The Goats (5 page)
Authors: Brock Cole
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen, in a minute we're going to get off the bus.” The kids whistled and cheered, and he waited until they had quieted down. “Be sure to bring all of your personal belongings. We're going to lock up the buses for the night, and what you don't have you'll do without. Is that clear? Okay, then. This building you see out here is Camp One. That's the dining hall. That's where we'll eat and play games ⦔ He paused, turning red and smiling, for another cheer. “Mrs. Higgins is at the south end of the building. That means you turn left when you get off the bus. I'll be at the other. Girls rendezvous with Mrs. Higgins. Boys with me. We'll show you where your cabins are. Cabin assignments are final. No switching around. Okay? Everybody knows their left hand from their right? Okay. Don't forget any of your stuff.” He nodded and backed his way down the steps.
The boy and girl worked their way into the line getting off the bus. A fat kid with a pink suitcase squeezed between them, and for a moment he was afraid they were going to be separated, but she waited for him just outside the door.
“Where do we go?” she whispered.
Kids from the bus jostled by them, claiming friends, making plans. He stood still, momentarily confused by the dark.
A tall black girl whirled against them, her eyes shining with excitement. She gathered them both under her thin, elegant arms as if she must hold on to something or fall down.
“Oh, man, did you ever see anything like that?”
She was smiling and looking up at the sky. The Milky Way was spilling coolly through the clean air. “Did you know there were so many stars? I never saw them before. Did you know there were so many?
“I don't believe it. I just don't believe it!” The black girl held up her hands, as if to let the glittering lights run through her fingers. She didn't notice as the boy caught the girl's hand and slipped away from the crowd around the bus.
They walked together straight toward the dark woods. It wasn't far. Just beyond a small shed smelling of toilets and disinfectant, he could see the net of shadows beneath the first trees. If they could get that far, they would be safe. He could already feel the cool breath of the night woods against his face. He no longer heard the campers milling behind them. It was a shock when strong hands caught his arms from behind.
“Hey, man,” someone hissed in his ear. “What you doing? Did you think you could just
walk
?”
walk
?”
The camp parking lot was empty. Maddy stopped her car beneath a sign that said FOR OUR VISITORS and turned off the engine. As it cooled it made irregular clicking noises.
Above her, on a hill covered with dark trees, she could see the roofs of the camp buildings. It would be dark soon. Laura must be there by now, waiting.
Maddy wondered if she should have come. In her first panic upon hearing that Laura was missing, it had seemed the obvious thing to do. Now she wasn't so sure. What if Laura should greet her with that dull puzzled look that came down over her face like a mask, making her fears into something pointless, even ridiculous? Maddy didn't think she could stand that.
Wells had suggested that it might be better to wait. That the long drive might be for nothing. He hadn't been so smooth and bland before he had understood that Maddy had spoken to Laura. He had been a frightened man then, almost incoherent, mumbling about the possibility of a swimming accident, trying to reassure her before she had even understood what he was talking about.
There had been a moment, no more than a few seconds really, when Maddy had thought that Laura had drowned. For those few seconds Maddy felt as if a razor had sliced deeply into her flesh, and she had stared numbly into the wound.
The misunderstanding had been cleared up quickly. The wound had closed even before she had felt the
pain. What would it have been like if Wells had called first? She hadn't the courage to imagine.
pain. What would it have been like if Wells had called first? She hadn't the courage to imagine.
Maddy sighed and, getting out of the car, climbed the long path toward the administration building. There seemed to be no one around. A pair of campers in white shirts that seemed to glow in the fading light eyed her suspiciously from a distance, and then glided off among the trees. There was no one else.
Inside the administration building was a long counter of yellow wood. From behind the counter a middle-aged woman looked up at Maddy inquiringly. She was deeply tanned, and her thin hair was pulled back from her forehead by the weight of a silver-and-turquoise clasp. Her small mouth was wreathed with sharp little lines.
“I'm Mrs. Golden. Laura's mother. I want to see Mr. Wells?”
“Oh yes. Mr. Bob was waiting for you, but he just stepped out.” The woman didn't know what to do with the papers in her hands. She considered putting them on the counter, but then changed her mind and put them on the desk behind her. “I think he's gone to the dining hall. I'll just fetch him.” She seemed afraid of being left alone in the office with Maddy.
“Wait a minute. Can you tell me if Laura's come back?”
The woman stopped abruptly. “Oh, I don't think so. Mr. Bob would know about that.” She smiled. A small, tight, give-nothing-away smile. She looked at
Maddy as if waiting for permission to go. “I'll just fetch him. All right?”
Maddy as if waiting for permission to go. “I'll just fetch him. All right?”
Maddy waited. There was nowhere to sit down. On the wall behind the counter was an elaborate trophy made of lacrosse sticks and canoe paddles. It was covered with dust and varnish.
A fat man came up the steps into the office wiping his mouth. “Just grabbing a quick bite,” he said. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, and half-frame reading glasses dangled from a chain on his chest. “Mrs. Golden? I'm Bob Wells.” They shook hands. “And this is Miss Haskell.” He waved at the woman who had bustled back into the office behind him, nodding and smiling as if it was to see her that Maddy had driven up from the city.
“She's camp secretary. Some of the campers seem to think she's their mother.” Mr. Wells and the woman beamed at one another.
“Well! Come into my office, and we'll see if we can get this business straightened out.” He led the way behind the counter and through a doorway into a small room decorated with more trophies. It seemed important to the secretary that she go in front of Maddy.
“Miss ⦠Haskell, is it? She said she didn't think Laura was back,” Maddy called after Mr. Wells as she picked through an obstacle course of furniture. She had an irrational idea that he might escape from her. Disappear through some hidden door.
Mr. Wells didn't answer at once.
“Sit down, please, make yourself comfortable.” He himself sat down behind a desk and put on his glasses. He laid his hands palms down on a clean, fresh blotter.
“No. She's not back yet.” He looked at Maddy reproachfully over his glasses.
“But I don't understand,” said Maddy, beginning to feel frightened. “It's hours since I spoke to her. Where can she be? I mean, what can have happened?”
“Now, now, now,” said Mr. Wells sharply. “I don't think we should be too worried yet. We know they were safe when you talked to her. That's the important thing. We don't know where she was calling from, or even where they came ashore. It might take them some time to get back to camp. I really expect them any time now, Mrs. Golden.”
“But she's only thirteen. Isn't anyone looking for her? Something terrible ⦔
“Mrs. Golden, I notified the sheriff and the ranger just as soon as we knew they were missing this morning. Some of our senior counselors are out searching for them right now.” He managed to look understanding and affronted at the same time.
“But why haven't they found her? I really don't understand this.”
Mr. Wells looked vaguely surprised, as if she had disappointed him in some way.
“Well,” he said patiently, “we have to consider the
possibility that they might not mind making us worry a bit.” He exchanged a fruity, knowing smile with Miss Haskell.
possibility that they might not mind making us worry a bit.” He exchanged a fruity, knowing smile with Miss Haskell.
Maddy began to feel annoyed. “Listen. Laura isn't like that. When she says she'll be back at a certain time, she is. I left her in your care. I want my daughter back. I want her now.”
“Mrs. Golden, no one is more aware of their responsibilities than I am. We are doing all that can be done to find them. I assure you that I am as concerned for their welfare as you are. Now”âhe leaned forward, hunching his shoulders to show that he was getting down to businessâ“did Laura actually tell you that she was coming directly back to camp?”
“No, not in so many words ⦔
“I think you told her that you would meet her on Saturday at the Parents' Weekend.”
Maddy looked at Miss Haskell. The woman nodded slightly, as if to encourage a dull student.
Maddy looked back at Wells. “Are you suggesting that she might not come back until Saturday? That's simply ludicrous.”
“Mrs. Golden, I think I can say that I know these kids pretty well. They don't always understand how their behavior can upset others. Particularly their parents. Now, I'm sure that Laura is as good a girl as you think she is. Believe me, Mrs. Golden, it isn't yet time to be deeply worried.”
“Laura is ⦔ Maddy began, and then stopped. She didn't know what she had been going to say. In
some way the man had put her on the defensive. As if it were Laura's behavior which had to be justified. She took a deep breath and began again. “What exactly happened, Mr. Wells? I think you owe me some kind of explanation.”
some way the man had put her on the defensive. As if it were Laura's behavior which had to be justified. She took a deep breath and began again. “What exactly happened, Mr. Wells? I think you owe me some kind of explanation.”
For the first time the fat man looked uncomfortable. “Not something that any of us approve of, Mrs. Golden. It was, frankly, a practical joke that didn't work out the way it should have. Completely unsanctioned by the camp and its staff.”
“Joke? I know, you said that on the telephone. But what was the joke?”
“Well, it's an old tradition at the camp. It started a long time back. Back when, well, frankly, there wasn't the same attention to camper supervision that we find advisable now.” He looked at Maddy to make sure that she understood that this was an important point.
She waited. The man stirred uncomfortably. Miss Haskell cleared her throat, and Wells darted the woman a glance of such ill-concealed irritation that Maddy was taken aback. She knew very little, she realized, about these people with whom she had left Laura.
“You must know, Mrs. Golden,” he began again, “that at a large camp like this, with children from all sorts of homes, broken homes ⦠all kinds. I'm sure you know that there are always a few campers who don't fit in right away. That doesn't mean that they're unpopular. Far from it.” he said hastily, misinterpreting
Maddy's stricken look. “These are often children who are deeply admired. The other children want to make friends with them. Make them a part of the community.”
Maddy's stricken look. “These are often children who are deeply admired. The other children want to make friends with them. Make them a part of the community.”
“What did they do to her?”
“Sometimes,” Wells continued as if he hadn't heard the pain in her voice, “sometimes there are boys and girls who are a bit, well, judgmental about their fellows. And some of the other campers might decide, mistakenly, that things could be improved if a boy and girl were put in a situation where they might realize that we are all just people. That there's nothing wrong, for example, in a healthy interest in members of the opposite sex.” Mr. Wells smirked slightly.
“Mr. Wells, I don't understand what you're talking about. What did they do to Laura?”
The man surrendered reluctantly. “Well, they marooned Laura and this boy, Howie Mitchell, out on this little island together. It was to be just for the night. Not very clever, I agree.” He raised his hand before Maddy could speak. “I don't think any real harm was meant. It's happened before, back in the bad old days, and I don't think any offense was taken, usually. I think most kids teased in this way would come back, well, a little proud of themselves, actually. There's an old tent platform there. It's perfectly safe. It's just the other campers' way of saying, âHey, kids, come on! Get with it!'”
Maddy felt her heart constrict into a small, painful lump. “That,” she said, “is the most beastly thing I have ever heard of.”
Mr. Wells looked at her, full of compassion. “Mrs. Golden, I fully understand how this must seem to you. And I admit that for more sensitive children it might not be a good idea. And of course there's always the possibility of an accident. Swimming accident, or something like that. That's why I put a stop to this business as soon as I became director. We haven't had an incident like this in years, believe me. But traditions die hard. Some of the campers here are third generation, if you'd believe it.”
“I was a goat,” announced Miss Haskell.
“What?” said Maddy. She thought the woman had said she was a goat.
“A goat. We call the island Goat Island.” She blushed. Maddy understood.
“I'm going to sue you,” she said levelly. “I'm going to sue you and this camp right into the ground.”
Mr. Wells turned bright red, and his sympathetic expression hardened by a minute degree into something made of wood. “I don't think that attitude is going to help us, Mrs. Golden. The important thing right now is that we get Laura and Howie back, safe and sound.”
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