The Third Adventure by Gordon Korman

C amp Endless Pines was aptly named. Located in rugged, hilly terrain, the coniferous forest stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see.
    Ben just called it Camp Endless. If it had been up to him, he never would have signed up for a program that was so hipped on outdoor adventure activities — hiking, rafting, caving, parasailing, wind surfing — a guy could break his neck just reading the list! And that didn’t even include the climbing! Mountain scrambles, top roping, Alpine training, bouldering. It was fine for Antonia “Pitch” Benson, who was practically born with a carabiner for a diaper pin. She and her whole family were big-time rock-jocks.
    Ben Slovak was here for exactly one reason. Camp Endless was the only summer camp that would accept Ferret Face. And without the little ferret under Ben’s shirt giving him strategic wake-up nips, there would be no way to keep Ben’s narcolepsy under control. The last thing he needed was to fall asleep in the middle of a camp activity like canoeing, or a hike. An unscheduled nap was annoying enough at home. In the wilderness it could be fatal.
    The choice had become Endless Pines or nothing. And Mr. and Mrs. Slovak had made it very clear that nothing was not an option.
    So here he was, climbing rocks and counting the minutes until he could go home.
    How could it be worse? Ben wasn’t sure. But he had a sinking feeling it had something to do with hiding a giant Doberman for the last ten days of camp.
    Speaking of climbing, Pitch shinnied down the trunk of a tall pine and dropped at his feet.
    â€œWell?” Ben queried. “Did you see the truck?”
    â€œNot yet, but it can’t be far. I think we should go out to the barrier. They could be along any minute.”
    The barrier was a huge limb, itself the size of a small tree. It had taken Pitch and Ben twenty minutes to drag it out where it would block the narrow dirt road. The job had been so stressful and sweaty that Ferret Face had tried to abandon his post inside Ben’s T-shirt. The ferret had been a little less reliable lately. He wasn’t enjoying Camp Endless any better than Ben was.
    The two concealed themselves in the underbrush by the side of the road. That was another thing about this place. The minute you stepped outside the camp, you might as well have been a thousand miles from the nearest other human.
    â€œYou know,” Pitch said conversationally, “the minute I heard Luthor was going to Logan and Melissa, I knew it was only a matter of time before he ended up here with us.”
    â€œDo you think Swindle’s spies will find him here?” Ben asked nervously. He couldn’t imagine anyone finding “here,” much less a single animal hidden here.
    â€œThey’ll probably try,” Pitch said grimly. “I hope The Man With The Plan has some really great ideas on how we can make this work, because we’ve officially run out of camps. I’d hate to see the poor mutt go back to Swindle.”
    â€œWhat I’m worried about is what Swindle’s going to do once he’s gotten rich off Luthor’s dog-show skills. Remember, he’s already promised to move back to Cedarville and devote his money to ruining our lives. I’ve got enough problems without some sleazy millionaire’s revenge fantasy.”
    â€œNone of it happens if we can keep the dog under wraps,” Pitch reminded him in a soothing tone. “Wait — I think I hear something.”
    A motor, distant but unmistakable, was the only sound in the woods that wasn’t coming from something gross rubbing its legs together.
    The van appeared out of the trees, bouncing slowly along the rutted dirt road. It came to a stop in front of the fallen tree branch.
    Ferret Face poked his head out of Ben’s collar and looked on with interest. When the driver began the arduous task of hauling the heavy limb out of the way, Pitch and Ben swung