The Rightful Heir (21 page)

Benjamin couldn't think. He knelt to get a better look at the two pugs. “Mac, what's going on?”

“Well, it seems my brother has made an ungracious entry back into my life.”

“Your
brother?”
Benjamin looked at Jonah's black foot. “Pugsly had pups other than you?”

“Of course he did,” Jonah said confidently. “And I'm the oldest, which makes me the rightful heir.”

“No, Jonah. I specifically remember being born before you.” Mac's eyes darted around the room at the hundreds of staring eyes.

“What?! How in the world can you claim to remember a thing like that?”

Clementine sighed. “Oh, boy! This is all we need. First Roscoe, and now this.”

“What happened to Roscoe?” Benjamin asked.

Clementine nodded his head solemnly. “His dad died—”

“Oh, gosh! That's horrible.”

“—and while he was at the farm some
llama
told him his dad
wanted him to go find those wild goats. You remember
them
, right? He's acting like it's his destiny or something.”

“You mean Zebulon and his clan?” Benjamin was concerned.

“Yeah…
them
. And now he's gone.”

The fox interrupted. “Look, I don't want to ruin a sad moment, but we need to go. We can't wait any longer! That
thing
is out there, and my friends are in the middle of Persly's Woods waiting on me—and you—to return!”

“That
thing
, huh?” Everyone turned to Malcolm. “And does anyone happen to know what that
thing
is?” He folded his hands coolly and stood on his hind legs.

Felix was as unsure as the rest of them. “N-no one has seen it, raccoon.”

“We've seen what it's left behind!” Jonah spoke boldly.

“Hang on, Jonah. I need to clear my name first.” Malcolm walked to the middle of the gathering. “King Benjamin, I had no idea that my brother, Isaac, had been following us all that time. I guess you heard him calling out to the snakes that we were there?” Benjamin and Clementine both nodded. “I was on the roof of the barn when I heard Isaac shouting, then I climbed to the peak and saw four of the rattlers bite him.” He bowed his head in grief. “King Benjamin, I had to help him, even if he intended to turn you guys in. I jumped down and helped my brother escape into the woods, away from the snakes. We went as far as we could…then Isaac fell over and died. I couldn't move. I stayed with him until morning, staying hidden from the snakes, and then buried him.”

“I'm…I'm sorry Malcolm.” Benjamin softly spoke.

“Me, too,” Clementine added.

“I haven't gone back to the barn since. But I have one question. Is Farangis definitely dead?”

Benjamin smiled reassuringly. “Yes! Yes, he is!”

“Paco
sacrificed himself to save us all,” Clementine said sadly.

Malcolm sighed. “I really liked that dog.” After a moment he looked at Jonah. “Well…early this morning I saw some rattlesnakes attacking Jonah. After I killed them, I spotted his black foot. I remembered you talking about King Pugsly's black foot, so I knew he was one of his own.”

Mac interrupted. “We both are.”

“And this is where it gets scary for all of us.” Malcolm's hands rubbed together nervously. “Jonah and I were walking through Persly's Woods when an owl spoke to us from the treetops.”

“A really
weird
owl!” Jonah added.

“Did he speak in riddles?” Clementine asked.

“Oh yeah…” Malcolm answered.

“We met him as we entered Persly's Woods on our way to find Farangis,” Benjamin said.

“Forrest of the forest?!” the old badger said in excitement. “You met Forrest of the forest?”

“Yeah…” Jonah was unimpressed.

“Ohhhh! They say he is one of the wisest creatures in all the land!”

Jonah and Malcolm snickered as they exchanged glances.

“Well, he pointed out that we were standing on something that wasn't the ground.…” Malcolm coughed. “…it was a snake skin!”

The audience gasped.

“Could it have been Farangis's?” Benjamin turned to Clementine.

“I wouldn't think so, but who else's could it have been?” the pig replied.

“It was so long it looked like it had no beginning or end!” Malcolm's eyes widened in horror.

Bloop! Bloop!
Squeak, since he was closest to the pool in
front of the throne, was the only one to hear the bubbly sound. He looked down. A creature with small yellow eyes stared back at him from deep under the water, then disappeared. Trying to keep calm, he scampered up to Benjamin to get his attention.

“So there is
another
snake then?” Clementine asked in the hushed hall.

Squeak tapped his little paws on Benjamin's shoe. “Ahem. Excuse me, Sire?”

“I never would've thought Farangis was
that
big,” Malcolm said.

“King Benjamin, I need to talk to you!” Squeak squeaked louder, tugging at Benjamin's jeans with all his might, which was very little.

“Well, Farangis was huge but…he's been dead nearly a month,” Benjamin said.

“HEY!” Squeak shouted as loudly as he could, and everyone close enough to hear looked down.

Benjamin knelt to hear the troubled mouse. “Yes, Squeak?”

The mouse put his finger to his mouth to tell them to keep quiet, then pointed at the pool. Then he whispered, loud enough for them to hear, “We are being watched!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

B
ENJAMIN WAVED THE OTHERS
to the entrance so as not to be seen by whatever was in the pool, then
told the nearby animals to stay in the tunnel and remain quiet. They moved out single file until the only ones left in the hall with him were the two pugs, Clementine, Zeus, Malcolm, the fox, and Squeak.

“Okay, Squeak. What's going on?” Benjamin asked quietly.

“Sire, I saw a pair of yellow eyes looking up at me from the water.”

“The Snapper!” Malcolm muttered angrily. “I should go down in there and slit his long, wrinkly neck right now!”

“
Who
…who's the Snapper?”

“He's a mean, nasty snapping turtle. One of those kind
nobody
likes to deal with! I'll bet Fat Tony is connected to this.” Malcolm's eyes shifted back and forth. “And I'll also bet the Snapper knows something about the snake that's been eating everybody up!”

“We've got to get him to talk,” Clementine said.

“How do we do that? Can we send someone in the water to talk to him?” Benjamin asked.

“Oh, no!” Malcolm said. “He'll eat whoever comes in. Jonah and I are lucky he didn't take a bite out of us when we dropped in the water.” Jonah gulped at the thought

“How'd he get in here?” Benjamin asked.

“There must be a tunnel that leads to this spring,” Clementine replied.

“We've got to draw
him out somehow, and we've got to do it wisely. He's too old to fool and too dangerous to mess with,” Malcolm said.

“How can we draw him out?”

Benjamin thought for a moment, then grinned. “We
fish
him out!”

“Fish him out?” Mac asked.

“Yeah, with a fishing pole and a lure.” Benjamin looked mischievous.

“What's a lure?” Malcolm asked.

“It's this little rubbery thing with a hook. You hook the fish with it and pull him out!”

The raccoon jumped back in horror. “Oh, my! He won't go for that. He needs to be drawn out, not hooked. You won't want him on a line in here.” Malcolm rubbed his hands, “No, we need bait.”

Squeak's little brown tail twitched. “You can use me!”

“What?!” Clementine gasped.

“Yeah, King Benjamin, you can use me for bait.” Squeak took a deep breath. “But…h-how would you use me?”

“Uh…well, I would tie a string around you and then cast you into the pool.”

“No, no! We'd need to make it look like you fell in. That way he won't be suspicious,” Malcolm said.

“So then once he comes after me, you'd pull me out?” Squeak asked.

“What about your mom?” Clementine asked the brave mouse.

“Oh, she's in the pasture with Tippy. Look, I really want to help. King Benjamin, you would pull me out, right?”

“Yes, and hopefully the Snapper would come out as well.” He patted the field mouse's tiny head.

“Well, it's worth a shot! We need to get him to talk. Who
knows what information he's telling who?” Clementine said.

“Getting him to talk might be a little hard to do,” Malcolm noted, then smiled. “Unless…King Benjamin, do you still have any of those fire weapons?”

Benjamin smiled, too. “I have one left that might do the trick. I'll run home and get the stuff. Keep an eye out for him.” He ran into the tunnel full of animals.

“What's this all about, Sire?” a duck asked.

“We're planning on trapping the Snapper. Just hold tight. I'll be right back.”

“The
Snapper?
Who in the world is that?”

Benjamin made it to the entrance and hopped out. The sun was over the Biggs's house and he knew it had to be close to the time his mom would get home. Sure enough, there was her car in front of the garage.

“Oh, no! I'm dead!” He knew he should have called her after he missed the bus. He trudged up the driveway. At the door he contemplated what to do if she were inside, and no doubt she was.
Should I tell her I was sick? Should I tell her I fell in the water? I did fall in water…and I missed the bus because I had to change my clothes! But then why didn't I call her to take me to school? Because…I knew the church needed her more than I did!

He twisted the knob and cracked the splintery wooden door open. Then he tip-toed in and down the hallway.
Snort!
He jumped at the sound coming from his parents' room.
Snort!
He peeked through the doorway and saw his mom sound asleep on her bed taking a nap.
Whew!
He crept downstairs to his room.

Benjamin spotted what he was looking for in a dark corner in the back of his closet: the roman candle he'd found stuck in the side of his backpack the day before school started. He smiled and stuck it in his back pocket, then grabbed his lighter from the dresser. The clock read 3:03.
I'll come back at 3:30 and mom will
think I just got off the bus
. It was all going to work out perfectly.

He sneaked out the back door. His mom produced a loud snore before he shut the glass door on the back porch.
Geez, how does Dad get any sleep?
Then he remembered his dad's snoring.
How does she get any sleep?
He went out to his dad's tool shop and grabbed the same old fishing pole he'd been using for years. The rusty hook on the end of the line had a dried earthworm stuck to it. “Yuck!” He cut off the hook, although the thought crossed his mind to show Squeak that that was how he was going to attach him to the line. “Nah, there's no time for that,” he laughed to himself.