The Madman of Black Bear Mountain by Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online

America!” I explained. “It could be scientifically significant. I wonder if this is one of the things Max is studying. It would be fascinating to find out how the plants got here and what kind of effect they have on the native ecosystem.”
    â€œLeave it to my brother to geek out about local flora while we’re being stalked by a crazed cannibal,” Joe muttered. “Now let’s get this fire started before it starts to rain.”
    â€œOh right, sorry about that,” I said with an embarrassed glance up at the darkening sky. “I guess I can get a little overexcited about this kind of nature stuff sometimes.”
    â€œI hadn’t noticed,” Joe said, rolling his eyes. “I was going to suggest making three separate fires in the shape of a triangle like we learned in survival boot camp, but maybe we should just try to get one big one going first before it rains.”
    Luckily, there were a couple of old downed trees right on the edge of the clearing, which made wood gathering easier. We grabbed some live spruce boughs as well, knowing green wood creates lots of smoke, which would make the fire easier to spot from far away. We piled it all up in the middle of the clearing, away from the trees, so we wouldn’t accidentally set a forest fire. The first drops of rain started to plop down around us just as we managed to get it lit.
    â€œIf you want to work on feeding the fire, I’ll use the extra wood to make a big X on the ground next to it,” I told Joe. “That way they there’ll still be a distress signal for someone to spot after the fire goes out.”
    â€œSounds like a plan, man. Let’s—” Joe stopped midsentence and looked up toward the woods. “Did you hear that?”
    I froze in place, scanning the tree line and straining to hear any sign that someone might be out there. Suddenly every shadow and rustling branch seemed threatening, but I couldn’t see or hear anything out of the usual.
    â€œSorry, dude, I think I’m just on edge,” Joe said after an excruciatingly long minute of silence. “It was probably just a squirrel or something. Let’s finish up and get out of here.”
    As soon as Joe turned back to the fire, the unmistakable sound of a horse neighing snapped our attention right back to the woods.
    â€œThat’s got to be Max’s horse, right?” I asked hopefully.
    The horse burst into the clearing, answering the question for us.
    It was Max’s horse, all right. Only it seemed to have found a new rider—a hairy ax-wielding man covered in tattered animal skins and war paint!

9
TUNA SURPRISE
JOE
    A NY HOPE I HAD THAT Jim and Max were okay vanished as the distance closed between us and the nightmarish figure on Max’s horse.
    The deranged rider bore down on us in silent fury, ax raised to strike. With all the pelts whipping around, our attacker looked more monster than human, like something a mad scientist had stitched together from pieces of ten different animals! A grimacing bear’s head covered the top of the rider’s face, a furry beard obscured the bottom, and the skin in between was smeared with black ash and bloodred war paint. Or maybe it was just blood.
    The Mad Hermit of Black Bear Mountain apparently was real, and it had Max’s horse, which meant it probablyhad Max too. And if we didn’t act fast, the Hardy boys were going to be the hermit’s next victims.
    â€œRun!” Frank screamed.
    Between the hooves thundering against the ground, the actual thunder ripping through the sky, and my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest, I could barely hear him. That didn’t stop me from running, though.
    Frank sprinted for the woods with me at his heels as the hoofbeats grew louder behind us and the sky opened up, unleashing a torrential downpour. We plowed blindly into the thick brush at the other end of the clearing, where it would be harder for the