“So, what do Beth and I do tomorrow?” Caroline asked.
Eddie lowered her voice to a whisper. “Well, Jake and Josh and I have to record the names and ages and grades of each kid, only I will be interested in whether they're boys or girls. I don't care about their ages. I'm going to prove that more boys show up than girls— that boys are more gullible. But Jake and Josh don't have to know this. You can line up the kids to go in the garage, Beth, while Caroline takes them in one at a time to show them Josh's picture of the abaguchie.”
“Great! The kids will take all their disappointment out on me!” said Caroline.
“Just tell them they participated in a psychological study, and that someday, when I'm a great scientist and I publish the experiment, they'll be famous,” Eddie told her.
“I thought you were going to be a doctor of sports medicine or a professional baseball player,” said Caroline.
“A doctor-scientist who plays baseball,” said Eddie.
Caroline went up to her room and lay down on the bed. Beth and Eddie were getting all the attention these days. Actresses liked to be center stage, and she wanted to get on with her career. She reached under her mattress and pulled out the valentine card she had bought for Wally Hatford. On the envelope she wrote For My Beloved, and on the inside she signed the verse Achingly yours. And then, after she'd admired it for a while, she put her mind on the abaguchie.
Eight
The Experiment
Because it's stupid, that's why!”
Jake and Josh faced off in their bedroom when Josh came back from the Malloys’. “Experiments are supposed to be about chemicals or electricity and stuff. They're not supposed to be about abaguchies,” Jake said.
“It's not about abaguchies, it's about people,” Josh told him, sitting down hard on one of the beds.
“Eddie's just luring kids over with that note about the abaguchie. She's trying to see which grade is the most gullible.”
“I still think it's dumb,” said Jake.
“You have a better idea? What project have we come up with for the science fair? Nothing. At least we could go in on this with her,” Josh argued.
Wally was standing in the shadows outside his brothers’ room, listening to the whole thing. He hated it when he was left out of things. “So what's happening?” he asked finally, stepping into the room.
“What do you want, Wally?” Jake snapped, throwing a rolled-up sock at him. “Get out.” When Wally got mad, he threw words around. When Jake got mad, he threw socks.
“If it's boys against girls, us against the Malloys, then you've got to let me in on it,” Wally said.
“I don't have to do anything but die and pay taxes,” Jake said, repeating something he'd heard his dad say once.
“And do a science project,” Josh reminded him. “If you're not going to help with the project, I'll take Wally. I said you'd be coming, and we've got it all worked out what each person's going to do.”
“Oh, all right,” said Jake reluctantly. “But I don't like the way we keep getting tangled up with the girls. I wish the Bensons were back. We always thought up good science projects when they were here.”
“What do you mean? We were never in sixth grade until now!” Josh exclaimed. “We never had to do a science experiment before, and you know it.”
Jake sighed. “Okay. What do we have to do at the Malloys’?”
“Well, you and Eddie and I have to record each kid's name, age, and grade, and whether they came because they talked to someone or came on their own. That will figure in the final results.”
“Are we going to take Peter?”
“He wanted to see the abaguchie, didn't he?”
“What do I get to do?” asked Wally.
“You can help Caroline take the kids into the garage and show them the picture I drew of the abaguchie,” said Josh.
“Great!” said Wally. “If any fifth- or sixth-grade guys show up, they'll murder me when all I can show them is a picture!”
“Just tell them they're part of a great experiment,” Josh said.
The next afternoon the boys set out for the Malloys’, Peter skipping briskly over the planks of the swinging bridge.
“You really want to come, Peter?” Josh asked, knowing that the experiment would be more reliable if every kid came because he wanted to.
“Sure! I want to see the abaguchie!” said Peter.
“You really think the Malloys captured it?” asked Jake.
“Of course! The girls wouldn't lie,” said Peter.
Jake gave a low groan.
The sun was bright and warmed the wool stocking caps on their heads as they trudged up the bank to the old Benson house where the Malloys were living.
The girls were briskly setting up two card tables on the back porch. They put a large vat filled with hot cocoa on one; there were three chairs and three notebooks at the other table for the record takers.
“We figured everyone should get a little something, so we're passing out hot chocolate,” Beth explained.
“Where's the abaguchie?” asked Peter.
“We'll get to that in a minute,” said Eddie. “Come over here, Peter, while we record your name.”
Jake and Josh and Eddie sat down at the second card table, and all three recorded Peter's name, his age, and the grade he was in at school.
“Did you show the secret message to anyone, Peter? Or talk to anyone about coming over here?” Eddie asked.
“Only Jake and Josh and Wally,” said Peter. He kept looking around. “Is the abaguchie chained up? It won't bite me, will it?”
“It's in the garage, Peter,” said Caroline, motioning for him to follow, and she and Wally led Peter to the garage.
This is so dumb, thought Wally as he entered the garage with Caroline. He should have kept his mouth shut and just stayed home. Why was it important for him to do things with Jake and Josh when what they did was really stupid? Going anywhere with Caroline Malloy was double stupid.
Caroline closed the garage door behind them with a creak. Inside, it was dark, and for just a moment Wally could hardly make out what was there. Peter clasped his hand tightly. And then, to his horror, Wally heard Caroline say in a soft little voice, “Wally, you can kiss me if you want to.”
“What?” said Wally.
“It's a wonderful place to fall in love,” Caroline told him. “So you can kiss me if you want to.”
“I don't want to kiss you!” exclaimed Wally. “I don't love you, either. I'm not even sure I like you.”
“Not even a little?” Caroline asked hopefully. “How do you know you can't fall in love with me if you won't kiss me?”
“But…I don't want to kiss you. I don't want to fall in love with you, either,” Wally told her.
“Oh,” said Caroline. “Well, maybe you'll change your mind.”
“Sure,” said Wally. “When the Mississippi wears rubber pants to keep its bottom dry.”
“What?” said Caroline.
Wally just shrugged. It was something he'd heard his mom say once. It was a way of saying no. It was a way of saying never.
“I want to see the abaguchie !” Peter said loudly, tugging at Wally's hand.
Caroline sighed. “Okay, over here,” she said, and led Peter to a large box below the loft. It was covered with an old curtain. She pulled back the curtain and shined a flashlight down inside the box. There was the large colored drawing Josh had made of the abaguchie.
Wally stared. It was hideous and spooky. But Peter wasn't impressed.
“Where's the abaguchie?” he asked, his voice growing louder. “The message said !”
“It didn't promise the animal was alive, did it?” said Caroline.
Peter was outraged. “You said !” he bellowed again.
“What this really is, Peter, is a science experiment,” Wally tried to explain. “You're helping Josh and Jake in an experiment they're doing for school.”
Peter kicked at the box. “I don't care ! I
don't want to help Josh and Jake. I want to see the abaguchie!”
“Let's go have some cocoa, Peter,” said Caroline quickly.
That helped, but only a little. Beth went into the house to find some cookies for him too.
Eddie and Jake exchanged glances. If Peter, who was seven, felt cheated, what about the older boys? What if the sixth-graders stood out on the street and told the other kids not to bother? For a while, though, that did not seem to be their problem, for it appeared as though no one else was coming. Three o'clock, three-ten, three-fifteen…
“What if nobody comes?” said Eddie worriedly.
“What if this experiment never gets off the ground?” said Jake.
“What if we flunk sixth grade?” said Josh.
And then a couple of third-grade boys started up the driveway, and a girl from Wally's class stood uncertainly out on the road.
“Okay, everybody, get ready,” Eddie instructed. “Beth? Wally? Caroline? Where is Caroline?”
Nobody seemed to know, but the two third-grade boys were coming up to the porch now, to see the abaguchie, and after Jake and Josh and Eddie had recorded their information and Beth had herded them over to the garage, Wally led them inside without any help.
“It's nothing but a—” Peter said from the steps, a cookie in both fists, but several pairs of hands clapped across his mouth at once.
“So where is it?” one of the third-graders said. “Where's the abaguchie?”
“Over here,” said Wally, fumbling his way toward the box in the near darkness, and then he realized he'd forgotten the flashlight. Caroline had it.
At that precise moment, there was a scritching, scratching sound, a huffing, snuffing noise from the loft, and as the three boys lifted their heads, a small light came on above them. There, half hanging from the ladder that led to the loft, was a grotesque creature like no animal they had ever seen. There were horns on its head, claws on its paws, fangs in its mouth, scales on its back, and whether it was covered in feathers or fur, no one could tell, for the creature, moaning and screeching, swung down right over their heads before the light went out. The three boys went tumbling and yelping out of the garage. The fourth-grade girl, who had just given her name and grade to Eddie, didn't even wait to see the abaguchie at all but followed the third-graders as fast as she could back down the driveway.
Jake and Josh and Eddie and Beth stared after them, then at Wally, who collapsed on the back steps, breathing hard.
“What happened ?” Eddie asked, shaking him by the shoulder. “What is it?”
“The… the abaguchie!” Wally breathed. Then he added, “I…I think.”
The twins got up from their chairs and, followed by Beth and Eddie, went slowly, step by step, into the garage. Carefully, Jake opened the door. Inch by inch, they moved inside. Wally stayed a few feet behind them, just in case. Nothing happened. The garage was as dark and still as a cave.
“What are you talking about, Wally?” Jake said, turning around. “There's nothing here that—”
Suddenly the air was split by a half-screech, half-moan; there was a flash of light, and a creature with fangs and claws and scales and feathers swung down over their heads. And then… then Caroline dropped the flashlight.
Jake picked it up and shined it on the creature, which was now trying frantically to crawl back up into the little loft where the Malloys stored screens and storm windows.
“Caroline!” they all cried together.
Caroline sat down on the edge of the loft, her feet swinging in the air. “Wasn't I great ?” she cried. “Wasn't I wonderful?” And while they stared, she climbed back down and stood before them, wearing her mother's fur cap; two Styrofoam cones attached to a headband; plastic vampire fangs in her mouth; and fur mittens with witch's claws glued to the fingers. She also had on an old fur jacket, a feathered boa around her neck and shoulders, and a bath mat, covered with tiny suction cups, thrown over her back.
Eddie started to laugh, then Beth and Josh and Jake.
And finally even Wally had to laugh too, even though the joke was on him.
“Caroline, you're just what we need,” said Eddie. “Too bad you can't get a grade for this project, too.”
“Hey, we've got customers,” Josh said, looking out. “Battle stations, everyone.”
For the next hour, boys and girls from school came walking up the drive, some alone, some in groups, and every one of them bolted from the garage when Caroline did her act. The older kids hung around a little outside when they made their exit, not quite believing what they'd seen, but Eddie wouldn't let anyone go back a second time, and finally, just after four o'clock, she declared the experiment over.
Jake and Josh finished off the hot chocolate.
“Thirty-two kids showed up!” Eddie said happily, looking over her notebook. “I'd say it was a great success! Eleven were girls and twenty-one were boys. That proves my hypothesis, that boys are more gullible than girls!”
“Hey!” said Jake. “You never said that was what you were after! You said you wanted to see which grade was the most gullible.”
“So that was my little secret.” Eddie grinned. “You should talk! You didn't have any hypothesis at all.”
“I don't care. You should have told us what you were trying to prove before we came over,” Jake protested.
But Beth and Josh were already wandering off together, Wally noticed, and they were holding hands!
How could Josh do it? He was only in sixth grade and he was holding a girl's hand. Gross! What kind of a spy was that?
Clutching the picture of the abaguchie in his hand, Peter at his heels, Wally made his way down the hill to the swinging bridge, the sounds of Eddie and Jake's arguing still coming from the porch.
Nine
Big Trouble
The card tables were folded and put away; the urn, emptied of cocoa, was washed and placed back in the cupboard; the paper cups were in the trash; and there was no trace that there had been visitors to the Malloy house that afternoon.
Caroline and her sisters sat sprawled in the living room talking about the experiment.
“That was my finest performance yet!” Caroline bragged, still basking in her glory.
“I'll admit, it was awesome,” said Eddie. “No one expected an abaguchie to sail out over their heads, and you didn't have the flashlight on long enough for anybody to be sure of what he'd seen. It's a wonder you didn't break your neck.”
“Did you get what you needed for your experiment?” Caroline asked.
“It turned out even better than I thought,” Eddie told her. “About twice as many boys than girls turned up. I'm going to get an A on this, you watch. Jake's upset, of course, but at least he got a project out of it.”
Beth didn't appear to be even listening, however. She sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, eyes on the ceiling, a grin on her face.
“You're pathetic,” Eddie said, looking at her. She reached over with one foot and kicked at Beth's shoe. “Hel… lo! Anyone home?” she called.
“Beth, you're a million miles away,” Caroline said.
Beth grinned all the more widely. “Josh held my hand,” she murmured.
“So?” said Eddie. “He held hands with you in the community play last month, and you didn't look so sappy then. What's the big deal about hands? He probably hasn't washed them in a week. If a guy held hands with me, I'd go take a shower.”
“This was spontaneous!” Beth said. “Oh, Eddie, it was so romantic. We were just walking down to the bridge, talking, and our hands accidentally touched and then I felt his fingers lock around mine, and my heart was pounding so hard I felt sure Josh could hear it…”
“Spare me,” said Eddie, rolling her eyes.
“Well, I'm glad somebody's lucky in love, because it's not me,” Caroline said tragically. From abaguchie to jilted lover, all in one afternoon. “I gave Wally every opportunity to kiss me in the garage and he didn't take it.”
Eddie bolted
upright on the couch. “Caroline, have you absolutely lost your mind?”
“Why? What's the matter with love?” Caroline answered.
“You're eight years old!” Eddie cried.
“Nine,” Caroline corrected her.
“Just nine!” said Eddie. “You shouldn't even be thinking about kissing and stuff.”
“Even I haven't been kissed yet,” said Beth.
Caroline didn't answer. She had one more thing to try: the beautiful valentine she had bought for Wally. She didn't know how any boy could refuse to fall in love with her after he got such a gorgeous card.
Mr. and Mrs. Malloy came in about six-thirty with a sack of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
“We're going to splurge tonight,” said Mrs. Malloy. “It's been a long day, and I'm too tired to cook.”
“Fine with us!” said Eddie brightly. “You can bring home KFC any night you want, Mom.”
Caroline quickly set the table with paper plates so that there wouldn't be dishes to wash, and soon the family was gathered about the table listening to Mrs. Malloy's account of the conference they had attended at West Virginia University in Morgantown.
They had taken only a few bites of their crispy fried chicken when there was the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway, and a minute later, a knock at the back door.
“Can't we ever have a meal without interruption?”
Mrs. Malloy said wearily as Coach Malloy wiped his fingers on his napkin and got up to answer.
A policeman and a woman Caroline had never seen before stood on the back step.
“Sorry to interrupt your dinner, Coach, but I wondered if we could talk to your daughters for a moment,” the officer said.
Coach Malloy looked startled. “Of course, come in,” he said.
“What's happened?” asked Mrs. Malloy.
The officer and the woman came inside. The woman looked as though she'd been crying.
“This is Ann Weymouth. Her eight-year-old daughter, Lorie, is missing. Ann found this slip of paper in their hallway beside Lorie's schoolbooks.”
Coach Malloy took his glasses out of his shirt pocket and read the printed note aloud: “‘Private: This is a secret message. If you want to see the abaguchie, come to 611 Island Avenue between 3 and 4 P.M. tomorrow, Saturday. Free. Do not tell anyone about this message or you will not get in.’ ”