Midnight mystery.

BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Mike awoke to the blast of car's horn. He glanced at his watch. The red numbers showed midnight. Who could be blowing a car's horn in front of their cabin at midnight?

Mike hurried to the window and tried to peer through the panes. The horn blasted again. He backed away from the window.

"Dad," he called, "who's blowing the horn?"

"Don't know," said Dad, "but I aim to find out."

"Me, too," said Mike, grabbing his fishing pole as a weapon. He hoped he wouldn't break it. He had waited a long time for this fishing trip with Dad.

"It can't be thief," said Dad, as they felt their way through the cabin's murky darkness.

"A thief would be sneaky," said Mike.

"It's not a short in the wiring. The horn would blow without stopping if a wire shorted out," said Dad. They stepped out onto the porch into a night as black as charcoal.

BEEEP! Mike's feet left the porch floor. Dad jumped, too.

"Somebody must be sitting in our car," whispered Mike.

"I rolled up the windows and locked the car before I went to bed," said Dad.

"Do you believe in ghost?" whispered Mike.

"Nope," said Dad, "but I wish I hadn't left the flashlight in the car."

BEEP! The horn sounded again.

"That does it. I'm going to get the car key," said Dad. "I'll find out who it is."

"Hurry," said Mike, gripping the fishing pole with both hands.

Dad came out with the keys. He and Mike walked with silent steps to the car. Mike peered through the darkened window. He searched for anything moving. There was nothing but darkness.

CRACK!

Mike nearly jumped onto the hood.

"Sorry," said Dad. "I just stepped on a twig." Carefully, Dad put the key in the lock, turned it, and threw open the door.

The car's roof light went on. An animal dropped from the steering wheel to the seat of the car. The animal rolled out of the car and scrambled away.

"A possum!" yelled Mike.

"A big one!" Dad gulped as he stumbled backward. Mike grabbed the flashlight off the car seat and shined it on the escaping animal. Its eyes gleamed red and its mouth was half open, showing jagged teeth. Then it disappeared into the bushes.

"He must have climbed into the car when the windows were down," Dad said as he took a deep breath. "He got trapped when I rolled them up."

"But why did he go in there in the first place?" Mike asked.

Dad rummaged around the car and cleared his throat.

"Remember when I told you not to leave any food in the car?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Take a look," Dad said. Mike shined the flashlight on his dad's hand. He was holding an apple core, two crackers, and torn up box of raisins.

"Sorry," Mike said. "But at least it was only a possum. I mean, it could have been worse."

There was a loud rustling in the bushes next to the car.

"OK, OK, I get the message!" Mike laughed. He grabbed the trash and ran to the campground's dumpster.