12 The Chase Is On

The Chase Is On "And then," Stink told Aunt Opal the next morning, "we got so scared, we ran out of the woods and all the way upstairs and I had a sleepover in Judy's room." "Aunt Opal, you missed it! You slept through the whole thing." "Good thing I filmed it," said Stink. "There! See? That's his bed!" "Are you sure?" asked Opal. "It looks like woods to me." "He was there— I know it! Ask Judy." "All I know is I got a possum hairbrush and ZERO thrill points."

Aunt Opal smiled. "Well, don't give up, you two. It can take years to catch a monster." "Years?" said Judy. "I need thrill points A-S-AP, as in N-O-W." All of a sudden, Judy stared out the window. Dogs started barking and howling. Right there, before her very own eyes, in front of her very own house, a tall, furry gorilla creature with enormous feet dashed down the sidewalk! A pack of howling dogs nipped at his heels. "Code Bigfoot!" yelled Stink. "After him!" In a blur they all scrambled for the door. "After him! Go-go-go-go-go!" Judy yelled. Judy, Stink, and Opal tore down the street after him. Bigfoot and the dogs turned the corner. "We have to catch him before he gets to Main Street!

Cars will drive him cuckoo! Page twelve!" Stink shouted. Tingalinga, ding! Ding! Ding! Stink, Judy, and Opal screeched to a stop. She, Judy Moody, could not believe her eyes. The ice- cream truck had stopped at a red light. Bigfoot was waving his arms, flagging it down. He hopped right onto the ice-cream truck, barely escaping the yowling, howling dogs. "Did you see that? Bigfoot hijacked the ice- cream truck!" Stink yelled. "We'll never catch him now," said Judy as the truck pulled away. "Never say never," said Opal as Jessica Finch rode by on her bike. Opal threw up her hand. "STOP!" Jessica slammed on her brakes, squealing to a

stop. "I'm afraid we need this bike," said Opal. "It's an emergency." "Who are YOU?" Jessica Finch asked. "I'm, uh, Special Agent for the Apprehension of Large Unidentified Creatures. We need this bicycle for the chase." Stunned, Jessica stepped

off her bike. "Get on!" Opal yelled. Judy hopped on the handlebars; Stink jumped on the back. Pedaling madly, Opal steered the bike across the street, up over the sidewalk, and into someone's front yard, knocking over a yard gnome. "Woo-hoo!" Judy yelled as they flew through flapping laundry, swerved past a barking dog, and tripped a sprinkler system. WHOOSH! A spray of water rained down on them. "Awesome! No bath tonight!" Stink whooped. Just as they reached the street, they caught sight of the ice-cream truck again. "We've got him now!" Opal yelled. She poured it on, but the road turned into a steep hill. Huffing and puffing, she stood up on the pedals, groaning with every push. The bike wobbled and swerved.

"Ditch!" Judy yelled, and they all tumbled off the bike. All three of them ran, reaching out for a handhold, but the truck passed them by. "Back on the bike!" Judy yelled. Honk. HONK, HONK, HONK! Crr-UNCH! Just then, a van screeched its brakes as its big tires ran over Jessica's bike. The Birnbaums! "It's Rose and Herb, from my Bigfoot club!" called Stink. "We got a report! Bigfoot's in—" Herb started. "—the ice-cream truck. We know!" yelled Stink. "Get in! Get in!" Herb urged. Opal piled in after Judy and Stink. "Buckle up, everyone," called Rose, taking off like a bat out of Transylvania. Herb squawked into his CB radio. "This is