CHAPTER 12
The woods were dark and dense and the sun had
to fight for a small space in which to wedge a beam. Carly was
where she should not have been.
Her grandfather told her over a hundred times
to stay away from Baker’s Swamp, home to bobcat, bear, snakes, and
Strange Willie. Along the edge of a muddy creek she followed what
appeared to be very distinct dog tracks that led along a winding
path through the thick forest. She had never ventured out this far
by herself, although with her grandfather they passed this way
several times. The woods seemed scarier now that she was by
herself. Monroe would warn her of danger and no one would have to
tell Grandpa she had disobeyed him. If she went south and skirted
the woods around Strange Willie’s she might never pick up the
hound’
