Wolf Canyon is one story with two parallel viewpoints. Thirteen-year-old Robbie for the boys while Cactus, the desert cat, gives us his side of things.

Budge wants no part of plans to go into Wolf Canyon—at night in a bad storm—looking for a lost cave, an ancient family treasure, and a legendary gold Aztec mask. “It has to be tonight,” Robbie says, “or wait till next summer vacation.”

With the help of a coyote’s howl and a shaft of moonlight through the “Eyes of Death,” they find the cave and make some shocking discoveries. They can’t identify a terrible odor that fills the cave. From one of the passageways, they suddenly hear howl, yowl, screech, growl, then silence. What is it? A werewolf, a werecat, or…? It sends them all flying back out into the night.

The animals, as they react to what is happening and each other, add a lot to the mystery and humor of the story.