Chapter 3: Getting on the case!

The next morning, Calvin and Hobbes were watching Saturday morning cartoons. They were eating Calvin's favorite cereal, Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs.

"This is the life, Hobbes," Calvin declared. "Being the only signs of youth left in the town, watching cartoons and eating chocolate cereal. This is perfect."

"Ugh," grunted Hobbes. "I beg to differ on the cereal part. This stuff makes the milk curdle."

"Oh, come on!" said Calvin. "Live a little! It's fortified with eight essential vitamins, so it's good for you!"

"Oh, please, this stuff is pure sugar. It's like eating a bowl of Milk Duds."

"Look," said Calvin, handing him the box. "It says so right here. It's part of a wholesome, nutritious balanced breakfast." He took another spoonful.

Hobbes turned the box over. "On this side, it shows a guy eating five grapefruit, a dozen bran muffins…"

"Y-y-you know w-why you sh-shake like that?" interrupted Calvin. "V-vitamin scarcity, I'll b-bet."

Hobbes looked up. He saw that Calvin was so hyper from this cereal that he was starting to shake.

He stopped shaking when the cartoons stopped.

"HEY! WHAT GIVES?? Stupid TV companies. They always have to ruin it when it gets to the best part."

"We interrupt your Saturday Morning Cartoons for an important announcement," an announcer said. "Several children in the Metropolitan area have disappeared without a trace. A young girl named Susie Derkins was kidnapped just yesterday."

Calvin and Hobbes could not believe their ears.

"Susie was kidnapped??" exclaimed Hobbes.

"Shhh," whispered Calvin.

Mrs. Derkins appeared on the screen.

"I looked out the kitchen window this morning and saw our neighbor Calvin and his stuffed tiger in their wagon approach Susie when she was in the backyard. Calvin threw two water balloons at her and soaked her. Susie started to chase him into the forest. Then I heard her scream! I went out to find her, but I couldn't." She started to sob.

"What about that Calvin kid?" asked the reporter.

"I saw him going up the hill with the wagon and his tiger. Susie wasn't with him, so I figured he didn't know what had happened."

The main announcer returned to the screen. "Everyone is advised to stay indoors until the missing children are located. That is all. We now return you to your cartoons."

The second the cartoons went on, the TV went off.

"Hey!" yelled Calvin. He searched for the remote. It wasn't anywhere on the couch. He looked up. There were his parents. His mom held the remote. "We were watching TV."

"And now you're not," said his mom.

"After hearing that, we might as well take our vacation now," said his dad.

"Where are we going?" asked Calvin.

"Camping, of course."

Calvin and his mom groaned.

"Why can't we stay at a four star hotel that has cable TV and Room Service?" asked Calvin.

"Yes, why can't we?" asked his mom.

"Because camping is so much more fun," replied Dad.

"Oh, yes!" said Calvin. "Good ol' Itchy Island. Home to the Nuclear Mosquitoes."

"Now, now," said Dad. "You know, since there are so many warnings, how about we stay until it blows over?"

Mom went pale and fainted.

Calvin stood up on the sofa. "That could take weeks! Months, even."

"All right!" cheered Dad.

"Dad, Summer Vacation ends in three months. I am not going to spend it doing something I hate! Summer is supposed to consist of 100 fun. Come on! Give it some time! If it's not better by next week, then we can go camping. Okay?"

Dad sighed. "Well, okay. By next week, we'll go camping."

He went down and picked up his wife. "Whew!" he exclaimed. "She's a big girl!" He carefully dragged her up the stairs.

Calvin turned to Hobbes. "Hobbes, what're we gonna do?" he asked.

Hobbes sighed sadly. "We can say good bye to summer," he replied.

Calvin mulled the thought over. It would be a terrible fate to have to go to a deserted rock in the middle of a lake and having to eat fish for supper. Calvin knew there was only one way to avoid this.

"We have to take matters into our own hands," he declared.

Hobbes could not believe what he had heard. Well, he could, actually. This was Calvin he was talking to."Are you serious, Calvin? Do you know how risky it would be to be outside right now? There is a kidnapper out there. Do you know the consequences of that could be really bad?"

"Yep. Look, Hobbes, it's a really simple choice. We can either go save Susie, Moe and everyone else we love to hate, or we can go to Itchy Island and eat fish for breakfast and spam for lunch. So are ya in?"

Hobbes thought for awhile. Calvin had a point. A really good point.

"Okay, I'm in," he said with a grin on his face.

"Great," said Calvin. "Let's load up on stuff to take with us."

Calvin and Hobbes ran up to his room. They got out the comic books, the cookies, the money to buy sodas and other comic books, the G.R.O.S.S. logbook, some tuna fish (for obvious reasons), peanut butter and bread.

They went outside to the wagon. They put the suitcase in it and got in.

"Are you ready?" asked Calvin.

"Just one question," replied Hobbes. "How do we know where to look first?"

"Easy. Susie was the last to be kidnapped. It obviously happened in the woods. We just have to look around the path we went down yesterday."

"Gotcha," replied Hobbes. "Let's ride!"

Hobbes pushed the wagon toward the woods, then jumped in as the wagon took off down the hill.

Calvin and Hobbes rode through several trees and around steep bends, remembering each path they had taken.

Then, Hobbes spotted something.

"Hey, stop!" he cried. "I see something!"

Calvin rammed the wagon into a tree.

"Well, we've stopped," he said shakily.

Hobbes got out and observed the area he had seen.

Calvin joined him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Tire tracks and footprints!" said Hobbes. "There are signs of struggle, too."

Calvin didn't answer.

Hobbes looked at him. He recognized that look. Something was going on in Calvin's head. He rolled his eyes and decided to go with what was thrown at him.

"I inspected the scene that Tiger Eye had found," Calvin muttered at last. "It seemed that the Derkins Dame was kidnapped in this spot."

Calvin looked down the path. The tire tracks continued down it. Calvin grinned.

"The kidnapper didn't cover his tracks very well, so I figured he'd be an easy one to catch. I led Tiger Eye back to the car. We got in with our pack and set down the road, following the trail."

As Hobbes got into the wagon with Calvin, he knew who he was now. He was Tracer Bullet, Private Eye. Hobbes knew this guy well. Without a word, they shot down the path.

The path later led them to where the stone bridge had once stood. Calvin screeched to a halt. He looked down and saw the river.

Hobbes suddenly remembered the events of the day before.

"Holy cow!" he exclaimed. "That guy in the claw-car! He kidnapped Susie. The tracks we found lead to where he fell off the bridge!"

Calvin looked surprised but remained in fantasy mode.

"Tiger Eye had cleverly figured out who the kidnapper was. However, the trail ended out the down bridge, meaning there was only one thing to do. We had to go along the cliff side in the direction of the current to find a lead as to where the hideout was."

Calvin set off down to the right of the cliff following the current.

Hobbes followed with wagon in tow.