Mabel leaned forward in her seat and looked out the window. The wing of the Shooting Star reached for the clouds above it as Mr. Crockett eased the plane into a u-turn. Below, the landscape was a barren expanse of dirt and scrub, and the lush Cochiti Spring oasis was miles behind them.<\/p>\n
\n\tBailey booted up with a hum. \u201cGood morning Peter,\u201d he said. \u201cAre we ready to head home now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHi Bailey, yes,\u201d responded Mr. Crockett. \u201cCheck my settings please?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cEverything looks fine,\u201d the computer said, \u201cI\u2019ll let you know if adjustments are needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t From her seat Mabel could see Bailey\u2019s screen switch to a screen-saver pattern featuring a flock of storks. She fingered the glass vial hanging around her neck and wondered when she might make use of it. It would be easy enough to get some into Paulo\u2019s coffee, at the Press office, but how she might slip a dose to Mrs. Remini was another problem. She felt fortunate that her own parents had a quieter way of resolving their disagreements.<\/p>\n
\n\tHer own parents. In her thirteen years she\u2019d never had any reason to suppose Peter and Clara Crockett were anything but her own parents. And Dr. Rotter had dismissed Verdon Arbogast\u2019s strange message to Mabel. But what of Dun\u2019s words? Could there be someone in her past she didn\u2019t know about? It was time to find out if her parents knew anything else.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel threw a question out, to neither of her parents in particular. \u201cDo I have any godparents, or grandparents, or people like that whom I don\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou know them all,\u201d answered Mrs. Crockett. \u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell,\u201d began Mabel, trying to decide how best to phrase her concerns. \u201cI know that dryads don\u2019t always seem to make perfect sense. Margie told me that herself. But I don\u2019t think Dun was making up what he said…\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDun?\u201d interrupted Mr. Crockett. \u201cIs he that tree guy you were telling us about? What\u2019d he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDryan,\u201d said Mabel. \u201cAnd I talked to him again. He was talking like I have parents somewhere…I mean, not you guys, someone else. Anyway, I\u2019ve been getting some weird ideas lately, and I just wondered if you knew about someone whom I haven\u2019t met yet, or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWeird ideas,\u201d said Mr. Crockett, \u201clike what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel fiddled with a magazine in her lap. \u201cWell, I know it\u2019s not like I\u2019m adopted or anything, because Dr. Rotter was there. Maybe someone would just think that because I don\u2019t look like you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel looked at her mother who appeared to be contemplating the bolts holding her father\u2019s seat to the floor. \u201cPeter…\u201d began Mrs. Crockett quietly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah…\u201d said Mr. Crockett, nodding his head, \u201cyou\u2019re right. Mabel should know everything we know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThere was something. The notion surprised Mabel more than she had expected it to. \u201cWhat do you know?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHold on to your hat,\u201d said Mr. Crockett.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cPeter,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, \u201cit\u2019s not that shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBesides, Dad,\u201d added Mabel, \u201cI\u2019m not wearing a hat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOkay…\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, beginning slowly. \u201cWhen Dad and I got married we both really wanted a child. We didn\u2019t want to wait a few years, we were ready. But it didn\u2019t happen, and it didn\u2019t happen, until finally, we were told by a doctor who specializes in that sort of thing that it would probably never happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA few years later,\u201d Mr. Crockett continued, \u201cwe inherited property in Logjam and decided that if we couldn\u2019t have a baby, we\u2019d have a magazine, so we opened Eurus Press.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe were happy,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, \u201cwe loved the magazine, and our new friends in Logjam. Especially the Halfslips.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d said Mr. Crockett, \u201cWe were such bad gardeners that the garden behind the press office is really only there thanks to Norton Halfslip\u2019s work. Now Paulo keeps it up, but when Norton was active, he was always over planting or weeding, or just shooting the breeze.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhen do I come in to this story?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n
\n\tBailey hummed and emitted a chirp. \u201cPardon me Peter, but south-easterly winds are making a slight compass adjustment necessary. Just two degrees, thank you, that\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOne day,\u201d continued Mrs. Crockett, \u201cNorton announced to Dad and me that he had a tremendous favor to ask of us. We were very surprised when he told us what the favor was. He wanted us to become parents. I told him we were sorry, we wanted that too, but it just hadn\u2019t turned out to be in the cards for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAnd Norton said,\u201d said Mr. Crockett, turning to smile at Mrs. Crockett, \u201c\u2019The deck has just been shuffled and redealt.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNorton had come to trust us,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, \u201cand because we trusted him just as much, we agreed to what might seem like a strange scheme.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMabel, do you know how tiny babies are when they first start to grow inside a mother?\u201d asked Mr. Crockett.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou can\u2019t see them. They\u2019re just a few cells. They\u2019re dot sized,\u201d answered Mabel.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYes,\u201d continued her father, \u201cand at that point, it\u2019s possible for that small cluster of cells to be transplanted to a different mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel wrinkled her nose as if it would help her process the information. \u201cThat\u2019s sort of like being adopted, only a lot earlier than usual. Is that how you got me? Was I transplanted to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYes.\u201d Mabel\u2019s mother was looking at her in a strange way, as if trying to assess how Mabel would feel about this news. Mabel looked at the floor. Then at the ceiling. Somehow she felt like she should be shocked or upset, but she wasn\u2019t. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s ok,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s weird. I\u2019m glad Norton picked you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t \u201cMabel,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett giving Mabel the biggest hug she could from the confines of the airplane seat, \u201cyou were what we wanted from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMr. Crockett looked back again, \u201cNorton thought he was asking a favor of us. In fact, he was giving us the best gift in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cOkay,\u201d said Mabel, \u201cbut there is a kind of important detail you\u2019re leaving out. Where did I come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNorton wouldn\u2019t tell us,\u201d answered Mr. Crockett. \u201cHe\u2019d just say that a child who was very dear to him needed parents. And we trusted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSometimes,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, \u201cyou just know something is right, and you go with your instincts. We were right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe remaining two hours of the flight passed quietly. Mabel\u2019s parents encouraged her to ask any questions she might have, but seemed to understand that she\u2019d need to do some thinking on her own. Occasionally Bailey interrupted the silence to recommend a minor navigational adjustment, and soon Mabel could see the earth well enough to recognize the great greenness below as the dense forest of the Algonquin Basin, north of Logjam. The treetops resembled an unending patch of moss, with the Willibunk River cutting a zigzag down the middle. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe trees thinned slightly and the tiny grid of Logjam\u2019s streets grew closer as Mr. Crockett guided the Star toward the airfield. For a moment, before the plane\u2019s angle changed her field of view, Mabel glimpsed what appeared to be a thick cluster of people in the middle of River Street at the base of the Willibunk River Bridge.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIs something supposed to be happening in town today?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Star shuddered slightly as Mr. Crockett straightened toward the airfield.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cLet\u2019s see,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, \u201cIt\u2019s Sunday. I can\u2019t think of anything. Maybe Milo O\u2019Boyle\u2019s giving out free samples.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNot likely,\u201d said Mr. Crockett. \u201cBesides, whatever it is seems to be happening near the bridge. Mabel, you can go check once we dump the bags. Mom and I better make sure Paulo and the gang have everything under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel\u2019s insides rattled along with the plane as they hit the ground and taxied across the field.<\/p>\n
\n\tBailey shut down with a polite \u201csee you next time, everyone,\u201d and Mabel climbed into the cargo hold to haul out her duffel bag. She dragged it through the hatch and onto the wing, then pushed it off the edge to her father who tossed it into the back of the waiting jeep. Mabel climbed into the vehicle after her father, and Mrs. Crockett drove them off the airfield onto the bumpier Rocky Creek Road, then to Eurus Press to unload.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt looked to be chimney week at the Fairweathers. On the sidewalk which was colorfully splashed with chalk drawings by the younger Fairweathers, Boris Fairweather had set out eleven assorted clay chimney pots. Several resembled flowers, others were more like castle turrets, and one reminded Mabel of a pig snout. On the newly constructed chimney was Boris himself, fitting a twelfth chimney pot to the very top. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHey Crocketts,\u201d called Mr. Fairweather, \u201cwhich one do you like? I\u2019ve tried them all at least once and I can\u2019t decide!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNevermind Boris,\u201d said Mrs. Fairweather, climbing out a window, since the door was blocked by chimney pots, \u201cwe\u2019ll let the kids vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel looked at her father. \u201cI\u2019m heading down the street now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou okay, Mabes?\u201d asked Mr. Crockett.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d she replied, \u201cactually, I\u2019m very okay.\u201d\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel hurried down River Street toward the bridge. Ahead, a crowd milled about with most folks more or less facing some action on the street corner. Small children darted about at the rear, racing or playing tag. Mabel immediately thought of the Logjam Street Fair which the town held every few years, but there were no balloons or decorations. Besides, there wasn\u2019t supposed to be another fair until next Fall.<\/p>\n
\n\tDrawing closer, Mabel now heard, above the buzzing of the crowd, an emphatic voice amplified through loudspeakers. A voice which somehow reminded Mabel of a commercial for hair mousse.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt is what YOU hold dear to YOUR hearts, ladies and gentlemen, and YOUR needs, which will make TIM TUTTER, the candidate of YOUR choice for PRESIDENT of YOUR Country!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThere was a dramatic pause, broken by scattered applause. Mabel threaded her way closer to the hub of the crowd.<\/p>\n
\n\tMr. Big Hair himself,<\/em> thought Mabel, watching the celebrity tycoon wind himself up for his next verbal explosion. He wasn\u2019t kidding,<\/em> she thought wryly, he did come to MY town.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDO the other candidates know the intricacies of the AMERICAN ECONOMY like TIM TUTTER does?\u201d asked Tim Tutter into his microphone. \u201cDo THEY want what YOU want, like TIM TUTTER does?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel glanced around the crowd. From across the semi-circular gathering Van caught her eye and gestured for her to come. Winding her way back to the edge of the throng, she met Van on the other side of the circle.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cCan you believe this guy?\u201d asked Van. \u201cWhat is he doing in Logjam?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cRunning for president, obviously,\u201d stated Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIs YOUR economy BOOMING, ladies and gentlemen?\u201d the speakers blared again. \u201cI think NOT! Would YOU like to see NEW money surging into the coffers of YOUR local banks?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel scanned the crowd, noticing many raised eyebrows. \u201cI\u2019m not sure Logjam\u2019s ready for this guy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhere\u2019s this new money supposed to come from, his pockets?\u201d wondered Van aloud.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI see it on your faces,\u201d continued Tutter in a pathetically sincere tone. \u201cYou\u2019re thinking, \u2018Tim, you\u2019ve hit the button right on the nose. We need you Tim. How can you help us?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYeah,\u201d snorted Van, \u201cthat\u2019s just what I was thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTutter ruffled the hair of an escaped toddler, in order to demonstrate his earnestness. \u201cCitizens of Logjam,\u201d he said, his voice beginning to rise again. \u201cYOU have come to the RIGHT PERSON. TIM TUTTER can help you bolster your SAGGING economy. \u2018How Tim? How can you do that?\u2019 you\u2019re asking.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHow Tim? How can you do that?\u201d said Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\tTutter nodded to a perky blonde assistant, who quickly trotted to his side with a stack of charts. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLadies and Gentlemen,\u201d said Tutter, pointing to a colorful and very familiar cartoon character. \u201cYou YOURSELVES have seen how the right mascot, such as this mouse, combined with financial know-how, can TRANSFORM a barren piece of real estate into a self-perpetuating GOLDMINE!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tVan began to sing, \u201cM-I-C, K-E…\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWait a minute, look,\u201d said Mabel, as Tutter unveiled a second chart. She\u2019d done enough fly-overs to recognize a map of her part of the country.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLadies and Gentlemen,\u201d continued Tutter, indicating the expansive green forests north of Logjam, \u201cTIM TUTTER knows gold when he sees it. And he\u2019s here to tell YOU, that YOUR town could be the gate to a veritable EL DORADO! All you need is a man with a VISION! Well folks, TIM TUTTER is that man. TIM TUTTER has the know-how, and now, TIM TUTTER has the MASCOT!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTutter reached over and dramatically unveiled the remaining picture. \u201cLadies and Gentlemen of Logjam, I give you BILLY BEE!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThere was a pained silence, followed by several snorts and a guffaw from the crowd. Mabel could not have imagined a more awkwardly rendered cartoon of an insect. She looked at Van who was audibly clearing his throat.<\/p>\n \n\tA very young voice from the clump of onlookers said, \u201cThat\u2019s not a very good picture, is it Mommy?\u201d<\/p>\n \n \tGiggles rippled across the crowd, but Tutter seemed unconcerned. \u201cGood people of Logjam,\u201d he began again, \u201cI ask YOU to consider THIS. YOU need only put TIM TUTTER and BILLY BEE to work for YOU, and we will open up a tourists\u2019 KINGDOM unlike any the world has seen BEFORE! For NOW, I will leave you with this idea. CONSIDER the BENEFITS such an enterprise could bring to YOUR town, and we will speak again, this evening, at a PRESS CONFERENCE to be held at YOUR local library. I will see you THERE!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTutter and several assistants climbed quickly into a waiting limousine which turned and sped across the Willibunk River Bridge. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOkay,\u201d said Van, as the limo\u2019s dust settled, \u201cI guess he\u2019s staying on the west side.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDo you have some time?\u201d asked Mabel. \u201cWant to go see Ivy and the dogs?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tVan nodded and turned around, but froze suddenly. \u201cI may not live that long,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \n\tMabel looked across the street. The lanky form of Mitchell Blunt was ambling across River Street, flanked by two of his shorter, beefier friends, Hurley Applewood and Reb Campanella. Leaning casually against a bookstore window behind them was Kendall Huffing, with a knowing smirk on her face.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou\u2019ve had it Peale!\u201d spat Mitchell, as he and his cronies closed in on Van and Mabel. <\/p>\n \n\tMabel glanced right and left, hoping there was enough lingering crowd to discourage Mitchell from becoming violent in the middle of River Street, but it seemed that most of Tutter\u2019s audience has dispersed rapidly. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJust back up casually,\u201d whispered Van. Once we hit the sidewalk we can make a break for the co-op.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBlunt and friends seemed to have anticipated Mabel and Van\u2019s best escape route, because within seconds Reb and Hurley had split off, (at an amazingly fast pace for their stocky frames, Mabel thought,) and before she could think again, her arms were pinned behind her by what felt like a gorilla.\t<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou ain\u2019t runnin\u2019 to squeal at the moment,\u201d said the scratchy voice of Reb Campanella, as he began to muscle her toward the bridge. In front of her was Van, being forcibly escorted by Blunt and Applewood, one on each arm. Kendall Huffing had run ahead, and was smiling coyly from under the bridge, beside the river. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI told you it was unwise to hang out with nerds,\u201d said Kendall in a mockingly sympathetic tone, as Reb wrangled Mabel into a waterfront clearing.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOkay now Peale,\u201d said Mitchell, in a goofily giddy voice, \u201cdon\u2019t worry about this little procedure, because it\u2019s only going to hurt A LOT!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel was not accustomed to being overpowered and could not have guessed how completely useless it was to struggle against a set of muscles like Campanella\u2019s. She winced as Mitchell grinned and made a great show of getting ready to throw the first punch.<\/p>\n \n\tThe grin turned confused, and then panicked, as a green van roared backwards down the embankment toward the river. Mitchell and friends backed off in startled surprise as Verdon Arbogast rolled down the driver\u2019s side window.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf you kind young people don\u2019t mind my interrupting your party,\u201d said Arbogast condescendingly, \u201cI have some business to discuss with Miss Crockett and Mr. Peale.\u201d He climbed out. There was still silver duct tape holding the van\u2019s windshield together. \u201cGo on, shoo,\u201d said Arbogast to Mitchell as he made a brushing motion with his hands. Mitchell, Reb, Hurley, and Kendall disappeared over the the top of the embankment.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOut of the frying pan, into the fire,\u201d whispered Mabel to Van as Arbogast turned back toward them.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNow, Miss Crockett,\u201d began Arbogast, once again lighting up a cigarette. \u201cI think it\u2019s best that she not leave just yet,\u201d he said to Van who was tugging slightly at Mabel\u2019s sleeve. \u201cIt\u2019s time for us to be frank with each other. Now that you\u2019ve had some time to think, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThink about what?\u201d asked Van, eyeing Arbogast suspiciously.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWord around town,\u201d drawled Arbogast,\u201c is that your parents, and Mr. Peale\u2019s too, for that matter, could be headed for some real trouble, real soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMy parents aren\u2019t in trouble,\u201d said Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMaybe not yet,\u201d sneered Arbogast. \u201cBut it seems they may have been dallying in activities that are,\u201d Arbogast gasped slightly, \u201cagainst the law!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou\u2019re cracked,\u201d said Van.<\/p>\n \n\tArbogast glared at Van. \u201cI assure you, young man, my mind is the one part of me that\u2019s in perfect shape.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA breeze began to blow under the bridge, and the water of the Willibunk River began to swirl slightly, and lap at the riverbank with a bit more force. Mabel observed what she took to be fear flickering across Arbogast\u2019s face, which seemed to make him, fleetingly, very old.<\/p>\n \n\tArbogast scowled. \u201cI don\u2019t take to the water,\u201d he said, \u201cso let me get to the point.\u201d He tapped ash off the end of his cigarette, and he looked at Mabel with eyes narrowed to slits. \u201cIf you run into, let\u2019s say, any sort of unexpected trouble,\u201d he said, almost whispering, \u201cI may be the only person who can help you…provided, of course, that you\u2019re willing to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd how would I do that?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\tArbogast smiled slightly, and said, \u201cYou would take me to your father.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou\u2019ve met my father,\u201d replied Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDon\u2019t toy with me, girly!\u201d snapped Arbogast. \u201cYou\u2019re not so stupid that you haven\u2019t started to put things together by now. Your father,\u201d he continued, putting an ugly emphasis on the word father, \u201chas not been fair with me. It\u2019s time for him to uphold his end of a bargain, and I will see to it that he does.\u201d<\/p>\n \n \tArbogast dropped his cigarette and climbed back into the van, pulling the door closed behind him. \u201cI WILL see the two of you around,\u201d he said before rolling up the window and driving swiftly back up the embankment.<\/p>\n \n\tA whirlpool at the edge of the river made a sucking noise, spit violently, then vanished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mabel leaned forward in her seat and looked out the window. The wing of the Shooting Star reached for the clouds above it as Mr. Crockett eased the plane into a u-turn. Below, the landscape was a barren expanse of dirt and scrub, and the lush Cochiti Spring oasis was miles behind them. 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