ANIMALS ARE KIDS TOO

Do you know what a beaver is? ..... A beaver is a little animal with thick brown fur, big white teeth and a broad tail that lives in the creeks and rivers of America.

This book is about a little beaver boy, his friends, his sister, his momma and daddy and all the things that happen to beavers. Our little beaver boy is named Bucky and his sister is Mary Ann. Bucky calls Mary Ann "Ann" for short.

Bucky was born in a house that his mother and daddy built in a creek long ago. Bucky's house is constructed of mud, rocks, trees and other sticks which make a dam to slow the water flow in the creek. You know how to dam the water beside the curb in front of your house when it rains, don't you?  Well, the dam Bucky’s folks built are the same but is much larger because there is more water.

The house must be entered from under the water, but Bucky's room is above the water and is hidden from view. This is much the same as your tree house. You must enter it from the bottom, and the tree limbs hide it from view. Of course, you know that a beaver is the very best swimmer and loves the water. He doesn't even mind taking a bath!!!

While Bucky was still a little tyke, his father would take him out into the forest and teach him how to look out for the bad animals that might hurt him. He learned to recognize the tracks and odors of several animals. Such as the Bear, Mountain Lion or Cougar, Bobcat, and the Wolf. All of these animals are dangerous to Bucky. Most animals have a very good sense of smell to detect those who would hurt them.

Bucky made many friends in the forest, Buffy Rabbit, Chip Squirrel and Toby Turtle. Buffy lived in a hole under a big pile of brush. His mother and father built their home on the edge of the forest and the house (hole) has two openings, just like our house. Buffy is light tan, has long ears and can hear real well. He just blends into the Club House and you cannot see him, except when he is going in, then you can see his white fluffy tail.

Chip Squirrel has a reddish top and sides and a white belly. He lives in a large nest up high in a tree with his mother and father and brothers and sisters. You may have seen a squirrel nest and thought it was just some broken limbs and leaves clustered together. He loves to climb and is not afraid of heights.

Toby Turtle is dark brown with a light brown pattern on his back. He lives in a burrow in the ground, more like a nest on the ground. He will get into the water, but prefers the good old dry land. He blends well when he is in the Club House. His shell has a high top, unlike his cousins who live in the water. Sometimes when he tries to get under a low limb in the club house, he gets stuck. But not for long because he digs himself loose.



 

Chapter 1  - THE CLUB HOUSE

Now that we know something about the four friends, let’s find out about the Club House. It all came about one afternoon when the four boys were together, sort of bored as they had nothing to do. One of them, I think it was Chip, suggested they build a Club House. Immedi1ately they all thought, “What a fantastic idea!”

Of course, each boy had his own idea how the house should be built. Bucky wanted it to be in the creek, while Toby and Buffy said to “put in on the ground.” Chip argued that it should be in the trees to keep away the "enemy", namely the girls. They all thought that was great, but they could not come up with a way to get Buffy, Toby and Bucky up into the tree.

They thought about it for a while and looked around to see if they could find something that they could use. Buffy found a tree that had fallen early in the year. Its branches had lost most of their leaves, but there were a lot of branches. Buffy slipped into the branches and disappeared. When he came out, he said there was not room for all four of the friends, but it would make a good club house.

Bucky said “We could clear out a space in no time.” He turned to Buffy, Chip and Toby and told them to go under the branch and see if they agreed. They did, and, when they came out, they were all excited. Buffy said, “With Toby to help me, we could dig out a place under the main branch where we could all get in.” Chip said, “Bucky, I know where there are some trees with low limbs and big leaves that you could cut, and we could add them to the sides.” Bucky said, “How close are the trees?” Chip said, “Not far.” Bucky said, “I better cut out a space so that Buffy and Toby can work, before we leave,” and he disappeared under the tree. Buffy and Toby started on their part as Chip and Bucky were leaving. Soon Bucky and Chip were back with some branches with which they improved the wall.

As darkness came, Mrs. Beaver came looking for her son, Bucky. The boys were very still in their club house, and Mrs. Beaver could not find them. When she had been gone, the four friends slipped out, and Bucky called to his mother. The other friends headed for their homes.

The next morning was cold and gloomy. By mid-afternoon, the sun came out and began to warm the day. Bucky slipped out of his room, down into the water, and out of his house. When he got to the shore, he went to Buffy's home. Buffy and Bucky went looking for Chip and Toby. They found Chip, as the Squirrels were storing the last of the acorns for their winter supply of food. They could not find Toby, so they went to their new club house.

Buffy reached the club house first, but stopped short when he smelled a strange odor. It was an odor that his father had taught him to be afraid of. He ran back to Bucky and said, “Bucky, there is a real strong odor that was not there yesterday. It smells like a bear. You go sniff around, but I am going to stay here. I am scared of bears.” Bucky then approached the club house cautiously. He smelled the odor and they decided to go no closer. Very quickly and quietly, they left to go tell Chip. When they reached Chip’s house, Buffy said, “Chip, we think a bear has moved into our club house!” Chip told his father what his friends had found.

Mr. Squirrel told the boys to stay where they were, and he would go take a look. He went up in the tree and, going from tree to tree, and soon reached the fallen tree and the club house. Mr. Squirrel knew exactly what the odor was. A bear had moved into the club house for the winter.

The three friends, decided to let the bear have their club house. Chip said, “I’ll keep an eye out for Toby and warn him to stay away from the club house.”

So this ended their club house until next spring. They had done a good turn, however, as they had provided a nice place for Mr. Bear to sleep through the winter.

Chapter 2 - THE CAVE



Spring came, and Mr. Bear woke up and moved out of the club house. Toby first noticed that he was gone and told his friends. Although the odor lasted for a few days, the boys started playing in the club house again. As boys will do, they continued to make improvements to the club house. They dug more deeply under the big tree that had fallen the previous year, but were careful not to remove the support the big branches provided for the trunk. Toby, because of his small size, was able to move around more under the trunk.

One day Toby noticed that one of the large limbs was deeply imbedded in the ground. At this point, the trunk was almost touching the ground with very little space for Toby to slip through. But with a lot of effort and by being careful not to get stuck, he did get to where the limb went into the ground. There he smelled a musty odor and wondered where it came from. Slipping back to his friends, he told them what he had discovered.

Buffy said, “I bet that it is just dampness, because the sun does not get under the tree to dry out the ground.” Toby said, “I don’t think that is the reason. The ground does not seem wet, there.” Chip went up on top of the tree trunk and tried to look down into the space. When he came back, Chip said, “I can’t see anything unusual, nor does it seem to be damp. I could not smell what Toby said. “Well fellows,” Bucky said, “it probably isn’t anything.”

A few weeks later, on a very hot day, Buffy was looking for a cool place and dug down into the ground near where the limb was in the ground. He felt a little breath of cool air coming from near the limb and smelled the musty odor that Toby had spoken of. By then, they had expanded the area of their club house to where the limb was, so Bucky, Chip and Toby came at his call.





All of the boys felt the cool air and, smelling the musty odor and wondering what it was, began to dig. Suddenly the ground opened up! Had it not been for quick thinking on the part of Bucky, Chip would have fallen into the hole. A blast of cold, musty, damp air came out of the hole, and the boys knew they had discovered a cave. “Hey Buffy,” Bucky said “you can have a new house and you won’t even have to dig it.” Buffy said, “Thanks, but before I go down there, I want to know how I am going to get out!” They all gathered around and looked into the hole, but could not see anything but darkness.

Chip said, “You know that if our parents find out about this, they will not let us come near the club house let alone explore the cave.” The others agreed, so they made a pact of secrecy. They realized that there was some danger involved and that they would have to be extra careful. The light was beginning to wane, so they went home, wondering what the next day would bring.

Chapter 3 - THE GRAPE VINE



It was noon the next day after each of the friends had finished his chores. They gathered at the club house to discuss how they could enter the cave and get out. Chip suggested using a grape vine, and he knew where there was a very long, sturdy one. All of the boys followed Chip as he led them to the tree with the grape vine in it. Sure enough, there was a very long and sturdy vine in the tree, so long that the boys were not sure they could get it to the club house. They also were concerned that they might be asked by their parents what they were doing and why, and, if so, they would not tell a lie.

Chip climbed the tree and looked closely at the vine twined around the tree trunk. He went up into the branches and followed the path of the vine through them. It became his job to pull each root away from the tree limb. Chip called down to his friends below and said, “I am going to try to pull each part of the vine loose from the tree and maybe it’s weight will pull it the rest of the way.down. How about moving out from under the tree.” Bucky called back up to Chip, “what if it does pull loose and you fall, don’t you want us to fall on?” “Not particular” Chip said, “If I free fall, I sort of float down, but hitting you fellows, might be harder than the ground.” Besides, if this vine does come loose from the tree and falls on you, you will be hurt because it is quite heavy.”

Chip started at the farthermost end of the vine and carefully pulled it away from the limb and its twigs. He was very careful, not to be in the way if it pulled away and fell as the tree was very tall. Slowly the vine began to droop and fall away from the tree, and Chip continued to work. As he neared the end of the vine close to the trunk of the tree, he felt the vine shudder and thought it was gone. Very quickly he jumped away, but nothing happened. Gingerly he went back to his task ready at any moment to jump away. He pulled about six or seven more of the vine's tentacles loose, and he felt another shudder. The vine pulled loose from the tree but did not fall. His friends below, scuttled out of the way. Now Chip was on the trunk of the tree pulling the tentacles loose, and he felt much more secure. Suddenly the vine started to unwind from around the tree, and as it did, it swept Chip off the tree trunk. He grabbed hold of the vine and held on as it came crashing down. Chip was spinning around the tree, getting very dizzy. It was all he could do to hang on. Chip shouted, “Let herrrrrr riiipppppp.”

The speed of the falling vine began to slow as the heavy and stiff part of vine was reached. Then it stopped and Chip was suspended about 10 feet in the air, but much closer to the ground than he had been. All the top of the vine was on the ground, so Chip climbed down the vine to the ground. His friends met him, very relieved knowing that he was safe.

Chip tried to gnaw the vine apart but it was too much for him. So Bucky and Chip started up the tree so that Bucky could use his sharp Beaver teeth to cut the tough vine. Beavers do not climb trees very well at all. Bucky just could not get up high enough to cut off the vine, so he tried walking up the vine that was on the ground. He got almost to the tree trunk where the vine was still hooked, when he looked down. He realized how high he was and all most fell off the vine. He looked down at Chip and said, “When I cut through this vine, what is going to happen, Chip?” “Well I guess you will come down with the vine,” Chip said. “And since you are a lot heaver than me, you might hit harder.” “You know,” Bucky said, “I was thinking the same thing. Do you have any suggestions?” Chip said, “I might try pulling off some more tentacles of the vine from the tree trunk and maybe it will fall down a little lower.” Bucky said, “I will just come back down and let you try that.” When he started to turn around he almost fell off the vine. Then he decided to just back down the vine and slowly started down. Finally Bucky reached the ground with a huge sigh of relief.

After the vine was finally cut, the boys had a very long, green grape vine to take back to their club house. That was quite a job for these little fellows. First, they tried to get the kinks out of the vine to find out how long it was. They worked the rest of the day just doing that and were relieved to know that the vine was very long. The four gave it a test pull, but to no avail. It would not budge. They gave up for the day, and as they walked home, discussed ways that they might move the vine. They decided to sleep on it and try again tomorrow.

The following morning, as each boy was doing his chores, each thought about their problem. How can we move that heavy, long vine be moved to the club house? They met at their club house after lunch, a little on the gloomy side, because they could not solve their problem. Toby was the first one to speak; “Fellows, I think I have the answer to our problem, but I will need your help in doing it. I made friends with twin deer two years before when they were little. Their names are David and Danny Deer. If we could find them, we could bring them into our club and maybe they could help as they would now be quite large and strong. Since I am rather slow of foot compared to you guys, one of you will have to go find them. “Toby told Chip and Buffy where his two friends lived, and they left to try to find them.

Chip and Buffy arrived at the deer home and were in luck to find both David and Danny home! They told David and Danny their names and what their mission was. David and Danny became excited about the discovery of the cave and offered to help in any way they could. All four of them left at once for the club house. Both David and Danny were growing their summer set of antlers.

Toby was glad to see his old friends. Toby asked when did you two get antlers, they both said about a year after we met you, but they fell off at the beginning of winter and are just growing back. Toby said do you still have a white tail on the underside to warn us of danger. Danny said, sure do and it works too. Toby said I remember and do you remember how I cope with danger, David said you pull into your shell, when you did that the first time I didn’t know what you were doing, but now I know. David and Danny were talking as when they arrived at the club house. Then all six of them went to where the vine had fallen to see if they move it. They decided that Bucky would make a sort of harness out of a tough green limb with a fork in it. Each deer would put it on the front of his chest and be able to pull with maximum strength. Then Buffy, Chip and Bucky would clear a way so there would no snags to trip them up and Toby would follow and watch for snags on his end... When they started to pull the four boys would try to lift the vine at various places to cut down on the friction with the ground.

It was late afternoon before everything had been done, but they wanted to give it a test pull before they quit. David and Danny were in the "harness," and each of the four friends was under the vine at its heaviest parts. On the count of three everything moved! Yes, it actually moved, much further than they thought possible. With that, they quit for the day.

As they deer twins headed toward home, David said, “You know, we have heard about a cave some where around here when we were talking to Ed Otter. Remember, he said that he had seen an opening in the side of a hill and thought it might be a cave, but was afraid to go too close.” “Yes, I remember that,” Danny said “but we both thought it might just be one of the many cliff overhangs around here, and promptly forgot about it. Ed is such a little squirt; a small overhang would look like a huge cave. Maybe if this works out we will see Ed and tell him about it.”

When Bucky reached the creek, he jumped in and started to swim to his house. He noticed another beaver come out and swim away. It was Doctor Beaver! This scared him. Wondering if his father had gotten hurt or his mother was sick, he swam very fast.

He reached his house and he heard someone crying. Then he really was frightened. His father saw him and motioned for him to follow. They came into his parents' room where he was greeted by the wail of a newborn sister. Bucky’s father said. “You have a new sister and her name is Mary Ann. She is named after your mother's sister, Mary and my father's mother, Ann. Tomorrow, you and I will start adding a room to the house for Mary Ann. This will be a good opportunity for you to learn how to build a house.”

Of course Bucky was anxious to learn to build a house, but he didn't know what he would tell his friends. Bucky said, “Dad, all of us kids are working on a project and I would like to go tell them in the morning that I can not help for a few days.” His dad said that it would be OK, but only after he had done his chores the following day. “I will lay out the plans in the morning,” said his dad “and be ready to start in the afternoon. We will review the plans together, before we start so that you will be in on each step of the construction. It won’t be long before you will be building a house for your own family.” Bucky was very proud to be asked to do this by his father. He knew that it had taken both his father and mother many days to build their present house.

Chapter 4 - THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT



Early the next morning, Bucky hopped out of bed to work on his chores. He cleaned his room and removed the trash. He went to the family room and was cleaning that when his mother came in. She told him Mary Ann was still asleep and for him to be as quiet as possible. He had completely forgotten his new sister, Mary Ann, as his mind was on the construction project. When he was finished with the cleaning, his mother had breakfast ready for him. She commented on his early start with his chores and, with a slight smile on her lips, asked why. Bucky was so happy and proud that his father had asked him that he told her all about it.

Bucky finished his chores quickly and told his dad that he was through and was going to tell his friends that he could not play with them today. Off he ran to Buffy's house. When he got there, Buffy was just finishing up with his chores. Bucky excitedly told his friend what he would be doing today, but that he was sorry that he would not be able to help with the project. Of course, Buffy understood and was happy for his friend. Buffy promised he would tell the others.

Mr. Beaver took his son downstream away from the house they could look upstream and see how the house was located in the stream. His dad explained how the construction dam was built to push the water away from the area where the house was to be put. The area where their house was built was in a little indention of the land. That helped provide part of a normal dam of the creek when he and Bucky’s mother started their house. “Bucky, adding a room will be easy, compared to what your mother and I went through when we built our house,” his father said. “We had to wait for the time when the water in the creek was much lower, to build the initial dam. Since the dam is already constructed and in place, we do not have to wait and can start now.”

“Bucky, first,” said his father, “it was necessary to cut some of the small trees for support of the house to keep it from washing away in high water. Then mud and rocks were packed around the wooden supports for the house away from land to protect them from bad animals. Then we constructed a kitchen and eating area for us and a family room, with you in mind. We had a room, but your room was added when you came along. As you know, the entry to the house is under water. When the house was finished, your mother and I built a dam across the creek to restrict the flow of the water and create a pool around our house. After that was done, the temporary dam was removed, and the water flowed around our home.”

The house was constructed with small trees and branches that the Beavers had cut down by gnawing them in two. The Beavers have very strong and sharp teeth with which to do this. Bucky said, “Dad how is the house anchored in the stream?” His father said, “Come on” and he jumped into the creek, with Bucky following. They swam upstream to the house and went down to the bottom of the creek so Mr. Beaver could show Bucky. While they were there, Mr. Beaver noticed that one of the supports needed to be replaced and took note of it. Bucky’s dad said, “Look here, this is where additional supports will be placed to support the addition to the house. Do you see how they will be done?

“Look dad,” Bucky said, “Why would you not put them here where the water is not flowing as fast?” “Bucky”, his dad said, “swim up on the surface and tell me what you see.” Bucky did just that and when he got back to his dad, he knew the answer to his question. “Dad, the room would be to close to the other shore to be protected by the creekright? “Son, I am proud of you,” said his father.

Then Mr. Beaver told Bucky the new room would be for him and would be much larger than his present room. Bucky became excited all over again knowing he would have a new, roombig enough for all his treasures that he had collected.

Bucky and his dad returned to shore. His dad pointed upstream to several trees that Bucky would be responsible for cutting. His dad selected larger trees for him to cut, ones to be used for the supports. Both started to cut down the trees. Bucky was the first to fell a tree. Just before it began to fall, he hit the ground with his broad tail several times to warn others the tree was going to fall. His dad immediately stopped cutting to watch and be there if something went wrong. The tree fell exactly where it was supposed to. His dad said, “Bucky, you did a very good job with that tree” and made Bucky glow with pride.

When all the trees had been cut, Bucky's dad explained which of the trees would have to be partially or completely trimmed. Bucky had more trees but not as much to trim. His father had fewer trees but more to trim. So they both finished at about the same time. It was geting late and both were tired, so they quit for the day. Mr. Beaver told Bucky he was very proud of him for working hard and for getting so much accomplished.

As they were going home, Bucky’s dad said, “Bucky, do you have any questions on what we have done so far, and what we will do tomorrow?” “Yes sir” Bucky said, “I know that when the trees are cut and trimmed, we will float them down to the house, but how will we stop them and get the thick part of the trunk down into the creek bed. Both of us could ride on the tree and our weight would not push them any lower in the water.” “Bucky,” his father said, “you have hit on the key to house building that is why we restrict the flow of water, to catch the trees, then dam above the work site to exclude the water. When the water has receded. We put the tree where we want it, pile dirt and stones around the base and slowly let the water back in to raise the tree. We lace the poles together with thatch to build the floor. Then when the water is back in the pool, and the poles are perpendicular, we complete the floor and walls.”

When they reached home, Bucky looked in on Mary Ann and saw that she was sleeping soundly. He went to wash up and went in to supper. His father and mother were already seated, and his father was telling his mother about how well the project was coming. Bucky’s dad said, “I always knew our son was intelligent, but the questions he asked, and answered, astounded me. When we get through with this project, I believe Bucky will be able to engineer just about anything he wants to build.” Bucky beamed.

The next morning, Bucky was allowed to skip his chores, so he could work on the building. His dad showed Bucky why he had selected the trees he had, because they could be easily put into the water. One by one, they tugged or rolled the trees into the water and swam them to the construction site. Bucky, said “Dad, I didn’t know how tough it would be just to roll a tree into the water. I thought it would be easy, and even trying to get them to the right place in the water is hard enough. I don’t know how you ever did it by yourself.”

It took both beavers to put the trees in exactly the right place. Then they went back upstream to build the dam to stop the flow of water. As the water began to recede, they both hurried to the house to get the support poles in place. This took some work moving rocks and digging holes, but it didn’t take too long.

Soon Bucky could see his room shaping up. They worked hard all day, tugging, rolling, swimming, getting the trees in the exact spot and packing mud and rocks around them to hold them in place. His dad showed him how to lace the supports to the walls to hold them in place, using smaller branches.  By late afternoon they were almost through.

During the night, the wind came up accompanied by lightning and thunder. Bucky was so tired, that he hardly noticed until the rain came. He felt the creek beginning to rise as did the pool of water in which their house was located. When the pool rose, so did the house. Bucky then became fully awake, He was concerned that all the work they had done would be washed away. Of course nothing happened and Bucky was glad that his father was such a good builder. The next day, the storm still raged so the beavers stayed home and Bucky had a chance to get to know Mary Ann.

The following day dawned bright and clear and the water had begun to recede. By late morning, Mr. Beaver decided that it would be safe to go back to work on the addition to the house. Bucky, continued to lace up the walls with small trees that his father would cut and swim to him. Soon he had very sturdy walls and started making the floor. His dad showed him how to make a thatch floor and lace the floor into the walls to create a strong floor. By mid-afternoon, they were through and Bucky realized how spacious his new room was. By then he was almost too tired to wiggle, but did manage to move out of his old room into the new one. Now Mary Ann would have a room of her own and be close to her mother as Bucky had been. After supper, he slipped away to his new room and went fast asleep.

Chapter 5 - EXPLORING THE CAVE



The next day Bucky ran to the club house as soon as his chores were finished. To his surprise, the vine was already there securely tied to a large tree just a few feet from the entrance to the cave. His friends had tied the upper end to the tree and had the heavier end to let down into the cave.

All five of the boys were there. The boys excitedly told him of all the problems they had getting the vine to the club house. Chip said, “David and Danny were just great. Had it not been for them, we would never have gotten the vine over here. My dad ran into us while we were moving the vine and told us we would have a very fine swing. He offered to help us tie it in the tree by their club house.I didn’t know what to say, but Buffy said ‘Thank you sir, we may call on you,’ and that ended it.” Danny said, “We were pulling and moving right along and all of sudden we couldn’t pull it anymore. Couldn’t finger what was wrong until Chip ran back to where Toby was and found him yelling, tugging and pushing with all his might. The end of the vine had become wedged in a root on the ground, before Toby could move it, and he got his foot caught under it.” “Yes and I know how hard the Deer’s can pull, too” said Toby, “I thought my foot was going to come off.” Buffy said, “Gee, nothing happened to me, except to get sore feet.” All the boys laughed at him, but were conscious of their own pains. “The reason you have sore feet, was because you ran everywhere keeping the vine from getting snagged”, said David. “We would not have done as well except for Buffy’s help.”

Now the vine was in place and the friends went into the club house to plan how they would explore the cave. The door was too small for Danny and David, so they had enlarged it, following Danny’s directions. Everyone had pondered how to make the opening bigger, but could not think how to hide it. Danny said, “Ah, that’s easy. Just make the entrance in a long ‘S’, so that which ever way anyone approaches, all they will see are branches and leaves.” The boys did not quite understand what Danny meant, until he showed them. Then it was “As easy as falling off a vine” according to Bucky. They all laughed, remembering the trouble Bucky had trying to get down off the vine.

Bucky, Buffy & Chip could see well at night, but David, Danny and Toby could not. Since Chip was the only climber, it fell to him to enter the cave. They let the vine down into the cave to see if they could tell how deep it was. The whole vine, except the part that was tied to the tree, went down into the cave. They could not tell if the vine touched anything and wondered how deep the cave was. They had listened intently while the vine was being lowered and thought they could hear water running, but no other sound the boys decided to make the hole larger to let in more light to help Chip see in the cave. They did this, very carefully to avoid a cave in. By this time the sun was slanting away from them reducing their light.

Bucky said, “Since we have a little time, let’s pull the vine out of the cave and see if there is any dirt on it.” They found no dirt, but a good part of the bottom of the vine was wet. They pulled the vine out of the club house and laid it on the ground in such a way as not to draw attention to the club house. Then all six headed for their homes.

Buffy, Chip, and Bucky chatted as they walked home about what they would do the following day. Chip felt sure he could climb down the vine into the cave but was not sure how to do it. Buffy said, “If it were up to me, I would rather be about three feet above the end and be let down into the cave. The vine would be larger at that point and easy to hold on to. Then, if the end hit something, I could yell to stop, so that I would not be knocked off.” Bucky said that was good thinking and Chip agreed. The boys then parted to go home.

The boys met the following day at about noon and proceeded to pull the vine into the club house through the hole they had made for that purpose. Chip got on the heavy part of the vine a few feet from the end and was let down into the cave. After he was in the cave a few feet, he called “Fellows, if you think the air is cool coming out of this cave, wait until you come down here. Hang on for a few minutes so my eyes can become accustomed to the darkness.” They waited and in a few minutes. Chip said, “OK let the vine down. Chip looked for light from another point in the cave, but there was none. He did not look up as the light from the hole above would ruin his night vision. As the vine went down into the hole, David was measuring how much had passed into the hole, from where Chip went it. David guessed that about 30 feet had gone in when Chip yelled to them to stop. “The end of the vine has hit something, but I can’t tell what”. In a couple of minutes, Chip again called. “I am at the bottom of the cave, and although I can’t see very well, it looks like a very large room. Let the vine down some more, slowly so that I can hold on to it and move around”. They did and in a minute, Chip told them to stop again. The vine seemed to move from one side to the other and then began to move toward the front of the club house. Suddenly Chip yelled “Wow, Brrrrr, that water is cold! I fell in the creek! I thought the cave was cold, but this water is like ice!”

It wasn’t long until Chip stuck his head out of the hole. He had climbed up the vine and out. He was all wet. He went out into the sun to dry off as his friends followed. Chip, whose teeth were chattering from the cold, said “the cave ssseems to be about 30 by 50. IIII could not see any wwway to get out except through the hhhole above me. ......Ah, that sun feels good.......The ground where I got off the vine seemed dry, but as I moved back toward the front to the club house the ground got slick. I didn’t think about it, because that is when I fell in the water. The water was moving very slowly and is real cold. I guess it is about two or three feet deep. When I was going down on the vine and climbing back up, there seemed to be a movement of the air like there was another opening, but I could not see it.”

Chip suggested they pull up the vine and make a sling so that Bucky could be let down, since he was the best swimmer, he could swim in the stream of water and try to find where it was going or where it came from. All the boys thought this to be a good idea and immediately set to work making a sling.

In a very short time Bucky was let down into the cave. He reached the ground and waited for Chip to climb down. Holding on to the vine, Chip showed Bucky where he had found the stream. Bucky, sliding into the water, “It is very cold, but it’s OK.” With that, he swam around a little, came up, and told Chip “the sides seemed to be very smooth and to be of rock, but slightly soft, because I can put my claws in it. I am going to swim upstream a way to try to get beyond the cave wall.” Chip said, “Bucky, which way is upstream?” “It seems to run to the right of the hole we came down, but I can’t really tell until I go a little way,” said Bucky. Chip, if I come to a "Y" in the stream, or to any obstruction, I will go no further, but come back here.” Bucky disappeared into the water and was gone about ten minutes. Chip was really getting worried when Bucky came to the surface and crawled out of the water. Toby had already called down that it was getting dark, and they had better come up. Bucky climbed into his sling and Chip climbed up the vine. When Chip had reached the surface, up came the vine with Bucky in his sling.

Bucky said “I went upstream about 50 or 60 feet and did come to a "Y" but only one side was big enough for me to get through. I looked up the small stream, and thought I could see a little light but I’m not sure. Chip, contrary to what I said, I did go further into the larger stream but found nothing unusual. There were no sharp turns and the bottom and sides were smooth.” Bucky suggested the next day they let both Toby and him down as Toby was much smaller and could follow the smaller stream. Again, they pulled the vine out of their club house and arranged it on the ground as if it had been dropped. With that the boys left for home.

The next day was dark and gloomy and seemed as if it might rain. The boys met at the club house but decided that it was not a good time to enter the cave. They spent the time making another sling for Toby. “You guy’s keep talking about how dark it is and being afraid of getting lost, so why don’t we drop a thin piece of vine down into the cave and hold it when we move?  Then when someone started to explore deeper into the cave, they could anchor the vine into the cave floor and use it to make a trail. Then you would have a way to get back, if you got lost”, said Danny. Chip said “That’s a good idea, but we will have to drop a stake or big rock to use as an anchor, because there is nothing that I felt would work. Of course, I didn’t cover the entire room, but where I did walk, it was very smooth.”

Chip knew just where to look, and they found the ideal vine that was not hard to get out of the tree. It was small, light, and easy to get back to the club house. They had just gotten there with the vine, when they heard thunder and knew it was about to rain. So they all hurried home.

Soon it started to rain, then storm. It lasted nearly all the rest of the day and night. The next day broke cool and clear, so the boys met at their club house after noon. The first thing they did was getting the small vine into the club house and then pulls the larger one into the club house. Toby got into his sling and Bucky into his. The other boys let them down slowly It wasn’t long before Toby called up that he was on the floor of the cave, and to stop and send Chip down. When Chip arrived, Toby said, “Chip you were right about it being so dark and cold,” Toby said. “You think this is cold, wait until you get into the water”, remarked Chip. Bucky called up, “Hey fellows, drop the small vine down so Chip can go exploring while we are in the water. It will keep his mind off us, and maybe he won’t worry so much.” “I thought you liked for me to worry”, remarked Chip.  Toby said, “Bucky is only kidding you Chip, he likes for you to be concerned but, really, we will be all right.”

Chip agreed to stay on the cave floor while Bucky and Toby went upstream. When Toby and Bucky came to the fork in the stream, Toby went up the smaller of the two while Bucky waited for him. Before long, Toby came back and told Bucky he had found light coming from a tall shaft in the ground, but he could not get up the shaft. The stream continued on, but the bed kept getting smaller until he could go no further. Bucky then went up the larger stream for quite some distance but found no light nor opening. They then swam back to where Chip was waiting.

While Bucky and Toby were gone, Chip tied the small vine on the larger one so he could explore the cave floor. When Toby and Bucky climbed out of the water, they told Chip what they had found. Chip then took hold of the small vine and headed to the wall of the cave. He went entirely around the cave but could find no opening or light. Of course he fell into the water again and got all wet. He said, “I am going up the vine and get dry, and I would feel better if you would stay here until I get back.” His friends crowded around, but did not block the warming sun from Chip. He said, “Bucky and Toby swam upstream until they came to the “Y” and Toby went up the small stream while Bucky waited. Toby said he found a shaft of light down into the ground, but he could not go on upstream. It just got too small for him. He said he swam back to Bucky, and both of them swam up the larger part of the stream. They found nothing unusual and no light. They seemed to still be in the cave but, not in a room, but more like a pipe.”

As soon as Chip was warm, he climbed back down the vine then Bucky and Toby jumped into the water and started downstream. Bucky swam slowly so Toby could keep up. When they passed out of the room and under the wall, they detected a very faint light. Continuing they were careful to see that they did not pass through a "Y" that would make them lose their way when returning. The bottom and walls continued to be smooth and there was a space above the stream as high as the stream was deep. The light was getting stronger, and they could hear water falling. Suddenly they came to a waterfall, and the passage they were in ended. Bucky, stopped and dug his claws into the wall of the stream, to keep from going over the side. Toby bumped into him and hung on. Fortunately the current was not strong so they did not go over the edge. Bucky said, “That kind of sneaked up on us, didn’t it?” “Yeah” said Toby, but had you not grabbed on, I would have washed over the edge. Thanks!”

Above them water was falling and the water from the cave was added to the other water. They were too high above the pool to be able to get back should they fall, but they did take a long look around to see if they recognized anything. Bucky said, “Toby look at the pool of water below, it flows into that large creek over there. I wonder if that is the same creek that I live in. I swam down the creek a good distance some time ago, but I don’t see anything I recognize.” “I don’t see anything that I recognize either”, said Toby. “What say we start back up the stream? Please stay where you are ‘till I get a headstart. I don’t want to be washed over the edge”. Bucky said, “OK, go on ahead”. Toby then turned and went back upstream with Bucky following. When they reached the cave, they climbed out of the water. Chip saw that they were safe and said, “You all get in the slings and I will climb up the vine”. When Chip reached the top he helped the others pull on the vine and it was pulled up and out of the cave.

Toby and Bucky told the others about the waterfall downstream from the cave. David said. “Danny and I know where there were several waterfalls, but only one that might be as high as Bucky and Toby described,” Danny said. “It is too late to go looking for a waterfall, but we will pass one that might be the one you all described and it is close to the route we go home when we go by it, we will try to see if the volume of water at the bottom is more than at the top.” They left, agreeing to meet the others at noon the following day. Those remaining, offered to put Buffy into the sling and let him down into the cave, but he declined. The boys discussed what use could be put to the cave, and went home tired but - happy

The next day, they met at the club house. All six of the boys were there. Danny and David were sure that they had discovered the waterfall at the end of the cave creek. There seemed to be more water at the bottom of the waterfall than was coming over the high rock cliff. The place where the water seemed to increase was higher than they could reach even standing on their hind legs. After much discussion, all but Toby wanted to go to the waterfall. Toby thought it was too far to walk. So the trek began with Toby staying at the club house.

When the boys finally reached the place, Bucky started the climb up the rock face under the waterfall. Sure enough, about 12 feet up he found the stream that emerged from the cave. Bucky called down to the others, “I think the Deer’s found the right waterfall. I am going to swim up the stream of water that emerges here to see if it is the right stream”. He swam up through the cave creek and soon was in the cave. Then he swam and floated back down to the waterfall and climbed down. He told Danny and David that they had found the right water fall. Danny said, “Did you go up to the rooms where you had been and did you see the hole in the top that we had made?” Bucky said, “You know, I didn’t even think to look. I don’t know if I was in the same room or not. And come to think of it, when Toby and I were going downstream yesterday, I don’t remember looking to see if we passed through another room, either. Maybe Toby did. We can ask him when we go back”.

Now the six boys knew all about the cave, except where the shaft of light that Toby had found came from. Happily, they headed back to the club house to tell Toby. They had just completed the Great Adventure and were secure in the knowledge of their secret.

Chapter 6 - THE BEAR



Bucky stayed around home because his little sister was getting older and he liked to play with her. Although her mother called her Mary Ann, Bucky called her Ann and she liked the name. Ann loved and looked up to her big brother. They played lots of games that Bucky taught her. Bucky taught Ann how to swim and some of the tricks of little Beavers. One was how to climb on top of the dam that stretched across the creek. Their mother had warned them to stay in their pool of water to play and not venture to the other side of the creek.

Of course there were fish in the creek, some of them quite large, both above and below the dam. The smaller fish could get through the dam as it was constructed to only slow the flow of water, not stop it.

One day when Ann and Bucky were playing on the dam, Bucky picked up an odor that scared him. A slight wind was blowing toward the creek from the far shore. Since they were on the dam and closer to the far shore than they should be, he told Ann to quickly jump into the water and swim home. Mary Ann did not understand his concern; because her father had not yet taught her the lessons that he had taught Bucky. Bucky, assuming Ann had done what he told her, slipped into the water, went below the surface, and did not notice that Ann had not jumped in the water. When he came up for air somewhat downstream, he saw a bear lumbering toward the water at about where the dam connected the far shore. Then he saw her sitting on the dam with her back to the bear. Bucky yelled, “Ann, look behind you! Jump in the water, quickly!” But she either thought he was playing or did not hear him. About that time the bear saw Ann and made straight for her.                                                                                                     

Now a bear is a very good swimmer, sometimes catching fish in the water. They are big powerful animals and might eat a beaver if given the opportunity. At least Bucky was sure that it was Ann that the bear was after. Bucky started swimming toward the bear making as much noise as he could and at the same time yelling at Ann to jump in the water. Suddenly she turned and saw the bear and became so frightened that she could not move.

The bear stepped on the dam intending to walk to Ann, but the dam was not strong enough to hold him. The bear fell into the water and the force of the bear and the water dislodged the dam so that it began to swing down stream. The bear, watching his dinner go downstream on top of the dam as the rush of water from the pool ran over him, became angry. He started swimming, and, at that moment, Ann overcame her fright, jumped into the water, and headed for the safety of her home.

Bucky had no fear of the bear because he knew he could outswim him, but the dam was another thing. Knowing how their house was constructed and how it was tied to the dam, the force of the water leaving the pool would continue to force the dam down-stream and might just pull his house with it. He could not stop the dam, nor could he stop the bear if he wanted to get Ann and his family. So he tried to ignore the dam and concentrate on fooling the bear.

Bucky headed for the bear, splashing and making as much noise as possible. Fortunately, the bear saw him and started swimming toward him. Bucky veered off and headed for the far shore away from his house. The bear followed and reached the shore. As the bear was climbing out of the water, Bucky started downstream close to shore. The bear shook the water off and turned to look for his quarry. He saw Bucky and started lumbering toward him. Bucky did not let him get too close, just close enough to keep him interested. They continued downstream for several hundred yards, until the bear decided it was a lost cause and stopped for a drink of water. Then the bear headed back into the woods where he had come from. Bucky watched him, to be sure that it was not a trick, then started back home. He met his father coming downstream. “Bucky, I heard you yelling at Mary Ann so I came out to see what was wrong. I saw the whole thing and you were just great. When Mary Ann jumped in the water, she came to me and I would have taken on the bear if it had been necessary. You really fooled the bear and I am proud of you”.

When Bucky and his father got back to within sight of the house, Bucky was surprised that the house was still there. ”Dad, I was afraid that when the dam broke loose it would pull the house off its supports, but I was wrong”, said Bucky. His dad said, come on Bucky; let me show you how the dam is constructed in relation to our house. Just follow me down to where the dam supports are located”. Father and Son swam down under the house. His dad said, “The house and dam have independent supports and the dam was hinged so that if the water rose too fast, it would break away and do just what it did. You probably didn’t notice that, although the supports are right next to one another they are not tied together. When the dam broke away from the far shore and followed the current downstream, it did what it was supposed to do”. Bucky said, “will we rebuild the dam the same way we built the room on the house, by building a dam above the house to stop the flow of water, after we have gotten the poles to the site. “No we can’t, Bucky” said his father. “If you will remember, we used the dam to hold the poles until the water receded and now we have no dam. We will cut the trees and have them ready to put into the water, but will not do so until the water is almost stopped. Then when we put them into the water, they will barely float and we will be able to control them and set them in the right place. Fortunately, we will be able to use some of the material already in place, but for now, we must pull the dam loose and let it go”.

Bucky, suggested they remove what they could from the dam before letting it go, because there seemed no rush. The height of the pool had dropped, thus taking the pressure off. Mr. Beaver said they would do that as long as they could, but must let it go before dark. With Bucky and his Dad working hard and fast, the dam was almost completely dismantled before they had to let it go. Many good timbers were salvaged.

The next day Bucky and his dad got an early start to rebuild the dam. By early evening, they had the dam almost three/fourths done. When they stopped, there were two tired beavers. Early the next morning they were back working on the dam and had it finished by noon. The water behind the dam began to back up forming another pool for their house.

That night Bucky's mother fixed everything he liked for supper, and his sister Ann planted a big kiss on him for saving her life. Bucky was very proud, and his folks were proud of him.

Chapter 7 - THE RESCUE



A Few days after the escapade with the bear, Buffy came by to see Bucky. He told him that David, Danny, and he had been looking for the shaft that goes down into the cave. They had spent three days just looking for it but were unsuccessful. They felt that the problem was that none of the three had been down into the cave and had no idea of how to pinpoint the area they should concentrate on. They had started at the club house and searched in ever larger circles around it. They thought that Bucky might have some idea of the best direction to take. Bucky asked where Toby was since he was the one to go up the smaller stream. Buffy said he had gone with his family to visit Toby's mother's family west of our woods. He did not think that Toby would be back for two or three weeks. Bucky agreed to help and would meet them at the club house the following noon.

The next day Bucky arrived to find his three friends, David, Danny, and Buffy, waiting for him. Bucky went in to the club house and stood by the entrance to the cave. He tried to reason out which direction he had gone upstream and where the "Y" was. Since it was Toby who had actually gone up the smaller stream and not he, he was not sure the direction or distance for it either.

To be as accurate as possible, he picked the direction that he thought it was and suggested they walk a fan shaped area out to about 30 yards from the club house. He showed David and Danny a landmark on either side that he thought would be the maximum distance and told them to stay on the outer perimeter, and Buffy and he would search the interior of the fan. If all four stayed abreast as they searched, he felt like they would cover the area. Shortly, they got out of the clearing in which the club house was located. Then they walked into an area of tall trees and low brush, making it hard to cover the ground. Danny and David were staying on the perimeter, and this helped keep them in the area to be searched.

When they left the area of tall trees and low brush, they got into an area where many trees had fallen a few years earlier and many of the stumps were rotten and hollow. Bucky had not gone very far when he heard a strange sounding yell. He thought it was Buffy, because it had come from his direction, but it did not sound like him. Anyway, Bucky ran in the direction of the sound, but he did not find Buffy. As he was searching, he heard Buffy yell and went to where he thought the yell came from. When he got to the place, he found where a large tree had broken off above the ground and the remaining trunk had begun to rot. There were some high rotten sides of the remaining trunk still standing. Just as Bucky reached the stump, he heard Buffy yell again and it sounded like the yell had come from the trunk.

Bucky stepped up and looked down inside the stump. Sure enough there was a hole inside. The tap root of the tree had rotted and left a deep hole in the ground. This is what Buffy had fallen into. He could not tell if this was the shaft that Toby described or just another hole left from a rotted root. But either way, his friend Buffy had fallen into it. He called Danny and David and asked that they come. When they got there, he showed them the hole.

Bucky called down into the hole to Buffy and asked if he had fallen all the way down to the water. He said he had not, but guessed he was about ten feet above the water. He said he was wedged in the hole and could not go up or down. He said that he was not uncomfortable, but that he sure was stuck.

The light weight vine was down in the cave and the other vine was too heavy and long to move, so what they needed was another light weight vine. Bucky asked David and Danny if they knew where Chip was, but they didn't.

Danny said maybe there was another way other than letting a vine down to Buffy. He called down to Buffy and asked if he could move his legs. Buffy replied that he could move his front feet and one of his back, but only a little. Then Danny asked how he was situated in the hole, head up, head down, on his side, or what. Buffy answered that his head was up and his front legs up, but one of his back legs was wedged in the hole against his body restricting the movement of the other back leg.

The next question that Danny asked was, "Can you dig into the wall of the hole?" Buffy said to wait a minute and he would try. They could hear some scratching down there, and Buffy said he could dig into the wall. The ground was not soft nor really hard, just firm. Danny said "Fine, let us discuss your situation and decide what the best way to help you is."

Danny turned to his brother and Bucky and explained why he had asked those questions. He said Buffy could either come up or go down. If he goes down, he will have to dig himself down. If he comes up he will have to extract himself to be able to use the sling that we could drop to him.  Danny guessed that the hole was about 40 feet deep, and if Buffy was not fully in the sling he might fall again and really get hurt. Danny said that he wished he was sure that this was the hole to the underground spring that ran into the cave. Even if they went into the cave, Bucky was too big to go up the spring and Toby was not here.

Bucky said his little sister was small enough to go up the spring and he was sure that she would if he asked her to. It might mean telling his parents of the cave and what they had discovered, and he would not feel right about asking Ann unless he told them. Danny and David could let him and Ann down into the cave very easily, and they could swim upstream to the spring and then he would stay at the fork while Ann swam up to the opening. However, before they went to that trouble, he thought it best to talk to Buffy and let him decide which would be best for him.

The three went back to the hole in the tree trunk and called down to Buffy. Buffy answered immediately. Danny gave him the options of either going up or down, but before he decided to go down, they were going to be sure that the hole he was in was the one that Toby had found that entered into the spring. Buffy said before he agreed to anything, he was going to try to get a toe hold with his back leg and front legs to extract his other leg as it was asleep and beginning to hurt. Before long, after much grunting and scraping, they heard a funny noise. Calling down to Buffy to ask what happened, he haltingly answered to wait `till he could get his breath.

In a minute, he called up that he had gotten his leg extracted and now he could move all four legs as soon as one was completely awake. He also said that when he freed the leg, he dropped further down into the hole by some three or four feet. Buffy said that he could almost feel the water. But thought that it was his foot getting the circulation back. He said wait a little so he could see if he really could feel water. In a few minutes, Buffy called that he was sure the he could feel water, so he might be almost out of the hole. He also said the "girdle" around his middle was kinda tight. Buffy also said he wanted to get out of the hole, but sure did not look forward to getting in that cold water, again.

Buffy said that since he was almost out of the hole, he thought it would be better to just dig down. He also said that he was sure that this was the right hole and there was no need to get Bucky's sister to check it out. He also said he did not want a girl to see the situation that he had gotten himself into.

Danny said OK, but that David was going to go let Bucky down into the cave and he would swim up to the fork and wait until Buffy came out, then bring him back to the cave floor and the vine. Danny said that he would stay there to communicate with Buffy until he was out of the hole. So Buffy began to dig with his back legs and push down with his front.

David and Bucky ran back to the club house and began to poke the vine through the hole in the wall and then onto the hole in the ground. When it was in place, Bucky climbed into his sling and David began to let the vine down. In just a few minutes, Bucky called to stop as he was on the bottom. He got out of his sling and headed to the water. When he got into the water, he noticed that it was dirty, not the pure water of the other days that he had been in it. At first he was alarmed. But then realized that it was the dirt that Buffy was digging. He called to David and told him what he had found then swam upstream. He was afraid that he might not be in time if Buffy floated out and got into the deeper stream.

When Bucky got to the "Y" he noticed that the water coming down the spring was very muddy and he knew Buffy was causing it. He felt very good knowing that this hole was the one Toby had found and not one that would drop Buffy into an unknown place. Bucky waited for perhaps fifteen minutes and then suddenly saw Buffy floating toward him. Buffy was kind of a dark brown and red color like mud, not the usual tan and grey as Bucky knew him. He caught Buffy as he came out and started swimming with Buffy on his back. When they reached the floor of the cave, Bucky told Buffy that he needed a bath to which Buffy replied, "not another one." He looked at the mud on him, and then jumped back into the water to scrub off. In a minute, he came out of the water looking like the Buffy, that Bucky knew.

Since only David was above, he told Buffy to get in the sling and go up alone and then drop the vine back down for him. They both called to David to pull and that he did. He surely was glad to see Buffy, and Buffy was glad to see David. Buffy went out into the sun to dry off and get warm while David pulled Bucky up.

When Bucky got up and outside, the three started back to the stump to find Danny. As they walked, they talked about how they could and should block off the hole so that some other unsuspecting animal would not fall in. He did not want to fill the hole, because it brought fresh air to the cave. They decided to make a screen out of sticks to put over the hole. When they got to Danny and the trunk, they found that he had already made a screen and put over the hole.

The four boys then had a chance to sit down and catch their breath and find out how Buffy got out of the hole. Buffy told them the reason that he felt water was that there was a spring coming out of the wall of the hole that he was in and that he was still about seven feet from the other spring. However, when he was able to dig down to the spring, he found the walls more porous and easier to dig in. He would not call the walls mud, but he did make more time digging down. He said the cold water coming down on his head made him dig a little faster. As he neared the bottom opening he just began to slide and then just popped out. He was glad to be back in the good old sun but was ready to go exploring again. He said he would even go back in the cave again.

Thus after a long day the four tired friends left for their homes.

Chapter 8 - THE BATS



A few days after Buffy's experience, the boys decided to spend the night in their club house. Toby was not back yet but Chip was there. It was summer and the nights were warm so all the parents gave their sons permission to sleep out. With all the improvements that had been made to the club house there was plenty of room to sleep. The boys were looking forward to their adventure and it was an adventure.

About midnight after the boys had worn themselves out playing and were asleep, a sudden noise awoke them. It sounded like a large bunch of birds were flying up through their club house. Buffy called out and one of the birds came to roost on a limb by his head. The bird was a bat and asked who had called to him. Buffy said it was he and wondered where the bat had come from and was going to. The bat introduced him to the boys. His name was Blacky Bat and all the friends told Blacky their names.

Blacky said he and all his family and friends lived in the cave. He said that since the hole had been opened in the roof of the cave, he and the other bats had been coming and going through it. They all came out at night to catch insects for food. Blacky said that before the opening was made they had to fly through several passages and rooms to get out. Chip spoke up and said he had gone all around the walls of the cave and could find no other opening. Blacky laughed and said that he did not reach high enough. Chip being of small stature, knew the Blacky was right as he did not try to reach up above him, but just assumed the walls were solid. Before leaving, Blacky said he would lead the smaller boys through the various passages and rooms to the opening of the cave, but right now he was hungry. With that he left.

Now the boys were wide awake and did not even try to go back to sleep. They talked for several hours about the unlimited possibilities in exploring the cave and what they might find. David and Danny could not think of any place they had been where there might be a cave opening. Of course, they reasoned, it could be a shaft, such as Buffy fell into, but not one going into water. Before long, the bats began to come back and fly down into the cave. About the last one was Blacky, who stopped by for a short chat.

Blacky said that he was almost blind in the light, but could see very well in the darkness of the cave. He explained that he used a method of making sounds that bounced off the walls and ceiling and back to him. This told him where he was in relation to other objects. Blacky had legs like a mouse but they were almost useless for walking, but were strong to hold onto the cave ceiling. He said the passage ways were small but that Chip, Buffy and Bucky could easily pass through them. Blacky also said some of the passages were large enough for David and Danny, but not the one from the room below the clubhouse. The boys were concerned that they might get lost, but Blacky said "No Way."

The boys asked how big the cave was and how many rooms there were. Blacky said the cave was quite large, and he had explored only a little of it. Mostly were the rooms through which he had to fly, before the new opening was made. He did say that there was a large stream and pool of water fed by a large river, much larger than the creek that ran through the room below.  Blacky said that he would sleep on the ceiling on the dark side of the hole the boys had made, so if they wanted him to call his name through the opening. He suggested not trying to go through the cave until the next day or day after that. With that he flew off for his own bed on the ceiling of the cave.

Since it was almost morning the boys went to sleep, vowing to explore the cave as soon as they were well rested. Danny and David said they should have asked what the other opening looked like, so they could try to find it while the others were in the cave.

When the boys awoke, it was almost noon and they all scurried home to get their chores done. They agreed to meet the following day at the usual time.

At noon the next day, all five of the boys met at the club house. They let the vine down into the cave a little way so that Chip could climb down and located Blacky. True to his word, Blacky was clinging to the ceiling just inside the hole. He was not asleep and answered immediately when he was called. He did not want to come out in the light, so all the boys gathered around the opening so they could talk. David and Danny asked what the other opening to the cave looked like. Blacky, said that he knew of two openings, one was a shaft in a room off to the left of the normal flight route and the other was a large opening in the side of a hill. Normally he and his family used the large opening, but reserved the shaft for an emergency. He said there could be more than that and hoped that David and Danny would explore the side of the hill and find other openings. Danny said they would be glad to but they did not know where to begin to look.

Blacky suggested that Buffy go down in the cave with him and he would lead him to the other opening. He could come back overland and show the deer where the opening was, so they could start looking. Buffy asked how high the passage was off the cave floor and would he and his other friends are able to reach them. Blacky said that was no problem, you just had to know where to look. Chip commented that he thought he had looked, but he sure did not see or feel any passage way.

Blacky, said for Buffy to get in the sling and for the others to let him down to the cave floor and he would ride the vine down with him. He said that Buffy would probably be back within an hour, so to wait for him. Shortly, the vine was lowered with Blacky and Buffy. When it reached bottom, Buffy yelled up to stop.

Blacky flew off the vine and over to the opening in the wall of the cave. As soon as Buffy had gotten out of the sling, he followed Blacky's cries and easily located the passage way. One big leap and he was in the opening. Blacky flew to the end of the passage and Buffy followed. In just a few minutes, the passage opened into a very large room. Buffy could not see just how large it was, but was able to follow the sounds Blacky made. The floor was not the smooth one that was in the other cave as it was covered with stalagmites. The room was very damp and cold and he hurried along to keep warm. Soon he was at the next opening and it was much larger than the first passage. He continued to follow Blacky who hovered nearby. The fact that Blacky stayed nearby was much comfort to Buffy. The passage way twisted and turned and contained many obstructions that had to be negotiated. Buffy, wished he too, could fly.

Blacky continued to encourage Buffy as he ran into things, and just as his patience was about gone he turned a corner to light. Blacky told him he was at the main opening and that all he needed to do was follow the light and be careful where he stepped. Many of the stalagmites were sharp as Buffy had already noted, so he was very careful where he stepped. Soon the floor smoothed out as he neared the opening. Blacky hovered near the ceiling trying to stay out of the light and called to Buffy to not pass through the opening until they could talk.

When Buffy reached the opening that would take him out of the cave, Blacky said that if he was not familiar with the area outside, he should bear to the right and follow the creek upstream to Bucky's house and then he would know where he was. This would also give him a landmark so that he could come back to the cave opening and show it to Danny and David. Blacky wished him good luck but he did not want to go outside and be blinded.

Buffy emerged from the cave and the light almost blinded him. He moved to his right and before long saw the stream. As soon as he reached it and determined which way the water was flowing, he started moving. He had not gone too far before he reached a sweeping curve to his right. At the end of the curve he could see the familiar tree cuttings and knew that he was near Bucky's house. He had seen some tracks of other small animals that he was not familiar with and wondered who they were. Before long he reached the path leading away from Bucky's house which he followed to the club house. It had taken just slightly over an hour.

Danny saw Buffy coming and told the others who all ran to meet him. Buffy said that he got all turned around in the cave and did not know which way he was going, but that the other opening was not too far away, just a little way downstream from Bucky's house. He tried to tell everybody where it was, but decided that the only way was to show them. Since it was past the middle of the afternoon, they decided to wait until the next day. Buffy was sore and tired from his trip and thought he would go home. Before leaving though, he stuck his head down into the cave opening in the club house and called to Blacky. He told him he was back and thanked him for all his help.

Chapter 9 - OUR NEW FRIENDS THE OTTERS



The next day was warm and bright and Bucky got an early start on his chores. He got through early and asked his mother if he could pack a lunch and go to the club house. His mother told him she would make him a lunch and he could go on. While his mother was making his lunch, he played with Ann. When his mother finished, he kissed Ann goodbye and left for the club house.  On his way, he passed Buffy’s house just as he was coming out on his way to their club house. They continued on and saw that Chip was still busy with his chores, but would soon be through. They decided to wait for him and sat down below Chip’s house. It was only a few minutes before Chip came down the tree trunk and met them, and they went on to the club house.

When they got there, David and Danny were already there and with them was another small boy. David introduced the three friends to him. His name was Ed Otter. Ed lived in a hollow log close to the creek that Bucky lived in, but further downstream. David and Danny had known him most of their lives and had revived their friendship as they passed his house on the way home from the club house. Although Ed lived in a hollow log, he was a much at home in the water as Bucky. He and Bucky were about the same size, but Ed’s tail was much longer and covered with fur. Ed’s fur was lighter brown than Bucky’s. Ed was mostly a fish eater, while Bucky ate small plants and tree leaves and berries. Bucky was a swimmer almost from birth, but Ed was not taught how until he was older. Ed’s mother taught him when he was 10 – 12 months old. She also taught him how to dive, and hunt aided by his father when he was 6 months old. And like Bucky’s father told him the animals to avoid such as the bear.

Danny and David knew that Ed lived close to the place where Buffy had said the cave’s entrance was, so they stopped by and invited Ed to become a member of the club, and to come and meet the others, which he did Ed was very pleased as he had no brothers and sisters and no one to play with, except Randy Raccoon who lived above Bucky’s house. Ed liked to play by himself or with Randy, He liked to slide down muddy river banks, roll in the grass and reeds by the water and enjoy himself. He was happy to meet Bucky because he was someone who also liked playing in the water and go exploring.

Bucky told Ed about all that had gone on, about the discovery of the cave and its exploration. Buffy told about his fall into the cave and how he got out. He also told about his trip through the cave with the help of Blacky Bat. But most of all they wanted to hear from Ed about the area he lived in. Ed said he knew where the entrance to the cave was and had actually seen Buffy come out the day before, but not knowing him, stayed hidden. Ed said he knew of three other caves or entrances to the same cave, but did not know which. He also knew of the shaft that Blacky had mentioned. He said it was a deep hole in the ground not like what Buffy had fallen into.

The talk soon turned to the creek that ran through the cave. Ed said he knew where it emptied into the creek, but did not know about the discharge into the water fall. That made Bucky ask if the water flowed out of the cave into the stream, or the other way around. Ed said, wherever the water came from, it flowed into the stream, but he was not sure if it was from the cave or from another source. Since he was by himself, he did not go too far into the opening that flowed into the creek or, for that matter far into the cave at any of its entrances.

Since it was still early, Ed offered to show them the entrances that he had found and also show them where he lived and introduce them to his mother and father. With that, they started downstream with Ed in the lead. As they followed along, Buffy noticed that Ed made the tracks that he had seen the day before.

As they went along, Ed talked about some of the places that he had explored. The area that he lived in was some distance down stream from Bucky, and had passed through the area when going to Randy’s house. All of it was of interest to Bucky and Buffy. Bucky knew Ed was a fish eater and that the Bear that had caused them the problem was a fish eater, so he watched for bear sign. He asked Ed if he had noticed the presence of a bear in his neck of the woods and received a negative answer.

Bucky’s question concerned Ed, so that he asked if Bucky had seen a bear. Bucky told him about the bear and Mary Ann. Buffy piped up and mentioned that a bear had used the club house to winter in. Ed felt better about the bear after learning these things.

Suddenly, Ed stopped and pointed toward the creek and said that this is where the water from the cave comes in. They all ran to the creek and sure enough, there was a volume of very cold water coming out of the bank into the creek. Bucky said, come on Ed, let’s look at it and jumped into the creek. Ed jumped in too, and the swam to the opening. Ed said, “I swam up into the opening a little way, but not far”. Bucky said “wait for me and I will see if I can tell where it goes”. Suddenly, Bucky disappeared into the stream of water and out of site. Bucky was gone about five minutes then suddenly came out with a rush. He stuck his head out of the water, and said, “come on Ed, go with me,” and turned back into the opening. Ed immediately disappeared too.

This time they were gone about 10 minutes, and when they returned both were excited. Ed said, there is a cave, but Bucky doesn’t think it is the same one you all were in. We swam just a little ways before we came into a small lake. There were fish in the lake that did not have any eyes, and were very white. They did not seem to be afraid of us either. Bucky said, we will save that exploration for another day as all of us want to see the openings in the cave, before the day is over, and we are holding you all up.

The boys walked on down stream until they came to where Ed lived. Buffy hopped up on Danny’s back to be carried over the creek so they could meet Ed’s mother and father. Chip went up a tree and crossed over to a tree on the other side of the creek. After meeting Ed’s mother and father and talking with them a bit, they crossed back over the creek and climbed the hill to the cave entrance Buffy recognized. Ed showed them the other two openings and pointed out where the shaft he had found was. They all went back down to the bank of the creek and Chip, Buffy and Bucky said “goodby” and started home. Danny and David, left going the other way home and Ed swam across the creek to his house.

As they passed the opening in the bank where the water flowed into the creek, Chip said, “Now we know of two places the water comes out of the cave I wonder where it goes in”. Bucky said, “Chip you took the words right out of my mouth. I was thinking the very same thing. Our creek has a lot of water and so does the cave. If it comes from this creek, that is a bunch of water”. Buffy said, “Chip, does the water in the cave get higher when it rain’s like our creek does. One thing for sure, it is colder water than our creek. I don’t look forward to falling into that water again.” “Buffy, I don’t know the answer to your question, but it is a good one. If the water in the cave does rise when it rain’s, it would give us a clue where it comes from” Bucky said.

Bucky said, “My dad said water the flows underground and that it was close to the surface in some places. When he was a little fellow he used to play under a tree not far from his house. The tree was much higher than the creek where his house was. He kind of grew up with the tree. When he was a teen and visited ‘his’ tree, and saw water coming out from under the roots. He dug down under the tree and a lot more water came out, and formed a kind of small stream that flowed down hill and eventually into the creek. This was in an area where he grew up, not around here”.

On the way, Bucky told Buffy he sure was glad that he had found a pal who loved the water just as much as he did and was hoping to get to know Ed better. Buffy said Ed answered many of their questions about the cave because he already knew of several openings. Buffy said, “Maybe I won’t have to go through the cave again, because my feet are still sore.” All three boys wanted to tell Blacky about having met Ed and the things he told them about. It was getting late, though so they parted company and each went home.

When Ed got home, he told his parents about his new friends, the club house and especially about Bucky. He was very happy to have met a new friend who loved the water as much as he did. His parents asked about the interest in the cave and warned him of the dangers that might exist. Ed told them about Buffy’s trip through the cave with Blacky as his guide. They seemed to lose some of their fear, but still warned Ed to be careful and only enter the cave with others and only when they knew about it.

Chapter 10 - THE CAVE DWELLERS



As fall drew closer, all the boys knew that their parents would need their help in gathering the winter supply of food. The boys had learned a lot about their surroundings, the cave and its many openings. Yet, many questions had gone unanswered. Such as, where does the water in the cave come from? Are there more rooms and are there more streams of water in the cave? Do anyone other than Blacky Bat and his family live in the cave? What made the cave? Is this the only cave in our woods? Maybe the big question was, were there any other kids their age that would be friends and know about other things in their woods.

The membership of the original Club had grown in numbers as Bucky, Buffy, Chip and Toby met others and formed the bond of friendship. Now there were, David and Danny Deere, Blacky Bat and Ed Otter. Eight happy boys that constantly looked forward to the next adventure.

It was Bucky Beaver who suggested to the others that they make one more trip into the cave before quitting for the year. He was curious about the room that he an Ed Otter had swam into from the creek. All eight members of the Club were present, even Toby Turtle who had returned from his trip. Toby met and became acquainted with Ed Otter. Of course Blacky was stuck to the ceiling of the cave right by its opening in the club house and joined in the conversation.

Blacky spoke up, “Fellows, I think I know about the room and small lake you went into yesterday. You will remember, I told you about a lake and a much larger stream of water than the one below us. If you want, David and Danny can let Chip and Buffy down into the cave here and I can lead them to that room and Bucky, you, Ed and Toby can come up from the creek. Then if it is alright with them, the next time I can lead Danny and David in from the other openings near Ed’s house. They still have not been in the cave. It is not far to the room I have in mind, so maybe Buffy won’t get sore feet again.”

The boys discussed it and said, “Let’s do it.” Blacky said, “Ed, you Toby and Bucky go on because because I will beat you there.” They immediately left. The remaining boys with the exception of Blacky began to pull the vine into the Club house and get it ready to let down into the cave. Soon Buffy and Chip were on their way with Blacky as a guide. Chip very quickly learned what Buffy said about sore feet. The floor of the cave had very sharp little spires coming up out of the ground. They did not hurt Chip as much as Buffy, because his feet were tough. It wasn’t long before they began to hear and smell water and then they were in a big room with a small lake. They all settled down to wait for the others.

Toby must have really wanted to go exploring, because he moved faster than usual. Of course they were moving downstream. When they got to the opening to the cave, they stopped so Ed could go tell his parents what they were going to do. Toby looked at the rushing water and said “Bucky, please swim behind me because I may not get any forward motion with that fast water.“ Soon Ed was back and they jumped in the cold water. Toby went first with Bucky and Ed behind him. Toby had a little trouble at first, but soon was moving right along.

Swimming through the lake, they passed long thin fish. As they neared the shore, they saw some things that looked like crayfish to them, they had very long antenna. They climbed out of the water and called for their friends, but got no answer. Bucky said, “That’s funny, Blacky said it was not very far and they would easily beat us here. Hope everything is all right.” With that they, too settled down to wait.

Chapter 11 – SAMMY SALAMANDER

Suddenly, Ed jumped! “Fellows, it’s creepy enough in here without you playing tricks. Did you just poke me?” Both Toby and Bucky said in unison, “It wasn’t us, we have not moved.” Ed said, “There it is again! It’s a small animal. I touched it and it has a smooth skin.” With that the animal spoke up, “My name is Sammy Salamander, who are you.” Ed said, “My name is Ed Otter and these are my friends, Toby Turtle and Bucky Beaver. Do you live in this cave?” Sammy said, “Sure do, but I have never heard you fellows before.” “We came from outside the cave up a stream of water into this lake,” said Bucky.  Sammy said, “I tried to go out of the cave down that stream of water before, but got scared because I cannot see. But it sure is nice to meet some other kids.”

Bucky said, “what do you mean that you cannot see, are you blind?” Sammy said, “Yes I am blind, because I have no eyes” I live in a cave that is totally dark and have no need of eyes. I’m sure my ancestors who lived outside this cave had eyes, but lost them when they moved into the cave. I have cousins who are Salamanders, too and they cannot see. I live in the water as do my parents and brothers; by being able to make a sound** is an asset when going through the cave so you could keep up with me. There are other creatures that also live in the cave, and they, too, have no eyes. But they have no way to communicate with you.except bumping you. Toby said we passed some fish in the pool and something that looked like crayfish as we were swimming to this shore. Do they have no eyes, too, Sammy?” said Toby,. Sammy said, “If they live in the cave, too they have no eyes. And once you have lost your eyes, you are very careful about going outside”.

“Well, don’t go away, Toby said, “If all goes well you will get to meet more of our friends as they are coming through the cave now, and he gave a lusty call to Blacky”. Again there was no answer. “I have swum all through this cave and this is not the only lake or stream. Not being able to see, I don’t know how many rooms I passed through, but there are several lakes, all sort of connected. At least connected enough that I could get through. I’m not sure you big fellows could get through.”

Bucky, said “Let’s all shout and see if we get an answer!” And shout and yell they did, but there was no answer. “Ed, I guess we did not come to the same room or lake that Blacky was talking about, because they should have been here by now or at least heard us. I believe it would be best if we said goodbye to our new friend, Sammy and go back to the Club house. Sammy, we would take you with us, but it may be late in the day and we would have to bring you back”, said Bucky. “Thanks fellows”, Sammy said, “I will be here next time you come calling. If you have more time I can show you where I have been, if you will swim with me”. Bucky said, “It may be next year before we get back, but we will be back goodbye Sammy” and everybody else said goodbye too.



The three boys jumped into the water and let the current guide them to the outlet in the side of the hill. As soon as they saw sunlight, they looked to be sure they were in the right place. Soon they were in the creek and were swimming upstream toward the Club house. They climbed out of the creek and met the others coming toward the creek. All the boys were relieved that no one was hurt. They returned to the Club house so they could talk to Blacky. Blacky said, “Well fellows, I guess that goes to show that I don’t know as much about this cave as I thought. It will soon be time for my winter sleep, but I will try to do a little exploring and see you guy’s next year. You did say the kid you met was named Sammy Salamander, didn’t you? I will look for a family of salamanders”. “Blacky,” Bucky said, “A bear moved into the Club house last winter for its winter sleep so you might have company”.

By the way, fellows did you notice that Sammy said he can make a sound. I wonder how he does it.and what he sound like. We should have asked. And not having eyes, how does he avoid things to keep from hurting himself and how did he know we were there? We will have to ask him next week. With that the boys went home to help with storing food for winter.

The boys worked extra hard storing food for winter. They finished in two days rather than the usual 3 or 4. They went to the club house to see if any of the of any of the others were there, David and Danny were. Danny did you ever hear Ed mention a Randy Raccoon who lived above where Bucky lives. He said he lived close to the creek, but climbed trees like Chip.                                                                                                                                                     

                      David said I heard Dad talking about a family of raccoons that raided human property looking for food; we didn’t want to get to close to Humans, because they might try to kill us. Why do you ask? Danny said he might be a companion for Chip, because is the only one who climbs trees. We thought that Ed Otter would show us and introduce us and we might bring him into the club.

                      All of us have heard Chip say he wished he had a friend who enjoyed climbing as much as he did. Before we do anything like getting a companion for Chip let’s talk to him. I think he is almost thru with his job helping his father store food for the winter. Let’s go see him tomorrow and ask.

The next day around noon all of the boys who had finished their chores and helping their father laying in food for winter went to the club house. Bucky did not show up so everyone assumed he had not finished. So David said I am going to Bucky’s house and see how much longer he will be. Bucky came when David called and told David, I am through I was just washing up. Bucky and David then left for the club house.

When David and Bucky reached the club house all of the boys who were there they asked Chip did he want to have a friend who liked to climb trees as much you. Chip said yes, who is he. They all said his name is Randy Raccoon and Ed Otter knows him and where he lives, Lets go get Ed and see if he is free and will take us to Randy’s house,

Chip said I’d like to meet him, does he live very far? He lives above Bucky, Bucky said I’ll swim to  Ed’s house and meet you there. Toby said I am too tired to go, so I think I will just go home and catch on my sleep. I’ll see you guys tomorrow..

When they reached Ed’s, he explained to Bucky where Randy lived and that it was close to the creek, Bucky said Ed and I will swim beside David, Danny, Chip and Buffy to Randy’s house. Ed said it isn’t far, so off they went,

When they reached Randy’s house his sister, Martha said he is picking Black Berries but should be done by now. Then she said I know you Bucky Beaver. We were in Sunday school together, but we moved here. Yes, I remember you and I have a baby sister now named Mary Ann. You will have to come visit us. Martha said you all wait here and I will go get Randy.

When Randy came all of the boys introduced themselves to Martha and Randy. David asked if they had already put in their supply of food for the winter. We all just finished and Ed Otter said he knew Randy who would be a good companion for Chip, because he to like to climb trees. Then they told Randy about their club and invited him to join, Randy said he would like to because he had met no other boys since moving here. Martha left to go home telling Bucky she would come visit Mary Ann, soon.

Ed  Otter described some of the things they had done as a club, about the cave and Blackey and all the others who were members of the club. Randy became excited about exploring the cave and meeting other boys. Then Bucky said I will come tomorrow and you can come and meet the others, But some have already gone for their winter sleep, so you will not get to meet them until next year, Randy said that is OK because now I know there are other kids I can meet and pal around with. I have been lonesome for some other kids since moving here, Now that I know there are others near by I will have something to look forward to.

Let me tell you about the Human Family who owns this property. He is very kind to my family and farms this area and has all kind of crops and lets us share in them. You do not have afraid of him or any of his kin or friends, So I will see all of you next year and some of you next week. Good Bye to all of you.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

He has Pecan and hickory trees and other trees that bear fruit and nuts etc. he also raises all kind of berries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries etc. He raises them to sell but he will allow you to pick some. You just have to understand not to be greedy. He also expects us to protect the crops from those who do not understand the rules or refuse to do so. There are other humans and animals that would strip the crops if we allowed them to so we must help him as he helps us. So we try to be fair with him.

Randy said, I will see some of you next week and all of you next year



Note**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Some Salamanders who live in water have no gills with which to get oxygen but have very smooth skins and absorb oxygen through their skin enabling them to live. Sammy, however is a Mudpuppy and has gills, two pairs located behind his head. He can make a sound, like he said. The sound is like a dog barking and he will tell his friends when they ask. Most salamanders cannot make a sound but as Sammy said he can and all of his kin can too.