The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Auto Graveyard (4 page)

“Quick, get down!” whispered Brother. The cubs crouched beside a wrecked pickup truck and shivered with fright as the footsteps and flashlight beam came around the pile of junk.

When the light hit them right in the eyes, they screamed.

“Calm down, cubs,” said a gruff voice. “It's just me, Two-Ton. Closin' time.”

Brother and Bonnie heaved sighs of relief and fell into each other's arms.

“I thought you two were just friends,” chuckled Two-Ton.

“We are,” said Brother. “You scared us, that's all.”

“Whatever,” said Two-Ton. “Come on, let's get back to the office before it gets
really
dark. My night vision stinks. I'm afraid I'll trip over something and break my neck.”

But Two-Ton didn't seem to have any trouble seeing in the dark. He moved so quickly among the mountains of wrecks and parts that the cubs could hardly keep up with him.

“Whew!” said Two-Ton when they were safely back in the brightly lit office. “That's better.”

“If your night vision is so bad, then how do you catch parts thieves at night?” asked Brother.

“I don't,” said Two-Ton. “I leave that to Too-Too and Too-Much. Their night vision is a lot better than mine.”

At first it seemed strange to Brother and Bonnie that the biggest, strongest bear in Beartown would leave catching thieves to his wife and daughter. But after a moment's thought, it didn't seem so strange, after all. Two-Ton's wife was small but fierce. And Too-Much, Two-Ton's daughter, worked as a bouncer at a local bar and was one tough cookie.

“Your papa called,” Two-Ton told Brother. “He's pretty upset with you cubs for staying out so late. He's on his way over now. It's a good thing you found those hubcaps to soften him up. What's that you've got in your hand, Bonnie?”

“Oh, this?” said Bonnie. “Just a door handle I forgot to throw back.”

But as they all looked closer, they saw it wasn't a door handle. It was a hood ornament. With the GG logo on it!

“By golly!” said Two-Ton. “I'll bet that thing was taken off the same car as the hubcaps. When he sees the stuff you found, Papa Bear's gonna stay mad for about one second!”

Chapter 5

Lost and Found

Two-Ton was right. Papa didn't stay angry long when he saw the genuine GG hood ornament and hubcaps that Brother and Bonnie had found. After dropping Bonnie off at Grizzly Mansion, Papa and Brother hurried to Barry Bruin's house to ask the local classic car expert to identify the parts. Barry checked his car books and was able to match the hood ornament with a picture of a 1954 GG roadster. But the hubcaps were a different story. They looked just like the hubcaps from several different makes of GG roadster.

“How can we nail this down?” asked Papa.

Barry shrugged. “I wonder if Grizzly Gramps remembers who sold him the roadster back in '54,” he said. “Maybe a former GG dealer could tell if these are '54 hubcaps.”

As soon as he and the cubs got home, Papa called Gramps and explained his problem.

Gramps thought for a while. “Nope,” he said finally. “I can sort of picture him. But I can't remember the young feller's name.” He paused. “Wait a minute. I've got an idea. Don't move. I'll be right over.”

Papa, Mama, and the cubs were still debating what Gramps's idea might be when Gramps pulled up in his pickup truck and hurried up the front steps of the tree house.

“Let's have a look at one of those hubcaps,” he said eagerly.

“Right over there,” said Papa. He had stacked them on a towel in the corner.

Gramps picked up one of the hubcaps and looked it over. “Aha!” he cried. “I knew it!” He held the hubcap up so that the others could see the letters that had been scratched on the inner surface. “There! You see?
GG!
”

Papa, Mama, and the cubs gave each other puzzled looks.

“So a Grizzly Garage hubcap says GG on the inside,” said Papa. “So what? It says GG on the outside, too.”

“No, no,
no!
” cried Gramps. “Not GG for ‘Grizzly Garage'! GG for ‘
Grizzly Gramps
'! I scratched my initials inside all the hubcaps of my roadster. So if they ever got stolen, the police could tell they were mine!”

It took a moment for what Gramps was saying to sink in.

Finally, Brother said, “You mean, these are the exact same hubcaps that were on our red roadster when you bought it in 1954, Gramps?”

“Yep,” said Gramps. “Without a doubt. Same goes for the hood ornament, I expect.”

“When were they stolen?” asked Mama.

“In 1955,” said Gramps. “Police never caught the thief. What's wrong, Brother? You look kind of funny.”

At first Brother didn't realize that Gramps was speaking to him. “Oh,” he said, “I was just thinking about
where
Bonnie and I found the parts …” His voice trailed off.

“Hmm,” said Gramps. “You don't mean—Two-Ton Grizzly, a thief? Oh, no. That's ridiculous. Two-Ton is an honest business-bear. Always has been and always will be.”

“Gramps is right,” said Papa. “Besides, if Two-Ton had stolen these parts, he would have sold them to a classic car collector by now.”

“Right you are, Papa,” said Gramps. “I think I know what must have happened. The thief didn't know how valuable these parts would become, so he sold them to Two-Ton for a few dollars. And Two-Ton didn't know how valuable they'd become, either, so he tossed them out on his lot with all the junk. And that's where they've been these many years!”

Chapter 6

The Great Car Robbery

The very same hood ornament and hubcaps that had been stolen from the Bear family roadster way back in 1955! It seemed too good to be true. But it
was
true. Gramps had proved it. And a great boon it was to Papa's chances of winning a prize at the big car show. Both Gramps and Papa had taken good care of the red roadster over the years. It was in great condition. And now it had all its original parts.

The red roadster, with its shiny hood ornament and gleaming hubcaps, looked terrific as Papa drove it slowly up Main Street in the grand procession of classic cars on the day before the big show was to open. Just in front of Papa were three of Squire Grizzly's chauffeurs, driving the squire's 1938 Grizzillac, his 1932 Bearsenburg, and his 1927 Bearcedes. And in front of
them
, at the head of the procession, was Squire Grizzly himself, driving his prized 1922 Bear MW.

The Bear MW was a convertible, and the squire had the top down. Like many of the other owner-drivers, he wore a long white duster, the kind of coat drivers often wore to keep the dust off their clothes in the old days of open cars and dirt roads. Proudly, he, Papa, and the other owners drove their classic cars onto the Bear Country School athletic field, which was decked with flags and bunting.

Bears from all over Bear Country were already pouring into Beartown for the big show. The state police were stationed along all the roads into Beartown to control the traffic. Beartown's hotels and motels were full. So were its shops and restaurants. It seemed as if the classic car show was just about the greatest event in Beartown history.

Until the big day came. That's when disaster struck.

Early that morning, before the athletic field opened to the public, Barry Bruin showed Mayor Honeypot the podium that had been built for his opening speech.

“That will foo dust jine,” said the mayor, who had a habit of getting the fronts and backs of his words mixed up. “Er, I mean, do just fine.”

But Barry didn't hear the mayor. He was looking in horror across the sea of classic cars on the athletic field. “Oh, no!” he gasped. “I don't believe it!”

“Rut's wong?” asked the mayor. “I mean, what's wrong?”

“Cars are missing!” cried Barry. He counted, “… five, six, seven …
eight!
”

“Mars are kissing?” said the mayor. “I mean, cars are missing? That's terrible! Bet Chief Gruno! Er, get Chief Bruno!”