Timberwolf Hunt

by Sigmund Brouwer

  “Eldridge,” Mr. Griswald said, “could you take the attendance to the office?”

  Eldridge stood up.

  The girls and boys behind him began to giggle.

  Tom had put a piece of paper down on the seat. He had put glue on the top of the paper so that when Eldridge sat down, the paper would stick to his pants.

  The trick had worked. The paper was stuck to Eldridge’s rear end. The boys and girls behind him saw what Tom had written on the paper.

  Honk! Honk!

  Eldridge walked to the front of the class. He didn’t know why everyone was laughing. Mr. Griswald handed him the sheet without looking up. Now everybody in the classroom except Mr. Griswald saw the paper stuck to his rear end.

  Honk! Honk!

  Eldridge walked out of the classroom and down the hall with the paper stuck to his rear end. Some other kids were already in the hallway, going to different classrooms.

  They began to laugh too.

  Honk! Honk!

  Chapter Five

  Torture Chamber

  That night after school, Tom and Johnny and Stu waited for Eldridge outside the dressing room. They stood beside Mr. Gregg’s janitor’s closet in the hallway at the arena. They knew Eldridge would be at the rink early to fill water bottles for Coach Elwell.

  Eldridge walked down the hallway with his equipment. Tom and Stu and Johnny had blocked the hallway with their hockey bags.

  “Honk, honk,” Tom said.

  “Come on,” Stu said to Tom. “Remember, he is part of our team.”

  “That’s all right, Stu,” Eldridge said. “I thought it was funny. It would have been funnier if the paper had been stuck to someone else’s rear end.”

  “He is part of our team,” Tom said to Stu. “We like him. All I’m saying is that he should play the same amount as us. Not more.”

  “You guys are right,” Eldridge said.

  “Tonight is a big game,” Johnny said. “If we don’t win, it is going to be very hard to make the playoffs.”

  “That’s right,” Tom said. “Have you talked to your dad about not playing so much?”

  “Not yet,” Eldridge said. “I promise I’ll try really hard tonight.”

  “Trying isn’t good enough,” Tom said. Tom opened the door to the janitor’s closet. He picked up Eldridge’s hockey bag. He shoved the bag into the closet. He slammed the door.

  “What’s going on?” Eldridge said.

  “Just putting your bag in a safe place,” Tom said.

  “Honk, honk on the rear end is funnier,” Eldridge said. He opened the door to get his bag. Tom pushed him inside and shut the door.

  “Hey!” Eldridge said. “It’s dark in here. I can’t see a thing.”

  The light switch was in the hallway. Tom did not turn on the light for Eldridge.

  Eldridge tried to open the door. But Tom had pushed a wedge of wood under the door. It would not open.

  “Guys?” Eldridge said. “Are you still there?”

  “Yes,” Tom said. “Are you going to talk to your dad? Or do we have to leave you in the torture chamber?”

  “This is a closet,” Eldridge said. “It’s not a—”

  There was a long rude noise inside the closet.

  “What was that?” Eldridge asked. Then Eldridge was quiet for a couple of seconds. “Yuck. What’s that smell?”

  “Let him out,” Stu whispered to Tom. “Nobody should have to face that kind of torture.”

  Johnny wanted to agree with Stu. The smell was coming out from under the door. It was a horrible smell.

  Tom shook his head. “Eldridge has to talk to his dad. None of the rest of us can.”

  “Yuck!” Eldridge said again. “It’s like an outhouse. Except ten times worse. It’s...”

  Eldridge screamed. “It’s alive!”

  Eldridge screamed again. “It’s licking me!”

  Johnny knocked on the door. “Eldridge, it’s just Mr. Gregg’s dog. Stinky. He’s a very nice dog. He wouldn’t hurt anything.”

  “He takes up a lot of room,” Eldridge said. “And he keeps licking my hand. Let me out.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about how much room he takes up,” Johnny said. “Or how much he licks your hand. I would worry about something else instead.”

  There was that sound again inside the closet. That long rude sound. It did not come from the front end of Stinky.

  “That’s what I would worry about,” Johnny said.

  “Oh, disgusting!” Eldridge said. “Is there a cork in here?”

  “Come on,” Tom said to Eldridge. “We like you. We know you try hard. We want you on the team. We just want you to tell your dad not to give you so much ice time.”

  There was another long rude noise.

  “Doesn’t this dog eat anything else except for beans?” Eldridge yelled.

  Tom and Johnny and Stu did not answer. At the end of the hallway, they saw Coach Elwell turn the corner. He was talking to one of the parents.

  “We’d better go,” Tom said. “Before Coach Elwell sees us here.”

  Tom leaned over and pulled the wedge out from the

  door. He looked back down the hallway. Coach Elwell had stopped. He was still talking to the parent.

  Tom and Johnny and Stu picked up their hockey bags. They walked toward the dressing room. As they walked away, they heard the long rude noise from inside the closet again.

  “Guys?” Eldridge called out. “Guys? Help. I think I’m dying in here. This dog should be a weapon in the army.”

  They kept walking.

  Chapter Six

  A Very Lost Skate

  “Why in the world would you be in a closet with a dog?” Coach Elwell yelled at Eldridge. He had his son by the arm in front of all the players in the dressing room. “Do you have any idea how stupid I looked?”

  “You?” Eldridge asked.

  “Me? I’m the coach. My own son is in a closet with a dog, yelling for help when I walk by with one of the parents. In the closet in the dark. And all you had to do was open the door.”

  Coach Elwell kicked the garbage can.

  “Sorry,” Eldridge said.

  “Well?” Coach Elwell said.

  “Well what?” Eldridge said.

  “Why were you in the closet with a dog? You were supposed to be filling water bottles.”

  “Oh,” Eldridge said.

  “Well?” Coach Elwell said.

  Johnny looked at Tom. Tom looked at Johnny.

  Johnny knew what Tom was thinking. Tom knew what Johnny was thinking.

  If Eldridge told Coach Elwell what had happened, they would be benched again.

  “I’m waiting,” Coach Elwell said. “Did you think it was a bathroom?”

  “A bathroom?” Eldridge said.

  “It smelled horrible in there,” Coach Elwell said. “My own son. You made me really look bad.”

  “The dog’s name is Stinky,” Eldridge said. “He stinks.”

  “So once and for all, answer me,” Coach Elwell said. “Why would you be in a closet in the dark with a stinky dog yelling for help when all you had to do was open the door?”

  Johnny looked at Tom again. Tom looked at Johnny. Eldridge looked at Johnny. Eldridge looked at Tom.

  Johnny knew what Tom was thinking. Tom knew what Johnny was thinking. Eldridge knew what Tom and Johnny were thinking.

  If Eldridge told Coach Elwell what had happened, they would be benched again.

  “I got lost in the closet,” Eldridge said. “The dog seemed lonely, and when I went inside, the door shut. I got lost in there because it was so dark.”

  Coach Elwell kicked the garbage can again. He took a deep breath.

  He smiled at Eldridge. “There, I feel much better.”

  Johnny looked at Tom. Tom looked at Johnny. They felt much better too. It wasn’t fun being yelled at by Coach Elwell.

  “I’m sorry for making you look bad,” Eldridge told Coach Elwell. “You should probably bench me for it.”
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  “Players never tell coaches what to do,” Coach Elwell said. “Now get dressed for the big game.”

  “Sure,” Eldridge said. He found a place to sit. He opened his bag. He began to throw his stuff on the floor.

  “Oh no,” Eldridge said. He threw the rest of his stuff on the floor. “I can’t find one of my skates!”

  “Are you sure?” Coach Elwell said.

  There was all of Eldridge’s equipment. But only one skate.

  “I’m sure,” Eldridge said. “It must have been that dog when I was in the closet. I’ll bet he took the skate. You smelled how stinky it was in the closet. That dog probably eats anything. Maybe he thinks the leather will taste good.”

  Coach Elwell kicked the garbage can.

  “Go out there and find the skate,” Coach Elwell said, “or you won’t be playing hockey tonight.”

  Chapter Seven

  Thank You, Stinky!

  Halfway through the third period, it was seven to three for the Timberwolves against the Leafs. Tom had scored two goals out of the seven, and Johnny had scored two goals.

  But now the Timberwolves were a man short. Stu had just taken a penalty for tripping.

  Coach Elwell sent Johnny and Tom onto the ice to kill the penalty.

  “Just like old times,” Tom said to Johnny as they skated to the face-off circle on the right side in the Timberwolves’ zone. “You and me.”

  “Yes,” Johnny said, “thanks to Stinky. I never thought I’d say this. But I like that dog.”

  “I know,” Tom said. “After the game, I’m going to give Stinky three hot dogs for taking Eldridge’s skate and hiding it.”

  “Too bad Eldridge is in so much trouble with his dad,” Johnny said. “He’s spent all game looking for it. Coach Elwell is sure going to yell at Eldridge on the way home.”

  “But we’re winning,” Tom said. “Doesn’t it feel good?”

  Johnny nodded. “Let’s kill this penalty.”

  “No,” Tom said, “let’s score a shorthanded goal and put this game away.”

  Tom reached the face-off circle. He leaned on his stick and got ready for the puck. The Leaf center got ready too.

  When the referee dropped the puck, Tom knocked it out of the air toward Johnny. Johnny turned his body into the Leaf winger beside him and kept the winger from getting the puck.

  Tom broke toward open ice, halfway to the blue line.

  The Leaf center moved toward Johnny to help the Leaf winger fight Johnny for the puck. Johnny saw the center coming. He kicked the puck between the center’s skates. The puck reached Tom.

  Johnny squirted between the center and the winger and jumped forward.

  The Leaf defenseman on Johnny’s side was moving toward Tom to stop him. That was a mistake. The defenseman should have backed up instead of pinching in.

  Tom saw that the defenseman had trapped himself too far inside the blue line. He flicked a backhand pass back to Johnny, who was moving at full speed along the boards.

  The Leaf defenseman turned around, but to catch Johnny, he had to start from standing still. He didn’t have a chance.

  But Tom had been moving forward anyway, and it was easy for him to keep going forward and pull away from the first Leaf defenseman. Now Johnny and Tom had a two-on-one against the final Leaf defenseman!

  They skated at full speed as they crossed the center line.

  Johnny stayed wide with the puck and crossed the blue line into the Leaf’s zone. The Leaf defenseman had to move to that side of the ice or Johnny would have a breakaway.

  Tom slowed down a little. That was better than skating full speed and keeping the defenseman between them. Now it was easy for Johnny to flip a pass back to Tom.

  Tom faked a slap shot, and the Leaf defenseman went back toward him to stop it.

  Johnny kept streaking and cut in toward the goalie. Tom put the puck on his stick. Johnny snapped the puck into the right side of the net.

  Shorthanded goal! Eight to three for the Timberwolves! And not enough time left in the game for the Leafs to score five goals to catch them!

  Johnny raised his stick to celebrate. As he swung around the corner to give Tom a high five, he noticed someone under the stands.

  He wasn’t sure, but it looked like Eldridge.

  With Stinky beside him.

  That couldn’t be, Johnny thought. Nobody would ever want to spend time hiding under the stands with Stinky.

  He didn’t have much time to wonder. Tom reached him and slapped his back.

  “Great goal,” Tom said. “Just like old times!”

  Johnny looked back under the stands. He didn’t see anybody.

  “Yes,” Johnny said to Tom, “just like old times.”

  Chapter Eight

  A Not-So-Lost Skate

  Johnny Maverick was the last player in the dressing room.

  Even though they had won, Coach Elwell was in a bad mood. He had left early with his son. The rest of the players were happy. They sat around and joked for a while, until one by one, they left.

  Johnny wasn’t as happy as he thought he would be. He had scored three goals, and the Timberwolves had won. Now they only needed to win one more game to make the playoffs. And they had two games left to play in the next two weeks. By then, Coach Smith would be back from vacation.

  But Johnny kept remembering what he had seen after scoring the shorthanded goal. Could that have been Eldridge hiding under the stands with Stinky? But why? Eldridge knew he was in big trouble for losing the skate. He should have been looking for it. He should not have been hiding under the stands with the thief. Especially when the thief was so smelly that it left a green cloud everywhere it went.

  Johnny began to throw his equipment into his hockey bag.

  The door opened.

  “Hi, Mr. Gregg,” Johnny said.

  Mr. Gregg was an older man with gray hair. He wore a parka all the time, even though it wasn’t that cold in the arena.

  “Hi, Johnny,” Mr. Gregg said. He stood in the doorway. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were in here. I was just going to lock up.”

  Stinky walked into the dressing room. Stinky was always looking for food. Anywhere.

  “Just getting ready to go,” Johnny said.

  There was a long rude noise inside the dressing room. It did not come from the front end of Stinky.

  “Yes, sir,” Johnny said, jumping up and dragging his hockey bag to the door. “Getting ready to go now.”

  Too late. The smell nearly knocked Johnny over. He couldn’t believe Mr. Gregg didn’t notice. But Mr. Gregg had had Stinky for years. The smell never seemed to bother him.

  “Johnny?” Mr. Gregg said. “I found something I need to ask you about.”

  “Sure,” Johnny said. “Could we talk in the hallway?”

  Mr. Gregg followed Johnny into the hallway. Johnny was glad that Mr. Gregg left Stinky inside the dressing room. Still, some of the smell leaked out from under the door. Johnny pressed an arm against his nose.

  “I found a skate,” Mr. Gregg said. “I heard that Eldridge was looking for his skate and had to miss the game.”

  Johnny nodded from behind his arm. “It must be Eldridge’s skate. Where did Stinky leave it?”

  Mr. Gregg frowned. “Stinky didn’t take it.”

  “He must have taken it,” Johnny said. “Eldridge looked all over for it.”

  “I found it on the top shelf in my janitor’s closet,” Mr. Gregg said. “It was under an old blanket that I use to wipe oil off the ice-cleaning machine. Do you think Stinky put it there? Or did someone on your team hide it there to keep Eldridge from playing?”

  Johnny blinked a couple of times. It wasn’t from the smell. It was from surprise.

  “Good question, Mr. Gregg,” Johnny said. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  Chapter Nine

  I Love Stinky

  Johnny met Eldridge at school the next morning before classes started.

  “I found your skate,” Joh
nny said.

  “I don’t believe it,” Eldridge said.

  “Because you thought you did such a good job of hiding it,” Johnny asked, “while you were in the closet yelling for us to let you out?”

  Eldridge looked at the floor.

  “I won’t tell anyone,” Johnny said. “Especially Coach Elwell.”

  “My dad is very angry with me,” Eldridge said. “He wasn’t going to buy me new skates until I earned enough money to pay for half.”

  “You knew that would happen, but you still hid the skate,” Johnny said.

  “You should have thrown my skate away,” Eldridge said. “Then I would have missed the next two games, and the Timberwolves would make the playoffs.”

  “I won’t lie to you,” Johnny said. “I was tempted.”

  “I try my hardest,” Eldridge said, “but I’m not as good as my dad wants me to be.”

  “Plus, players should never tell coaches what to do, right?”

  “Right,” Eldridge said. “That’s the way he coaches.”

  “So you would rather be in trouble with him for losing a skate than for telling him what to do?”

  “Yes,” Eldridge said. “What else could I do to help the team? Please go and hide my skate, and don’t let anyone know you found it.”

  “I can’t do that,” Johnny said.

  “Why not?” Eldridge asked.

  “Because you wanted to help the team so much that you let your dad yell at you for getting lost in the closet. You didn’t tell him that Tom and I locked you in there.”

  “We need to make the playoffs,” Eldridge said. “Remember?”

  “I remember that you wanted to help the team so much that you hid under the stands with a dog as stinky as Stinky,” Johnny said.

  “It was bad,” Eldridge admitted. “How can a dog have that much gas? He could fill a hot air balloon.”

  “That’s what I mean,” Johnny said. “You really are a team player. You deserve to play and to help us make it to the playoffs.”

  “But I’m not good enough.”