Eager Beaver

Chapter Ten - The Other Keeo

Charlie still looked dejected, worried and defeated all rolled into one. I looked around and tried to get my own barings. Surely my Webelos scout training could help us find a path? I could hear the babbling of the creek splashing its way through the wood a little distance away. That's when it hit me. "Which way is the creek flowing?" I asked abruptly, peaking over Charlie's shoulder.

"East." the boy answered at once "Why?"

I furrowed my brow, considering. "Well it might be flowing into Larme Lake." I proposed, pointing to a large tear drop shaped body of water depicted north of the camp. "There."

"Oh!" Charlie agreed, suddenly sounding much less upset "It does! I remember 'cause last year we built dams. Like real Beavers."

"Cool." I enthused, flashing a broad grin. Building dams really did sound like a lot of fun. I hoped that Taylor would have us play the same game this year.

His spirits raised, if only slightly, the boy folded away the map. "I know where we are." he announced, marching off perpendicular to the flow of the river. "This way."

I had no way to know if Charlie knew what he was doing, but I thought better of undermining him, marching obediently behind. Sure enough, it was not five minutes before we emerged from the undergrowth, finding ourselves once again on the familiar forest path. We looked a little disheveled, our shorts sprinkled with mud and tear stains still evident on both of our cheeks, but we were otherwise unharmed; marching bravely back along the trail with our stash of squirrel treasure.

A few hundred yards from camp, we heard voices around a corner, Zach's gruff tone instantly recognizable. He and Alex were scrounging around on the edge of the trail sorting through twigs. They were deep in conversation, exchanging trivia about the requirements for certain skill badges. Alex's face lit up as soon as she saw us, jumping up to her feet.

"Hey!" she yipped happily "Did you find everything yet?"

"Uh-huh." Charlie confirmed, an exhausted crack in his voice betraying his fragile mood.

"Charlie, Cooper." Zach nodded professionally in greeting, though his usual calm demeanor gave way to an anxious frown of concern as he saw the look on Charlie's face. "Are you guys alright?" Charlie went as red as an autumn apple, tugging down the brim of his hat to hide his still puffy eyes. He nodded urgently, clearly not wanting to dwell on the matter, but Zach soon turned his quizzical expression on me. "Cooper?"

"We got lost." I confessed. "But it was alright. Charlie knew the way back."

"Right." Zach said but he wasn't really listening, he was looking at Alex and Charlie. Alex had taken Charlie's wrists and moved them aside so she could look directly in his puffy eyes and tear stained face. Charlie gave her a little nod and Alex brought him into a silent hug. "Cooper, come with me." Zach told me and placed an arm around my shoulder.

Zach had me walk a few paces ahead of Alex and Charlie. The two were whispering to each other but I was too far away to hear anything. "Cooper, what book is that in your pocket?" Zach asked curiously, trying to change the subject.

"Just a book for my summer homework." I told him truthfully, taking it out and handing it to him. Once pristine and new, a couple of weeks of lugging it around had left the book rough-edged, puffed up from getting wet, and dog-eared on almost every other page.

"Summer homework?" Zach asked incredulously and took a look at the book title. "The Giver." He said, surprised.

"Yeah, since I moved." I gulped. I probably shouldn't have said anything; the book was far too advanced for a beaver scout. "It's like the most boring book ever though." I blurted out.