The Case of the Halloween Ghost
John R. Erickson
Illustrations by Gerald L. Holmes
Maverick Books, Inc.
Publication Information
MAVERICK BOOKS
Published by Maverick Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 549, Perryton, TX 79070
Phone: 806.435.7611
www.hankthecowdog.com
First published in the United States of America by Maverick Books, Inc. 1987,
Texas Monthly Press, 1988, and Gulf Publishing Company, 1990.
Subsequently published simultaneously by Viking Children’s Books and Puffin Books, members of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1999.
Currently published by Maverick Books, Inc., 2011.
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Copyright © John R. Erickson, 1987, 1989
All rights reserved
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Erickson, John R.
The case of the Halloween ghost / John R. Erickson ; illustrations by Gerald L. Holmes.
p. cm.
Originally published in series: Hank the Cowdog ; 9.
Summary: Hank the Cowdog has one of the scariest adventures of his life when he and his cowardly companion, Drover, find themselves in a strange and spooky place on Halloween night.
ISBN 978-1-59188-109-4 (pbk.)
[1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. Halloween—Fiction. 3. West (U.S.)—Fiction. 4. Humorous stories. 5. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Holmes, Gerald L., ill. II. Title. III. Series: Erickson, John R.Hank the Cowdog ; 9.
PZ7.E72556Cat 1999 [fic]—dc21 98-41809 CIP AC
Hank the Cowdog® is a registered trademark of John R. Erickson.
Printed in the United States of America
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Dedication
To Kris on our 20th anniversary
Contents
Chapter One The Mystery Begins with Something Fishy
Chapter Two The Mystery of the Talking Petunia
Chapter Three Slim Cleans House
Chapter Four Miss Viola and Her Dogs
Chapter Five Miss Viola’s Peculiar Eating Habits
Chapter Six Strange and Eerie Sounds in the Night
Chapter Seven Two Ugly Black Things in the Trees
Chapter Eight Junior Claims He Saw a Ghost
Chapter Nine The Case of the Mysterious Tricker Trees
Chapter Ten Caution: Hazardous and Scary Material!
Chapter Eleven You’ll Think It Wasn’t a Ghost, but It Was
Chapter Twelve Don’t Worry, We Escaped but Just Barely
Guarantee of 100% Truth
Chapter One: The Mystery Begins with Something Fishy
It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog. Slim’s house was cold and also a terrible mess, and I haven’t gotten to the part about the ghost yet.
There’s a reason for that. A guy can’t get his entire story into the first paragraph, no matter how hard he tries. So you’ll just have to be patient. I’ll get to the part about the ghosts as quick as I can. And when I do, you’ll probably wish I hadn’t.
What we’ve got cooking here is one of the scariest stories of my entire career, mainly because it involves a GHOST. I didn’t think I believed in ghosts, but as you’ll soon see, the ghost we encountered didn’t really care whether I believed in him or not.
So there you are.
It all began, mysteriously enough, at the beginning, and I happen to know the exact time it began: around six o’clock on the evening of October 30.
Drover and I had been making a routine patrol around the western quadrant of ranch headquarters, when all at once we encountered Pete the Barncat down at the calf shed.
There was nothing particularly mysterious about that, because the calf shed was one of his favorite loafing spots. He had several favorite loafing spots. He loved loafing above everything except himself.
Have I ever mentioned that I don’t like cats? I don’t like cats, Pete in particular. So when I saw him primping and preening himself there by the calf shed, I slipped up behind him, said “WOOF!” real loud, and gave him a good scare.
Ho, ho. Hee, hee. Ha, ha. I love it!
He turned wrongside-out, hissed, gave out his usual “Reeeeerr” and climbed the nearest post.
“Sorry, Cat, but we don’t allow loafing or loitering on this outfit. If you’d been taking care of the mouse problem, I wouldn’t have had to do that.”
He glared down at me with his big cat eyes. “Oh, it’s only Hankie.”
“Yeah, and Drover,” said Drover.
“I thought maybe it was a ghost.”
“A ghost?” said I. “Not likely, Cat. I run a tight ship here and I don’t allow ghosts on my ranch.”
“Oh really? Did you know that tomorrow night is Halloween?”
“No, I didn’t know that. Now ask me if I care.”
“Mmmmm, all right. Do you care?”
“Not even a little bit. But, for the sake of argument, what is Halloween?”
Pete moved off the post and parked himself on the top board of the fence. Funny, how a cat can do that. “Halloween is the scariest night of the year. It’s the night when all the ghosts and goblins come out.”
“Oh my gosh,” said Mister Scared-of-His-Own-Shadow, “I don’t think I’ll like that!”
“Quiet, Drover. I’ll handle this.” I turned a withering gaze up to the cat. “For your information, Kitty, we don’t observe Halloween on this ranch, and if you run into any gobs or ghostlins, you might tell them the same thing.”
“It’s ghosts or goblins,” said Drover.
I stared at him. “What?”
“I said, ghosts or goblins.”
“Yes? Is that supposed to mean something?”
“You said ‘gobs or ghostlins.’”
“I did not.”
“Did too, I heard you.”
“And so did I, Hankie.” That was the cat. “You said ‘gobs