K. R. Finnegan - Camp WannaTippaTrashCan: The Marauding Misadventures of Roger McPaw

Book Two

Camp
WannaTippaTrashCan

The Marauding Misadventures of Roger McPaw

K.R. Finnegan

CAMP WANNATIPPATRASHCAN

BOOK TWO

Copyright 2016 K.R. Finnegan.

Author Credits: Kate Albrecht

Illustrator: Ryan Michael Bennett

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-0092-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0093-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016910238

iUniverse rev. date: 08/23/2016

A collection of three trash cans, each a different size and color, welcomed Roger as he darted out of the woods. The first trash can was stout and bright green plastic, the second was a bit taller and was dark blue plastic, and the tallest trash can was shiny silver metal with a heavy lid. Roger sniffed the air cautiously as he approached, but there was no sign of any humans in the area. As he moved closer to the end of the driveway where the trash cans were just sitting unattended, the outside lights on the garage of the human house flashed on with a loud click. Roger dashed behind a small bush and waited. He stood very still as the glaring splash of light illuminated the whole driveway. But no humans emerged.

Roger laughed to himself. Earlier this summer, his father had taught him all about the new human invention called trick lights. These lights looked for raccoons and then turned on to try to scare them away, but the McPaws were smarter than that. They knew that the lights were not dangerous because humans didnt even wake up and come outside to see why the lights were on. Roger had learned to wait a full minute for the lights to turn off, counting out the seconds. Then he could proceed with his marauding missions without any risk of being caught.

The minute was up, the trick lights went off, and there was no sign of any human on the whole block of the neighborhood. Just to be sure, Roger sniffed the air again while still in hiding. As he was about to run out and begin tipping the first bright green plastic trash can, he heard rustling in the bush nearby.

Ouch! Toby grumbled as he tried to untangle himself from the branches.

Roger sighed. Toby I told you not to come with me. He slunk back in the shadows and went to the bushes where his friend was struggling to get free. Toby was the same height as Roger, but he was a little heavier because he liked to eat sugar grubs at every meal. And even though Roger had been friends with Toby for several moons, and Roger had tried to teach him what he knew about marauding, Toby was not a fast learner.

Hey, Roger! Thought you might want some help. Toby wiggled his leg, which was caught, and the whole bush shook violently.

Shhh! Youre making more noise than a human child. Roger reached into the twisted branches and pulled them away from Tobys leg.

Toby came tumbling out of the line of bushes and onto the driveway. The lights at the front of the garage came on again. Toby looked right into the lights and froze. Roger grabbed him by the tail and dragged him back into the shadows.

The humans are coming for us, Roger!

Shhh! Roger said as he checked to make sure that they were indeed safe, watching the front door of the human house closely.

Well be safe here, right? Toby was trembling a little but trying to act tough by puffing up the fur on his back.

Roger took a deep breath and motioned for Toby to be quiet. Its a trick light. Just wait sixty seconds. Humans made the lights so they could be lazy and not have to protect their trash cans. They think the light will scare us away. Roger winked at Toby.

Silly humans! Toby stood upright and pretended to walk like a human. Im a human, and I make lights do all the work for me. Hahahaha. I think Im so smart! The two raccoon boys shared a muffled laugh.

The trick lights turned off again exactly at sixty seconds, but Roger held Toby back for a moment. Whats our plan? asked Roger.

Lets go for it! Toby said with a grin. That tall silver trash can smells like its full of goodies.

Toby, metal trash cans are the loudest. We should start with the plastic ones.

Oh, yeah. Toby stared down at his paws. Its hard to remember all the rules for marauding since I dont go very often.

Roger realized that he was being too critical of his friend. Even though Toby wasnt the best at marauding and he was a little slow, he was getting better night by night. And since Tobys father had disappeared when he was little, he didnt really have a chance to learn from anyone other than Roger.

All right, heres the plan. Start with the plastic cans. You dash up, and Ill jump on your shoulders. Ill get on top of the can and then lean way, way out like this. Roger demonstrated the move. He looked like he was reaching way far out over a cliff, leaning over as far as he could.

Then gravity kicks in, right? Toby asked.

Right! Roger pretended he was tipping forward and did a quick somersault.

Awesome. Toby smiled from whisker to whisker.

And dont worry about the rules for maraudingtheyre just guidelines anyway! Roger said as he charged out of the bushes with Toby close on his heels.

Ahoohee! Roger yelled.

Roger and Toby strolled along the banks of the little creek that ran at the back of their neighborhood. Both boys were covered in trash juice and had bits of old food stuck to their fur. Roger carried his loot in a bundle under his arm, but Toby tried to balance in his paws all the items he had plundered while also eating a stack of old pizza slices. Every step or two, Toby dropped something.

Come on, Toby, Roger said as he stopped to pick up an old sock that had holes in the toe and the heel. What do you even need this for?

Toby gobbled down part of a pizza crust with a dark layer of green mold on it. I was going to keep my marble collection in it. Toby looked at the sock as Roger held it up. Hmm, the holes will make it easy for me to see all my favorite marbles when I am carrying them.

Roger just sighed and tucked the sock into the bundle with his treasures. He had carefully pilfered three safety pins, two old batteries, a worn-out dog collar that he thought he could use for a belt, and a piece of a plastic tarp. He had also gathered all the orange peels he could find since those were his moms favorite. Roger had also found a strange strap-looking thing that had hooks on each end and was a little stretchy. He didnt know what humans used it for, but he planned to take it with him to Camp WannaTippaTrashCan next week. He knew one of the boys in the Dakota cabins might be able to figure out what it was since they were the smartest boys at the camp.