That evening, Stan was in the kitchen attempting to fix dinner.

Ford winced as he heard the banging and clanging of pots in the kitchen. "Stan, do you need help in there? "

"No, Ford, I do not need help. "Stan said as he set a pot on the stove.

Ford set the last piece of silverware down on the table. When he looked up, he saw Fiddleford standing there with what he guessed were the dry photos he'd taken in his hands. There was a concerned look in the young man's eye.

"Fiddleford? Is everything all right? Did the pictures turn out? "

His friend swallowed hard. "Indeed they did, Stanford. B-but…"

Ford sat in one of the chairs at the table and beckoned. "Come on, Fiddleford, let's see them. "

"You guys got those pictures?" Stan asked, looking over his shoulder at them. "Hang on. "

As Ford was spreading out the pictures on the table, Stan came over. There were four photos: one of what may have been a shoulder. The skin was green with darker green spots on it, and a couple of black hairs sprouted out the top. Were there—toadstools in amongst the hairs?

The second picture was of a forearm with a clenched fist—on the forearm was a patch of green—fur? – that was darker than the green color of the skin.

Picture three was of a foot—or a hand?—it was flat on the ground in any case. The appendage was also green—with five toes/fingers—four in front and one that stuck out more toward the back.

Finally was picture four—there was what seemed to be a pointed ear, a thick brow bone (also green) and a large, orange-red eye.

"Fascinating." Ford muttered.

Fiddleford shivered so hard he made his spectacles fall askew on his nose. "I'm s-sure you're right, but whatever that critter is—I never want to meet it in person! "

Ford was looking over each photo. "I'd love to study this creature. "

Stan rolled his eyes. "So, what—you wanna go huntin' for the thing? "

His brother turned and looked up at him. "Excellent idea, Stan!"

Fiddleford drew a breath and exhaled raggedly. "Oh, dear. "

"Ah, don't worry, kid, we'll be fine—especially if you've got me there with ya." Stan said, slapping his hand down on Fiddleford's shoulder.

The smaller man winced. "I certainly hope so. "

"Well, boys, " Ford said matter-of-factly as he pored over the photos again, "It looks like tomorrow we'll be going on our first monster hunt. "

Stan rolled his eyes, preparing himself for the barrage of "nerd speak" he was likely to hear the next day. Fiddleford gulped.

The next morning, Stan woke up and looked across the attic room at his brother's empty and hastily made bed.

Groaning, he looked at the alarm clock.

"Five thirty!" Stan grumbled. "Jeez, Poindexter, what time do you think those monster things get up? "

He turned over on his back and stared at the ceiling for a couple of seconds, then groaned loudly and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

After getting dressed, he went down the hall, stopping a moment at Fiddleford's bedroom door and wondering if he was up, too.

As he went down the stairs, he heard voices.

"…and there's a brand new roll of film in the camera, Stanford. "

"Excellent. "

Stan walked into the kitchen and saw his twin brother and Fiddleford, fully dressed. Ford was rummaging in the refrigerator, a half-full backpack on the floor beside him. Fiddleford had their camera hung around his neck by its strap.

Fiddleford noticed Stan first. "Good Morning, Stan. "

After yawning and stretching, Stan answered him, "Kid, as far as I'm concerned this may as well still be night. Why are you two up so early?"

Stan's brother placed a last item in the backpack and closed the refrigerator door. "Discovery waits for no man, Stanley. "

Stan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, an' how do you know 'discovery' gets up before the crack of dawn? "

His brother closed the refrigerator door, got on his knee by the backpack and zipped it shut. "The sooner we get out here and find this thing, the better. Then I can start my studies. "

"But what if the thing only goes out at night, Poindexter? "

"Well, we'll search the surrounding forests and see if we can't find it during the day. " Ford said as he stood up and started to put on the backpack. "If it turns out to be nocturnal, then we'll just have to find it at night. "

Both of the twins heard Fiddleford swallow hard when Ford mentioned trying to find the creature at night.

Stan rolled his eyes. "Great. You're plannin' on interrupting my sleep to find this thing?" He grabbed the backpack away from Ford, "-and gimme that. You two are the brains of this outfit—I might as well carry the food. Besides, you've already got that book of yours to carry, Sixer. It must be heavy with all of those big nerd words you write in it all of the time. "

Ford grinned and shook his head. "All right, gentlemen, let's get going! "he said (Stan thought, a little too cheerfully) and headed for the front door.