver when spray first started shooting over the boat," added Lucy-Ann. "I hadn'trealised the water had come from near the top of the mountain."

"That's why you don't see many people swimming in these lakes," said Bill. "The water is toocold until the sun has had chance to warm it up."

"Your otters didn't seem to mind the cold water, Philip," said Dinah.

"Otters are perfectly at home in cold water," replied Philip making an adjustment to the sail."A little to the right now, Lucy-Ann."

"You should be using the expressions port and starboard, not left and right," said Jack with agrin. "A little to starboard, Lucy-Ann."

"Stop showing off," reprimanded Dinah. "Well, have you seen any interesting birds, Jack? You'vebeen very quiet on the subject."

"I've been too occupied looking at otters, the waterfall, the floatplane, derelict buildings andwatchers on the shore," replied Jack, grinning broadly. He raised the field glasses to his eyes andswept the shoreline. "There are some wild geese on the water over there and I did see some birdson the mountainside, but not rare ones. What I really want to see is a sapsucker but it's more likelyto be in the woods near our cabin."

"What on earth is a sapsucker?" asked Bill, not having heard the name.

"It's a Canadian bird, a bit like a woodpecker," replied Jack. "As the name implies, it taps intothe sap of certain trees, mainly pines."

"I thought I spotted a beaver earlier on but I was too busy with the sail to ask to look throughthe glasses," said Philip as the boat bobbed round the bend to the Pine Lodge section of the lake."I'll have to investigate another time."


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"In that case you go by yourself!" said Dinah pulling a face. "Otters, beavers, squirrels . . .really, Philip. You should open a zoo!"

"Certainly not!" replied Philip sounding indignant. "These animals wouldn't be happy in a zoo.This is where they belong. Well, we'll soon be back. I can see Pine Lodge way down there."

He and Lucy-Ann now steered a course for the Pine Lodge boathouse. It was not as easy as itlooked as a side breeze had begun to blow, but they eventually approached the shore, bringing theboat to a gentle halt alongside the landing stage.

"Well done, you two," praised Bill jumping onto the landing stage and tying the boat firmly to apost. "Now to see about some lunch. I reckon we're all ready for something to eat."

"You bet we are!" said Philip, rubbing his hands together. "It's been a very interesting morning,at times mysterious."

"It certainly has been mysterious," agreed Bill. "Very mysterious."

CHAPTER 7: JACK HAS A SHOCK

After lunch, Bill told the children that he had to go into Elkville during the afternoon. "Just toreport and, maybe, receive information or instructions," he said casually. "I shan't be away all thatlong as Elkville isn't too far away from here as you know."

"Presumably you'll receive some more information about Larsen Tours?" enquired Dinah. "Youtold us out on the lake you hoped to learn something this afternoon."

"That's one of the things we'll be discussing," said Bill with a nod. "Just remember to lock upback and front when you go out. I'll have my own key so it won't matter who's back first."

In due course, Bill set off in the Jeep while the children decided to explore the woodland areaon the hill opposite the cabin on the other side of the track. They were just about to set off throughthe sweet smelling pine when something with a large bushy tail bounded up to Philip.

"Oh look, it's Sammy, the red squirrel," he said in delight, gently stretching out his arm so the

little animal could sniff his fingers. "Hello Sammy. No sunflower seeds today, I'm afraid. You'll haveto make do with conifer cone seeds. There are plenty around."

"Don't for goodness' sake encourage that creature to come with us," said Dinah pulling a face."It's bound to be covered with fleas."

"You always say that about small animals that attach themselves to Philip," giggled Lucy-Ann."I've never had any fleas from Philip's pets and I don't believe you have, either."

Dinah was not the only one who was displeased to see the red squirrel. Kiki, who was alwaysjealous of any animal that made friends with Philip, kept flying down telling it to wipe its feet andblow its nose. This time, however, the squirrel completely ignored her by running up a tree andkeeping up with Philip by leaping from branch to branch, much to the amusement of Jack and Lucy-Ann. Even Dinah couldn't help smiling but kept a wary eye on the little creature in case it decidedto jump in her direction.

They very soon reached the track leading from Little Moose Lake and which continued over thehill to the derelict power station they had seen that morning. From a branch, Sammy watched thechildren cross to the wooded section on the other side of the track then bounded across to jointhem, sniffing in the undergrowth for something tasty to eat.

Once again they were surrounded by trees but, as they were climbing, knew they wouldeventually be above tree level and on the hillside they had seen from the lake. Philip produced acompass from his pocket and confirmed they were going in a southerly direction as planned. Theywere chatting away together when Jack suddenly raised a hand and asked everyone to be quiet.

"Listen. Can you hear it?" he asked quietly. Kiki flew down and perched on his shoulder, herhead on one side as though she, too, were listening.

"Whoisit? Whoisit?" she questioned. Then, on being told to keep quiet, could not resist,"Shhhhhh!"

"Apart from Kiki, I think I can hear a woodpecker," said Lucy-Ann listening intently.


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"You're on the right track, Lucy-Ann," said Jack. "I'm sure it's one of those sapsuckers I told youabout out on the lake. I've been longing to find one. You stay here while I investigate. It can't be faraway."

He turned in the direction of the tapping sound and had only moved a few paces when hespotted what he had hoped to see for so long. A bird with a black head and a red crown was tappingits beak at great speed against a pine tree. Pointing towards the bird, which had its back to him,

Jack signalled to the others to come and look. "There's a sapsucker at work," he whisperedexcitedly. "It's so engrossed in its task that it's completely unaware of us. Isn't it a lovely colour?"

"Whatever is it doing?" asked Dinah who did not mind watching birds as they tended to fly awaywhen approached.

"It's tapping into sap blisters on that pine tree and has almost certainly been doing likewise onothers," explained Jack. "It feeds on the sap and on insects attracted to the sap. When it turnedslightly I noticed it has a red throat and a white belly, which means it's a male. It's quite a sight,isn't it? It's the first one I've ever seen."

Spotting the bird apparently pecking a tree, Kiki flew over to investigate. She copied the soundmade by the sapsucker causing the bird to stop and look around. It gazed at the parrot in surprise.Why was this strange bird uttering sapsucker sounds yet was clearly not a sapsucker? Then Kikireally startled it by instructing it to open its book at page six! This was too much for the poor bird.

It flapped its wings wildly and disappeared among the trees.

"Kiki, you can be a real pest at times!" scolded Jack sounding annoyed. "At least I've see one,and obviously there'll be others. I'll bring my camera with me on the next walk through here anddon't you dare make noises while I take photographs."

"What a pity, polly's down the well," said Kiki flying back to his shoulder where she againcopied the sound of the sapsucker before flying back into the air.

"I'll buy a lock for your beak one day," threatened Jack grinning. Then an awful thoughtoccurred to him. "Oh no! Mentioning the word 'lock' has made me think of something." He felt in hispocket and produced a key. "Seeing Sammy made me completely forget to lock the cabin door. I'llhave to go back. You go on and I'll catch you up."

"Does it really matter?" asked Lucy-Ann. "After all, there's nobody around."

"Of course it matters!" retorted Jack. "Bill told us to make sure we lock up if we go away fromthe cabin. There's all his radio equipment inside, don't forget, and goodness knows what else. Shan'tbe long. We're not that far from the cabin. Just keep going uphill and I'll follow."

With that, he turned and ran down the slope, pursued by Kiki flying after him, still practisingher sapsucker imitation. On reaching the track he paused to make a notch in the bark of a tree withhis penknife. "I should have done this further back as everywhere looks the same," he said tohimself. "At least I have a compass so will know which direction to go in when I return."

The cabin was easy to find as it took up so much space. To his horror, Jack could not find thekey. It was not in any pocket. He had lost it! Looking glum, he retraced his footsteps back to thetrack and began looking for the tree he had marked. Dreading he would have to search in all theundergrowth he had walked through on the hill, he suddenly spotted the key close to the track.

"Gosh, thank goodness I didn't lose it in the woods or I would never have found it," he

muttered. "I must have dropped it when I took out my pocket knife to mark the tree. Back to thecabin, Kiki."

He hurried to the front door and locked it. He was about to return to the others when hedecided to go round to the veranda to check if the door leading on to it was also locked. It wasn't.

"That was really forgetful of us," he said. "Although Lucy-Ann's probably right. There's not likelyto be anybody around. I suppose it's all right leaving the boat out. Bill didn't seem too concernedabout it. Come on, Kiki. Let's return to the others."

He walked back around the cabin and began to trot towards the track. He had scarcely reachedit when he heard the sound of a vehicle coming down the hillside on his left from Little Moose Lake.At once he stopped and looked towards the sound but could not see what it was as his view wasblocked by the trees.

"Bill can't have had time to drive to Elkville and back," he reasoned. "He must have forgottensomething and returned to fetch it. Good job I locked up or he wouldn't have been very pleased."


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Once again he began to return to the cabin when, to his surprise, the vehicle stopped on themain track instead of being driven along the drive leading to Pine Lodge. Jack now began to feelconcerned as it could not possibly be Bill returning or he would surely have driven to the front door.The boy made his way cautiously among the trees towards the sound of the engine, then remainedrooted to the spot as it was switched off.

He strained his ears but could not hear the sound of any footsteps on the drive or on the track,

nor could he hear any conversation so was unable to tell how many people were in the vehicle.Slowly he crept forward, taking care not to tread on any cones or twigs. Kiki kept flying aroundclose to him, knowing she had to remain quiet. In a matter of seconds, he reached the track to finda Jeep, similar in colour to their own one, standing there empty.

Feeling a bit nervous, he approached the Jeep to see if it was the one belonging to the cabin.Reaching it, he peered inside and then nearly jumped out of his skin.

"And who might you be?" asked a deep voice with a Canadian accent.

Turning round, Jack found himself face to face with a tall, dark haired man with a grimexpression on his face. The man began to slowly advance. "I'll ask you once again," he said. "Who areyou?"

CHAPTER 8: A STRANGE MAN AND A STRANGER ANIMAL

Jack did not reply. Who was this man? He wondered whether to make a dash for it but commonsense told him that he had no real reason to be alarmed. He had not been threatened in any way.He was just startled by the way the man had managed to come up behind him without being heard.

"Are you looking for someone?" he managed to say without answering the original question.

"You don't seem to be very talkative," said the man. "Yes, I am looking for someone. I'm lookingfor the person in charge of Pine Lodge. I presume you are staying here."

"Yes, I am," replied Jack realising that it was pointless denying it. "But why do you wish to seethe person in charge? Who are you?"

"In answer to yourquestion, let's just say I'm a friend of his," said the man. He looked backtowards the cabin and nodded. "It's all very quiet down there. Is the owner out?"

"Yes, he's out somewhere," answered Jack still feeling very suspicious of the stranger and notwanting to give precise details of Bill's whereabouts. "I don't know when he'll be back. Who shall Isay called when he returns?"

"Just tell him Al was here," said the man. He gave a nod. "He'll know."

"Have you by chance been to the other part of Otter Lake this morning?" asked Jack, wonderingif this could have been the person he had seen through the field glasses. "Near that old powerstation over the hill?"

"The old power station?" replied the man looking somewhat surprised. "Goodness me, no and Idon't think anyone else has recently, either."

"Why do you say that?" asked Jack intrigued.

For the first time the man gave a smile as he pointed to the ground. "This is the only track tothat collection of derelict buildings. Can you see any tyre marks beyond the ones made by myJeep?"

"No, only footprints crossing the track," replied Jack. "What you're saying is that nobody'sdriven along here for some time."

"Precisely," said the man. "And I don't think anyone would visit there on foot as it's miles fromanywhere. Now I must be off. Please don't forget my message."

He strode round to the driver's side of the Jeep and climbed in. Before starting up the engine,he addressed Jack again. "And well done for not saying more than necessary."

With that, he turned the Jeep round drove off leaving behind a very puzzled Jack. "Was he

friend or foe?" wondered the boy. "At least he gave a name so Bill should know at once who he was.I can't do anything now so I'd better return to the others. I wonder if they heard the Jeep."


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The others had certainly heard the sound of the engine and, like Jack, assumed it was Billreturning. In fact, Philip spotted the car between the trees as it came down the nearby hill.

"That's the Jeep all right," he confirmed. "Bill's back early."

"Shall we return to the cabin?" asked Lucy-Ann.

"There's no need to because Jack's down there so he'll tell Bill where we are," replied Dinah.

"What a good job he went to lock up. Bill wouldn't have been best pleased to find the cabinunlocked."

"Let's keep climbing until we have a view of the lake," said Philip. "Jack will soon catch us uponce he's had a word with Bill."

They continued upwards, accompanied by Sammy, then stopped in surprise. Once again theyheard the sound of an engine revving up. The Jeep seemed to be driving away, then there was nodoubt about it. It was being driven up a fairly steep hill in a low gear.

"Bill's going away!" exclaimed Lucy-Ann. "Whatever for?"

"Now I come to think of it, he wouldn't have had time to go to Elkville, meet somebody andreturn here," said Dinah looking at the others. "He must have forgotten something and come backfor it."

"That's if it was Bill," said Philip looking serious. The girls looked at him in surprise. "I thinkwe'd better wait for Jack to find out. Oh look, here comes Kiki."

Kiki had suddenly flown up the hill between the trees squawking loudly, having heard thevoices of the other children.

"Whoisit?" she chanted. "Jack and Jill. Up the hill."

"Jack's obviously coming up the hill," said Lucy-Ann with a laugh. "Good, because I want toknow who was in the Jeep. I just hope he comes in our direction."

Kiki suddenly flew back down the hill in search of Jack. She went out of sight but it was notlong before she could be heard, this time making the sound of an aeroplane which was a bitalarming at first until everyone realised who it was. Then she again appeared through the trees withJack hurrying up the hill a short distance behind.

"Who was that in the Jeep?" called Dinah without waiting for Jack to reach them. She thenhastily moved to one side as Sammy leapt on to the ground quite close by. "Ugh!"

"Ugh! Ugh!" repeated Kiki before erupting into cackles of wild laughter.

"Hang on, let me reach you first," called Jack, puffing a little as he hurriedly avoided a patchof dense undergrowth,.

In a few seconds, he had joined them and described what had happened down below. Theothers were intrigued to know the mysterious visitor had referred to himself as Al.

"I've never heard Bill refer to a friend called Al," said Philip. "Mind you, Bill's very secretiveabout his friends unless they're family friends of course."

"The strange thing is that the man didn't refer to Bill by name," said Jack. "He simply calledhim the person in charge of the cabin."

"How weird," said Dinah. "You'd think he would ask where Bill, or Mr Cunningham, was, wouldn'tyou? Not merely the person in charge. And if he knows Bill, he would know about us. Did he askwhere we three were?"

"He made no reference to us apart from asking me who I was," replied Jack. "Come to think ofit, I didn't tell him."

"I wonder if he was the person you saw watching us through field glasses this morning," saidPhilip sounding excited.

"I actually asked him if he was at Otter Lake earlier and he said he wasn't," answered Jack."What's more, he pointed to the track leading over the hill to Otter Lake and there were no tyremarks there. As he remarked, it's a long, long way to walk to the lake. A vehicle would have to beused."

"So, Jack, you and Bill may have imagined seeing somebody watching us," teased Philip.


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"No we did not!" persisted Jack indignantly. "I definitely saw somebody using field glasses. Itmight be somebody camping beside the lake, somebody who drove along the track some time agoand rain has washed away any tyre marks made. It might even be someone who had a boat."

"In that case he would have had to come from this part of the lake," pointed out Dinah. "Billsaid it's impossible to move between Little Moose Lake and our lake on account of the rapids."

Jack simply shrugged his shoulders and said no more. The four continued to chat for a whileabout the man called Al. Lucy-Ann felt there was something very suspicious about him as he had notenquired about Bill by name but her brother disagreed.

"I was certainly a bit suspicious at first," he admitted. "I suppose it's the way the man sort ofcrept up behind me without me hearing him. If he was up to no good, I don't think he would haveleft his car on the track for everyone to see or spoken to me. And he probably wouldn't have beenalone."

"We'll have to be patient and wait for Bill to return," said Dinah. "Are we still going in the rightdirection, Philip? There still seem to be hundreds of trees ahead."

"Yes, we are," confirmed Philip looking at his compass. "A wood or forest always seems to bemuch larger when you're in it than when you see it from a distance, mainly because progress isoften quite slow through a woodland area."

"Here, take the cabin key, Philip," said Jack. "What with Kiki's sunflower seeds, my notebookand other paraphernalia, my pockets are full. I nearly lost the key earlier."

Philip found room for the key in one of his pockets as the four trundled onwards, Kiki trying torace Sammy which she usually did. After a while, Dinah stopped and asked the others to be quiet.

"Listen carefully," she said raising a finger to her mouth. "That includes you, Kiki, for once! Canyou hear something in the trees behind us?"

Nobody spoke. Kiki flew around, keeping an eye on Sammy, but did not make any noise.Everyone turned and listened intently. Dinah was right. There was definitely a noise somewhere inthe forest behind them. It sounded like the slow tramping of very heavy feet.

"We're being followed!" squealed Lucy-Ann, her green eyes wide open.

"If we are, the follower is giving himself or herself away!" exclaimed Dinah. "It sounds more like

an elephant than a human.""Let's nip behind this small group of pines and keep still," said Philip urgently. "It won't be an

elephant, Dinah, but it could well be a bear."

Dinah just managed to stop herself from screaming as she crouched behind the nearest tree. Abear! The very thought of it! She shook her head and swallowed as she pictured a bear suddenlyappearing between the trees. "Let's do something instead of just standing here," she begged in a lowvoice. "We can't just wait for a bear to appear. It might attack us."

"No Dinah, Philip's right," whispered Jack. "We must remain still. If we make a move we'll beheard because four people cannot move quietly. Perhaps whatever it is won't actually come thisway."

The four children remained still, their hearts beating strongly as the sound of somethingtramping through the undergrowth grew louder. Then it stopped to be replaced by what sounded

like the breaking of twigs. Unfortunately, Kiki could contain her curiosity no longer. She flew in thedirection of the sound then, spotting the cause of it, uttered an ear-piercing screech and flew backat full speed, landing on Jack's shoulder with a heavy thump.

"Poor Kiki, poor Kiki," she said, and pressed her body against Jack's head. "Ee-ore, ee-ore, ee-ore, ee-ore!"

"Whatever it is making that noise has clearly frightened Kiki and yet she's making a donkeysound," said Jack, reaching up and stroking the parrot. "Watch out, everyone, that's never a donkey.It's on the move again and it's definitely coming this way."

The steady tramping sound had now been replaced by the more menacing sound of thecrushing of undergrowth and breaking of branches. The four looked on in alarm, longing to run butunable to do so. Then it arrived!

From between two tall pines appeared a huge creature, the size of a horse, with a very longnose and remarkable antlers. With its drooping lip and hump on its shoulder, it was extremely


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the lake of adventure by trevor j. bolton

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