Argus ignored Harlan’s comment. “I don’t know what it was. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It looked like a big, hairy man, but even though I only saw it for a moment, I could tell it was magical somehow. More than a man, it was a powerful being at one with the forest.” He stopped to take a breath. “It lives there among the animals. The forest is its home. The trees there can’t be cut down.”

Tora looked from Argus to Ranger Brock. “It sounds like he saw a Bigfoot.”

Harlan laughed. “A Sasquatch? And me without my camera.” Harlan flinched, expecting Argus to give him a playful push or punch in the arm. Instead, Argus remained motionless, and it was Noble that gave Harlan a punch for being so insensitive to his bigger brother’s vision.

Garrett said nothing for the longest time, thinking of just the right way to address the situation. At last he spoke. “I’m sure Argus saw something, and it’s possible that whatever it is, we don’t know about it. After all, there are all kinds of people who don’t know about you four.”

The smile was suddenly gone from Harlan’s face.

“And if there is something in those woods, then that’s all the more reason we’ve got to do everything we can to save them from the saw.”

Argus gave a slight nod and resumed eating his chili.

Noble, however, sat motionless, staring blankly at the ceiling as the seeds of a plan began to take root in his mind.

Chapter 6

After school the next day. Noble purposely missed the bus and walked into downtown Redstone, instead. He’d given a lot of thought to the problem of Conservco setting up shop in the forests around Puntzi Lake, and had been able to refine his plan during geography class that afternoon.