R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 04 Read Online Free PDF Page B

care about that. All I cared about was finding the pendant.
    I squinted hard and spotted Colin. He was having a splashing war with two of the girl counselors.
    I can search his cabin, I thought. Colin bunked with four other junior counselors in a cabin near the lodge. They were all in the lake. The cabin would be empty …
    … and maybe Colin had left the pendant there before he went for his swim.
    I didn't walk to Colin's cabin. I ran.
    My flip-flops slapped along the dirt path. I was breathing hard by the time I reached the cabin. It was dark inside. I knocked on the door, softly at first, then a little more loudly.
    The crickets stopped chirping. Silence now.
    Something low and small scampered away from the cabin wall. A fox. The camp was overrun by foxes, which came out of the woods at night searching for food.
    I watched it slink away. Then I knocked one more time on the cabin door. No answer. The cabin was empty.
    Was the pendant there?
    I pulled open the door and slipped inside.

14
    B LINKING IN THE DARKNESS , I bumped my knee on the first bunk. Pain shot up my leg. I rubbed my knee, waiting for it to stop throbbing. Then I found a flashlight hanging by the cabin door.
    I swept the light around the cabin. I moved it from bunk to bunk to make sure no one was there.
    I spotted Colin's shirt on a lower bunk against the wall. Keeping the light on the bed, I crossed the room to investigate.
    He had left a pile of stuff next to the balled-up shirt. I saw his wallet, some keys, some change. I picked up the shirt and looked underneath.
    No. No pendant.
    I pulled up the bedsheet and blanket and searched under the pillow. The light trembled in my hand.
    Please, let it be here. Please, let me find it.
    I moved to the chest of drawers next to the bunk bed. I swept the flashlight over it and saw a stack of magazines and a box of tissues on the dresser.
    Which drawer was Colin's?
    I pulled open the top drawer. It was stuffed with underwear and socks and swim trunks. The second drawer had Colin's CD player in it and a bunch of CDs. I bent down to open the bottom drawer.
    Empty.
    Where else could I look?
    I dropped to my knees and shone the light under the bed. Colin had shoved his suitcase under there.
    He wouldn't put the pendant in his suitcase, I decided.
    It's not here. He must be wearing it. He doesn't want me to get it, so he wears it wherever he goes.
    I let out a sigh. This was a total waste of time.
    Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead. With a groan, I climbed to my feet.
    Then I felt a hard tap on my shoulder and I screamed.

15
    S TARTLED , I DROPPED to the floor. I turned and shone the light on the figure behind me.
    “Jakey? What are
you
doing here?” I choked out.
    “I woke up and saw you were gone,” Jakey said. “Then I saw the light in this cabin. What's up, Max?”
    “Huh? What's up with
you
?” I demanded. “Are you following me?”
    “No way,” he replied. He helped pull me to my feet. “I'm kinda scared,” he said. “The Wilbur brothers say they're going to take me out to the woods tomorrow and tie me to a tree.”
    “I don't think so,” I said. “I'll protect you from those geeks, Jakey.”
    “They're in my face because I'm little and because it's my first time at camp,” Jakey said.
    “I'll watch out for you,” I said. “No problem.”
    I swept the light one more time over Colin'sbed. But no. The pendant didn't magically appear.
    Then I put my hand on Jakey's shoulder and led him out of the cabin. Of course, I had no way of knowing the terrifying trouble Jakey would cause for me the next day.

16
    I LOOKED FOR C OLIN at breakfast, but he wasn't at the junior counselors' table. I ran over to Artie, who was pouring orange juice from a big pitcher. “Have you seen my brother?” I asked.
    Artie set down the pitcher. “Colin? He went on a canoe trip.”
    My mouth dropped open. “He already left? For how long?”
    Artie shrugged. “Two days, I think. He took some guys with him. He left