The Falcon's Feathers Read online

  is for Frightened…

  Suddenly, Josh stopped. “Listen!” he said.

  Josh knelt next to a patch of tangled weeds. Slowly, he parted the stalks with his fingers.

  A brown bird was hunched in the weeds. It had a sharp beak and shiny black eyes.

  “It’s a peregrine falcon!” Josh said.

  “The poor thing looks scared,” Ruth Rose said.

  Josh took off his T-shirt and carefully draped it over the bird. “He won’t be so scared if he can’t see us,” Josh explained. He held the bundle against his chest.

  “Hey, what’s this?” Josh said. He gently stretched out one of the falcon’s legs.

  Wrapped around the leg was a narrow metal band…

  The Absent Author

  The Bald Bandit

  The Canary Caper

  The Deadly Dungeon

  The Empty Envelope

  The Falcon’s Feathers

  This book is dedicated to all kids who like

  animals and respect nature

  –R.R.

  To Ian Campbell

  –J.S.G.

  Dink stepped on a branch. It broke with a loud snap.

  “Geez, Dink, you sound like an elephant!” Josh said. “We have to be quiet!”

  “Josh Pinto, where are you taking us?” Ruth Rose demanded. “I’m all scratches! Why didn’t you tell us we’d be walking through pricker bushes?”

  The kids were deep in the woods, not far from the horse trails. The bushes were thick under the tall trees.

  Josh grinned at his friends. “It’s a surprise,” he said. “Trust me, you’ll love it.”

  “Well, I don’t love all these mosquitoes,” Dink muttered.

  Ruth Rose sat on a log and scratched a bite on her ankle. “I’m not going any farther until you spill the beans,” she said.

  “Me neither,” Dink said. He plopped down next to Ruth Rose. “Out with it, Josh. Why’d you drag us into this jungle?”

  “And what’s with the binoculars?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Okay, I’ll tell you.” Josh squeezed between them on the log and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. He spread it out across his knees.

  It was a drawing of a bird. It had dark feathers, a curved beak, and black markings under the eyes.

  “What is it?” asked Dink. “An eagle?”

  Josh shook his head. “No, it’s a peregrine falcon. They were almost extinct—but now there’s a family in Green Lawn!”

  Dink was impressed. “Did you draw this?”

  Josh nodded. “Yup. I found a nest with three babies. I’ve been watching them for a couple of weeks now.”

  “And you’re just telling us today?” Ruth Rose said. “Thanks for sharing, Josh.”

  Josh folded the drawing and stuck it in his pocket. “Falcons don’t like to be disturbed,” he said. “I was waiting to tell you when the babies were older.”

  Dink looked over their heads at the trees. “So where’s the nest?” he asked.

  Josh stood up. “We’re almost there,” he said.

  The kids picked their way through the undergrowth. Between the branches, Dink could see glimpses of the Indian River.

  A minute later, Josh stopped. “It’s right over there,” he whispered. “The tall tree in the clearing.”

  “All I see are leaves,” Ruth Rose said.

  Josh pointed about halfway up the tree. “See that brown stuff right over the dead branch?”

  “I see it!” Ruth Rose cried.

  “Me too,” Dink said. “How did you climb up there?”

  “I didn’t,” said Josh. “If you disturb the nest, the parents might abandon the babies.”

  Josh pointed to a white birch tree at the edge of the clearing. “I climb that tree and look over with my binoculars.”

  “Can we climb up and take a look?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Sure,” Josh said. “Only we have to be quiet. I don’t want to scare them.”

  The birch tree was perfect for climbing. The smooth limbs made a natural ladder. Dink and Ruth Rose followed Josh up to a thick branch.

  Josh trained his binoculars on the other tree. He adjusted the focus by turning a little wheel between the two eyepieces.

  “That’s weird,” he muttered.

  “What’s weird?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “Let me see.” Dink took the glasses and squinted through the lenses. From his perch, Dink could see directly into the nest. It was woven of twigs, pine needles, and bits of dead leaves.

  But there weren’t any falcons. All Dink could see was a few feathers.

  He looked at Josh with raised eyebrows.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “What’s going on?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Josh looked at her. “The baby falcons are gone.”

  “Maybe they flew away,” Ruth Rose suggested.

  The kids had climbed down and were standing under the falcons’ tree.

  Josh shook his head. “They were just learning to fly,” he said. “They weren’t ready to leave their parents yet.”

  “Could they have fallen out?” Dink asked. He glanced at the ground.

  “I doubt it,” said Josh. “If they had, the parents would still be here, watching over them.”

  He frowned. “I think something took those birds,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Ruth Rose asked. “What kind of something?”

  “Animals,” Josh explained. “Owls and snakes like to eat baby birds.”

  “But wouldn’t the parents protect the little falcons?” Dink asked.

  “Yeah,” Josh said. “Unless something happened to them, too.”

  “Maybe something scared the parents away” Ruth Rose said.

  Josh shook his head. “The parents wouldn’t leave their babies.”

  “Then what could have happened to them?” Dink asked. “Five falcons can’t just disappear!”

  “I don’t know,” Josh said. He looked worried. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I want to report this.”

  “Report it to who?” Ruth Rose asked. She and Dink followed Josh back toward the path.

  “I’m not sure. But we can ask Mrs. Wong,” said Josh. “She knows a lot about animals.”

  Twenty minutes later, the kids walked into Furry Feet, Mrs. Wong’s pet shop. She was cleaning a large goldfish tank.

  “Hi, kids,” Mrs. Wong said. “What’s up? I was just about to close for the day.”

  Josh explained about the missing falcons. “They were there yesterday,” he said, “but today they’re gone!”

  Mrs. Wong wiped her hands on her jeans. “That does seem odd,” she said.

  “Peregrines are an endangered species,” Josh said. “Should I report this to someone?”

  “That’s a good idea, Josh,” said Mrs. Wong. She went over to her desk and pulled open a drawer.

  “Here you go,” she said, handing Josh a card. “That’s the number for the Department of Environmental Protection—the DEP, for short. They have an office over at the fire station.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Wong,” Josh said. “May I use your phone?”

  Josh dialed the number while Mrs. Wong went back to cleaning the goldfish tank.

  Dink and Ruth Rose listened as Josh explained about the nest and the missing falcons. He thanked whomever he was speaking with and hung up.

  “Someone is gonna go out there and take a look,” he told Dink and Ruth Rose. “But the guy I talked to said an owl probably got the babies.”

  Ruth Rose shuddered. “Those poor falcons!”

  The kids thanked Mrs. Wong and left the store.

  Outside, it was starting to get dark. Ruth Rose, Josh, and Dink crossed Main Street and cut through Center Park. A family of ducks
was swimming in the pond. When the parents noticed the humans, they quacked loudly to their babies. The ducklings quickly swam over to their mother and father.

  Josh stopped walking. “I don’t think an owl could have taken those baby falcons.”

  “You don’t?” Dink asked.

  Josh shook his head. “Mother and father falcons are fierce! They wouldn’t let an owl within ten feet of their nest.”

  “Could a snake climb that high?” Ruth Rose asked.

  Josh smirked. “Yeah, a human snake!”

  “What do you mean?” Dink asked. “You think a person stole the falcons?”

  Josh nodded.

  “But who would do something like that?” Ruth Rose asked.

  “I don’t know,” Josh said. “But we’re going to find out!”

  The next morning, Dink rang Ruth Rose’s doorbell. She came to the door wearing a green jogging suit. Even her sneakers and headband were green.

  “You look like a bush,” Dink said.

  Ruth Rose grinned and yelled into the house, “MOM, I’M LEAVING!”

  She and Dink headed up Woody Street to pick up Josh. They were going back to the falcons’ nest to look for clues.

  Josh lived at the end of Farm Lane, in a big yellow house. Behind the house stood a white barn. Josh was shooting baskets at a hoop nailed to the barn door.

  He was dressed in a camouflage shirt and pants.

  “Geez,” Dink said, “why didn’t you guys tell me you were going disguised as trees!”

  The three kids hurried down River Road, then took a bike path into the woods. Just before they reached the clearing, Josh stopped. A man wearing jeans and a flannel shirt was standing under the falcons’ tree, looking up into the branches.

  The kids looked at each other, then stepped into the clearing.

  The man turned around. He had wavy black hair, a tanned face, and blue eyes.

  “Hi there,” the man said. “What are you kids up to?”

  “We were just hiking,” Josh said cautiously.

  The man smiled. “Wait a minute. Your voice is awfully familiar. Are you the guy who called my office yesterday about the missing falcons?”

  Josh grinned. “Yeah, that was me,” he said. Josh introduced himself. “And these are my friends, Dink and Ruth Rose.”

  “Very nice to meet you,” the man said. “My name’s Curt. Look, guys, I know you want to help, but the best thing you can do is to stay away from here. The adult falcons won’t come back if they see or smell you kids.”

  “But we came back to look for clues,” Josh said. “I thought a person might have taken the falcons.”

  Curt looked surprised. “A person? Well, it’s possible, I suppose. But I doubt it. I’ve been over this whole area, and I didn’t find a single clue, human or otherwise.”

  The kids followed Curt as he walked away from the tree. “The DEP appreciates your phone call,” Curt said, “but leave the rest to us. I have a feeling we’ll wrap this up soon.”

  At the trail, Curt turned right. “Thanks again!” he said. He waved and began jogging down the path.

  The kids headed down the trail in the other direction. Suddenly Josh stopped. “Listen!” he said.

  “What?” Ruth Rose said.

  “I heard something.” Josh knelt next to a patch of tangled weeds. Slowly he parted the stalks with his fingers.

  A brown bird was hunched in the weeds. It had a sharp beak and shiny black eyes.

  “It’s a young peregrine falcon!” Josh said. “He must be from the nest!”

  The bird was trembling. It opened its beak and made cack-cack-cack noises at Josh. Its shiny eyes never left Josh’s face.

  “The poor thing looks scared,” Ruth Rose said.

  Josh took off his T-shirt and carefully draped it over the bird. “He won’t be so scared if he can’t see us,” Josh explained. He held the bundle against his chest.

  “What should we do with it?” Dink asked.

  “We can’t leave him here,” Josh said. “Something will eat him.”

  “Let’s take him to Mrs. Wong!” Ruth Rose said.

  The kids hurried down the path. Josh smoothed the bird’s feathers and spoke to it in a soothing voice.

  “Hey what’s this?” Josh said. He gently stretched out one of the falcon’s legs.

  Wrapped around the leg was a narrow metal band.

  Mrs. Wong examined the band. “There’s writing on it,” she told the kids. “But it’s too small for me to read.”

  “What is it?” Josh asked.

  “It’s a name tag,” said Mrs. Wong. “Just like you’d hang on a dog’s collar. Someone thinks he owns this bird.”

  Josh was holding the falcon, still partly wrapped in his T-shirt. It sat quietly, watching the humans.

  “I wonder if he’s hungry,” Ruth Rose said. “What do falcons eat?”

  “Peregrines mostly eat other birds,” Josh said. “But they’ll eat fish and other stuff, too.”

  “Let’s find out!” said Mrs. Wong. She opened a small refrigerator and pulled out some raw hamburger. She pinched off a chunk and held it under the falcon’s beak.

  “Come on, take it,” Josh murmured.

  Suddenly, the falcon’s head shot forward. In one quick gulp, the meat was gone.

  “Boy, I guess he was hungry!” Ruth Rose said. “We should name him Flash!”

  Flash began making a loud, piercing call. He shrieked over and over until Mrs. Wong fed him another piece of hamburger meat. After the second helping, he stopped fussing and closed his eyes.

  “What should we do with him?” Josh asked Mrs. Wong.

  She reached for the phone. “For starters, we should ask Doc Henry to look him over.”

  The kids listened as Mrs. Wong told the veterinarian about Flash. She hung up the phone and said, “He’ll take a look if you kids bring the bird to his office. He’s right over on East Green Street.”

  Josh bundled Flash into his shirt again, and the kids hurried to Doc Henry’s office.

  While Josh washed his hands, Doc Henry examined Flash. “And you found this guy where?” Doc Henry asked.

  “Out in the woods,” Josh said, pulling his shirt back on. He explained how they’d gone to see the young falcons, only to find the nest empty.

  “Well, this is a young peregrine, all right,” the vet said. “Pretty rare around here.”

  Doc found the band on Flash’s leg and cut it off. Then he gently spread the falcon’s wings and probed for broken bones.

  “He seems healthy enough,” Doc said. “Probably just starting to fly. But lookee here. Someone’s trimmed his wing feathers!”

  The kids crowded around.

  “See?” the vet continued. “Peregrines normally have long, pointy wings. These have been rounded off with scissors.”

  Just then, a tall woman with black hair came up to the table. “What’s everyone looking at?” she asked.

  “Oh, hi, Grace,” Doc said. “Kids, this is my new assistant, Grace Lockwood. Grace, these kids brought in a young peregrine.”

  The woman gave the kids a long look. Her eyes were piercing. They reminded Dink of an eagle’s eyes.

  She turned and ran her hands over the bird’s back. Suddenly, Flash bit her finger. “Ouch!” she said.

  The vet chuckled. “Better wear your gloves, Grace.”

  “What should we do with him?” Josh asked.

  “I’ll keep him here for a couple days,” Doc said. “We’ll make sure he’s okay. Then we can decide what to do.”

  The kids said good-bye and headed back to Main Street.

  “Well, at least he’ll be safe there,” Josh said. “I wonder where the other two are.”

  “Wherever Flash was before he escaped!” Ruth Rose said.

  “What I want to know,” Dink said, “is why someone would trim Flash’s wings.”

  “Why don’t we ask Curt?” Josh said. “He knows a lot about falcons.”

  A small sign on the side of the fire statio
n said DEP—DOWNSTAIRS. A green arrow pointed the way. At the bottom of the stairs, the kids came to a door that said DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.

  No one was in the office. There were a few desks and a bunch of file cabinets against one wall. A stuffed owl in a glass case stood on a counter.

  Just then, the door opened and a woman dressed in a T-shirt and tan shorts walked in. “Can I help you?” she asked the kids.

  “We’re looking for Curt,” Josh said.

  “Mr. Striker usually goes home to eat lunch,” she said. “Do you want to come back later?”

  “It’s kind of important,” Josh said. “Does he live in Green Lawn? We could walk over.”

  The woman pointed to a map of the town on the wall. “He’s new here, but I think he’s renting a cabin out on Bridge Lane. Do you know where that is?”

  “Sure,” Dink said. “He must live near the river, right?”

  The woman nodded. “That’s right. Just look for his brown pickup truck.”

  The kids left the fire station and hiked over to Bridge Lane. There were only a few houses in this part of town. Most of them were surrounded by trees and thick shrubbery.

  “That must be it,” Josh said. They were standing in front of a wooden fence near a group of pine trees. A gravel driveway cut through the trees, leading to a small cabin.

  “Look, there’s a brown truck,” Dink said.

  When the kids walked through the gate, they saw Curt Striker sitting on the cabin’s small porch. He was eating a sandwich.

  Curt jumped down off the porch and headed toward them. “Hi, kids,” he said. “What brings you way out here?”

  Josh told him about how they’d found one of the baby falcons in the woods.

  “Not only that,” Ruth Rose said, “someone put a tag on his leg and clipped his wings!”

  “Really?” Curt said. He looked thoughtful. “Sounds like I owe you an apology, Josh. A person did take that falcon.”

  Josh grinned shyly.

  “Why would someone clip his wings?” Dink asked.

  “Well,” Curt said, “the most likely reason is that someone was training him to do something.”