"Baartock good troll. Build good bridge," said his mother.
"You mean he really did build it?"
"I'm sure he did," said Mrs. Jackson. "I've been learning some amazing things about trolls, but we must be going now. It was very nice talking with you, Mrs. Slinurp. I'll see you both in the morning," she said, seeing Baartock come back out of the cave. With Mr. Fennis following, she led the way back down the hill.
Baartock watched them leave and listened to them talk, or at least Mrs. Jackson. "I could hear that scream all the way down here," she said. Then, "Well, he is a troll, you know." He didn't hear anything else after that, and went in the cave to help his mother fix dinner. He was very hungry.
When his father got home, Baartock had told him all about what had happen to him, including riding in the car and about the school. His father hadn't said anything about that, but he didn't look too pleased. Then Baartock told about showing Mr. Fennis his bridge and about how he had scared him. That had made his father laugh long and loud, and he'd patted Baartock on the head and told him what a good troll he was. After dinner, Baartock went to bed. Later, he heard his mother and father talking quietly, or at least quietly for trolls who were quite loud sometimes, but he was tired and happy and went back to sleep.
Chapter 6
The next morning, after his father had gone off, Baartock and his mother left the cave. They went through the woods toward the old empty house, the one Mr. Fennis had called the 'old Howard house'.
They were crossing the stream bed when Baartock saw a muddy pool he could splash in. He was just about to dive into it when his mother said "No!" When he caught up with her all she said was "Not today." It was puzzling to him. She always let him get muddy.
When they got to the empty house, there was a car in the driveway, and Mrs. Jackson was standing beside it.