Vicki said. “Why don’t you get a cat or a dog?”
Joey grinned. “I like creeping, crawling creatures. I like all kinds of animals and I like to spy on them at night. There are lots of them on the island, but I can’t go there anymore because your dad has no trespassing signs all over the place.” Without a breath he added, “Of course, I guess I could go with you.”
“Are there really lots of animals there?” Vicki asked.
“You bet! Owls, raccoons, deer—you name it! I could show you all kinds of things.”
“Sure,” Vicki answered, “We can all go to the island. We’re going to stargaze there tonight. Tim has a telescope. We saw . . .”
Vicki did not finish, for just then a blond teen-aged boy came up and slapped Joey on the back.
“Hi, Joey. How are you doing?”
Joey turned around and looked up at the tall boy in faded jeans and a blue shirt. “Hi, Skipper. These are the kids who just moved here. Mom told me their names. This is Tim Andrews and his sister Vicki.”
“Welcome to our floating colony,” said Skipper. He turned to another teen-ager, a short, dark-haired boy. “This is my cousin, Ronnie. He’s spending the summer with us.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Joey eagerly. “My mom found out from your mom.”
Skipper shook his head and laughed. “Joey Baker, you know everything that goes on around here. But I’ll bet you didn’t see the lights on the island last night.”
“No, I didn’t,” answered Joey, looking surprised.
Skipper folded his arms around himself and looked very fearful. He leaned forward and said in a loud whisper, “They were very spooky lights. They went off and then came on. And . . .”
Tim had found his voice. “I saw those lights!”
“So did I,” echoed Vicki. “And we’re going over there tonight. Tim wants to stargaze,” she added proudly.
“So you want to stargaze from the island!” Skipper said. “Good for you. Maybe you’ll find out who was there last night. Those lights looked very creepy. Didn’t they, Ronnie?”
His cousin nodded. “They sure did. I don’t think I’d want to be on that island at night.” He turned to Skipper. “How about getting our fishing tackle and see what we can catch in the river?”
“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Skipper answered. “I’d like to scoot around in my boat, anyway. So long, kids. See you later.”
Three solemn faces watched the two teen-agers hurry along the dock and cross the wooden bridge to Skipper’s floating house.
Finally Joey broke the silence. “I’m going to put Bobo back in his cage. Then I’m all for going to the island and doing some sleuthing.”
Tim swallowed hard and shifted from one foot to the other.
Joey looked at him, puzzled. “What’s the matter? You’re going to stargaze there tonight, aren’t you?”
“Sure,” Tim replied hesitantly. He was wondering how he could keep Joey from finding out he was afraid of the dark.
“Well,” Joey persisted. “Don’t you want to look for clues on the island and see who was there?”
Before Tim could answer, Vicki took him by the arm and started pulling him toward their canoe. “Of course you do! You’re not going back to look at your star books all day!”
Vicki stumbled getting into the canoe, almost losing her footing, and nearly tipping it over. She just grabbed the sides in time.
“Hurry up!” she cried, pulling the paddles from under the seats.
She could hardly wait to get to the island. The island and the mysterious lights.
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