Read Secrets of Bearhaven for Free Online

shuffling him steadily forward. “For now it’s time we got you home.”
    Turning onto one of the paths that bordered Bearhaven’s center, Spencer noticed shops, a meetinghouse, and a restaurant called Raymond’s Café.
    Outside of Raymond’s, a couple of bears sat on stone benches around a wooden table. The bears were so deep in conversation that when Spencer passed, flanked by the Weavers, they didn’t seem to notice, but continued to grumble to one another. To Spencer’s surprise, he couldn’t understand anything they were saying. Their BEAR-COMs were dark. No translations came through at all.
    Spencer turned to ask Professor Weaver about the silent BEAR-COMs, but the older bear was already a few paces ahead, greeting a scrawny bear in a hooded green cloak.
    “Evening, Yude,” Professor Weaver said to the approaching bear.
    “Nagauio,” the bear answered, before meeting Spencer’s gaze with a cold stare.
    Uneasy, Spencer stepped closer to Kate, giving the bear called Yude extra room to pass. He’d seen dozens of bears since entering Bearhaven, but none of them had looked at him like that.
    “Wait till you see where we live, Spencer!” Kate didn’t seem to notice Yude as he continued down the path, but Spencer felt a lasting chill from the cloaked bear’s gaze. It was clear that Yude didn’t want anything to do with him, but why? Spencer knew that bears could be unpredictable and dangerous, especially when provoked, but he hadn’t done anything to provoke this bear.
    “Doe Ray MEEE!” Spencer’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Kate’s voice booming beside him. When she finished her off-pitch trill, she said, “And that’s why they call us the Weaver Family Singers.” She looked very pleased with herself.
    “Uh . . . what?” Spencer gaped at her.
    “The Weaver Family Singers. We’re like a band !” Kate made a series of small sniffs and huffs. Nothing came out of the BEAR-COM, but looking at the wide smile on the cub’s face, and her bouncing gait, Spencer realized that Kate was giggling. He’d have to ask her what the Weaver Family Singers was later.
    Up ahead, Professor Weaver was pushing open the door of one of the domed dwellings. Spencer squinted at the wooden door, examining the claw marks that seemed to slash threateningly across its surface. It’s a design! he realized. The claw marks weren’t accidental or scary, as he’d first thought when he noticed that they marked every door in Bearhaven. Instead, they seemed to be a carefully carved design.
    “Come on, you two!” Bunny called. She stepped into Spencer’s view of the door and turned to usher him and Kate into the Weavers’ home.

“We’re here!” Kate sang as she burst into the house. “Aldo! Lisle! I brought Spencer Plain!”
    Stepping through the doorway, Spencer braced himself to meet more bears. Instead, he was relieved to find Bunny quieting Kate. “Aldo and Lisle aren’t here. We didn’t want to overwhelm Spencer tonight.” Turning to Spencer, she added, “You’ll meet the rest of the family tomorrow.”
    The rest of the family? How many more Weavers could they fit in this place? Spencer thought, then realized his mistake.
    He was standing in the entryway of an enormous amber-colored room. Professor Weaver was stoking a pile of glowing embers in a fireplace so big that Uncle Mark could park his Porsche in it. A fluffy moss-colored carpet spread across the floor, and four oversized couches were positioned to face the hearth. Spencer briefly wondered what a bear looked like sitting on a couch, but waved the thought away, guessing it wouldn’t take long for him to find out.
    Along one side of the room stretched a kitchen. Stone counters varied in height and depth, as though they’d been carved from a boulder that was there long before thehouse, maybe even before Bearhaven. Shelves climbed the walls, piled high with wooden platters, jars of thick-looking liquids, and bowls full of nuts and