The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Auto Graveyard (3 page)

“What kind of car is it?” asked Cousin Fred.

“It's a 1954 GG roadster,” said Barry. “Quite rare.”

“What does ‘GG' stand for?” asked Bonnie.

“Grizzly Garage,” said Barry. “The company went out of business that very same year. In fact, this roadster is the last model GG produced. That makes it very valuable.”

Just then Papa Bear came around the tree house from his workshop. “Hi, cubs,” he said. “What's up?”

“Papa, do you have any idea what you've got here?” said Sister, gesturing at the car.

“Sure,” said Papa. “A 1954 GG roadster.”

“You mean, you knew all along?” said Brother, astonished.

“Sure,” said Papa, giving his car a friendly pat on the hood. “Gramps bought it brand-new in '54. He sold it to me when he bought his pickup truck.”

“Did you realize it would become a classic when GG went out of business?” asked Fred.

Papa frowned. “Went out of business? GG? When?”

“In 1954!” said Brother. “You've got the last model they ever made!”

Papa's frown turned into a smile. “Well, what do you know,” he said softly. “It must be worth a lot more than I thought. Guess it's good enough for the classic car show, eh?”

“Without a doubt,” said Barry. “It'll need some work first, though. Authentic hubcaps and a genuine hood ornament, for example.”

“I'll get on it as soon as possible,” said Papa.

“Forget the car show, Papa!” said Sister.

“Why?” asked Papa.

“Because this car must be worth a fortune!” said Sister. “You could sell it!”

“Yeah,” said Lizzy. “To a collector who wants to put it in the show.”

“My uncle, for instance,” said Bonnie.

Papa gave Bonnie a very serious look. Then he smiled and started to chuckle.

“What's so funny?” said Sister.

“Now, look, honey,” said Papa. “Do you think Squire Grizzly would sell his whole classic car collection to another collector who wanted to put it into the show?”

“Of course not,” said Sister. “But what's that got to do with our red roadster?”

Papa gently patted the hood of the car again. “This,” he said, “is
my
classic collection. If I sold it to another collector, I'd lose my entire collection.”

Most of the cubs shrugged and looked confused. But one of them seemed to understand.

Barry nodded and said, “He has a point, you know.”

Chapter 4

The Auto Graveyard

Barry, Lizzy, and Cousin Fred went home, while Bonnie stayed to talk with Brother, Sister, and Papa about the red roadster.

“Maybe my uncle knows a collector who has a GG roadster hood ornament,” she told Papa.

“Maybe so,” said Papa, “and maybe no. But before I bother the squire with my classic car problems, I want to make a thorough check of our own local treasure trove of car parts.”

“You mean Parts R Us?” asked Brother.

“Exactly,” said Papa. “Problem is, I'm so busy with work that it'll be a few days before I can get to it. And the big show is this weekend.”

Brother had an idea. “How about if Sister and I go to Parts R Us and check it out?” he suggested.

“That'd be real helpful,” said Papa.

But Sister had different ideas. “No way,” she said firmly. “I'm not setting foot in that greasy, smelly old dump of an auto graveyard.”

“Come on, Sis,” said Brother. “It'll do you good to get greasy and smelly for a change.”

Sister just shook her head and stubbornly folded her arms.

Papa motioned Brother over and whispered, “I don't think it's the ‘greasy' or ‘smelly' part that's bothering your sister, son. It's the ‘graveyard' part. You know how Sister feels about spooky places.”

“But it's not a real graveyard,” Brother whispered back. “It's just a bunch of old cars.”

“Nevertheless,” whispered Papa, “it can be a pretty spooky place. Especially in late afternoon, when the sun is going down and the shadows loom large …”

Brother shivered in spite of himself. But he wasn't going to look chicken like his sister. “What about you, Bonnie?” he said bravely. “You'll come with me, won't you?”

“Sure,” said Bonnie. “It's a date.”

“Some date,” muttered Sister. “Going to a smelly old auto graveyard!”

Papa was too busy that day to give Brother and Bonnie a ride to Parts R Us. So they walked. Parts R Us was out on the main highway just past Birders Woods. It was a good half-hour stroll from the Bears' tree house.

By the time Brother and Bonnie got there, the bright afternoon sunshine was already starting to fade. They went straight to Two-Ton Grizzly's office, which was in a huge truck cab resting on piles of railroad ties. Behind the office was the Grizzly family home, an even stranger building. It looked as if it were made of truck bodies welded together. That's because it
was
made of truck bodies welded together. The rumor was that all the furniture in the house had seat belts. The Grizzlys had lived in their weird house for so many years that when they tried moving to an ordinary house, they couldn't get used to it.

Two-Ton looked at Brother and Bonnie with surprise as they climbed into his office. He swung his feet down off his desk. “All right,” he said to Brother, “what's that cub of mine done now? So help me, if he's bothered you or your girlfriend …”

Brother blushed. “Bonnie's not my girlfriend,” he said. “She's just my friend.”

“Whatever,” said Two-Ton.

“Anyway, we're not here about Too-Tall,” Brother explained. “We're looking for a hood ornament for a 1954 GG roadster. Have you got one?”

“If we ain't got it, we'll get it,” said Two-Ton, putting his feet back on the desk.

“But have you got it
now?
” asked Brother. “We need it in time for the big car show. We also need hubcaps.”

Two-Ton shrugged his massive shoulders and waved a hand at his windshield window. Through it the cubs could see the vast auto graveyard. “Your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “My suggestion is to start at the back and work your way up to the front. That way you'll end up here by closing time—which is six o'clock sharp, by the way. If you get lost, just walk around until you catch sight of the office. That's why I built it on top of railroad ties—to help folks who get lost out there. That, and so I can keep a lookout for parts thieves.”

The cubs thanked Two-Ton and walked away from the office, through a forest of wrecked cars and used parts, until they could see a chain-link fence.

“This must be the back,” said Brother, looking around. They were surrounded by heaps of junk. “Let's get to work.”

For two solid hours, Brother and Bonnie climbed through wrecked cars and sorted through mounds of parts. It was beginning to get dark when they finally found the hubcaps. A complete set of four, with the GG logo on each. And they were in perfect condition—at least they appeared to be so in what was left of the late afternoon light.

“Fantastic!” said Bonnie. “Do you think they're from a 1954 roadster?”

“We can hope,” said Brother.

Bonnie wanted to leave the hubcaps at the office and go home, but Brother insisted they keep looking. “Where there are GG hubcaps,” he said, “there just might be a GG hood ornament, too.”

After a few more minutes of searching, though, Bonnie had had enough. “Come on, let's go home,” she said. “It's getting so dark I can't even tell what these parts are anymore.” She held one up. “Is this a hood ornament?”

Brother squinted in the gloom. “Nah,” he said. “That's a door handle, I think. Wish we had a flashlight.”

Just then a beam of light shone through a pile of truck parts. Heavy footsteps sounded in the dusk.

“
Someone
has a flashlight,” whispered Bonnie. “
And here he comes!
”