Kristin Butcher... has novel ideas

James Lorimer & Company, 2011 ISBN10 1-55277-707-3 ISBN13 978-1-55277-707-7 Recognition CanLit for Kids selection Reviews

Excerpt from Chapter 3 ...

I spun around to yell for Zoe and just about had a heart attack. She was standing right behind me.

"Zoe," I growled, "don't sneak up on a person like that!"

She made a face. "I didn't sneak up on you. I called your name and everything. You just didn't hear me."

The was no time to argue. I waved away Zoe's words and whirled back to the river. It took me a few seconds to pick the little girl out again. "Look!" I said, pointing in her didrection. "It's the kid the park ranger told us about -- the one that went missing yesterday."

Zoe gasped. "Becky Lofton?"

I nodded. "Yeah, her."

"Where?"

"There. Straight across from us. In the woods. Look for a pink hat."

Zoe gasped again. "I see her. Oh, Zach, you found her. Beck--" she started to yell, but I quickly slammed my hand across her mouth to stop her.

"You can't call her! She might start running towards us and fall into the river."

"Oh!" Zoe gasped. "I never even thought about that. Okay, then. You stay here and keep an eye on Becky, and I'll get Mom."

But before she could take off, I grabbed her arm.

"Wait," I said. "What's that?"

"What?"

I pointed farther along the bank. About a hundred metres behind Becky, something else was moving. "There. That black thing. Do you see it?"

Zoe squinted towards the woods. "I don't seen anything but trees."

I jabbed my finger in the direction of the black thing. "You have to see it. It's right there."

"Wait a second," Zoe said as she slid her backpack to the ground and unzipped it. "Let me get the binoculars." She reached inside and pulled them out. Then she started searching the bank.

"It's a bear!" she exclaimed.

"Let me see," I said, grabbing the binoculars.

Zoe was right. It was a bear -- a big black one. And he was up on his hind legs.

"Why is he standing up?" Zoe said.

"He's sniffing the air."

"Why? Do you think he can smell us?"

"Not across the river."

"Can he smell Becky? Is he following her? Is he hunting her?"

"I don't think so. Black bears mostly just eat fruit and roots and fish -- stuff like that. They only attack people when they are cornered or protecting their cubs." Still, this one was awfully close to Becky.

I panned the bank, looking for the pink hat. "Do you see Becky?" I asked, unable to spot her.

There was a pause as Zoe squinted into the distance. "No," she said. "I don't. Do you?"

"No." I lowered the binoculars and stared at the woods across the river as if I had x-ray vision. It didn't help. There was no pink hat and no sign of movement anywhere. "She must have wandered away from the river," I said.

"What about the bear?" There was fear in Zoe's voice.

I put the binoculars back up to my eyes, but after a few seconds I lowered them again. A chill crawled up my spine. "It's gone too."

"Oh, Zach, what if it picked up Becky's scent and went after her? And what if she got turned around and is heading back towards him? If they meet up, she could get mauled! We have to do something."

Zoe was starting to panic, and it was contagious. I told myself to stay calm. "We have to tell Mom what we've seen."

"There isn't time to get Mom," Zoe argued. "Becky disappeared, and now so has the bear. It could be after Becky. We have to do something right now."

The bear had disappeared -- just like Becky. That was true. But it didn't mean the bear was following Becky. It had just left the river. It could be headed anywhere. That's what I told myself anyway. Too bad I didn't believe it.

"What are you saying?" I asked point blank.

"That you and I go and get Becky."