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Loper straightened the covers and said, “Well, everybody’s in bed except me, and what am I doing walking around in the middle of the night?”
    He yawned and then . . . uh-oh. He sniffed the air. “Smells like goats in here. We may need to haul some sneakers to the dump.”
    He yawned again and went back to bed. Back in the bedroom, I heard him say, “Hon, I think you were dreamin’. Everything’s fine.”
    â€œLoper, I heard something, I know I did.”
    The bed squeaked. “Well, you can take the next patrol. I’ve got a date with a beautiful pillow. Night.”
    Silence. The sounds of Loper’s snoring reached my ears, and at last I dared to breathe. Alfred’s toe gouged me in the ribs and the next thing I knew, he was under the covers with us.
    â€œHi, doggies. We sure fooled my dad, didn’t we? He thought I was asweep, and he didn’t even know y’all dogs were here.”
    Right. We lucked out, but there was no sense in pushing our luck. It was time for us to go back outside.
    â€œWe’re in a cave, aren’t we? You want to pway Expwore the Cave? Don’t ya think that would be fun?”
    Uh . . . no, we really needed to be going, but thanks anyway.
    â€œIt’s still waining outside, and thundoo and wightning too, and I’m gwad we’re all together in my bed. I was scared, but I’m not scared anymore. I’ve got my doggies wiff me.”
    Yes, that was touching, a boy and his dogs, but the other side of that particular coin was “a boy’s MOTHER and his dogs,” and that one gave me the creeps. We could fool Loper, but Sally May was another story.
    She couldn’t be fooled. She had eyes in the back of her head, ears that heard everything, a nose that could find a sugar ant in a ten-section pasture.
    And worst of all, she was always suspicious. I mean, every time she came around me, she seemed to read my innermost thoughts, some of which . . . many of which . . . okay, most of which aroused her disapproval.
    And if it was okay with everyone, I was ready to take my chances with the storm outside, now that we were fairly sure that it was just a storm and not an invasion of . . . I had never totally bought into that business of the Little Green Monsters anyway.
    â€œSo you weckon I ought to wet you back outside?”
    Uh-huh. Yes. That was the best idea, in and out with no major bloodshed.
    The boy heaved a sigh. “Well, all wight. Come on and we’ll sneak y’all back outside.”
    Whew!
    All three of us crawled out of the coverous cav­ern. Once outside the sheets, I turned to Drover and was about to tell him to hurry up when I heard . . .
    Smack, smack, gulp.
    I froze and sniffed the air. All at once I caught the smell of . . .

Chapter Eight: A Mysterious Phone Call

    I sniffed the air again, just to be sure.
    â€œDrover, all at once I smell bacon.”
    â€œYeah, me too. I wonder what it could be.”
    â€œI think it could be bacon, Drover, because bacon smells exactly like bacon.”
    â€œYeah, I’ve noticed that too. Funny how that happens.”
    â€œYou won’t think it’s so funny if I find out that you ate my property. Did you just eat some bacon?”
    â€œWell, let’s see here. Yes, I did but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t yours. It was just lying around under the covers. I don’t think it belonged to anybody. It was lost.”
    I felt my temper rising. “ It was lost? What kind of clam-brained answer is that? You knew exactly whose bacon that was and you ate it anyway.”
    â€œWell, I thought . . .”
    â€œYou’ll pay for this, Drover. If we ever get out of this house alive, you will pay a terrible price for your greed and gluttony and stealing from your very best friend in the whole world. How can you stand yourself?”
    â€œI don’t know. I smell pretty bad when I’m wet.”
    â€œThat smell comes from