Summer According to Humphrey

by Betty G. Birney

  The others agreed with Mrs. Wright and amazingly, so did I! Really, she wasn’t so bad, if she’d just lose that whistle!

  Katie rummaged through her papers and chuckled. “I’ve never seen anyone tie knots like Abby. She racked up points for the Chickadees on that one. And on trail reading. And Marissa won archery.”

  Ms. Mac nodded. “But the Robins had a lot of heart, and Miranda and Gail got second in canoeing. And Lindsey was a big surprise with her volleyball serves.”

  Aldo studied his clipboard some more. “A.J. and Simon took the top spots in swimming. And Brad won the canoeing and scored very close to Sayeh on the nature quiz. I think the Blue Jays’ scores are the highest.”

  Hap Holloway was busily adding up scores. “Yep,” he said. “It’s the Blue Jays.”

  Katie shook her head. “I guess there’ll be a lot of disappointed kids, especially when they don’t get to go to Haunted Hollow.”

  “Not necessarily,” Hap said. “No, I don’t think they’ll be disappointed tomorrow night, thanks to Sayeh.”

  I had no idea what Hap was talking about.

  I was worried about my friends being disappointed when Aldo brought Og and me into the dining hall that night so we could hear the results.

  First, Hap congratulated everyone on being great campers.

  Then he announced the rankings. There was a lot of cheering when he said that the Robins came in third. There was more cheering when Hap said that the Bob whites and Chickadees tied for second place.

  When the room quieted down, Hap said, “And in first place, the winners of this year’s Clash of the Cabins competition: the Blue Jays!”

  “Blue Jays rule!” A.J. and his cabin-mates chanted.

  “Blue Jays rule!” I happily squeaked along.

  After the cheering ended, Hap continued. “I have to recognize one camper as being one of the most outstanding athletes I’ve ever seen at this camp.” Hap paused. “That’s Sam Gorman. Today’s scores might have turned out differently if it weren’t for that poison ivy. So let’s give Sam a big Happy Hollow cheer.”

  Everybody cheered—even Og and me. Sam stood up and waved, but I still felt itchy just looking at him.

  And wonder of wonders, afterward the campers all mingled and were friendly again. A few looked disappointed, but Abby, Miranda and Sayeh chatted away as if nothing had ever happened. And I was happy to see that Brad and Richie were hanging out with Noah.

  Humans are pretty amazing. I was sorry Goldenrod didn’t know how VERY-VERY-VERY nice they can be.

  That night, I slept in the cabin shared by Ms. Mac, Katie and Mrs. Wright. (Believe it or not, she took off her whistle before she went to bed—but she placed it right under her pillow.)

  Still, it was a quiet night and everyone slept well.

  Everyone except me.

  Because all I could think of that night was what would happen the next night.

  The night the Blue Jays would go to Haunted Hollow.

  NOTE TO SELF: Winning is good, but not winning isn’t as bad as most humans imagine.

  20

  Happy Day, Haunted Night

  The next day, it was difficult for the Blue Jays to think of anything except their upcoming night with the Howler.

  Even if they forgot about it for a few minutes, the other campers would come up to them and go, “Owoooo! Owoooo!”

  In fact, they did it so often, I think the Blue Jays were having second thoughts about spending the night in Haunted Hollow at all.

  In the Nature Center, however, there was a lot going on. During the first session in the morning, Katie and Ms. Mac brought in a stranger—a very nice stranger, as it turned out. He was Dr. Singleton, the veterinarian from the wildlife refuge who had helped Katie with Lovey’s wing when she was first rescued.

  “Dr. Singleton’s here to see if Lovey’s healed enough to be released,” Ms. Mac explained.

  The vet was a big, tall man with a full black beard. But he was as gentle as he was big and was a real expert on birds.

  While the kids in the first session watched, he examined Lovey carefully.

  “She looks completely healed,” he said. “And I imagine she’s getting a little tired of her crate.”

  Her crate was rather plain compared to my cage. She didn’t have any fun things to play with, like I do.

  “I think we could try her out today,” he said.

  Katie looked at her watch. “It’s almost time for a break between sessions. I’ll make an announcement.”

  Dr. Singleton stayed and answered questions while she went down to the office.

  Then Ms. Mac introduced him to Og and me.

  “You’re a fine specimen,” he said to me. “I don’t think you need my help at all.”

  I hopped on my wheel to show him he was right.

  “Ah, Rana clamitans,” he said to Og.

  “No, his name is Og!” I squeaked, but he didn’t understand me.

  “I guess you kids are used to his interesting twang,” he said.

  After living next to Og for months, I was very used to it.

  Then Dr. Singleton turned his attention to Jake the Snake. “How did you end up in a cage?” he asked Jake.

  Jake stuck his tongue out, as usual. How rude!

  Then we heard Katie on the LOUD-LOUD-LOUDSPEAKER.

  “Attention, campers,” her voice boomed. “We are going to try to release Lovey into the wild after this session. Anyone who wants to participate, come directly to the Nature Center.”

  Within minutes, there was a rush, a dash, no—a stampede—to the Nature Center as every single camper showed up. Ms. Mac made them form a half circle in front of the building.

  Then she asked Sayeh, Brad and Noah to be her assistants. (They had scored the highest on the quiz.)

  Miranda picked up my cage so I could watch—what a thoughtful girl!

  Brad and Noah carried out Lovey Dovey’s crate. Her head poked up out of the top as she watched everyone and everything.

  Then Dr. Singleton carefully lifted Lovey out of the crate and showed Sayeh how to hold her.

  Sayeh held Lovey just the way he showed her and looked completely confident.

  “First, put her down on the porch and let her try her wings,” the vet told her.

  When Lovey touched the ground, the first thing she did was spread her wings. I couldn’t even tell which one had been injured.

  Then she flapped her wings and hopped, as if ready for takeoff.

  The kids in the crowd stayed pretty quiet, as they’d been instructed, but they couldn’t help “oohing” and “aahing” a little. Neither could I.

  “That’s great,” Dr. Singleton said. “That hopping means she’s ready to fly. But we need a big open space. Pick her up again, Sayeh, if you can.”

  Then he had her take Lovey up the hill to the spot where I’d viewed the two hollows. It was a high open meadow surrounded by trees. The other campers—and Miranda carrying my cage—followed quietly.

  It was time for Sayeh to put her on the ground and see if she flew. But at the last minute, Sayeh didn’t do it.

  Instead, she turned to Noah and handed Lovey over. “Here, Noah, I think you should do this,” she said.

  That was just about the nicest thing I’d ever seen a human do.

  I held my breath as Noah set her on the ground.

  And then, with no further encouragement, she flapped her wings and took off, flying up to a very high treetop in the distance.

  The crowd couldn’t stay quiet any longer. They let out a cheer.

  Dr. Singleton looked as pleased as Katie and Ms. Mac.

  “She knew just what to do,” he said. “You all did a great job with her. Keep an eye out for her for a while, but I don’t think there’ll be a problem.”

  Just then, Lovey flew away from the tree and circled right over the Nature Center. We watched her until she flew out of sight.

  “Any questions?” Katie asked while we were still in the meadow.

&nbs
p; Noah slowly raised his hand. “I was just wondering . . . what about the snake?”

  Dr. Singleton nodded. “I was thinking about him, too. He looked a little confined to me. How would you feel about releasing him?”

  Katie and Ms. Mac looked out at the campers.

  “Should we take a vote?” Ms. Mac asked.

  They hardly needed a vote at all. Just about everybody thought Jake would be happier outside of his cage.

  This time, Brad was the one who got to let him out of his cage. It didn’t take long for Jake to slither away and disappear in the grass.

  Again, the crowd cheered.

  “Boy,” I heard Brad say. “Nothing like this ever happened at my old camp.”

  It was a thrilling sight, seeing Lovey and Jake go free. I only hoped I wouldn’t be next!

  But I had nothing to fear. The session was over and I was returned to the Nature Center. It was a little lonely there without Lovey and I even missed Jake (a little). But at least I had my friend, Rana clamitans, to keep me company. Who ever knew that a little frog had such a fancy name!

  All of the excitement at the Nature Center had taken my mind off of Haunted Hollow—at least for a little while.

  In fact, I was so relaxed, I settled in for a long doze in the rec room.

  Ms. Mac came in to check on Og and me. She told me that she was taking all the campers except the Blue Jays to the nearest town to see a movie. “See you later,” she said. Then she winked at me. I had no idea why.

  I managed to doze off again, but I was awakened abruptly when I heard pounding footsteps racing toward me.

  “Humphrey Dumpty!” A.J. shouted excitedly. “You’re coming with us to Haunted Hollow!”

  “Who, me?” I was astounded.

  “Yep, Hap Holloway said it was okay as long as we make sure your cage is locked at all times and keep you in our tent,” he explained. “We didn’t want you to miss out.”

  There are some things I wouldn’t mind missing out on and the Howler was one of them. But A.J. was already holding my cage and hurrying back to the dining hall.

  “It’s been nice knowing you, Og!” I called back to my friend. There wasn’t even time to say good-bye.

  It was dark outside. Instead of hiking in the dark, Hap took us all in a small bus and drove us what seemed like a LONG-LONG-LONG way from Camp Happy Hollow. Even though Haunted Hollow was next door to our camp, to get there, we had to drive on a road that wound round and round a hill.

  “Blue Jays,” he said as he drove. “You are about to join a small but special group of campers. Few have earned the right to go to Haunted Hollow. But none will ever forget . . . the Howler!”

  He opened his mouth wide and let out the most spine-tingling “owoooo!” I’d heard yet. I dove under my bedding, just in case Hap really was the Howler.

  At last, the bus stopped and Hap let us out. It was still quite a hike to the campground, where Aldo was waiting. Several tents had been set up and a fire was blazing in a big stone pit. The flames cast orange and yellow shadows, like huge fingers, on the nearby trees.

  “Welcome to Haunted Hollow,” Aldo said. Somehow, he didn’t seem as jolly and carefree as usual. “Take a seat.”

  The Blue Jays sat on big rocks around the campfire. A.J. put my cage next to his feet and I could feel the heat from the fire. As far as I was concerned, I was a little too close for comfort. And even though my friends had waited a long time for this night, they were suddenly unusually quiet.

  As I glanced over at the dense brush nearby, I thought I saw some eyes—maybe the friendly eyes of Goldenrod and her friends watching these strange humans. I hoped they were the only wild creatures hanging around.

  Hap stood near the fire and addressed the campers. Like Aldo, he was acting very serious.

  “Boys, you are about to share in the secret of Haunted Hollow,” he began. “Twenty years ago, I bought this camp. The man I bought it from didn’t want to sell it, but he ran out of money and had no choice.”

  The strange shadows made Hap’s face and hair even redder than usual.

  “He was a crazy kind of fellow, with white hair to his shoulders and a white beard to his waist. On the day he signed the papers to hand the land over to me, he said, ‘It will never truly be yours, Holloway. For I will haunt this land as long as I live . . . and even after!’”

  The boys gasped and I accidentally let out an “eeek!”

  “I tore down his small cabin that was on this spot. But once a year, the best campers are chosen to come here to show him that even if the place is haunted, we are not afraid,” he continued.

  “My cousin saw him last year,” Richie said, his eyes wide.

  Hap nodded. “So far, the Howler has shown up every year. But this year, who knows? So I want you all to shout with me, ‘We are not afraid! We are not afraid!’”

  The Blue Jays didn’t exactly shout at first, but they joined in.

  “We are not afraid! We are not afraid!”

  I joined in, too, as the voices got louder and louder.

  “We are not afraid! We are not afraid!”

  Then they got more confident . . . and the volume increased.

  “We are not afraid! We are not afraid!”

  And then, it happened. A howl so loud, so hideous, so unsqueakably scary, I think my heart stopped beating.

  “OWOOOO! OWOOO!”

  No one human could possibly make a noise that loud.

  The noise grew closer and there was a rustling in the grass.

  “OWOOOO! OWOOO!”

  The Blue Jays all jumped up, screaming, and started running around in circles.

  “OWOOOO! OWOOO!”

  There I was, alone on the ground with the Howler approaching. I closed my eyes.

  Then I felt my cage move! It had grabbed me!

  “Don’t worry, Humphrey. I’ve got you. You’re safe,” a familiar voice assured me.

  It was Aldo.

  “OWOOOO! OWOOO!” It was so close now, I thought I heard it breathing. “OWOOOO-OWOOOO—WE FOOLED YOU!”

  Then there were peals of laughter as out from behind the trees and the bushes came all the other campers: Sayeh, Miranda, Garth, Abby, even itchy Sam! They were pointing and laughing as the Blue Jays stood staring in total confusion.

  “What are you doing here?” A.J. said when he saw his brother, Ty, in the crowd.

  Hap was laughing harder than anyone. “You want to tell them, Sayeh?” he asked.

  Sayeh smiled but shook her head. “You do it, please.”

  Hap gathered the whole group around the campfire.

  “One of the counselors usually comes out here and howls,” he explained. “But when Sayeh explained that she didn’t like the idea of so many campers being left out, we cooked up this idea. We figured this was a way for all campers to be part of the legend of the Howler and to have a little fun. What do you think?”

  “I was scared to death,” Simon said. He looked a little pale.

  “I thought I had died of fright,” Brad added. “But then I saw you guys—pretty funny. You fooled us all right.”

  “Listen up, folks, this is our secret,” Hap explained. “What happened here tonight doesn’t get out. We don’t want to ruin the surprise for next year’s campers, okay?”

  Everyone agreed.

  I was glad to see that the Blue Jays were good sports about the trick, and the evening continued with lots of songs and toasted marshmallows (which are a little too messy for hamsters) and Aldo even entertained by balancing a broom on one finger for a LONG-LONG-LONG time—my favorite trick!

  When it was bedtime, the Blue Jays went to their tents, but the other campers returned to Camp Happy Hollow—and I went with them.

  Og and I both slept in Ms. Mac’s cabin that night, and even though I’m nocturnal, I slept the whole night through!

  NOTE TO SELF: I guess it’s okay to fib a little (about something like a Howler) as long as it’s for FUN!

  21

  The End and
the Beginning

  The next day was blissful and relaxing. I missed Lovey (and maybe even Jake) in the Nature Center, but when my friends returned from their nature hike, they were very excited because they’d seen Lovey in a tree!

  I was quite happy and content and managed to doze all through dinner that night.

  Right after dinner, the counselors came into the rec room and woke me up with all their chatter. They behaved in a very peculiar way that night!

  First of all, they all put on strange costumes: crazy wigs, false noses, funny hats—they looked SILLY-SILLY-SILLY. Mrs. Wright seemed completely ridiculous, wearing a pink and blue wig and a clown suit! (She kept her whistle, though.)

  Nurse Rose was dressed like a little girl with a lollipop.

  Ms. Mac and Counselor Katie were dressed like old ladies—which they were not!

  They laughed and joked and generally acted more like kids than counselors.

  Aldo—wearing an out-of-control white wig, fake nose, huge glasses and a white coat like doctors wear—carried Og and me into the dining hall.

  “You guys won’t want to miss this,” he said.

  The campers roared with laughter when they saw the ridiculous-looking counselors. And they went wild when Hap Holloway came out dressed like the Howler, wearing ragged clothes with a white beard hanging to his waist and long white hair that reached his shoulders.

  “It’s time for the Counselor’s Choice Awards,” Hap announced.

  Then one by one, they presented the goofiest awards you ever heard of.

  Gail, who still loved to giggle, was named the Funni est Camper and A.J. was the Loudest Camper.

  “THANKS!” he bellowed when he came onstage to accept his prize: a whoopee cushion, which makes very rude noises.

  Miranda received the prize for Most Likely to Become a Counselor. (I’d like to go to her camp someday.)

  Sayeh had the Best Smile and Kayla was the Best Sleeper. Abby got a prize for “Knottiest” Camper and everybody cheered.

  Naturally, Sam got an award for Itchiest Camper.

  Noah got the Nature Lovers award.