Boxcar Children 61 - Growling Bear Mystery Read Free Page A

off in a hurry, didn’t he?” Oz said. “Kind of strange for a young fella like that to be interested in old stuff like maps. We sure get all kinds in here.”
    “Including the Alden kind,” Benny said.

CHAPTER 3
Buffalo on Parade
    T he Aldens made several trips to their car with insect repellent, fishing gear, bottled water, hiking socks, first-aid supplies, and the very important bear bells. They were ready for the woods.
    “While Grandfather pays the bill, let’s thank Oz one last time,” Jessie suggested after she closed the trunk.
    The children strolled to the back of the store where Oz said he had some paperwork to do.
    There was no sign of Oz.
    Benny grabbed Jessie’s arm. “Hey, look who’s back there. Isn’t that the hiker who told us about all the bears?”
    Before Jessie could answer, the man in the orange hat looked up. He dropped the books he’d been holding and disappeared out the back door.
    “What was that all about?” Henry wanted to know.
    The back door opened again. This time it was Oz. He was trying to balance an armful of cardboard boxes.
    “Bear bells,” Oz said. “Can’t keep them in stock. It’s going to sound like the North Pole with all the jingling out in the woods.”
    “Wait, Oz!” Henry called out. He picked up the books the hiker had dropped. “There. I was afraid you were going to trip over these.”
    Oz carefully set the boxes down. “I guess these books must have fallen from the shelf.”
    “No, they didn’t,” Benny piped up. “That hiker man we saw ran out so fast, he dropped your books on the floor. And know what? He ran out the back door.”
    Oz Elkhorn laughed for a long time. “That’s your mysterious hiker man? Oh, my. Well, your hiker man is Lester Crabtree. He’s a summer regular, a retired fellow who works with his wife, Eleanor, at the Old Faithful Inn. He asked if he could make copies of pages in some old Yellowstone books I lent him. I just ran into him. He said he had an emergency back at the lodge. I did wonder why he went out the back door. He usually parks right out front.”
    “He rushed away when he saw us. He doesn’t like us. Or Grandfather, either,” Benny said.
    Oz chuckled. “Lester Crabtree isn’t the friendliest fellow. Comes out here every year with Mrs. Crabtree, who’s as sweet as can be. Lester’s an excellent worker but just no good with people. So the managers at the inn keep him behind the scenes—doing laundry, sweeping up, working in the kitchen—the kind of work he can do without talking much. He can be a bit of a pest, too. Always borrowing this or that old thing from me.”
    Jessie put her hand out to Oz. “Well, you’re good with people, Mr. Elkhorn. We just wanted to thank you again for helping us out so much.”
    “And giving us lunch,” Benny said. “Don’t forget that!”
    “I won’t forget that. Now where’s Jimmy?” Oz asked the children.
    For a second Jessie was puzzled. She wasn’t used to hearing her grandfather called Jimmy. “He said he’d meet us at the car.”
    “Well, I’ll walk you out there,” Oz said. “I have something special to ask him.”
    Mr. Alden was just getting in the car when everyone rejoined him. “Oz, I sure hope we’ll get a chance to get together on your days off. If you get any, that is. We’ll be at the Old Faithful Inn. Maybe you can join us for breakfast or dinner.”
    Oz shook Mr. Alden’s hand. “No problem there. I get free meals anytime I go.”
    “Why’s that?” Benny asked.
    “I’m one of the winter keepers at the Old Faithful Inn,” Oz answered.
    Violet’s eyes opened wide. “You keep the winter?”
    Oz smiled down at Violet. “You could say that. I keep the winter away, actually. The lodge closes down at the end of October. A few of us winter keepers live there to make sure the lodge stays in tip-top shape through the winter. We can get twenty feet of snow in Yellowstone. So that’s where I hibernate when the snow sets in. Getting free