Rick nudged Scotty to back away
At the back door they paused. "Now what?" Rick said helplessly. "They're bringing him home. Why?"
"I wondered about that while we were running. I think they're bringing him home to check up on us. He must have sold them some kind of yarn."
"Steve's tail will recognize us!"
"Not if we're in bed," Scotty answered quickly. "We'll pretend to be asleep. Come on."
"Just a minute." Rick hurried to the shed and got two short hand spears. He handed one to Scotty. "Here. Have a bedfellow."
A few minutes later they heard footsteps and voices on the front porch. The door opened. A strange voice said, "Your friends don't seem to be here." The voice hardened. "I thought you said they were?"
"They're probably in bed," Tony replied mildly. "We go to bed right after dark because there's nothing to do."