The Berenstain Bears and the Ghost of the Auto Graveyard (7 page)

The cubs had never seen Too-Tall plead with anyone before. It shocked them. None of them knew what to believe now.

“So what do you suggest we do?” Brother asked Too-Tall.

“I'll tell you what, guys,” said the gang leader. “You can all sleep over at my house tonight so you can keep an eye on our lot. I won't even tell my folks and sister that you found stolen cars here. If they're really the crooks, they'll try to take the rest of the stolen cars out of the lot when they think we're all asleep. And you'll see them do it.”

“But how will we see them in the dark?” wondered Sister.

“My mom has a special pair of infrared binoculars,” said Too-Tall. “She uses them to check out the lot whenever there's a noise at night. They'll be perfect for keeping watch. You can watch from my bedroom and make sure I don't sneak out to talk with the others. Well, what do you say? Will you do it?”

The Bear Detectives huddled. None of them liked the idea of not reporting the stolen cars to the chief. But Too-Tall seemed so desperate to prove his family's innocence that they just couldn't bring themselves to turn him down.

Chapter 9

The Haunted Graveyard

The cubs phoned their parents right away. Since they didn't say anything about watching for car thieves, it was easy to get permission to sleep over at Too-Tall's. All their parents were pleased. “I'm so glad you're getting along with Too-Tall for a change” was Mama Bear's response. Then Two-Ton called Squire Grizzly, who phoned the chauffeur of the cubs' limo and told him to pick the cubs up in the morning.

From Too-Tall's bedroom windshield, the Bear Detectives watched the auto graveyard in shifts. Sister, Lizzy, and Barry kept watch first. At midnight, they were replaced by Brother, Bonnie, and Cousin Fred. The moon cast a pale glow over the lot. For hours the trio saw nothing but the dim shapes of old cars and heaps of spare parts. It was a ghostly sight, but without any ghosts.

By three in the morning, the cubs' eyelids were starting to feel heavy. But then something happened that snapped them wide open again.

“Look!” said Bonnie. “Out by the back gate! It looks like a
ghost!
”

From a distance, the figure seemed to float among the wrecked cars. Sure enough, it looked like a white-sheeted ghost!

“You're right!” said Brother. “And I see another one!
Two
ghosts! I can't believe it! The auto graveyard is haunted!”

Cousin Fred trained the infrared binoculars on the pair of ghostly figures. “I've got news for you,” he said. “Those aren't ghosts. They only look like ghosts because they're wearing long white dusters.”

“Like the ones some of the drivers wore in the classic car procession?” said Bonnie.

Fred nodded. “They may not be ghosts,” he said, “but they definitely
are
car thieves! They're each getting into a stolen car.”

The cubs heard the sound of car engines starting in the distance.

“Now they're driving the cars out the back gate,” said Fred. “They must have picked the lock.”

“Who are they?” asked Bonnie.

Fred lowered the binoculars. “Sorry, guys,” he said. “I couldn't get a good look at their faces. But they're coming back later for the other two cars.”

“How do you know?” asked Brother.

“Elementary, my dear Brother,” said Fred, pretending to be his favorite detective, the famous Bearlock Holmes. “They left the back gate wide open.”

Chapter 10

Down a Lazy River

The Bear Detectives woke up Too-Tall and told him what had happened. Immediately, he woke up his parents and sister. Brother radioed Chief Bruno while Too-Too and Too-Much got ready to nab the thieves when they returned.

But what if the thieves didn't return? Brother pointed out that they might have left the back gate open by accident. So he grabbed a flashlight and set out with Bonnie and Barry to track the stolen cars. They followed the fresh tire tracks along the back road that led past the old abandoned barn. Soon the road veered away from the main highway toward Old Grizzly River.

“Where does this dirt road go, anyway?” wondered Bonnie.

“I'm not sure,” said Brother. “But if it follows Old Grizzly River, it'll go through the woods and right by Ralph Ripoff's houseboat.”

“Does that mean
Ralph
is the head thief?” gasped Bonnie.

“We'll know when we get there,” said Brother. “Come on! Faster!”

Meanwhile, back at Parts R Us, two more “ghosts” had already appeared.

“Look!” said Sister. “They're sneaking through the back gate!”

“How could they get back so soon?” wondered Lizzy.

“There must be
four
thieves in all,” said Cousin Fred.

“YIKES!” cried Sister as two strange-looking creatures joined them at the windshield.

“Don't be alarmed!” said Too-Too. “It's just me and Too-Much wearing infrared goggles—our thief-chasin' goggles! There they are, Too-Much! Let's nab those creeps!”

The goggled bears rushed out into the night. “Hey, wait for me!” yelled Too-Tall, stumbling after them without goggles or flashlight.

Sister, Lizzy, and Cousin Fred wrestled over the binoculars. Fred, being the strongest, won. In an instant, he had trained them on the “ghosts.” “Wow!” he said. “Too-Too just tackled one of them around the legs! And Too-Much just grabbed them both by their collars and knocked their heads together! Looks as if they're out cold!”

“What about Too-Tall?” asked Sister.

Fred scanned the lot. “He's off by himself, staggering around in the dark. I think he's lost.”

Just then sirens were heard from the direction of the front gate.

“Here come the chief and Officer Marguerite,” said Fred. “Let's go meet them.”

Meanwhile, the other Bear Detectives were deep in the woods, following the dirt road along Old Grizzly River. As they neared Ralph Ripoff's place, Bonnie pointed downriver. “There's the houseboat,” she said. “I can see it in the moonlight. And two cars are on the deck!”

“My eyes must be playing tricks on me,” said Barry. “It looks like it's shrinking.”

“That's because it's
moving away!
” said Brother.

The cubs hurried to the spot on the river-bank where the houseboat had been moored. The boat was already downriver at least a hundred yards.

“Hey, Ralph!” yelled the cubs. “Come back here!”

But the darkened houseboat just glided down the lazy river in the early morning moonlight.

The Bear Detectives flopped down in the grass. They were exhausted.

“So
that's
how he's been getting the stolen cars out of town,” said Bonnie. “On his houseboat!”

“No wonder the state police guarding the roads never saw anything,” said Barry.

Brother shook his head. “It's hard to believe,” he said. “Ralph, a small-time swindler, pulling off a multimillion-dollar car theft. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes—”

Just then, as if in answer, a muffled voice was heard.

“What was that?” said Bonnie.