Could she keep a secret? She’d try, of course—but Clarence was one smart cookie.
Ripple asked, Do you know the stranger?
Yes, he admitted. He cared for me when I was a prisoner.
Below him Clarence removed the gear from his shoulders and sank down with a sigh. He offered Penny a chocolate bar, which she accepted gratefully. Then he unfolded a map and studied it a few seconds.
“Do you live near here, young lady?”
“I’m not a lady yet. Just call me Penny.”
“Okay—if you’ll call me Clarence. Is it a deal?”
She giggled and sat down. “It’s a deal.”
“Then here’s another chocolate bar to bind it. There’s lots more, because it’s all I take to eat on a hike. Now, let’s see. I’ll bet you live at Sykes’s trout farm. Is that right?”
“You guessed right again.” She smiled and pointed. “It’s up yonder a little way.” She added quickly, “I—I’ll have to be going soon, ’cause it’s getting late and I’ll have to help with supper.”
“Well, I sure don’t want you to be late, for I’ve heard they’re sort of ornery. Was it one of them that hit you?”
She nodded. “I’m sure glad Scruff didn’t see it, or something terrible would have happened. What—what were you going to tell me?”
“Did you ever hear of an otter named Swimmer?”
“Swimmer!” she exclaimed, and Scruff’s ears perked up and he gave a little bark.
“So you’ve already found him,” Clarence said slowly. “I knew I’d come to the right place.”
Penny sprang to her feet and cried, “I know all about Swimmer, ’cause I heard it in the news. But I didn’t say I’d found him. You—you’ve just been pumping me, an’ I’m not going to talk to you any more!”
She turned quickly and started away, her small chin high.
“Wait!” Clarence called. “Please—I’m Swimmer’s friend. He’s in trouble, and I’ve come to help him.”
Penny stopped. “How do I know you’re his friend?”
“You could ask him. I’m the man who used to take care of him. I was driving the van when he ran away.”
“You—you just want to catch him an’ put him in a cage again!”
“No!” Clarence protested. “But I simply must see him and talk to him. It’s important.”
She came back and crouched near the tree again.
“Honest?” she pleaded. “Are you telling me the truth?”
“Honest, cross my heart,” answered Clarence most solemnly and crossed his heart as he spoke.
“Aw’right. But how—how’d you happen to come straight here?”
“Penny, I didn’t come straight here. I’ve been following my nose ever since Swimmer ran away. First thing I did was go to the Forest Service office and get a map. Soon as I saw Otter Creek here, and saw that it ran through forest preserve all the way to the river, something buzzed in my head. Ever get that funny feeling in your head when you know something’s true, even though you can’t prove it?”
“Sure, lots of times. Well, two or three, anyway.”
“Well, that’s how it was with me. Something buzzed in my head. There had to be a reason, I said, why a creek was named Otter instead of Eagle or Bear or ninety other names. You see?”
“Of course!” Penny exclaimed. “It’s because otters have always come to it. And they come to it because there’s something about it they like. Big pools, crawfish …”
“Right. And after taking a good look at that first stream where he escaped, I figured it wouldn’t be long before Swimmer left it for better water. So this morning early I drove to Otter Creek Bridge downstream, left the van there, and started hiking upstream.”
“Why, that’s miles and miles!”
“And no distance at all by road,” Clarence muttered. “If I’d just started up here first … But no matter. I didn’t find fresh otter signs till I reached the beaver pond around the bend yonder. But the freshest signs of all are right here on that rock. See?”
Clarence pointed to the neatly clipped tails and fins near the water. “You were watching somebody you know eat a trout not twenty minutes ago. Was it Swimmer?”
“It—it was Willow and Ripple. I brought them some fish.”
“But Swimmer was here too, wasn’t he?”
“I—I—please, don’t ask me.”
“But I’ve got to see him, Penny.”
“I can’t help it. I—I shouldn’t say another word about him until—until I have his permission. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“That means you’ve already seen him and talked to him. Right?”
“Y—yes,” Penny said faintly.
Up in the tree, Swimmer clung grumpily to his perch, a little upset by Clarence’s questioning. Old slick tongue! he thought. He’ll get every blatted thing out of her.
Suddenly Penny said, “If you don’t intend to take him back with you, why have you got to see him?”
“Because I’m worried about him,” Clarence admitted. “I’m worried sick. He doesn’t belong here, Penny. He’s become civilized. He’s not used to being out like this. It would be so easy for him to catch pneumonia and die. And I keep feeling he’s hurt. It was stormy when he left the van, and I thought the door slammed on him. If he’s hurt, I ought to get him to a vet …”
Clarence stopped, then asked, “Is he hurt, Penny?”
“A—a little,” she faltered.
“What’s wrong?”
“He—he—he’s got a broken leg,” she burst out. And at the shocked look on Clarence’s face, she added in a rush, “But I fixed it! I’m real good at that. Well, pretty good, anyway. I put a bark splint all around it, and that’s a lot better’n what a vet would do. There wasn’t anything else wrong with him ’cept that he was awfully hungry, ’cause it’s so hard for him to catch food. So I gave him the biggest fish I could find, then introduced him to Willow and Ripple. They’ll take care of him and show him the best places to hide.”
She paused for breath, adding quickly, “So you see, he’s going to be perfectly all right. You needn’t worry about him at all.”
“But he’s not going to be all right!” Clarence exclaimed, getting unsteadily to his feet. “By this time tomorrow there’ll be men out looking all over the place for Swimmer. Doc Hoffman’s promised a big reward to anyone who finds him. On top of that he’s hiring the best hunter and trapper in the mountains. That fellow will trail him straight here with a bloodhound.”
“But—but that doesn’t mean he’ll be caught.”
“Why, sakes alive, with a broken leg Swimmer won’t have a chance. He might even be killed. That trapper’s a brute!”
“But how can anyone find him in the creek if he stays hidden? Won’t they think he’s gone on downstream?”
“Lordy, I hope so.” Clarence snapped his fingers worriedly. “I don’t know what to do. Seems like there ought to be a safer place for him than here. Honestly, the best thing would be for me to take him back to Doc Hoffman’s lab. Then he wouldn’t get hurt again, and I—”
“No!”
“Now, don’t get me wrong,” Clarence hastened to say. “I wouldn’t take him anywhere against his will—not after the way he saved my neck the other night.” There followed an account of the van’s near-accident. Clarence continued, “I’ve been looking after Swimmer ever since I retired from the army. He’s about the only family I’ve got. It sure upsets a person …” He looked at her curiously. “How’d you manage to find him?”
“I didn’t find him. He found me.”
“Say that again?”
“That’s how it was. It happened after Weaver Sykes hit me, and I was wishing I was dead, ’cause I didn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to talk to—and that’s when Swimmer came up and started to sympathize. He knew exactly how I felt.”
“It didn’t throw you when he started to talk?”
“Goodness, no. I always thought Ripple could talk if only I had time to teach h
er. Anyway, it was wonderful to find a friend. Otters are ever so much nicer than people. I—I just wish I were one.”
“Penny,” Clarence said slowly. “You’re a mighty special person, and you share a big secret with me.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re the only ones in the world who know that Swimmer can talk.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And we’re going to keep it a secret. If Doc Hoffman knew it, he’d throw a fit. And Miss Primm—that’s his teacher—why, she’d fall through the floor. As for everybody else …”
Clarence shook his head. “Penny, I don’t know what to do, but if we work together, maybe we can figure out something. Er, how far is it to the bridge by road?”
“ ’Bout two miles.”
“That’s too far to hike this evening, the way I feel. Guess I’d better camp here tonight and bring the van around in the morning. You know that old timber road on the left, just before you reach the trout farm?”
“Sure. But you can’t go far on it.”
“It doesn’t matter. I just want to park the van out of sight. Say, when I was cruising around yesterday, trying to get the country straight in my mind, I had a quick look at the trout farm. Mighty pretty little place—but how come that Sykes bunch is running it?”
“They just inherited it,” Penny said. “But I’m afraid the bank’s going to get it soon.”
“How’s that?”
“I think they borrowed too much money to buy cars and things, and now they can’t pay it back. I—I’ll sure hate to leave, ’cause I’ll never see my friends again.”
“Oh, maybe you will.”
“I don’t see how—unless I run away and take my friends with me.”
“That’s an interesting idea,” Clarence said slowly. “Let’s think about it. It’s about sundown, so you’d better get on back to the house. I don’t want to see you with another black eye tomorrow.”
For a minute after Penny and Scruff had gone, Swimmer remained by the hole, digesting what he had heard. It gave him an entirely new view of things. Finally, after Clarence had moved out of sight, he crept painfully back to the floor of the hollow.
Willow and Ripple looked at him curiously. Thoughts flashed between them.
Is it safe outside now?
It is safe. The black man is still there, but he is my friend.
Then we will go and play in the pools until dark. We wish you could come with us. It’s always more fun when three can play together.
Swimmer told them it would be many days before he could play. But I’ll follow you out, he added. I must talk to my friend.
He was so tired and full of hurts that he hated even to move again. But after a few minutes to build up his gumption, he forced himself into the water and surfaced by one of the rocks under the tree.
Clarence was somewhere downstream. Faintly above the sound of the creek, Swimmer could hear him calling, “Swimmer? Where are you, Swimmer? Please come out!”
Swimmer’s first inclination was to paddle down to Clarence with the current. But on second thought he climbed out over the rocks and began limping slowly along the game trail that followed the stream.
Before many more hours, sure as day and night, some gloopy hound would pick up his scent at the other creek and follow it here. It would be downright stupid to allow the scent to stop at the beech tree. To leave a good false trail, of course, he would have to swim back to the tree. But that was a detail he could worry about later.
Suddenly he caught sight of Clarence in an open spot ahead. He tried to call out, but at that instant something seemed to go wrong with his throat. He couldn’t even manage a froggy squawk. But Clarence turned, evidently attracted by the tinkling of the bell. There was a gasped “Glory be!” and he came on the run.
It was really great to have old Clarence make such a fuss over him. The splinted leg came in for a world of attention. “Yessir,” said Clarence, nodding, “that Penny, she did a mighty fine job on you! She’s a wonderful kid. I had a long talk with her. If you’d just come a little earlier—”
“Oh, I heard you,” Swimmer admitted. “I—I heard all you said.”
“You what?”
“I was up in a hollow tree, and I eaves—eaves—what’s the blatted word?”
“Eavesdropped.”
“That’s right. I eavesdropped. I couldn’t help it. I—”
“You didn’t have to hide, for Pete’s sake! Why didn’t you come out?”
“Because I knew what you were thinking. You were thinking, dong ding it, that the best place for me was back at the lab, and I was afraid—”
“It is the best place for you,” Clarence insisted. “But I’ll never take you there unless you’re willing to go.”
“What about your job?”
Clarence chuckled. “Doc hit the ceiling when I phoned him you’d escaped. He told me never to come back unless I brought you with me. Pshaw, I don’t need a job. I’m a retired army sergeant with a pension. Anyway, you’ve upset the applecart, and Doc’s having a howling tizzy. He’s offering a big reward for you.”
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand dollars.”
Swimmer had little regard for money and he was not impressed. “Aw, fiffle!” he muttered, like a disgusted gnome. “He paid seven times that for a galumping horse that can’t do anything but look pretty in a picture.”
“It’s a palomino,” said Clarence, “and Doc thinks he looks pretty riding it. But you miss the point, old pal. To a poor guy who’s never seen much money, twenty thousand dollars is a whale of a wad. Up in this country it’ll look like a million. By tomorrow these mountains will be crawling with folks carrying everything from nets to pitchforks. Lord help any poor otter they happen to see!”
“I’ll be safe. I’m with friends. We’ve a great place to hide.”
“Yeah?” Clarence cocked a shrewd eye at him. “It wouldn’t be back yonder under that big old beech tree, would it?”
“Oops! How’d you guess?”
“Pshaw, I was raised in the country. The tree looked like a good place, and those trout fins near it were a dead giveaway.” Clarence scowled. “We’ll have to get rid of those fins. And maybe I’d better go back and make camp under the tree—at least until we’ve figured out the best thing to do. It’ll sort of throw people off if they find me camping there.”
“What about this dratted bell and harness? Can you get ’em off for me?”
“Not without tools. It’ll have to wait till I bring the van over in the morning.”
Swimmer glanced uneasily at the creek. Here the water was racing down into another big pool, frothing white in places where it smashed against rocks. How could he ever fight his way back to the tree against all that rush of water? Yet he hadn’t gone half as far as he should to leave a decent false trail.
He explained his problem to Clarence. “We’re both sort of beat,” he said. “But if I can make it as far as the beaver pond, will you carry me back to the beech tree?”
Clarence groaned, but nodded. “It’s a deal, old pal.”
5
He Sees an Old Enemy
With the coming of night it was pleasant to be back in the snug den, with Willow and Ripple near, and Clarence dozing in a sleeping bag just outside. He couldn’t hear Clarence, but he was very much aware of his comforting presence; occasionally he could even catch the faint odor of woodsmoke from the small campfire as it drifted past the hole above. A cricket chirped near the hole, and back in the unexplored chambers under the tree he could hear the faint squeaks and rustlings of tiny rodents. All other sounds were lost in the steady crash and rush of the stream.
Gradually the aching in his leg subsided, and he slept. But it was a troubled sleep, filled with vague dreams that became more unpleasant as the dawn approached. He awoke suddenly, and found that all the contentment he had known earlier had fled. In its place was uneasiness.
Just below him the tunnel of water leading outside was
turning from black to blue, and a thin shaft of greenish light was filtering down from the hole above. He knew without having to look that Clarence was gone. At the same instant he was aware that Willow and Ripple were watching him, and that they shared his uneasiness.
Is there danger? they asked.
Not yet, he replied. It is far away, but I feel it coming.
Now he could feel the uncertainty in Willow. The den was important to her. It had always been her main refuge, and her children had been born here. But if trouble were on the way, wouldn’t it be better to leave?
Do you know of a better hiding place? he asked.
The creek has many places to hide, but this is the best. It has another entrance.
Swimmer hadn’t even thought of such a possibility. The other entrance, he learned, was downstream in what may once have been a woodchuck burrow, though various other creatures had been known to use it.
Then we will stay here, he told them. Soon strangers will come, searching. We must be very careful not to be seen, or even to leave a sign of ourselves around.
He wondered how he was going to manage about food. But maybe after he got rid of the bell and harness, he would be able to move a little faster and snag an occasional horny-head chub. They weren’t as quick as trout. And there were the cases of canned fish that were always carried for him in the van. Clarence had promised to bring some tins of tuna, after the van was driven around from the bridge. That would be a big help, of course, except that he couldn’t expect Clarence to be on hand every time he got hungry.
A bit enviously he watched Willow slip into the water and dart out into the brightening pool to catch her breakfast. Ripple started to follow, but paused before him and playfully tapped his bell. Again, at its tinkling, she gave the little sound of delight that was so much like Penny’s laughter. Impulsively, she touched her nose to his and darted outside.
Swimmer was still tingling from that touch when Ripple returned, bringing two fish, one in her mouth and the other firmly grasped in her nimble “hands.” She placed the larger fish before him and settled down beside him to eat the other.
Swimmer overflowed with an emotion he had never felt before, and his heart went out to her.
The Preposterous Adventures of Swimmer Page 4
