What imagination exclaimed Ricky Nobody’s around here Just then a pine cone bounced off his freckled nose Yikes where did that come from Without saying a word Pete motioned to the huge boulder It was so high they could not see if anyone were hiding on top of it Ricky winked and nodded He walked softly to a nearby birch sapling and shinned up it Soon he was level with the top of the big rock Pressed flat against it were two husky boys Their faces were turned away from Ricky but he recognized them They were Joey Brill and his friend Will Wilson Quietly the red-haired boy drew his water pistol and aimed it toward the rock Then he hissed loudly Pstt Joey and Will turned their heads in surprise and as they did squirt The drops of water hit their faces I got em Pete Ricky cried out as he slid down the tree to join the others Joey Brill who always made trouble for the Hollisters stood up on the rock and shouted at them We’ll get you for this Come on down Pete invited him It’s too far to jump Joey retorted Yeah we have to climb down slowly Will chimed in That’s too bad We’ll see you later called Pete and the three children raced back to Indy’s house with Blackie loping along ahead of them
We’ll get you for this
We got the robbers all right Ricky announced with a grin when they joined Pam and Sue He told them about Joey and Will Now they’ll try to get even Pam said as the girls gathered up the kittens Well I think we’ve made Blackie a little happier Holly remarked and the children started home again Soon they entered the driveway of the Hollister property which lay between the road and the shore of Pine Lake In the garden beside the large rambling house they saw their mother picking flowers Some mail came for you children she called gaily You’ll find it on the hall table Pam hastened inside and returned with a letter postmarked Germany Opening it quickly she found that it was from an old woodcarver they had met on a trip in the Black Forest where the youngsters had solved a mystery What does it say asked Sue tugging at Pam’s skirt Mr Fritz wants us to do him a favor Pam said She explained that the woodcarver needed the dimensions of a certain wooden Indian called The Settlers Friend This is a special statue Pam continued and Mr Fritz has an order to carve one just like it Crickets exclaimed Pete Where can we find The Settlers Friend It could be in Alaska for all we know
I’ll tell you where you might find out Mrs Hollister put in taking off her garden gloves Indy Roades makes a hobby of studying wooden Indians He has a book full of pictures of them Thank you Mother Pete said Maybe we can see Indy when he goes home for lunch The boy hastened into the house and telephoned The Trading Post This was a combination hardware sporting goods and toy shop which Mr Hollister ran in the center of Shoreham Indy said he would meet them at his home at noon to show them the book on wooden Indians When Pete returned to the yard he saw Ricky leading their pet burro Domingo from his stall in the garage while the girls watched The redhead swung himself onto the burro’s back just as a beautiful collie dog ran up barking excitedly Quiet Zip Holly said twirling her pigtails You can’t have a ride And look at you all wet You’ve been chasing frogs in the lake again The collie shook himself spraying water all over the girls Then he raced across the lawn back toward the lake Mrs Hollister prepared an early lunch for Pete and Pam and when they had finished the two older children hastened back to Indy’s house Their friend drove up just as they arrived Indy Roades was a short stocky man with jet black hair and a reddish-tan complexion He was a real Indian a member of a Pueblo tribe from New Mexico
