by Judy Young
“Except he’d have to have time to get the bears into the car, too,” Buck said, “so if he left Tek by two forty-five, that would give him an hour to mess with the cubs.”
“We’ve done it! We’ve figured it out!” Toni was so excited, she was jumping up and down. Buck was already running from the bus stop.
“Come on!” he yelled back. “Let’s go ask Romana and Gerald what time Rek left Tek! They would surely hear someone starting a car in the middle of the night. That would prove our theory.”
When they got to the Rails’ campsite, the blinds had been shut and the RV was dark. Buck listened but couldn’t hear a TV playing.
“They must have gone to bed,” Toni said.
“Yeah, we’ll have to get over here to ask them before they leave tomorrow morning,” Buck said. He opened the sketchbook and crossed out clue number four and wrote two new clues.
4. TUES/WED—Rek left Tek between 9:00 Tues. night and 2:45 Wed. morning to get cubs and get totally out of the park before cubs were found missing.
5. WED—Cubs gone in morning before first bus got there. New camper moved into Site 13 before noon.
“He’d probably leave after sunset so no one would see him,” Toni said after reading what Buck wrote. Buck crossed off 9:00, wrote in 10:24, and handed the sketchbook back to Toni.
Satisfied, they headed back to loop two. Soon they could see Shoop through the window, sitting at the table in his RV and working on his laptop.
“Should we tell our dads now?” Toni said.
“We don’t want to accuse someone without proof,” Buck said. “We’ll know as soon as we talk with the Rails in the morning. Then we’ll tell our dads. They wouldn’t do anything tonight anyway.”
“Okay, see you in the morning,” Toni said, and headed toward her RV.
Dad was sitting outside by a small campfire when Buck got back to the Green Beast.
“The show is going to be awesome!” Buck said, pulling up a chair and trying to act like nothing else was on his mind.
“I think so too. To be honest, I had my doubts about whether this whole thing would work. I was worried about how responsible you’d be. But I’m not worried anymore.” Dad reached over and patted Buck on the shoulder. “You’re doing a great job, and I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks,” Buck said.
“So, tell me about your day. How was the compass class?”
Buck told his dad about K’eyush and talked excitedly about the student conservation program and how he would like to be involved with something like that when he was older. But as they watched the fire burn to embers, Buck kept quiet about his theory on how the cubs were taken. He also decided not to ruin the moment by telling his dad about their hike with the Rails.
TAKE 14:
“ALTHOUGH GRIZZLIES HEAR, SEE, AND SMELL WELL, THEY OFTEN DON’T PAY ANY ATTENTION TO WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THEM AND CAN BLUNDER INTO AN UNSUSPECTING HUMAN.”
THURSDAY, AUGUST 15
It rained all night. Usually the sound of the rain on the roof of the Green Beast put Buck right to sleep, but tonight several things nagged at his mind.
I should have told Dad we hiked with the Rails, Buck thought. But I will. As soon as I can prove my theory about Rek. Maybe he won’t be so upset if he knows how interested I am in what happened to those cubs.
As he lay there thinking, another thing came to his mind. Why didn’t the Rails ever say they were camped next to Rek? I know they got a good look at him on the bus. But there’s probably a simple explanation. He lay there a while longer, listening to the rain. Suddenly it dawned on him. That’s it! The Rails are on the buses every day, and when they get back, they go inside. Gerald has to watch the news. They’ve probably never noticed who’s camped next to them. I don’t have a clue who’s camped beside us.
Buck tossed and turned. It still seems like I’m missing something else though, he thought until he finally drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, as soon as they finished breakfast, Buck and Toni hurried to the first loop. The rain had cleared out, and the sky was bright blue. When they got to the Rails’ campsite, Gerald was pulling out walking sticks from one of the outdoor compartments on the RV. Romana was coming out the door, snapping a fanny pack that held two bottles of water around her waist.
“Good morning,” Romana called out cheerfully.
“I thought you guys were leaving,” Buck said.
“We are, but checkout isn’t until eleven,” Romana said. “We’re going to explore the riverbed this morning before we leave.”
“What brings you two here so early?” Gerald asked.
“We have a question,” Buck said. “Do you know when the man in Site Thirteen left?”
“There’s a woman and her son in that campsite. I met the woman this morning,” Romana stated. “She’s very nice.”
“No, we mean the person there before them,” Toni said. “It was a man named Rek.”
“Oh, we never met him,” Romana stated. “He left Tuesday morning.”
Buck and Toni looked at each other, surprised. “Tuesday morning? Are you sure it wasn’t yesterday morning?”
“No, it was first thing Tuesday,” Gerald said. “We were surprised nobody took that site until yesterday. Why?”
Buck didn’t get a chance to answer because suddenly a low-flying helicopter buzzed past. It circled around, came back, and hovered right above them. Craig was looking out the window. He waved and then pointed his finger several times back toward the second loop.
“Come on, Toni!” Buck yelled over the noise of the spinning blades. “Craig’s in there, and I think he wants us to get back to the Green Beast.”
Campers were rushing out from RVs, tents, and trailers as Buck and Toni ran from the first loop to the second. Everyone was headed toward the river. When Buck and Toni reached the Green Beast, Dad and Shoop were not in sight. The two kids didn’t even slow down. They ran right down the path to the river. Dad and Shoop were there, and so was Craig. The helicopter sat out in the middle of the riverbed.
“Let’s go back to the Green Beast,” Craig said. “We’ve stirred up quite a bit of commotion, and I want to talk in private.”
They had to push past a flow of people rushing through their campsite and down the path to take pictures of the helicopter, but soon the five of them were crammed into the Green Beast. Craig and Toni sat on one of the benches at the table; Dad and Buck sat across from them. Shoop stood beside them, his laptop on the table.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the two cubs are missing . . .,” Craig started.
“Buck told us yesterday,” Dad said. “Do you know what happened to them?”
“No, not yet. That’s why I came,” Craig said. “For two reasons. You guys are observant. Have you noticed anything unusual or seen anything strange in your recordings?”
“No,” Dad said, but Buck glanced over at Toni and took a deep breath.
“Toni and I have,” he said. “When we shot the moose, someone was out on the tundra.”
“We could see a red spot and black shape in the moose shot,” Toni added.
“You didn’t tell us,” Dad said, looking hard at Buck.
Buck started, “We were going to but—”
Dad interrupted. “Shoop, let’s take a look.”
“I’ll show you,” Toni said. She pulled Shoop’s laptop over in front of her, brought up the last part of the show, and zoomed in. She pointed out the red spot to Craig. Dad and Shoop also took a look.
“I don’t know,” Shoop said. “It’s just a little red spot. It doesn’t look like a person.”
“We think it’s a red backpack,” Buck said. Then he pointed to the black shape. “And we think that’s the corner of a black case that belongs to Rek.”
“Who’s Rek?” Craig asked. Buck told them everything he knew about Rek and his and Toni’s suspicions. “But it couldn’t be him. The Rails told us he left Tek on Tuesday morning.”
“Wh
o are the Rails?” Dad asked.
“Romana and Gerald,” Toni said. “An older couple we met Monday on the bus. She’s the one who bandaged my finger.”
“They’re camping at Site Twelve,” Buck said. “And Rek was camped next to them in Site Thirteen.”
“The Rails were in our compass class, too,” Toni added. “And—” She started to say more, but Craig interrupted.
“K’eyush told me you knew some people in the class,” Craig said. This time he was looking hard at Buck. “She was a little worried when the driver told her you got off the bus to go hiking with a couple of them.”
“You what?” Dad exploded.
“The Rails wanted to see the sheep horn,” Buck said, his eyes not meeting Dad’s or Craig’s. “And we thought maybe we could see what was going on with the bears from up there.”
“And you never told me?” Dad yelled.
“I’m sorry,” Buck said quietly.
“Sorry doesn’t cut it,” Dad said.
“Toni, you were in on this too,” Shoop said.
“I know. I’m sorry. We should have told you.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Buck said. “I talked her into it.”
“You need to sort that all out later,” Craig said. “There’s another reason I came here.”
“What?” Dad asked.
“We still haven’t found the cubs. I think the kids are right. Probably somebody has taken them, and we’re already looking into that. The kids’ information will be of help. But we want to do an aerial search, too, just in case. See if we can find either the cubs or perhaps a cache if another bear has killed them. And that’s where you guys come in.”
“Us?” Shoop asked. “How?”
“Well, I was thinking this could be a win-win situation for both of us,” Craig said. “You might be able to use some aerial shots in your show. It’s a clear morning; we could even zip around Denali after we’re done. There’s not a cloud on it. That will help you out. And maybe something that shows up in your footage, like that red backpack and black case, will give us some clues, too. You’re really good with that camera, Shoop.”
Shoop had been standing beside the table, but now he backed up all the way to the bathroom door, shaking his head frantically.
“No way,” Shoop said. “Absolutely no way.”
“I’m sorry,” Craig said. “I forgot you’re afraid of heights.”
“Shoop, I can go,” Toni said quietly. “I know how to run the camera.”
Shoop looked at his daughter and gave her a smile. “Thanks. You’re a good kid,” he said, then turned to Craig. “It’s okay with me if it’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine,” Craig said to Shoop, then looked at Dad. “How long will it take you to get ready?”
“Five minutes,” Dad said.
“Okay,” Craig said to Dad. “I’ll tell the pilot you and Toni will be joining us.”
“What about me?” Buck asked.
“I can only take two extra people,” Craig said.
“Oh man, that’s not fair,” Buck complained.
“Buck has to go,” Toni stated. “He has to be in the shots.”
Buck looked at Dad. He still looked angry. “Can’t I go? Please?”
“If Toni wasn’t right, there’s no way I’d let you go. Not after you went hiking when you were supposed to stay on the bus. And then you purposely kept it a secret from me. How do I know I can trust you now?”
Buck looked Dad in the eyes. “I messed up, but it won’t happen again.”
“Well, we’ll discuss that tonight,” Dad said. “Now, do you promise you’ll do exactly as Craig says? No extra side trips?”
“We promise,” Buck and Toni said together.
“Okay, I’ll meet you at the chopper,” Craig said.
As Dad and Shoop were getting the camera equipment ready, Buck turned to Toni.
“Thanks,” he said.
“No problem,” Toni replied. “After all, you made sure I got to go into the bear den.”
It seemed like most of the people camping at Tek were down on the riverbed. Now they took pictures of Buck in his official shirt and Toni with a camera bag as they walked across gravel bars to the helicopter. The chopper’s blades sat motionless and silent. Craig stood beside it, waiting for them.
“This helicopter is bigger than the one that came to the caribou kill,” Buck said.
“That was a park helicopter. Sometimes, if ours are really busy, we hire out a private chopper and pilot,” Craig said as he opened the door. “This is the first time I’ve flown with this guy.”
Buck climbed in first. There was a large panel of gauges, dials, buttons, and switches in the front of the cockpit. More buttons and switches were on the ceiling. The pilot sat on the right, a control stick between his legs. At his feet were two pedals. He wasn’t wearing a ranger uniform. He had on a flannel shirt, wraparound sunglasses, and over his ball cap was a headset with earphones and a mic that curved to his mouth. There was a similar headset on the empty seat beside the pilot, and two more hanging on the wall behind the two backseats.
Buck scrambled across the console between the two backseats, sat down behind the pilot, and buckled his seat belt. Toni climbed in, put her backpack under her seat, and reached back for the camera bag Craig was holding up to her. As Craig closed the back door, the pilot started pushing buttons and switches. The motor started to whine, and the chopper vibrated as the blades began to turn.
Craig opened the front door and climbed in. The blades were going faster and faster now, and the noise was getting louder and more high-pitched. The spinning blades made the nearby willow branches wave frantically. Craig picked up a headset, turned around, and yelled back to Buck and Toni.
“Put those headsets on and we’ll all be able to hear each other!”
Buck reached for the headsets and handed one to Toni. Instantly the ear-piercing noise was muffled, and they could hear Craig clearly.
“I want you two to keep your seat belts on even when recording. No getting out of your seats. Is that clear?”
Buck and Toni both answered yes. Craig continued, “This is our pilot, Bernie.” They heard Bernie say hi through the headphones but, busy with the controls, he didn’t turn around.
“Remember,” Craig continued, “if you see anything unusual, tell us so we can go in for a closer look. We’re looking for the cubs, of course, but also for male bears, food caches, or anything that looks unusual.”
The helicopter slowly lifted as Shoop videoed from below. Then, in one fluid motion, the chopper’s nose dropped and the craft swung around. Gaining speed, it followed the riverbed upstream.
“Craig,” Buck said through the mic, “those are the Rails down there. Romana’s the one with the red fleece on.”
The Rails looked up from the riverbed as the chopper headed toward the Teklanika River Bridge. At the bridge, it turned right and followed the road. Toni took her sketchbook from her backpack and handed it to Buck.
“Don’t forget,” Toni’s voice came through the headset. “It’s too noisy to have a mic on in here. So write down everything you would say if you’re in a shot.”
“I know,” Buck said. “Shoop said we can lip-sync my voice in later.” He slid the sketchbook into the pocket on the back of Bernie’s seat and turned to look out the window. Soon they were approaching where the bears were last seen. But the chopper didn’t turn to fly over the area. Instead it turned north.
“Maybe we should take a look toward the south,” Craig said to Bernie. “Go up that ravine all the way to the cliffs.”
“Air traffic control told me someone else will be covering the south side of the road,” Bernie answered. “I’m supposed to check out the area downstream.”
The helicopter continued following the river valley downstream. Sometimes Craig told Bernie to go in low, checking out willow and alder thickets. Other times they went higher so Craig could scan the spruce forests with binoculars. But other than Alask
an landscapes, they saw nothing.
“Okay,” Craig finally said to Bernie. “I guess we’ve done all we can. Let’s do a little flight-seeing before taking the kids back to Tek.”
The chopper turned west and went over a ridge, then swept southwest, crossing the road. Soon the road was far behind and they were following a glacier straight toward ice-covered peaks.
“This is phenomenal!” Toni exclaimed. “I’ve got to shoot this!”
As Toni took out the camera from its case, Buck pulled the sketchbook out of the seat pocket and quickly wrote in it. Toni leaned over the console and read what he wrote, then adjusted the camera.
“Okay, I’ve got a good angle. Are you ready?”
Buck nodded and looked at the camera.
“Action!” Toni said.
“Look at me fly! Just like an eagle soaring through the air! Mountains all around me, a glacier below me, and look what’s ahead! Denali, the Great One!”
Toni kept the camera on Buck as he spoke, and then slowly turned it to face out the front window. The chopper was following a river of ice. The glacier almost looked like a road, curving around the jagged snowcapped mountain peaks that surrounded it. Towering above them at the end of the glacier was the great mountain, white and magnificent, so big that its rugged summits filled the camera lens.
“That’s a wrap,” Toni called out. She rested the camera in her lap. “Shoop’s really going to be excited about that shot.”
“He should be,” Craig said. “It’s incredible up here! I’m glad you guys got to see it. Bernie, drop this thing down low so Toni can get some shots of the glacier up close.”
Bernie dropped the helicopter until it was skimming only a few yards above the glacier’s surface. From high above it looked like smooth snowfields, but now Buck could see the long sheet of ice was split with deep cracks and crevasses.
“The colors are amazing!” Buck said. In contrast to the dirty grays of the surface ice, the ice in the cracks and crevasses was a brilliant turquoise blue.
