Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf (Children of the Red King, Book 6) by Jenny Nimmo Page A
Authors: Jenny Nimmo
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some time for the hubbub to die down, but Mr, Marchwell was a determined person and he managed to keep the rest of the proceedings under tight control. Only at the end did hysteria begin to creep into a few voices again.
A decision was made. The mayor would be apprised of the citizens' strong feelings about the "thing" in the wilderness, and a hunt would be organized. The so-called Wilderness Wolf would be flushed out and captured or killed. As the creature was silent during daylight hours, the hunt would begin at dusk the following day.
When the meeting broke up, small groups began to form on the sidewalk outside the town hall. Benjamin could hear excited voices. Violence was in the air. He began to think that the people in those angry, grumbling groups were more dangerous than any wilderness wolf.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown walked home in silence. Benjamin looked up at their disapproving faces and decided not to ask any questions. Just as they were climbing the steps of number twelve, they heard a melancholy howl stealing through the cold night air.
Benjamin shivered. "It doesn't sound dangerous," he said. "It just sounds sad."
"Sad indeed," agreed Mr. Brown. "There's something not right about this."
Five minutes later, sitting in his bright cozy kitchen, Mr. Brown put forward a theory. "It's like this," he said. "We hear a sound from the wilderness, right? An animal cry, if you like, but a call of some kind. A call for help. Now this 'thing' that attacked Mr. Yewbeam was human, he says."
"Paton Yewbeam's no fool," Mrs. Brown broke in. "He said it was human and I believe him, absolutely."
"So do I, Trish," her husband said hastily. "So do I. Thing is, it bites, which is an animal trait, so maybe there's a connection between the thing in the wilderness and Mr. Yewbeam's attacker."
Benjamin had been listening intently to his parents' conversation. Having inherited a double dose of their curiosity, and also their powers of analysis, deduction, and intuition, he was fast becoming an excellent detective himself.
"I've got a hunch," said Benjamin.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown regarded Benjamin's ideas very highly.
"A hunch, Benjamin!" Mrs. Brown said in a thrilled voice.
"What is it, boy? Tell us!" Mr. Brown eagerly studied his son's face.
"Well..." Benjamin decided to prolong the attention he was getting. "Well, it's just that Charlie told me that one of the boys, Asa Pike, hasn't been seen in school this term. He's endowed, like Charlie, only he's a kind of beast at night."
Mr. Brown nodded impatiently. "Asa? Yes, we know about him."
"Well..." Benjamin paused again. The look of anticipation on his parents' faces was very satisfying. "What you might not know is that Asa, who was once a good friend of Manfred Bloor's, well, Asa helped Charlie to find his father, and I reckon Manfred was pretty angry about that, so he might have trapped Asa somewhere as a punishment."
The Browns regarded their son with admiration and delight.
"Benjamin, you might be right," said Mr. Brown.
"Having possibly identified the howl, can you suggest how the howler might be rescued?" Mrs. Brown asked her son.
At this point Benjamin told a white lie. He said, "No," when all along an idea had been forming in his mind. Behind him lay Runner Bean, asleep in his basket. Runner Bean could find anything, Benjamin reckoned. And if he could sniff something belonging to Asa, the big dog could surely find him. Benjamin kept this idea to himself. He didn't want his parents' help. He wanted to find Asa on his own, or maybe with Charlie.
"We'd better do something soon," said Mr. Brown, "or the hunt will kill that poor boy before they realize who he is. I'll go and see the mayor."
"He won't believe you," Mrs. Brown said sadly. "He doesn't hold with all the stuff that goes on at Bloor's Academy. He knows about the endowed children, of course, but he doesn't like to admit it."
"I expect I'll think of something," said Benjamin.
Finding something belonging to Asa
A decision was made. The mayor would be apprised of the citizens' strong feelings about the "thing" in the wilderness, and a hunt would be organized. The so-called Wilderness Wolf would be flushed out and captured or killed. As the creature was silent during daylight hours, the hunt would begin at dusk the following day.
When the meeting broke up, small groups began to form on the sidewalk outside the town hall. Benjamin could hear excited voices. Violence was in the air. He began to think that the people in those angry, grumbling groups were more dangerous than any wilderness wolf.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown walked home in silence. Benjamin looked up at their disapproving faces and decided not to ask any questions. Just as they were climbing the steps of number twelve, they heard a melancholy howl stealing through the cold night air.
Benjamin shivered. "It doesn't sound dangerous," he said. "It just sounds sad."
"Sad indeed," agreed Mr. Brown. "There's something not right about this."
Five minutes later, sitting in his bright cozy kitchen, Mr. Brown put forward a theory. "It's like this," he said. "We hear a sound from the wilderness, right? An animal cry, if you like, but a call of some kind. A call for help. Now this 'thing' that attacked Mr. Yewbeam was human, he says."
"Paton Yewbeam's no fool," Mrs. Brown broke in. "He said it was human and I believe him, absolutely."
"So do I, Trish," her husband said hastily. "So do I. Thing is, it bites, which is an animal trait, so maybe there's a connection between the thing in the wilderness and Mr. Yewbeam's attacker."
Benjamin had been listening intently to his parents' conversation. Having inherited a double dose of their curiosity, and also their powers of analysis, deduction, and intuition, he was fast becoming an excellent detective himself.
"I've got a hunch," said Benjamin.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown regarded Benjamin's ideas very highly.
"A hunch, Benjamin!" Mrs. Brown said in a thrilled voice.
"What is it, boy? Tell us!" Mr. Brown eagerly studied his son's face.
"Well..." Benjamin decided to prolong the attention he was getting. "Well, it's just that Charlie told me that one of the boys, Asa Pike, hasn't been seen in school this term. He's endowed, like Charlie, only he's a kind of beast at night."
Mr. Brown nodded impatiently. "Asa? Yes, we know about him."
"Well..." Benjamin paused again. The look of anticipation on his parents' faces was very satisfying. "What you might not know is that Asa, who was once a good friend of Manfred Bloor's, well, Asa helped Charlie to find his father, and I reckon Manfred was pretty angry about that, so he might have trapped Asa somewhere as a punishment."
The Browns regarded their son with admiration and delight.
"Benjamin, you might be right," said Mr. Brown.
"Having possibly identified the howl, can you suggest how the howler might be rescued?" Mrs. Brown asked her son.
At this point Benjamin told a white lie. He said, "No," when all along an idea had been forming in his mind. Behind him lay Runner Bean, asleep in his basket. Runner Bean could find anything, Benjamin reckoned. And if he could sniff something belonging to Asa, the big dog could surely find him. Benjamin kept this idea to himself. He didn't want his parents' help. He wanted to find Asa on his own, or maybe with Charlie.
"We'd better do something soon," said Mr. Brown, "or the hunt will kill that poor boy before they realize who he is. I'll go and see the mayor."
"He won't believe you," Mrs. Brown said sadly. "He doesn't hold with all the stuff that goes on at Bloor's Academy. He knows about the endowed children, of course, but he doesn't like to admit it."
"I expect I'll think of something," said Benjamin.
Finding something belonging to Asa
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