The Festival of States Parade, Part 2

The boys woke up to a beautiful sunny day, as light beams of sunshine made light rays visible through the windows.  “Look at all the dust particles dancing in the light beams!” said Allan.  Each of the boys looked at the dust beams with wonder.  “They kind of look like a miniature Milky Way in another galaxy far away.” said Ronald.  “You know, “said Butch, “there could be all sorts of life in every one of those light beams, but they’re too small for us to see.  I bet if you had a powerful enough microscope you could probably see all sorts of weird things very similar to our solar system circling each other.”  The boy slid down the emergency rope ladder and headed for the Meadows.  “Now that it’s daylight, maybe we can find a trace of where that strange object landed,” said Robert.  On the way through the Meadows, the boys looked around for some wild raspberries to eat for breakfast.  When they had their fill of the ripe raspberries, they stumbled upon a patch of huckleberry bushes.  “Wow, look at this!” exclaimed Allan.  “I haven’t seen this many huckleberries in bloom in a long time.”  “We need to come back and pick a couple quarts of these and let Mrs. Strawn make us a huckleberry pie,” said Ronald while licking his lips with his tongue.

When the boys had their fill of wild berries, they began to look around the Meadows to find the spot where the strange object had landed.  Suddenly they came to a dark spot in the Meadows where the grass had been pressed down in the shape of a circle.  Butch got down on his hands and knees and looked at the grass very closely.  “Look at this,” he said to the rest of the group as he pointed to the matted grass.  On closer observation, the boys could see that the grass was mashed down, and all the tips of the grass were pointed in the same direction as though they were magnetized.  “That’s really weird,” said Lester. “I wonder if there are any other signs around,” suggested Ronald.  The boys continued their search outside the circle, when suddenly Robert yelled out, “Look at this!”  He pointed to the stool of a large animal.  “What in the world is that?” asked Allan.  “It must be a bear,” replied Ronald.  “That’s no bear,” said Robert.  “Whatever it is, it came from a mighty big animal, is all I got to say,” said Butch.

When the boys got back to the tree Fort, they decided that they would do another observation on the sky that night.  They set up all their equipment after moving the telescope into a different location.  They wanted to be able to look in the direction from where the strange object approached for landing.  While they were sitting around discussing their next plan, Butch had an idea.  “Let’s see if we can pick up any news or conversation on the shortwave radio.” said Butch.  “Good thinking.” said Lester. So the shortwave radio was calibrated until a faint sound began to be heard.  “This is Elvus; come in, please.”  “We want you to … try and … find the … of those … little varmints that … us so much … Do you read me?” a commanding voice responded.  “You’re breaking up, Sir!”  Then the shortwave radio became silent.  “We’re either low on battery power or their signal is breaking up.” said Butch.  “Why don’t we go to Mr. Zay’s hardware store and buy a new dry cell battery?” asked Robert. “We had better get going so we can make it back here before dark.”   “If that’s what you want to do,” agreed Lester.

Inside the hardware store, the boys overheard some of the customers talking about a mysterious monster that was seen all over town.  “Oh, my!” said Mrs. Neuner.  “The children are afraid to walk to school for fear of the boogie man.”  “I know,” said Mrs. Lewis.  “My Johnny is afraid to sleep in his bed at night for fear that the monster is going to get him!”  “Did you hear about the little girl Karen, and what the monster did to her?”  “No, pray tell, what happened to her?” asked Mrs. Souder.  “Well, it seems like little Karen was playing at the lake with her older brother Johnny, when out of nowhere this hairy monster came out of the woods, grabbed Karen, and ran off with her!” “What happened to Johnny?” asked Mr. Zay.  “He jumped into the lake to get away from the monster.  “What about little Karen?” asked Mrs. Souder. “Later that evening, the police found her walking around the lake.”  “Was she hurt?” asked Mrs. Neuner.  “I heard her clothes were all torn and dirty, but she was too scared to tell what had happened to her”  “We’ve got to do something about this!” said Mr. Zay.  “I’m going to donate some steel traps that are big enough to catch a bear,” he said.  “I’m going to form a vigilante committee,” said Mr. Hupp.  “I’ll tell everyone to bring their weapons and anything else they may need to go on the hunt. My orders are going to be to shoot to stop that monster in its tracks!”  After the boys left the hardware store, they walked over to Ward’s store.  They stopped long enough to read the headline in the newspaper that was still in the paper rack.  The headline was in big, bold print: “Swamp ape-like creature spotted all over town.  Local residents claim to have seen the monster near the Cypress Swamp. Some people claim that …”

It was obvious that the whole town was in a state of panic!”  The local police declared a curfew that no one under 18 was allowed on the streets after dark.  Mr. Lewis, the chairman of the vigilante community, called a meeting for all the hunters in the town.  “We want to build all kinds of traps around the swamp. We want pit traps, dead falls, steel traps, and any other trap that will hold something bigger than a man!” he exclaimed.  “Whatever this thing is, we have got to get to the bottom of this problem soon. If the monster remains alive after it’s trapped, we remove it to another location far away from town.” Almost the whole committee was in agreement with the plan.  The next day, people from all over town were busy making and setting traps all around the outside perimeter of the Cypress Swamp.  The people setting the traps could not believe the size of the giant footprints in the mud around the swamp. Some of the footprints measured more than 14 inches long and almost 6 inches wide.  “My God!” said Mr. Townsend.  “By the size of that track and the depth of the imprint left in the mud, that creature must be over 10 feet tall and weigh more than 1,000 pounds!”

All of the traps were prepared and set overnight.  When the vigilante committee checked the traps in the morning, they couldn’t believe their eyes! Huge trees were snapped in a large circle as if they were matchsticks to the swamp monster.  Some of the trees were driven into the ground upside down in smaller circles!  Almost every trap was broken or thrown into the swamp. Large limbs of trees were left hanging as if to show a warning sign not to enter the swamp!  A strong odor of rotten eggs filled the air throughout the area. “Holy … will you take a look at this!” exclaimed Mr. Webster as he came upon the scene with a small group of men.  The men all had their rifles in the ready position, chambered and ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Everybody’s nerves were on edge, when suddenly a loud whistle-like cry could be heard echoing through the swamp.  

The next morning, the Times newspaper front page read, “Large Skunk Ape believed to be living in the great Cypress Swamp. Residents are asked to stay away from the area until further notice. Large footprints are found in the area, and it is believed that …”  The boys from the tree Fort club couldn’t believe what they were reading.  Lester said, “We’ve got to be real careful when we go to the tree Fort. I suggest we arm ourselves.”  “With what weapons?” asked Butch.  “What I propose,” said Lester, “is that everyone bring a slingshot and have it with you at all times!”  “What will we use for ammunition?” asked Robert.  “Whatever you feel confident will hit the target,” said Lester.  “You can use marbles, steel ball bearings, small lead sinkers, pebbles, dried seedpods, or anything that works with your slingshot, depending on how bad you want to hurt the enemy.”  “I need to make one. What’s best – a Y slingshot or a clothespin slingshot?” asked Alan.  “No matter, as long as it shoots straight.” answered Lester.  So the boys headed out to find the necessary equipment to make a slingshot.

Robert, Allan, and Ronald all went to the Shell Oil filling station on the corner of 16th St. and 30th Ave. to see if Mr. Kelly had any old car inner tubes that he didn’t want.  On the way, Robert said, “I hope we can find an old, red inner tube.”  “Why is that?” asked Ronald.  “Because red inner tubes make the best slingshot; they’re stronger, and they stretch longer, which gives you more accuracy.” said Robert in a superior tone.  Luckily, Mr. Kelly had an old, red inner tube stashed away for any such need.  He gave it to the boys and offered them some advice.  “Before you build your slingshot, maybe you should go to the corner and have a talk with Slingshot Parker.”  “Who is that?” asked Ronald.  “If you don’t know about Slingshot Parker or have never met him, it’s high time. I highly recommend his expertise.”  “What’s so special about him?” asked Ronald again.  “Well, Slingshot Parker happens to be one of the world’s greatest slingshot marksman in the world! Other than that, he’s just a neighbor of mine that lives down the street.”  The boys could hardly believe their good fortune.  They thanked Mr. Kelly for the inner tube and made sure they had clear directions to find Slingshot Parker’s house.

(Part Two of the novella by George F. Kohn, author of Holiday Favorites series available on Amazon.com)

For the rest of the story, order your copy of The Festival of States Parade, published for Kindle e-readers and paperback.  Amazon search: Holiday Favorites by George F. Kohn.)