Timberwolf Challenge

by Sigmund Brouwer

  Timberwolf

  Challenge

  Timberwolf

  Challenge

  Sigmund Brouwer

  illustrated by Dean Griffiths

  Text copyright © 2008 Sigmund Brouwer

  Illustrations copyright © 2008 Dean Griffiths

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in

  any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

  recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be

  invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Brouwer, Sigmund, 1959-

  Timberwolf challenge / written by Sigmund Brouwer; illustrated by Dean Griffiths.

  (Orca echoes)

  (Howling Timberwolves Series)

  ISBN 978-1-55143-730-9

  I. Griffiths, Dean, 1967-II.Title.III.Series. Brouwer,

  Sigmund, 1959- .Howling Timberwolves series.

  PS8553.R68467T5425 2008 jC813’.54 C2007-907392-1

  First published in the United States, 2008

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2007942398

  Summary: In this fifth book in the Timberwolves series, Johnny Maverick

  finds himself in the center of his own fundraising idea, thanks to the pranks

  pulled by his friends, Tom and Stu.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs

  provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book

  Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the

  Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council

  and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

  Typesetting by Teresa Bubela

  Cover artwork and interior illustrations by Dean Griffiths

  Author photo by Bill Bilsley

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  PO BOX 5626, STN. B PO BOX 468

  VICTORIA, BC CANADA CUSTER, WA USA

  V8R 6S4 98240-0468

  www.orcabook.com

  Printed and bound in Canada.

  11 10 09 08 • 4 3 2 1

  Chapter One

  Wake-Up Call

  Johnny Maverick was in his bedroom on a Saturday morning. He heard his friends Tom Morgan and Stu Duncan talking in the hallway. Johnny’s mom had let them into the house to wake up Johnny. They knew Johnny hated to get up early on Saturdays. That’s why they liked to get to his house early to wake him.

  Johnny and Tom and Stu played for the Timberwolves hockey team in a small town called Howling. It was Tom’s first season on the team since moving from Toronto. Stu and Johnny had lived in Howling all their lives.

  Tom and Stu knocked on the door.

  Johnny didn’t answer. Unless there was a hockey game or practice, he never answered on Saturday mornings. Most of the time Tom and Stu had to drag him out of bed. That was another reason why they liked to get to Johnny’s house early to wake him up. Johnny always kicked and screamed and yelled when they dragged him out of bed.

  They knocked again. Like always.

  Johnny still didn’t answer. Like always.

  Johnny heard the door open.

  “Johnsy Wonsy,” Tom said, like he was talking to a little baby. “Your Mumsy Wumsy says time for a diaper change.”

  Johnny didn’t think it was funny. Tom said the same thing every Saturday morning.

  Stu laughed, though. Just like he laughed at that same joke every Saturday morning.

  “He must still be asleep,” Stu whispered. “His head is under the sheets.”

  Johnny knew it looked like he was in the bed. That’s because Johnny had stuffed some pillows with towels. He had used the pillows to make the shape of a body under the sheets.

  But Johnny was not in the bed. Johnny was under the bed.

  “Yes,” Tom said, “should we drag him out again?”

  “We should pour cold water on his face this time,” Stu said. “He is probably tired of us doing the same thing every week.”

  That was true. Johnny was tired of them dragging him out of bed on Saturday mornings. That was why he was under the bed.

  “Johnny must be asleep,” Tom said. “If he was awake, he wouldn’t let us get close with this cold water.”

  Silence.

  Then Stu whispered, “Yes, if he was awake, he would have jumped out of bed. He hates cold water.”

  “He hates cold water as much as he hates it when we wake him up on Saturdays,” Tom said. “This is going to be good.”

  They walked to the bed.

  From under the bed, Johnny watched their legs. He knew they were close. He also knew something else.

  He had put a scary mask under the sheets. With the face up.

  “I’ll lift the sheets,” Stu whispered to Tom. “You pour the water.”

  “On the count of three,” Tom said. “One. Two. Three. Now!”

  They flipped the sheets back.

  “Aaaagh!” Tom screamed. It was a scary mask.

  “Aaaagh!” Stu screamed. It was a very scary mask.

  From under the bed, Johnny reached out and grabbed one of Tom’s ankles. And one of Stu’s ankles. He pulled hard. Like he was a monster, trying to drag them both under the bed.

  “Aaaagh!” Tom screamed. He tried to jump back. He fell. On his butt. With a medium-sized thump.

  “Aaaagh!” Stu screamed. He tried to jump back. He fell too. On his butt. With a much bigger thump. Stu was not a skinny person, or a fast one.

  Johnny felt some water land on his hands. Tom must have thrown the cup of cold water straight into the air when he screamed.

  The cup hit the floor a second later. Yes, Tom had thrown the cup into the air.

  Johnny pulled on their ankles again.

  “Aaaagh!” Stu screamed.

  “Aaaagh!” Tom screamed.

  Johnny let go of their ankles and crawled out from under the bed.

  “You?” Stu said. “I knew it all along. I wasn’t scared for a second.”

  “You!” Tom said. “I knew it too. I was even less scared. Really.”

  Johnny laughed so hard that stuff came out of his nose. Runny stuff. He didn’t care. He was glad to get back at Tom and Stu. They had woken him up early on too many Saturdays.

  The best part was that he had recorded all of it. A video camera was set up in the corner of his bedroom.

  Chapter Two

  A New Idea

  “A video camera!” Stu said. His face turned red.

  “That’s cruel,” Tom said. “Very cruel. That makes me mad.”

  Johnny had just told them about it. He was sitting at the breakfast table with Stu and Tom. Johnny’s mom had just put a stack of pancakes down for them. It used to be a big stack of pancakes. Then Stu had taken half the pancakes for himself.

  “I know it’s cruel,” Johnny said. “I know it makes you mad. But only because you didn’t think of it first.”

  “True,” Tom said.

  Stu didn’t say anything. He was trying to finish the pancakes on his plate. He wanted to go backfor the rest of the stack while Johnny and Tom were talking.

  “Don’t be too mad,” Johnny said. “It’s for a good cause. It will be a great way to make money.”

  Summer vacation was almost over. The Timberwolves were raising money to help a charity that helped kids in other countries. The person on the team who raised the most money would win four tickets to a Calgary Flames hockey game.

  “How much money do you want for the video?” Tom said.

  “As much as I can get,” Johnny answere
d.

  “I don’t have a lot of money,” Stu said. At least it sounded like he was saying that. When Stu had a mouth full of pancake, it was hard to understand him.

  “I’ll find a way to pay Johnny for both of us,” Tom said to Stu. “We need to buy it from him before he shows it to other people. We must look very silly on the video.”

  “You do look silly,” Johnny said. He was watching Stu eat. Stu was much better at that than playing hockey.

  “That’s how I’m going to get money from other people.”

  “I don’t understand,” Tom said.

  “Simple,” Johnny answered. “A lot of people in Howling would enjoy the video. I’ll let them watch it if they donate money to the charity. After all, it is a good cause.”

  “They’ll all laugh at us,” Tom said. “That’s cruel.”

  “But smart,” Stu said. “You have to admit that.”

  “It gets worse,” Johnny said. “After everyone in town has paid to see it, then you two can also donate money if you want it back.”

  “Why would we do that?” Tom said. “The damage will already be done.”

  “Only in the town of Howling,” Johnny said. “But do you want it to go on the Internet too?”

  “Cruel,” Tom said.

  “Very cruel,” Stu said. He had finished his plate of pancakes. It was easier to hear him now. “But very smart.”

  “I wish we had thought of it first,” Tom said.

  Stu didn’t answer. He was reaching for more pancakes.

  “If you think it’s such a good idea,” Johnny said to Tom, “maybe we don’t have to stop with this video.”

  “You don’t mean what I think you mean,” Tom said.

  “Yes, I do,” Johnny said.

  “What does he mean?” Stu said. At least it sounded like that. He had started on his second plate of pancakes. Syrup dripped from his chin.

  “He means we can play tricks on other people in Howling,” Tom said. “We can videotape the tricks and use the videos to raise money.”

  “Exactly,” Johnny said. “After all, it’s for a good cause. Otherwise, I would never dream of doing something like this.”

  Chapter Three

  Scaring Cows

  That afternoon, Johnny and Tom and Stu rode their bikes to a field outside of town. The sun was shining. They stopped and watched cows eating grass on the other side of a fence.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Stu asked. His remote-control dune buggy was in his backpack. His expensive remote-control dune buggy.

  Johnny got off his bike.

  “Of course it’s a good idea,” Johnny said. “Do I ever have bad ideas?”

  “Do dogs have fleas?” Stu asked. He got off his bike.

  “Do cows like to poop?” Tom asked. He got off his bike too.

  “I get the message,” Johnny said, “but trust me, this will be a great video.”

  “It’s not your dune buggy,” Stu said. “You didn’t save up for six months for it.”

  “It’s my video camera,” Johnny said.

  “Your video camera will be safe on this side of the fence,” Stu said. “My dune buggy will be on the other side. Where it can get stepped on by cows.”

  “The cows will run away from it,” Johnny said. “Besides, this is for a good cause.”

  “I’m worried about scaring the cows too much,” Stu said. “I like cows. I even admire them.”

  “Nothing will go wrong,” Johnny said. “Trust me.”

  Stu opened his backpack to get his dune buggy and the remote controls. The cows just stood in the field and chewed. Johnny wondered if that was why Stu liked and admired cows.

  Johnny turned the video camera toward Tom. “Anything to say, Tom?”

  “Yes,” Tom said into the camera, “could you think of a trick to play tomorrow on my cousin from Toronto?”

  “It’s a long way to Toronto from here,” Johnny said. “We should stick with people in Howling. Where we can video the tricks and sell the videos. People in Howling will pay more if they know the person on the video.”

  “My cousin visits Howling tomorrow,” Tom said. “For a week. By the end of the week, everyone in Howling will know about my cousin. I promise.”

  “Plenty of time then,” Johnny said. “I’m happy to do it for a good cause.”

  “And also because my cousin beats me at just about everything,” Tom said. “It drives me crazy.”

  “Is your cousin older than you?” Johnny asked.

  “Same age,” Tom said. “Same size. That’s half the reason it drives me crazy.”

  “What’s the other half?” Johnny asked.

  “My cousin is a girl,” Tom said.

  “You can’t beat a girl?” Johnny said. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Just wait,” Tom said. “She’ll beat you too. At anything. Then she’ll laugh at you.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Johnny said. He and Tom were close in most things. They were close in running and arm-wrestling and playing hockey. “I’ll never let a girl beat me at anything.”

  “I warned you,” Tom said. “Just remember that. So when you get mad, don’t get mad at me. Especially because you have recorded everything we talked about on your video camera.”

  “I won’t get mad,” Johnny said. “I’m not afraid.”

  “Then we’ll video all the challenges,” Tom said.

  “Challenges?” Johnny asked.

  “Sure,” Tom said. “It’s for a good cause. You’re not afraid, are you?”

  “Of a girl?” Johnny shook his head. “Never.”

  Johnny said to Stu, “Are you ready to make the cows run around like crazy?”

  “Yes,” Stu said, “but I don’t like this. What if something goes wrong? Like, what if the cows stampede and break through the fence?”

  “I already told you that nothing can go wrong,” Johnny said. “Besides, this is for a good cause.”

  Chapter Four

  Not a Dump Truck

  Stu used his remote control to race the dune buggy across the grass toward the cows.

  “This is going to be great!” Johnny said. He was looking through the viewfinder as he recorded the dune buggy on the video camera. “See if you can bump the dune buggy into a cow’s leg! That will make the cow jump as high as you guys jumped this morning.”

  “It wasn’t a real jump,” Tom said. “I was just pretending.”

  “Me too,” Stu said. “We weren’t scared. Remember?”

  “Of course,” Johnny said. “How could I forget? And if I did forget, I have it on video. Remember?”

  “I can’t hear you anymore,” Stu said.

  “Because you don’t want to listen,” Johnny said.

  “No,” Stu said, “because I’m concentrating on the remote control. The dune buggy is—”

  “Stuck,” Johnny said. He watched it through his video camera. It had stopped moving. “What is wrong?”

  They could hear the little motor of the dune buggy.

  “It sounds like the wheels are spinning,” Tom said.

  “They are,” Stu said. “I don’t understand why.”

  “I do,” Johnny said. He zoomed into a close-up with the video camera. “You drove it into a big pile of fresh cow poop.”

  Stu moaned. “I knew something would go wrong.”

  “No problem,” Johnny said. “Tom will go out there and unstuck it.”

  “Cows are big,” Tom said. “They have big teeth. Strong teeth.”

  “They don’t bite,” Johnny said.

  “Unless you are grass,” Stu said.

  “I’m from Toronto,” Tom said. “City guys don’t know anything about cows. City guys don’t mess with cows. You need to go out there, Johnny.”

  Johnny zoomed back out and moved the camera from side to side. He noticed there was a bull in the field. It had big horns.

  “Maybe Stu should try a little harder to get the dune buggy unstuck,” Johnny said.

  “
I’m trying,” Stu said.

  “Keep trying,” Tom said. “A cow is walking toward it.”

  Johnny turned the camera toward the cow. It was a big black cow.

  “I knew something would go wrong,” Stu said. He moaned again. “Why am I always right about these things?”

  “Relax,” Johnny said. “What are the chances that the cow is going to step on it?”

  The cow moved closer.

  “Chances are looking better every second,” Tom said.

  Johnny kept recording this action on video. People in Howling might like this.

  “Move!” Tom shouted at the cow. “Go away, little doggie!”

  “Go away, little doggie?” Johnny asked. “You were right, Tom. You don’t know much about cows.”

  “Do something!” Stu said. “Please!”

  Johnny did something. He zoomed the camera in and kept recording. People in Howling might donate money to watch this.

  The cow got closer. It didn’t step on the dune buggy. It got so close that the dune buggy was right below its tail. Then it did something worse than stepping on the dune buggy.

  “Wow!” Tom said. “That was impressive. Too bad your dune buggy is not a dump truck.”

  Johnny zoomed in on the dune buggy. All that he could see was the antennae sticking up. The rest of the dune buggy was covered.

  “It was very impressive,” Johnny said. “This is great.”

  “Great?” Stu said. “That’s my dune buggy under all that stuff!”

  “But think how good it looks on video,” Johnny said. “A lot of people will donate a lot of money to watch this. Especially guys. We love this kind of stuff, don’t we?”

  “Yes, we do,” Tom said. “And best of all, it’s for a good cause.”

  Chapter Five

  Hooked

  Johnny and Stu watched Tom’s cousin walk toward them. She wasn’t far away. Johnny and Stu were waiting by a fence on the playground by the school. This time, Stu was holding the video camera.

  “I wonder where Tom is?” Johnny said into the camera.