The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Totem Faces
Inside the Hollister house two girls had heard the commotion and rushed outside Th e taller one Pam Hollister had fl uff y golden hair and a sweet face She and her six-year-old sister Holly ran down the steps Th e younger girl’s fl ying pigtails and impish grin stamped her as the family tomboy Wait for us Pam called Together the children who had just fi nished eating supper followed Sue down the street and around the corner Suddenly they saw a strange sight In the center of the Tompkins broad lawn stood a thick wooden pole about six feet tall It was carved with curious-looking animal faces and topped by a bear’s head Th e fi gures brightly painted in red blue green and yellow were smudged with blobs of mud Make those mean boys stop Sue demanded point ing Standing at the curb with a carton of mud balls were two boys Pete’s age Joey Brill and Will Wilson Right now they were looking defi antly toward the door of the house where a gray-haired man waved his arms angrily Go away cried the man whom the Hollisters had never seen before Leave my totem pole alone Joey smirked Taking aim with another mud ball he Splat It hit the bear’s head slung it Splat It hit the bear’s head Splat Bull’s eye Will cried roaring with laughter Pete ran up to Joey his fi sts clenched Th e man says Th e bully glared Oh butting in again You stay out Stop so why don’t you of this 8
Make those mean boys stop 9
Joey had teamed with Will Wilson more than once to annoy the Hollisters and other persons in the neighborhood Yes Will chimed in We don’t want that totem in Shoreham It’s an Indian idol and will bring us bad luck It’s nothing of the kind the old man spoke up Totem poles aren’t idols and as for this one I carved it myself Now go away and stop pestering me Instead Joey picked up another mud ball Try and make me he muttered Pete furious at the boy’s rudeness backed up a few steps If you throw that you’ll be sorry he said fi rmly Th ink I’m afraid to Go ahead Will egged his pal on Hit Pete with it Joey swung back his arm and hurled the mud ball Pete ducked Th e brown blob missed him but hit Pam on the shoulder Oh she cried as the mud ran down her dress You’re a mean boy Pete had had enough He lunged for Joey Th e bully taken aback turned and fl ed Will was at his heels fol lowed closely by Pete Get em Ricky cried as he dashed behind the trio Th e redhead however stopped just long enough to pick up one of the mud balls himself Pete’s fury made him run faster than the two bullies He caught up to Joey and with a fl ying tackle brought him down on a grassy strip between the curb and the sidewalk 10
ground and sat on his chest Rolling Joey over Pete pinned his shoulders to the Say you’re sorry Pete demanded By this time Ricky had caught up and stood over the two enjoying the scene He held the mud ball over Joey’s head How would you like to be painted up with this he asked with a grin Don’t don’t let him drop it on me Joey begged as he struggled to rise Th e move threw Pete off balance He bumped into Ricky’s arm Th e mud ball fell squarely into Joey’s face Enraged the bully gasped and sputtered I’ll get even with you for this he cried out as Pete let him up I’ll get that old totem pole and I’ll Muttering threats Joey and Will hurried off Pete and Ricky chuckling returned to the Tompkins lawn Th e old man was helping Pam wipe the mud off her dress with a damp cloth Th ese are my brothers Pam said Pete and Ricky this is Mr Roebuck As the boys exchanged handshakes with him Mr Roebuck said Just call me Old Ben Th at’s what every one back home does He thanked the Hollisters for having saved his to tem pole from further damage Glad to help you said Pete By the way my broth er got Joey muddied up a bit an accident of course He deserved it Holly burst out 11
