Timberwolf Hunt (3 page)

Before Tom could say anything else, the bell rang. The teacher, Mr. Griswald, walked into the classroom. He took attendance.

“Eldridge,” Mr. Griswald said, “could you take the attendance to the office?”

Eldridge stood up.

The girls and boys behind him began to giggle.

Tom had put a piece of paper down on the seat. He had put glue on the top of the paper so that when Eldridge sat down, the paper would stick to his pants.

The trick had worked. The paper was stuck to Eldridge's rear end. The boys and girls behind him saw what Tom had written on the paper.

Honk! Honk!

Eldridge walked to the front of the class. He didn't know why everyone was laughing. Mr. Griswald handed him the sheet without looking up. Now everybody in the classroom except Mr. Griswald saw the paper stuck to his rear end.

Honk! Honk!

Eldridge walked out of the classroom and down the hall with the paper stuck to his rear end. Some other kids were already in the hallway, going to different classrooms.

They began to laugh too.

Honk! Honk!

That night after school, Tom and Johnny and Stu waited for Eldridge outside the dressing room. They stood beside Mr. Gregg's janitor's closet in the hallway at the arena. They knew Eldridge would be at the rink early to fill water bottles for Coach Elwell.

Eldridge walked down the hallway with his equipment. Tom and Stu and Johnny had blocked the hallway with their hockey bags.

“Honk, honk,” Tom said.

“Come on,” Stu said to Tom. “Remember, he is part of our team.”

“That's all right, Stu,” Eldridge said. “I thought it was funny. It would have been funnier if the paper had been stuck to someone else's rear end.”

“He
is
part of our team,” Tom said to Stu. “We like him. All I'm saying is that he should play the same amount as us. Not more.”

“You guys are right,” Eldridge said.

“Tonight is a big game,” Johnny said. “If we don't win, it is going to be very hard to make the playoffs.”

“That's right,” Tom said. “Have you talked to your dad about not playing so much?”

“Not yet,” Eldridge said. “I promise I'll try really hard tonight.”

“Trying isn't good enough,” Tom said. Tom opened the door to the janitor's closet. He picked up Eldridge's hockey bag. He shoved the bag into the closet. He slammed the door.

“What's going on?” Eldridge said.

“Just putting your bag in a safe place,” Tom said.

“Honk, honk on the rear end is funnier,” Eldridge said. He opened the door to get his bag. Tom pushed him inside and shut the door.

“Hey!” Eldridge said. “It's dark in here. I can't see a thing.”

The light switch was in the hallway. Tom did not turn on the light for Eldridge.

Eldridge tried to open the door. But Tom had pushed a wedge of wood under the door. It would not open.

“Guys?” Eldridge said. “Are you still there?”

“Yes,” Tom said. “Are you going to talk to your dad? Or do we have to leave you in the torture chamber?”

“This is a closet,” Eldridge said. “It's not a—”

There was a long rude noise inside the closet.

“What was that?” Eldridge asked. Then Eldridge was quiet for a couple of seconds. “Yuck. What's that smell?”

“Let him out,” Stu whispered to Tom. “Nobody should have to face that kind of torture.”

Johnny wanted to agree with Stu. The smell was coming out from under the door. It was a horrible smell.

Tom shook his head. “Eldridge has to talk to his dad. None of the rest of us can.”

“Yuck!” Eldridge said again. “It's like an outhouse. Except ten times worse. It's...”

Eldridge screamed. “It's alive!”

Eldridge screamed again. “It's licking me!”

Johnny knocked on the door. “Eldridge, it's just Mr. Gregg's dog. Stinky. He's a very nice dog. He wouldn't hurt anything.”

“He takes up a lot of room,” Eldridge said. “And he keeps licking my hand. Let me out.”

“I wouldn't worry about how much room he takes up,” Johnny said. “Or how much he licks your hand. I would worry about something else instead.”

There was that sound again inside the closet. That long rude sound. It did not come from the front end of Stinky.

“That's what I would worry about,” Johnny said.

“Oh, disgusting!” Eldridge said. “Is there a cork in here?”

“Come on,” Tom said to Eldridge. “We like you. We know you try hard. We want you on the team. We just want you to tell your dad not to give you so much ice time.”

There was another long rude noise.

“Doesn't this dog eat anything else except for beans?” Eldridge yelled.

Tom and Johnny and Stu did not answer. At the end of the hallway, they saw Coach Elwell turn the corner. He was talking to one of the parents.

“We'd better go,” Tom said. “Before Coach Elwell sees us here.”

Tom leaned over and pulled the wedge out from the

door. He looked back down the hallway. Coach Elwell had stopped. He was still talking to the parent.

Tom and Johnny and Stu picked up their hockey bags. They walked toward the dressing room. As they walked away, they heard the long rude noise from inside the closet again.

“Guys?” Eldridge called out. “Guys? Help. I think I'm dying in here. This dog should be a weapon in the army.”

They kept walking.

“Why in the world would you be in a closet with a dog?” Coach Elwell yelled at Eldridge. He had his son by the arm in front of all the players in the dressing room. “Do you have any idea how stupid I looked?”

“You?” Eldridge asked.

“Me? I'm the coach. My own son is in a closet with a dog, yelling for help when I walk by with one of the parents. In the closet in the dark. And all you had to do was open the door.”

Coach Elwell kicked the garbage can.

“Sorry,” Eldridge said.

“Well?” Coach Elwell said.

“Well what?” Eldridge said.

“Why were you in the closet with a dog? You were supposed to be filling water bottles.”

“Oh,” Eldridge said.

“Well?” Coach Elwell said.

Johnny looked at Tom. Tom looked at Johnny.

Johnny knew what Tom was thinking. Tom knew what Johnny was thinking.

If Eldridge told Coach Elwell what had happened, they would be benched again.

“I'm waiting,” Coach Elwell said. “Did you think it was a bathroom?”

“A bathroom?” Eldridge said.

“It smelled horrible in there,” Coach Elwell said. “My own son. You made me really look bad.”

“The dog's name is Stinky,” Eldridge said. “He stinks.”

“So once and for all, answer me,” Coach Elwell said. “Why would you be in a closet in the dark with a stinky dog yelling for help when all you had to do was open the door?”

Johnny looked at Tom again. Tom looked at Johnny. Eldridge looked at Johnny. Eldridge looked at Tom.

Johnny knew what Tom was thinking. Tom knew what Johnny was thinking. Eldridge knew what Tom and Johnny were thinking.

If Eldridge told Coach Elwell what had happened, they would be benched again.

“I got lost in the closet,” Eldridge said. “The dog seemed lonely, and when I went inside, the door shut. I got lost in there because it was so dark.”

Coach Elwell kicked the garbage can again. He took a deep breath.

He smiled at Eldridge. “There, I feel much better.”

Johnny looked at Tom. Tom looked at Johnny. They felt much better too. It wasn't fun being yelled at by Coach Elwell.

“I'm sorry for making you look bad,” Eldridge told Coach Elwell. “You should probably bench me for it.”

“Players never tell coaches what to do,” Coach Elwell said. “Now get dressed for the big game.”

“Sure,” Eldridge said. He found a place to sit. He opened his bag. He began to throw his stuff on the floor.

“Oh no,” Eldridge said. He threw the rest of his stuff on the floor. “I can't find one of my skates!”

“Are you sure?” Coach Elwell said.

There was all of Eldridge's equipment. But only one skate.

“I'm sure,” Eldridge said. “It must have been that dog when I was in the closet. I'll bet he took the skate. You smelled how stinky it was in the closet. That dog probably eats anything. Maybe he thinks the leather will taste good.”

Coach Elwell kicked the garbage can.

“Go out there and find the skate,” Coach Elwell said, “or you won't be playing hockey tonight.”

Halfway through the third period, it was seven to three for the Timberwolves against the Leafs. Tom had scored two goals out of the seven, and Johnny had scored two goals.

But now the Timberwolves were a man short. Stu had just taken a penalty for tripping.

Coach Elwell sent Johnny and Tom onto the ice to kill the penalty.