Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Ruth Rose bent over and peered through the telescope. She shook her head. "I don't see any wolves at all," she said. "Not even the mother." "The mother wasn't there," Abbi said. "She might have gone to look for food." Wallis looked at Abbi. "What exactly did you see, honey?" Abbi had tears in her eyes. "A man and a woman stuck the puppies into a cage!" Wallis gave Abbi a hug. "Let's go inside and call the police," she said.

The four kids followed Wallis into the kitchen. The table was set with bread, sliced meats, cheese, and a big green salad. Wallis walked to the wall phone, where she had taped a list of emergency numbers. She dialed and waited. "Hello, police department?" she said. "This is Wallis Wallace, on Seal Harbor. My daughter, Abbi, just witnessed three baby wolves being stolen! No, she saw it through her telescope from our cabin." Wallis paused, said, "Thank you," then hung up. "The police are sending a game warden out to talk to you," she told Abbi. "When?" Abbi asked. "They have to catch them fast! Those babies need their mother to feed them!" "The officer I spoke with said the game warden would come right away," Wallis said. "So let's all have some lunch while we wait." They were halfway through their sandwiches when they heard a jeep pull up next to Wallis's van. A woman wearing a brown uniform stepped out. She had a badge that said GAME WARDEN over her shirt pocket.

The woman was holding a small tape recorder. "Please come in," Wallis said. When they were all seated, the woman smiled at the kids. "I'm Nadine Banks. Which one of you is Abbi?" she asked. "I am," Abbi said. "Do you mind if I tape this interview?" Nadine asked. "Please tell me exactly what you saw through your telescope." Abbi told Nadine how she had been watching the wolves ever since she discovered them a couple of weeks ago. "It was just the mom at first," Abbi said. "Then one day, I saw the babies come out of the lair. It was so exciting!" "I'll bet it was," Nadine said. "I knew about the white wolf, but I didn't know she'd had puppies. Go on, Abbi." "Then today, I was watching while my mom made lunch," Abbi said. "The mother wolf was gone for a while, and the babies were sleeping in the sun. Suddenly a man and woman grabbed the babies and stuck them in a cage!" "Can you describe the man and woman?" Nadine asked.

"They were only there a couple of minutes," Abbi said. "They both wore T-shirts and shorts and baseball caps. But she had a long blond ponytail. It stuck out the back of her cap." "Good. Did you notice anything else?" Nadine asked. "No. After they put the puppies in the cage, the people left," Abbi said. "My telescope was trained just on the lair, so I couldn't see where they came from or where they went." Nadine shut off her tape recorder. "Taking animals out of Acadia National Park is illegal," she said. "I don't know if we'll catch these two, but we'll try. Thank you for reporting what you saw, Abbi." Nadine left, promising to be back in touch if she learned anything. "I wish we could do something!" Abbi said as the jeep pulled away. "Could Walker look for the thieves from his plane?" Ruth Rose asked. "What a great idea!" Wallis said. She picked up the kitchen phone again. Wallis dialed, listened, then said, "Walker, this is Sis. Call home as soon as you get this message.

Abbi was at her telescope, and she saw a man and woman steal those baby wolves! Both in shorts and caps. The woman had blond hair." Wallis hung up the phone. "I got his voice mail," she said. "Don't worry, honey, your uncle is always good about checking his voice messages." Abbi backed away from the table and wheeled herself out to the deck. Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose helped Wallis clear the table, then walked out themselves. They found Abbi peering through the telescope. "I saw the mother come back," Abbi said. "She sniffed the ground, then went into her lair." "Maybe we should go out there and investigate," Ruth Rose said, looking toward the woods. "Out where?" Josh asked. "To the wolf's lair," Ruth Rose answered. "We might find some clues." "Would you?" Abbi asked. Josh froze. "Um, what if the mother wolf thinks we took her babies?" he said. "Wolves are afraid of humans," Abbi told Josh. "If she sees you coming, she'll hide until you leave."

"How do we get there?" Dink asked. Abbi pointed toward a slight clearing in the woods behind the cabin. "I think there's a sort of trail there," she said. "If you follow it uphill, it should go pretty close to where the wolves live." "But what if the trail stops or leads somewhere else?" Josh said. "We could get lost out there." Abbi made room for Josh at the telescope. "See that big dead tree behind the rocks?" she asked. "Yeah, I see it," said Josh. "If you get lost, just look up and find the tree," Abbi said. "Coming back, look for our flagpole." "I say let's do it," Ruth Rose said. She looked at Dink and Josh. Dink nodded. Josh gulped. "Okay, let's hit the trail!" he said.