The Berenstain Bears in the Wax Museum (6 page)

Farmer Ben cleared his throat but kept looking down at his hands. He appeared to mumble something.

“For the record,” said Mayor Honeypot, “Farmer Ben has changed his vote. He has voted against Madame Bearsaud.” He held up his hands to discourage the cascade of boos and hisses that followed. “Now, now, folks. Quiet down. There's one more vote to be heard. Of course, that vote belongs to Lady Grizzly, the leader of ABATE, and I guess we all know how she's gonna vote.” He raised his hands again to quiet the boobirds. “But I have to ask her anyway. Just for the record, Lady Grizzly, how do you vote?”

Lady Grizzly opened her mouth to speak. But at that moment, from the back of the auditorium, came a shout. “Wait!”

All eyes turned to the entrance, where a figure stood wearing an elaborate gown, a fancy hat, and lots of jewelry.

“I'll bet that's Madame Bearsaud!” said Brother.

“And that weird guy lurking behind her must be Igor!” added Fred.

All eyes remained fixed on the two figures as they made their way to the microphone at the front of the auditorium. The bejeweled woman walked slowly and gracefully, her head held high, while her hunched companion followed awkwardly, dragging one foot. When they reached the microphone, the elegant lady spoke loudly and clearly in a foreign accent.

“I am zee great Madame Bearsaud,” she said. “And zis is my new assistant, Igor, from zee faraway land of Grizzylvania. He vould say hello to you, but he is mute: he cannot speak.”

Igor bowed so low that his nose almost touched the floor, which wasn't hard to do since he was already bent over so far.

“I have come to zis lovely little town,” continued Madame Bearsaud, “to bring you zee fame and fortune.” She paused until the cheering and clapping died down. “As you must realize, my new vax museum and entertainment center vill be a great boon to zee business district of zis town.” Now she looked straight at Fred Furry in the first row. “Even zee lovely old Bearjou Theater vill benefit, since parents from all over zee area vill attend its matinees after dropping zeir cubs off at my horror movie palace. Zank you all very much.”

As a great wave of applause swept over Madame Bearsaud and Igor, Fred Furry jumped up and cried, “My gosh, she's right!” He ripped off his ABATE button and threw it on the floor, then hurried over to Madame Bearsaud. “Please, Madame, take my seat,” he said. “Here, let me help you.” He led Madame Bearsaud to his front-row seat as Mayor Honeypot raised his hands to quiet the audience.

“Thank you, Badame Mearsaud—er, Madame Bearsaud,” said the mayor. “Those are inspiring words indeed. But let's not forget that Lady Grizzly still has the deciding vote. Well, Lady Grizzly, how do you vote?”

Once again Lady Grizzly opened her mouth to speak. But again she was interrupted by Madame Bearsaud, who suddenly rose and said, “Is that you, Meg?”

Lady Grizzly froze. She stared straight at Madame Bearsaud. “Oh, my goodness!” she cried. “I didn't recognize you in all that makeup and jewelry!”

Lady Grizzly hurried down from the stage. Madame Bearsaud met her at the side of the auditorium. They fell into each other's arms like long-lost friends, which is exactly what they were. The audience was fascinated. Some tried to crowd close to hear what was going on. But fierce, threatening Igor made them keep their distance.

The old friends spoke in hushed voices so as not to be overheard. “My goodness gracious!” said Lady Grizzly. “Minnie McGrundy! I haven't seen you since we were kicking up our heels together in the chorus line of the Folies Beargère! When did you become the great Madame Bearsaud?”

“Oh, years ago,” said Madame Bearsaud. “And it's been marvelous!” She held Lady Grizzly at arm's length. “Meg Moxie! Just look at you! It took me awhile to recognize you in such beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry. So you're the one who married Squire Grizzly. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy, my dear?”

“Charity work, mostly,” said Lady Grizzly. “I'm chairbear of FOTH—Friends of the Hospital. Every year we raise money for Bear Country Memorial Hospital here in Beartown.”

“That's wonderful!” said Madame Bearsaud. Then, with the light of an idea in her eyes, she said, “Igor, clear the way to that microphone. I have an announcement to make.

“My dear friends,” she said into the microphone. “I hereby pledge all the proceeds from the grand opening of Madame Bearsaud's Wax Museum and Entertainment Center to Friends of the Hospital, Lady Grizzly's marvelous charity!”

“And in honor of this great event,” said Lady Grizzly, not to be outdone, “I shall wear my priceless diamond necklace for the first time in public. That should sell a few extra tickets!”

The audience, which had been listening in stunned silence, broke into wild applause.

Lady Grizzly looked up at Mayor Honeypot on the stage. “Mr. Mayor,” she said, “I wish to change my vote. I now cast my vote in favor of Madame Bearsaud!”

That, of course, made the vote two to one in favor of Madame Bearsaud. The town hall shook from all the cheering and applause. And when the noise finally died down, Farmer Ben changed his vote again to make it unanimous.

Chapter 10

Lingering Suspicions

As Brother and Fred walked home from the town hall, Brother seemed lost in thought. But Fred didn't notice. He was too busy talking.

“What just happened is great, of course,” he was saying. “But it's kind of sad, too. Because it means our Great Adventure is pretty much over. Our Great Adventure was watching that building go up and dreaming about what it would be like inside. And sneaking in and seeing all that stuff was the climax. I tell ya, we can't top that. It's like reading an adventure story and realizing you've already read the most exciting chapter. Going to the grand opening will be cool, but it won't be as good as sneaking in was—or even as good as all the anticipation … Hey, are you listening?”

“Huh?” said Brother.

“I've been telling you our Great Adventure is over,” said Fred. “We'll go to the grand opening and see the horror movies and eat at the restaurant. It'll all be fun, but it'll get normal real quick. You know—predictable.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” said Brother.

“What do you mean?” asked Fred.

“I recognized Igor—or whatever his real name is,” said Brother.

“You did?”

“He was the supervisor of that work crew we watched from inside the barrel,” said Brother. “Only he wasn't hunched over and limping then. He stood up straight and walked just like you and me. And I seem to remember a booming voice shouting orders—anyway, he sure wasn't mute.”

“So what?” said Fred. “He's probably an actor playing a role. The whole thing's kind of show biz.”

“I know,” said Brother. “But there's something else about Igor that bothers me. He looks like someone I've seen before. Someone from the Beartown area. I just can't put my finger on who it is. Anyway, he's not who he seems to be. And then there are those workbears. Remember, they looked familiar? I think I'm having one of those premonitions you talked about … Anyway, something's wrong.”

Fred liked the idea of there being a mystery about Igor and the workbears. But he didn't put much stock in it. He figured Brother was just trying to keep the excitement going.

As Fred parted company with Brother at the Bears' tree house and headed for his own home, he had no idea that the most exciting chapter of their Great Adventure had not been written yet. Or that it was about to unfold, just a few nights later, at the grand opening of Madame Bearsaud's Wax Museum and Entertainment Center.