The Madman of Black Bear Mountain Read Online Free PDF Page B

Commander Gonzo said and now Max, well . . .”
    â€œThe coincidence is too great to ignore,” I agreed, finishing his thought.
    Frank nodded. “I’d feel better if we slept in shifts tonight so one of us can keep an ear out, just in case.”
    â€œSo do we try to talk Jim into leaving again in the morning?” I asked.
    â€œNo, I’m with him on that one,” Frank replied. “I’ve been too excited to see Dr. Kroopnik’s research ecosystem to just turn around, even if I do have to study it on my own without her help. Besides, my detective senses are tingling, and I kinda want to stick around to see what happens next.”
    â€œI’m with you, bro. I’ll take first shift. You try to get some rest.”
    Jim had been right about at least one thing—it had been a long day, all right. I barely made it ten minutes into my watch before I was sound asleep, dreaming of zip lines and white-water rapids and motorboats and . . . wait, what?
    I woke up to Frank snoring so loudly it was like listening to an outboard engine in need of a tune-up.
    â€œDude,” I mumbled groggily, elbowing his sleeping bag. “Wake up, bro. If you snore any louder, you’re gonna give the whole camp tinnitus.”
    â€œWhuh?” he grumbled. “I thought that was you.”
    â€œNo, man, I . . .”
    Wait a second! Now we were both awake, and the snoring sound had only gotten louder.
    â€œWhat the—?”
    â€œ AAAHHHHHHHHHHH! ” The girls’ screams tore through the campsite before I could finish my thought, jolting us out of our sleeping bags.
    â€œMandy! Melissa!” I yelled, yanking open the tent flap.
    That’s when I realized it wasn’t snores we’d been hearing. Silhouetted against the first light of dawn in the center of camp stood an enormous black bear.

6
BEAR RAID
FRANK
    J OE AND I JUMPED INTO action at the same time. We dashed out of the tent hollering and waving our hands over our heads to make ourselves look as intimidating as possible. Well, at least as intimidating as a pair of teenage guys can be while facing off against an apex predator that weighed nearly twice as much as both of us combined!
    When we got out of the tent, we saw more than just a giant bear. We also saw all our food—or what was left of it. The bundle we’d carefully hung in the trees had been torn open, and the food that hadn’t already been devoured by the bear was now scattered around the center of camp.
    The bear looked up from its early breakfast and let out a ferocious roar. Every bone in my body told me to runin the opposite direction, but I forced myself to stand my ground.
    â€œGo get your own grub!” I yelled, waving my hands high over my head to make myself seem bigger, like we’d been taught.
    â€œBack off, Bear Boy!” Joe added, picking up a stick and waving it in the bear’s direction.
    Black bears are fearsome predators, but we were counting on the fact that they rarely attack people. They usually go out of their way to avoid them, actually. But they love free food as much as the next guy and aren’t afraid to invade a campsite for an easy meal. By trying to make ourselves seem as threatening as possible, we were hoping to convince our uninvited guest that this meal might not be so easy after all. Besides, running away is just about the worst thing you can do when confronted with a hungry predator—it triggers the animal’s chase instinct and makes you seem like prey.
    Apparently, no one had told Randall that, because he was sprinting as fast as he could toward Max’s campsite. Luckily for Randall, the bear was too bewildered by the scene we were making to pay any attention. It gave a snort in our direction and wandered back out of the camp.
    â€œAnd don’t let the door hit you in the bear butt on your way out!” Joe added for good measure.
    The Ms ran out of their