Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet

by Henry Homeyer

  “We’ll do better making money tomorrow if you don’t stink,” said Wobar. “And I’m not going to let you sleep on my bed if you smell like garbage.”

  So finally Roxie agreed, and Wobar gave her a bath. It wasn’t nearly as bad as Roxie had thought it would be. In fact, she almost admitted to enjoying it. Wobar needed two towels to get her thick fur dry. It was very late by then, so they climbed into bed. They were tired but happy. They weren’t being chased anymore, and they would soon have enough money to get to New Orleans. The last thing Wobar heard as he drifted off to sleep was Roxie’s loud purring. It was a lullaby to his ears.

  CHAPTER 21

  The Hotel Fire

  FOR THE NEXT few days, everything went just right for Wobar and Roxie. Early each morning, Roxie would climb out the window onto the fire escape. Once Wobar got outside, he checked to be sure no one was watching, signaled Roxie, and she climbed down. They spent their days walking around New York, looking at everything.

  They walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and looked at the tug-boats pushing barges up the East River. They visited the United Nations Plaza, and Wobar wondered if the silver pipe could really bring peace to the world. He hoped so, but he felt a little discouraged thinking how far they still had left to go. Once they even rode the subway late at night when there was no one to keep Roxie out. They rode in the front car, watching the dark tunnel ahead. I was kind of spooky.

  Roxie was most fascinated by the Central Park Zoo. She couldn’t believe there were so many kinds of other animals in the world. Monkeys and seals, penguins and parrots. Dogs weren’t supposed to go inside the buildings, but Wobar snuck her in anyway. She was amazed that he could talk to them all, even animals that she couldn’t understand. But she hated that the lions had to live in cages like that. They were too much like her.

  “Wobar,” she demanded, “do those poor lions have to live like that forever? Couldn’t we help them escape?”

  “We’d better not. That would get us in trouble for sure,” he said. “Anyhow, lions couldn’t survive in New York City. They would starve to death if we let them out.”

  Roxie felt sorry for the animals in cages. She told Wobar that if she ever got put in a zoo, she would refuse to eat until they let her out—or she starved to death. Wobar assured her that she had nothing to worry about. They would never get caught, so she shouldn’t worry. Even so, some nights Roxie had bad dreams, and Wobar woke her up when she whimpered in her sleep.

  Every evening, Wobar and Roxie stood outside restaurants and movie theaters and did their trick. And every night, they made money. Some nights they made more than other nights. Everything in New York was very expensive, but they were still saving lots of money for their trip to New Orleans, and that’s what counted.

  Late one night they were both sound asleep when Roxie woke up. “Wobar,” she said, “Wake up! I smell smoke. I think there’s a fire.”

  Wobar woke up. He sniffed the air. Roxie was right! The hotel was on fire! Wobar ran to the door. When he touched the door-knob, it was hot. He was afraid to open it. There must be a fire in the hallway, he thought. Quickly, Wobar packed their suitcase. He got the money from under the mattress and stuffed it in the suitcase.

  “Let’s get out of here!” shouted Wobar. He opened the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. Roxie followed him down the ladders to the last platform, which was about ten feet above the side-walk. Wobar saw that there was an emergency ladder, so he pushed it down to the ground, then dropped the suitcase to the street. He was about to climb down when he stopped to think. What about the other people in the hotel? If they were asleep, some of them might die.

  “Roxie! Go down the street to the corner. There’s a fire alarm there. it’s a red box on a pole. Pull the handle. That will call the fire department. I’m going to wake up the other people. They’ve got to be warned!”

  Wobar had given Roxie another bath that night and hadn’t painted her, so she had no disguise. She was clearly a cougar, sleek and beautiful with a long tail that lashed from side to side in her excitement. But if they were going to save the others, there was no time to worry about that. Roxie jumped down easily and ran to call the fire department.

  Wobar started up the fire escape. At each room, he banged on the window. “Fire, fire!” he yelled. “GET OUT QUICK!”

  People woke up and quickly climbed down the fire escape. Smoke was pouring out of some of the windows. When he reached the top floor, only one room appeared to be occupied, but nobody answered his knock. He could see a man lying in the bed. The fire engines still hadn’t come.

  “Wake up! Wake up!” he yelled, banging on the window. There was no answer. He tried to open the window, but it was locked. Smoke was filling the room.

  Wobar didn’t hesitate. He gave a quick punch with the side of his fist, breaking the glass. Then he unlocked the latch, pushed up the window, and climbed inside. He knew he didn’t have time to waste if he wanted to save the man and get out alive, too.

  CHAPTER 22

  Sheets and a Square Knot

  COUGHING AND CHOKING, Wobar made his way across the room to the bed. An old man was lying there, motionless. Wobar shouted at him, hoping he would wake up. He grabbed him and gave him a shake. But the smoke had already made him limp and unresponsive. Wobar would have to carry him out. Flames were climbing the wall by the door.

  The old man was still breathing, but he was out cold, which made him hard to move. Wobar grabbed him under the arms and dragged him to the window. He draped him on the windowsill with his head outside. Fire was in the room, and a lightbulb exploded. Wobar grabbed the man by the waist and tried to push him out the window onto the fire escape. Just then Roxie arrived.

  “Here, let me help.” Roxie grabbed onto the man’s pajamas with her teeth. She pulled, while Wobar pushed, and they got him out onto the fire escape. But somehow they had to get the limp body down six stories on iron ladders. Flames were shooting out of some of the windows below. They didn’t have much time.

  “What can we do?” asked Wobar. “I can’t carry him down the ladder by myself. “

  “Quick. Go grab the sheets off the bed,” said Roxie. “Tie one around his chest just under his arms, and we’ll use the other like a rope to lower him down. I’ll grab the sheet with my teeth and lower him down to you. You guide him as I lower him, then we’ll do it again, floor by floor, until we reach the ground.”

  Wobar took a deep breath and dashed back into the room. He got the sheets and sprinted back to the window. Quickly, he fitted one around the old man’s chest. He tied the second to it, using a square knot, which he had learned in the Boy Scouts. He knew it would hold.

  They pulled him to the edge of the fire escape with his feet hanging down. Roxie crouched a good six feet from the edge of the ladder, gripping the sheet in her teeth. As she crawled toward the ladder, the unconscious man was lowered down, dangling from the sheet. Wobar stood on the ladder below, guiding him. He eased the old man onto the platform. Luckily, he didn’t weigh very much.

  Wobar and Roxie worked fast to get the man down. They had to be careful because a false move could send them crashing to the street below. On each floor, they had to begin again, getting the man into place by the ladder, Roxie lowering him down, Wobar guiding him. The third floor was the hardest. Flames and smoke were billowing out of the window nearby. Some of the fur on Roxie’s tail was scorched by flames as she lowered the man down. But she never faltered. They would save the old man.

  Finally, Wobar reached the ground. By then, a huge crowd was watching them. Someone with a camera took their picture as Roxie lowered the man to the ground. Just then, the police and fire engines arrived, and an ambulance screeched to a stop next to them. A fireman scooped up the old man in his arms and ran toward the ambulance.

  “Come on, Roxie,” said Wobar “Let’s find our suitcase and get out of here. You don’t have your disguise on, and anybody can tell you’re a cougar. I don’t want to have to answer any questions
about who we are.”

  Just then a TV truck pulled up. A reporter jumped out and went to the fire captain, who pointed at Wobar. Suddenly, there were bright lights shining on Wobar, and a reporter was shouting questions. “Who are you? Where’s the animal that helped you? Are you circus performers?”

  Wobar decided not to answer but to run. Roxie was nowhere to be seen, but she sent Wobar a silent message. “This way, I’m hiding down the alley to your left. Behind the dumpster.”

  Grabbing the suitcase, Wobar ran. He ran as if his life depended on it. He ran as if Simon’s life depended on it. The reporters were no match for him. They were left in the dust.

  CHAPTER 23

  The Millionaire

  WOBAR AND ROXIE spent the rest of the night on a bench in a park near their hotel. Wobar pulled out Roxie’s other disguise, the dress and bonnet. Roxie was surprised to learn that he had brought them along.

  “I thought we agreed that I should be painted like a dog,” said Roxie. “I don’t think I’m very convincing as an old lady.”

  “It’s true, but I left the paint in the hotel. And since you had a bath last night, you are clearly a cougar, not a dog. Someone might try to capture you and put you in a zoo. We can’t take a chance.”

  Wobar helped Roxie put on the dress and bonnet. Wobar arranged the shawl around her shoulders, and the two of them soon fell sound asleep. They just looked like two homeless people sleeping on a bench.

  The next morning, Wobar and Roxie went into a deli to buy food for breakfast. As Wobar was paying, Roxie nudged him.

  “I think you’d better buy today’s newspaper,” she signaled silently. Wobar looked at a stack of papers and saw their picture on the front page. He took one, paid for it, and they hurried out.

  Wobar and Roxie returned to the park and sat down to read the paper. Wobar stared at their picture on the front page. “Millionaire Saved by Boy and Mountain Lion” it said in large letters. The story went on to say that C. Clement Longsworth, one of America’s richest men, had been saved from sure death in a hotel fire the night before. Wobar began to read aloud.

  “Mr. Longsworth had returned to visit the hotel where he had begun his career as a hotel owner over fifty years ago, only to be overcome by smoke in a four-alarm fire. Although witnesses disagree on what happened, all agree that a boy with a mustache and a trained animal saved Mr. Longsworth. The boy and the animal lowered Mr. Longsworth down the fire escape despite great danger.

  “Some claim it was a leopard, others a lion, but most agreed that it was a cougar or mountain lion. Immediately after saving Mr. Longsworth, the boy and the animal disappeared and have not been seen since.

  “Mr. Longsworth, who is in good condition in Beth Israel Hospital, has stated that he would like to offer a large reward to the boy and his pet who saved him.”

  “No way!” said Wobar. “We’re famous. The only thing is, we don’t want to be famous! That story must be appearing in newspapers all over the country. And that TV reporter might have gotten footage, too. But if we go to collect the reward, I’ll get sent back to Woodstown, and we won’t be able to find the magic pipe. And you might be put in a zoo.”

  “Maybe we should take a chance,” said Roxie. “Since we saved Mr. Longsworth, nobody will be mad at you.”

  “Maybe. But my parents wouldn’t let me go to New Orleans. even if I don’t get sent to reform school, I’ll have to go back to school in Woodstown. Simon will remain a ghost because we won’t find the silver pipe. And our chance to help the world find peace would be over.”

  “I suppose you’re right. But what can we do? With our picture in the paper, we’ll be recognized. And the story must be on TV, too,” said Roxie.

  “There’s only one thing to do,” said Wobar “Let’s leave right now. We’ll get a bus to New Orleans. Nobody will be expecting us there. And you don’t look very much like a cougar in your dress. We have plenty of money. Let’s go!”

  CHAPTER 24

  Dead Giveaway

  SO WOBAR AND Roxie set off to find the bus station. Roxie was out of practice walking on her back legs, and a couple of times she had to grab on to Wobar to keep from losing her balance. But after a while, she got used to it. Wobar kept pulling Roxie’s bonnet down so people wouldn’t notice her face.

  “When you do that, Wobar, I can’t see a thing,” complained Roxie.

  “I know, but people can’t see you, either. Right now that’s more important, I think. We don’t want to be recognized.”

  When they arrived at the bus station, Wobar told Roxie to sit down and watch the suitcase while he went to buy tickets. She was glad to have a rest after walking so far on her back legs.

  “Hello,” said Wobar to the ticket seller. “Could you please tell me when the next bus leaves for New Orleans?”

  “Sorry, buddy, the bus just left. There won’t be another until 11:45 tonight,” said the man.

  “Oh dear. We’re really in a hurry. Isn’t there another way to get there?”

  “I suppose you could take a bus to St. Louis, then get another one to New Orleans from there.”

  So Wobar bought two tickets to St. Louis. It was only a few minutes before the bus was to leave, and Wobar hurried off to buy some hot dogs. He remembered not to get mustard or onions for Roxie. She liked her hot dogs plain. While they were eating, some people stopped and stared.

  “Look at that, Mommy,” said a little boy. “That lady has claws instead of fingers. And look at those teeth.” His little sister started to scream.

  “That’s not a lady,” said their mother. “It must be some kind of wild animal wearing a dress. We’d better report this. You can’t bring wild animals into the bus station. The nerve of some people!” The family hurried away and headed toward the information desk.

  Wobar and Roxie got up quickly and went outside, hoping their bus would be ready to let them on. They were in luck. The bus was there, and they got right on. They brought their suitcase on with them because it had all their money in it, and they didn’t dare put it under the bus with the others.

  They sat near the back, and Roxie pretended to fall asleep with her bonnet pulled over her face. When the bus finally left, they were both very relieved.

  The bus stopped from time to time to take on passengers and to let people eat. Wobar really wished he could get off and run around to stretch his legs, but he decided they shouldn’t push their luck. They stayed on the bus all the time.

  It was nice watching the scenery change as they traveled west. As they went through West Virginia, the hills reminded them of Woodstown and Grantham Mountain. They both felt a little bit homesick for the first time in days.

  “It sure would be nice to spend a few days hunting rabbits in those hills,” said Roxie, gazing out the window. “I wonder if we’ll ever get back to Grantham Mountain.”

  “I wonder about that myself,” admitted Wobar. “We’re a long way from home and not even halfway to New Orleans. I wish I could see my family. I do miss them, but I think we’re doing the right thing. After all, if we find the calumet, we not only help Simon the ghost, it should also help to stop wars and bring peace.”

  The bus continued on all day and into the night. Wobar and Roxie drifted off to sleep and only awoke when the bus finally stopped in St. Louis.

  “Everybody off!” called the driver. “St. Louis, end of the line.”

  Still half asleep, Wobar grabbed his suitcase, and they got off.

  CHAPTER 25

  “Borrowing” a Boat

  WOBAR AND ROXIE were tired, hungry, and impatient to get off the bus by the time they arrived in St. Louis. Wobar was standing in line to buy tickets for New Orleans when he noticed his name on the front page of a newspaper. He bought one and headed out of the bus station.

  “Where are we going, Wobar?”

  “I don’t know. But I just saw my name in the paper. I think we’d better see what it says before we do anything.”

  So Wobar and Roxie hurried out of the bus
station and down the street. After a couple of blocks, they stopped under a streetlight, and Wobar began to read the paper.

  “Hero of New York Hotel Fire Identified as Wobar,” it said in large letters. Wobar quickly read the article. It explained that the hero of the fire had been positively identified as Wobar, a runaway boy wanted by police and school authorities in Woodstown. More importantly, it mentioned that a woman in New York City had reported seeing a large animal wearing a dress and bonnet in the bus station that morning. Police and bus personnel throughout the country had been alerted. it went on to say that anyone who sighted a boy with a mustache and accompanied by a cougar should notify local police immediately.

  “Holy bunny busters!” said Roxie. “What do we do now?”

  “I don’t know, Roxie. But we can’t go anywhere by bus. And your disguise isn’t any good, not if they’re looking for a cougar in a dress. We’re in real trouble now. I don’t know how we’ll ever get to New Orleans. Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t pay to help people. If we had just run from the fire, we never would have been identified.”

  “But we had to, “said Roxie. “Otherwise, some people would have died. and certainly the old man would have died. don’t worry Wobar, we’ll think of something.”

  But Wobar was very discouraged. It seemed like their troubles would never end. They set off down the street looking for a place to hide and wondering what to do.

  After a while, they came to the banks of a huge river. Wobar and Roxie stood by it. even late at night, tugboats were pulling barges downstream.

  “Roxie, I’ve got it!” he said. “That’s got to be the Mississippi River. We studied about it in school. it goes all the way to New Orleans, so maybe we can go by boat. See those barges carrying coal? They’re headed south, toward New Orleans. maybe we can get on one.”