The Mystery of the Monster Mountain - M. V. Carey [23]
The beep sounded on Bob’s directional signal. It was Jupe, reporting his whereabouts on the north side of the meadow. A second beep came in, and the needle swung west-ward. Bob activated his own device to answer his friends, wishing that they had brought the walkie-talkies. The discovery of an earthquake fracture within a mile or so of Anna’s inn was something Bob would have liked to share immediately.
Bob gazed along the rim of the crevice. The earth was bare, and in spite of the dry season it still held some moisture. When Bob stepped back from the split in the ground, he could see the imprint of his own sneakers.
Perfect for tracking!
He began to walk along the edge of the crevice, examining the ground inch by inch. Behind Bob, and to his left, a branch snapped.
Bob stood still and listened.
A second ticked by, and two and three. After that single sound, the quiet was intense.
Too intense.
No birds called and no squirrels chattered in the trees. Even the wind had died. It was as if all the creatures who made their home on Mount Lofty were sitting motionless, watching and waiting. Waiting for what?
A muscle in the back of Bob’s leg twitched. He shook himself and cleared his throat.
“Stop that!” he said, and his voice was loud in the stillness. “Get a grip on yourself. You’re letting your imagination run away with you!”
He listened again, and only heard the
blood rushing in his ears. Then he heard
something else — something horribly
close. Behind him, almost at his shoulder,
there was the sound of breathing.
Slowly, very slowly so as not to startle
whatever it was. Bob began to turn.
There was a warmth on his neck. and
then a touch—a soft touch, a mere
brushing against his shirt collar. Bob
jumped, twisting in midair, trying to face
the being that had come out of the woods.
Afterward, Bob couldn’t tell who
screamed first, himself or the creature
that had crept up on him. He only knew
that his ears were ringing, shattered with
sound, and that he was looking into a pair
of dark, red-rimmed eyes.
He had an impression of hugeness and
matted hair. Then he was staggering,
slipping on the clean earth at the edge of
the crevice.
He fell. He fell backward and saw sky,
and then the steep, bare walls of the earthquake fracture. His body twisted and snow at the bottom of the pit rushed up at him. He felt the impact on his hands and knees and heard another scream. Then he blacked out.
Chapter 10
The Naked Footprint
BOB OPENED his eyes. He slowly focused on snow and the brown, muddy walls of the crevice. He lay without moving, and listened.
There were no more screams. There was no sound of breathing. Instead, from high above him came the trilling of a bird.
Carefully, slowly, he rolled over until he was on his back. His hands hurt and there was a pain in one shoulder, but nothing seemed to be broken. The snow at the bottom of the fracture had helped break his fall, though it had been too packed down to provide a soft landing.
Bob looked up at sunlight and blue sky. He remembered his glimpse of red-rimmed eyes and of matted hair on the creature who had come so close to him. He thought of giants prowling Sky Village, on the lookout for children who might have lingered out after dark.
After several minutes, he stood up, shivering from the chill of the grainy snow. His directional signal lay a few feet away from him. He picked it up, hoping fervently that the fall hadn’t broken it. It emitted a shrill, important little “beep” and the needle on the dial swung to the north. Bob smiled. Jupiter Jones was reporting in.
Bob held the signal and looked up to the rim of the crevice. The walls of the earthquake fracture were very steep. He knew he would never be able to climb out without help. He would have to summon Jupe and Pete.
But what if the creature still waited above, near the crevice? He might be calling his two friends into danger. Bob considered this for a moment, then decided to find out if the beast was still up there.
He was sure no animal would knowingly