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Ring! The sound of the alarm clock crashed into my sleep like a ball's flying through a pane glass window. As I became conscious,
I realized why I had set it for the unearthly hour of nine o'clock. Today I would start swimming lessons at the pool with
Don and Tom.
I stumbled out of bed, and as I stood up, I felt a grogginess in my head. Two quick snorts of oxygen relieved that feeling.
I didn't dare look in the mirror. I washed the sleep out of my eyes and covered them with a towel. Down the stairs I stumbled,
not looking forward to the same old cereal.
I grabbed my baby-blue towel and my Marx brothers' beach towel, and I began walking down the hill toward the pool. From one
street below, Don appeared with a bright red towel around his neck.
"That's a fine thing to see," I teased. "A red towel with a green pair of trunks. All you need is for your black hair to turn
white and to grow a beard!"
"That's really cute, George," Don replied with a riposte. "Your blue swimsuit matches your blue towel and clashes with your
blond hair and slight tan!"
"Well, are you ready to learn how to swim?" I joked.
"Sure," Don smiled. "Do you think I'm going to dogpaddle the rest of my life in the water?"
"Well, because we both need practice, we'll find out soon enough who is the better swimmer," I noted. "Or have you been practicing?"
"No, Not at all. But I hope you don't mind my showing you up by next week," Don joked.
Don is relatively short, built just right in the right places -- neither bony nor chubby. He has quite dark hair, a dark complexion,
and quite handsome.
When we reached the pool, we met Tom just going into the area.
"Well," I quipped. "This is terrible -- no one chickened out."
We all laughed at that statement.
Tom has a different physique. He's a little skinny with light brown wavy hair, freckles, and slightly shorter than Don.
With Tom was his friend Pete, who is also a bit short, but taller than Tom, and a freckled blond.
"Honestly, if I had known that you were going to bring the neighborhood along, I would have brought someone with me," I jested.
"I'm glad to see you, Pete."
We had walked to the building known as the Aquadome, gone through the turnstile, flashed our badges, and arrived at the pool.
Tom was walking slowly toward us looking disappointed and angry.
"We're out of luck, guys."
"What do you mean -- " I broke off because, I noticed a strange sight. Despite about twenty people's being there, no one was
in the pool. A quick glance in the pool revealed why. -- The bottom of the pool showed many jagged pieces of broken glass's
staring at us menacingly through the greenish chlorinated water, almost daring us to go in.
"Say, why did they check our badges?" I asked, my logic's taking over.
"This place is not coördinated. They just discovered the problem," Tom defended.
Just then, our teacher, Miss Faust, was coming up to us and said, "Boys, I guess we'd have to cancel our lesson until two
this afternoon. They should have the pool cleared by then."
"Oh drat," I denounced. "I got up for this?"
My anger from the morning dissipated that afternoon, as I tried to change my dog paddling into swimming. We were so occupied
with the swimming lessons, we forgot for the time being about what had happened that morning.
July days showed their waning length as it was getting dark after eight o'clock. However, as closing time approached, Don
made a suggestion, showing his flair for detection.
"Hey, fellas. Let's watch the pool tonight."
"But Don," I broke in. "They certainly are going to watch the pool tonight, and there're probably police. We'd just be in
the way."
"Nonsense -- we won't be hurting anything by staying here. So let's stay," Don argued with his adamant stare I've come to
know.
"Just so I don't miss anything, I'll stay with you guys," I succumbed.
Soon after, the sun set and darkness invaded the pool area. I watched darkness cover the pool, advance along the wall, and
fill the place. Just when it became pitch dark, a policeman saw us!
"What are you kids doing here?"
Seeing a police's running at us through the lamplight gave us a natural impulse to get out of there, which we did in great
disorder. The four of us must have looked like clowns as we ran to the outer gate, climbed over laboriously, and scurried
home.
As we hurried through the shadows of the trees and cars along the road, I still felt intense fear.
"I have a better idea, guys. Let's go home."
"Do you think the police recognized us?" Tom proposed.
"No, we were too far away," Don dismissed.
Before I went to sleep that night, I pondered the events of the day. Don was quite a detective. His suspicions and conclusions
were usually correct. There were vandals in the town, and they had struck once at the pool.
What worried me was that none of us had any idea who the vandals were, but I had a feeling that we would come in contact with
them very soon.
The next morning, the four of us met each other at the pool.
"No one's in the pool yet; we're early," Don observed.
I still wondered whether the guard had recognized us, when I heard a scream:
"There's something in the pool!"
Quickly we were at the pool side and were observing a giant tortoise's snapping almost at the heels of the lady who had yelled,
now scurrying out of the pool.
"Those vandals struck again," I vocalized. Everyone else just watched speechless and amazed. -- The vandals were there last
night. If only we had stayed there a little longer!
Then an idea hit me. The police must have thought that we were the vandals. They must have thought they'd scared us away and
left the pool unguarded.
I looked at Don as he also was thinking the same. His green eyes looked at mine.
"Maybe we're responsible for that huge reptile's floating in the pool," he whispered.
I felt the same guilt.
The huge reptile swam menacing anyone's daring to come into the pool. A lifeguard managed to sneak behind it and read the
inscription on the shell.
A call went out to the owners, who soon sent a red pickup truck to retrieve the tortoise. Several men left the vehicle to
set up the capture.
"Someone broke into our farm last night and stole it," the worker told the lifeguard.
My mind began wondering where the vandals were. I was sure that they must have been watching from somewhere close by us.
Miss Faust was with us as we watched them throw a net over the tortoise and carry it out.
"Hopefully, we'll still be able to get along with our swimming lessons," she said.
That day of lessons dissolved the events of the morning again. We were all getting better and able to do the basics in swimming.
Like teenage boys, we overdid it.
"Not so hard, George," Miss Faust said. "You'll wear yourself out before you finish the lesson."
We learned our lesson. -- We went to the movies, spending an evening laughing rather than detecting. When we passed the pool
on the way home, across the street stood a police car.
"It's about time they wised up," Tom commented.
However, when returning home, Don tapped my shoulder and pointed, "Look!"
Down the hill by the pond were the vandals, pouring oil from a drum they had obviously stolen from a refinery.
"Let's get those policemen fast! They could be going to ignite the oil!" I blurted.
"I quite agree," Don concurred. "We'd better run!"
I did have reservations about our shortcut to the pool, because we ran in shadowy view of the vandals. After broadcasting
the situation over the radio, the policemen told us to follow if we wished, but to stay out of sight.
Heading back to the pond, we kept away from the very path we had taken.
"Maybe we should have taken this way before we might have been seen," Tom warned.
Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, it was apparent that the vandals were gone. The drum floated calmly in the pond.
"Amazing," I commented. "Do you think they had seen us? Something must have tipped them off."
"I wonder," Don contemplated. "But I guess this will be our last brush with the vandals. They don't know us, and we don't
know them, I hope."
That night, as I pressed my nose against the wire fence, I had no idea what was yet to come. Don's words would become a false
hope.
An ominous lull engulfed the next few days, until one night
we bad each other goodbye. I usually don't like quiet on summer nights. I get nervous when I have a feeling of impending doom.
It makes me keep a sharp sense of my surroundings. After I went inside, I noticed some older boys come around the back of
the house across the street. I didn't think anything of it at the time.
he next night, I called Don to confirm I was coming over. -- He had inviteTd me. The line was busy, so I simply left to go
there.
As I approached his house, something weird happened. Don himself was out walking away from me towards Pete's house. I was
puzzled for the moment. It must have been someone else, but no. That someone else had come out of Don's house. I accelerated
my pace past his house, and I was just about to yell when again something strange happened. A brown hardtop was standing next
to the sidewalk and out jumped two teenagers who grabbed Don with one sweep, slammed the car doors, and whisked him away!
To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I was horrified, and I began fruitlessly to chase the car down the street,
but I immediately stopped in my tracks. I could not catch them, and I had no idea where they were going.
Dag nab it! I could feel the perspiration on my forehead and the chills down my spine. My mind went insane with worry, my
intestines pitted, and I stubbed my toe on a stone, which went through my sneaker. I was hobbling on one foot as I watched
with despair the car's vanishing around a corner. Only the smell of exhaust proclaimed the car had been there.
There must be a reason for this! It doesn't make sense! My curiosity took over. -- What had happened? The vandals must have
seen us, and they were taking Don somewhere to "teach him a lesson" as the movie gangs would put it.
Suddenly I substantiated that Don's grandmother must know something about this event. So I quickly returned to Don's house
and rang the doorbell. Don's grandmother appeared and opened the door.
"Why, George. Come right in. Don said that you would be here soon and to wait for him."
"Where did he say he was going?" I tried to make the question sound normal.
"Oh, over to Pete's house, I gather. Pete called that he had something to show Don."
Then she realized something.
"Why, I didn't even tell you that he'd left,"
I saw the worry, so I evaded the question.
"He told me on the telephone."
"But Pete was the only one who called tonight!"
"Oh, that's right. I tried calling, and the line was busy. I saw his walking the other way towards Pete's house when I came
here."
Changing the subject, I added, "So, you answered the phone?"
"No, Don did. He should be back soon. That's what Don told me. He said Pete had something to show him."
I accepted her hospitality, and we sat down in front of the television. I pretended to be interested in the program, but I
couldn't have cared less about it. I just couldn't understand what had happened. If only I had known what was going on. --
Hey! I recognized the significance. Those boys were the vandals! They must have been. Who else would have pulled such a stunt?
They must have seen us when we went to get the police. Why Don? One of the vandals must have recognized him, and maybe all
of us!
A half hour after I had come in, I decided to leave. I would take my chances that the vandals had seen my going into Don's
house and my subsequent return to my own domain.
"Sorry, Mrs. Hough. It looks as though Don wouldn't be back for a while. If you don't mind, I think I'd go home."
"Yes, you'd better. Another swimming lesson tomorrow. Don's making me worry. He should've been back by now."
But as I walked out of the gate area, a police car drove up and stopped. I think my jaw almost fell out when Don with two
police officers came out of the car and walked toward me.
"Don, where have you been!" I exclaimed.
"You one of his friends?" asked an officer.
"I most certainly am." I affirmed while turning to Don.
"I saw those vandals take you into their car and drive off. What happened? Did they catch them?"
"At least your story affirms his," the officer said simply. "Shall we go inside?"
"No," I responded. His grandmother knows nothing about what happened tonight, and I think it best --"
"You may be a kid, but you make sense. I guess we'd better be leaving."
With that form of closing, they left in their police car. We watched until the red flashing lights had faded into the distance.
"Don, what happened? Did they catch the vandals?" I repeated.
"Big trouble, George. We have a full-fledged war of wits with the vandals, only we have the advantage."
"So, what happened?"
"They took me to an old, abandoned warehouse designed for demolition. They tied me to chair, gagged me and started to slap
me around, at least their leader did. My face still tingles."
"Great Scott!" I interjected. "I bet I know what comes next!"
"However, these policemen must have seen the hurricane lamp, which they had found on the lower floor as it shone outside a
window. One of the vandals saw the police's coming from the window, and they left me there, well almost."
"I'm afraid to ask," I broke in.
"One of them knocked the table over with the lamp. As the lamp hit the floor, it ignited some old rags. The kid untied me,
but didn't join my stamping the fire out. I found an extinguisher, and I was using it when the police arrived. I was left
with my story, which had quite a credibility gap," Don narrated.
"I'll bet you had evidence of what went on, right?"
"Yes, the ropes and the rest of the scene gave me the credibility I needed."
"Do you think the vandals would come after us or you again? I don't think so."
"No, and that's how we're going to catch them -- if we should brush into them again."
"Whoosh! Those vandals don't want any interference from us!"
"That may be so, but they know us now, so we must be careful," Don advised.
That following Saturday, we were watching a baseball game in the park when I heard someone say, "Turn around, Hough. The game's
down there."
"George," Don whispered. "Those vandals are behind us."
When I looked back, they were gone. They had jumped off the back end of the stands. My instant conclusion was that the vandals
were there for a reason, so the four of us stumbled through the stands, trying to get to the parking lot. By the time we reached
it, the vandals were egressing in the same brown hardtop I'd seen that night.
"Did anyone get the license number?" I inquired to the group.
"No, they always manage to get away just in time," Don answered angrily.
"I wonder what they were doing here?" I asked while scanning the area. Soon my eyes had an answer. Several cars had flat tires.
"It looks as though we'd have to work fultime to catch fultime vandals," I concluded.
The following Monday, Don and I were enjoying the air conditioning in the mall, but when we came out to cycle home, something
else greeted us besides the heat. I saw that sinister brown hardtop.
"Isn't that the car?" I knew full well was it.
"It definitely is. That must mean the vandals are in the mall," Don concluded.
Then a policeman alit the car and walked into the mall. After he'd gone a few minutes, we walked pass the vehicle. The windows
were closed, but I glanced inside long enough to see an AM/FM stereo and a two-way radio. It was a "plain brown wrapper"!
"Don, it looks as though the vandals had cornered the market on radio equipment."
"Take down the license number, Don," I whispered as the policeman came out of the mall. I gave him a pen and paper. "We may
have found something."
The man slipped into the car and drove to the exit. When I looked into Don's surprised, hazel eyes, I saw the message.
"Let's follow it at a distance," Don commanded as we mounted our bicycles and headed for the exit.
While ordinary kids play ball on hot summer afternoons, we play detective. Keeping a safe distance was no fun, especially
on the highway.
"Don, if he should continue on the highway, we'd lose him."
Following a car is no fun after the traffic clears, I thought we would never have stayed close enough to follow. As it turned
onto a side street, Don stopped so fast on the corner that I almost ran into him.
"The car stopped in front of that house," he pointed to a house in the middle of the block.
From our view on the corner, we saw the officer get out, go into the house, come back out and leave.
"Let's watch the house for a while," Don suggested while eyeing the pea-green building suspiciously.
Approximately ten minutes later, a medium height, brown-haired teenager came out and walked down the street. He wore a red
shirt, jeans, and a sickly look.
"We can dispose of the crooked cop idea," Don announced. "That's the driver of the car when the vandals are out."
"Then that means the kid's father is a policeman!" I noted.
We followed the kid to another house around the corner. It was a magnificent white house with a long and wide front to side
porch. He went along the porch, knocked on the side door, and went in.
We sat on our bicycles again behind a tree across the street. We observed the house for about fifteen minutes when I became
apprehensive about our being watched also. Don's eyes lit up when he saw a figure in the front picture window.
"Yes," Don agreed. "Let's get out of here! There's no doubt this is where the leader lives"
'I wonder whether we'd been seen," I added as we rode back home. "Bicycles can be seen behind any tree."
Little did I know that we had been seen. Although we turned the tables on the vandals, we now faced their wrath, which they
would put on us the next day.
Don and his grandmother went shopping that afternoon. Mom told me that she wanted some extra things at the market, and I agreed
to walk there. I was standing near the entrance when I saw that car parked outside. Inside the car were the vandals with a
very conspicuously empty front seat where their leader should have been. I panicked as I saw that face, the closely cropped
brown hair, the look of anger, the show of teeth.
Then a cold chill ran up my spine. The vandals were sneaks.
Their leader wouldn't come after me in a supermarket! There must be another reason. I quickly began surveying the store aisles.
Curiosity washed my fear away. I began to check the aisles, looking for that chief of destruction. After I went passed the
aisles from the back, I decided to check the front of the store. As I approached the manager's desk, I saw an older boy who
matched Don's description.
Suddenly, I had come upon the leader's walking up to the store manager. Boy, was I puzzled! He had the same closely cropped
brown hair, the same gritted teeth, but with a sinister smile. His back to me, he went out the automatic door.
I couldn't understand what was going on. The manager whisked out of his booth and headed toward the cashiers. Looking where
he was going, I saw Don and his grandmother's standing in line. The manager walked right up to them. Obviously, Mom Hough
knew him.
Partially hidden behind the sale of cans of corn, I saw Don begin to empty his pockets, and out came a model car. I couldn't
decide whether the car or Don's face was redder, but I did decide to interfere. As I walked closer, I could hear Mom Hough
offer to pay for the car.
Now I'd better get into the act, I thought. I casually walked up to them.
"Hi, Don," I greeted.
"What are you doing here?"
"It looks as though I'd be about to break up a frame."
"Hey, I saw you," the manager told me. "You were behind the boy who said that Don had stolen the car."
"Don, that was the leader of the vandals!"
"What?" exclaimed the manager. Mom Hough just stood there completely puzzled.
"That's it. Now I get it," Don responded, snapping his finger.
"That's not the only thing you'll get. Their car was in the parking lot," I added.
The problem with the manager was over As Mom Hough convinced him that either it was a mistake or the credibility of the older
boy's story was stretched too far.
While in line, much to the chagrin of the cashier, we attempted to explain to her why someone put a car in Don's pocket. and
tried to frame him for theft.
After I bought my things, and we checked out of the store, the vandals' car roared to life and zoomed out of the parking lot
as the leader jeered at us.
"I hope that should have taught you a lesson," the leader yelled.
Hmm, I thought. It's about time we taught them a lesson.
"I think I know how they get away with their vandalism," Don told me.
"So do I, but do you have a plan for catching them?" I asked.
"Perhaps. Let's go home first and get the gang together," Don proposed.
"I get it. We have their license number. How are we going to use it?" I asked, knowing the answer.
Tom and Pete were with us that evening, Don put on the police band on and began to listen to the calls. We were in the kitchen
at Don's house sitting at the table.
"But how are we going to catch those vandals?" Tom looked puzzled.
"Do you want to explain to them, George?" he asked me, knowing I would.
"It's very simple. How do you think the vandals have been getting away every time?"
"Someone is tipping them off," guessed Pete.
"Yesterday we discovered that the vandals' car belonged to a policeman. Does that ring a bell?"
"They're using a police radio," Tom concluded.
"Precisely," I exclaimed. "Now do you know what we're doing?"
This time I received a cold stare of no.
"Get the monopoly board, Don," I sighed.
A call came nearly every fourth turn. What we were about to accomplish came up when I was about to bankrupt Don.
"Hoodlums painting windows at the old brewery on Market Street," the radio blurted out.
"Don, you may do the honors," I said winking.
Don went to the telephone and called the police and gave them the number of the car.
"That should do it," Don said as he cradled the phone.
While we waited, I bankrupted my last opponent.
"I won."
"Hoodlums apprehended" answered the radio. "Caught with the goods."
Don smiled at me and said, "We all won."
The next day, the police had two men come to Don's house to congratulate him on his detective ability. I stayed at home and
pondered the whole affair.
Well, I thought. He did think of the way to capture them first!
We returned to our swimming lesson after the capture of the vandals, but we found that we had much time on our hands. Soon
after our last case, we encountered a new adventure.
Many of the neighborhood kids became organized into a "Charity Band". Our group began working for a charity, or so I thought.
We would go from door to door, asking for donations en masse. Considering a summer with only a paper route to keep me busy
gave me a humanitarian feeling. I mean, why not? Who's it going to hurt or rather who's it going to help? It was August, and
we became very much involved in the work.
What a summer! The caper with the vandals had taken only two weeks from July. It's not easy for a kid to wear off a summer,
but the fun is worth it.
Still, going back to school in September makes me worried at the ease of which the time goes by. Now our group went swimming
and did charity work, and still we had time for an occasional tennis game or handball.
Our leader was Kurt Gaines, a bearded, brown-haired, brown-eyed man with a touch of mystique about him. At first, things seemed
quite normal. He met us at designated corners every day in his maroon truck, where he loaded every conceivable item we collected.
We were doing this charity work for two weeks when something peculiar happened, as it always does in dishonesty.
The four of us were at Pete's house. We were in the kitchen, playing monopoly when Pete's mother came home. We helped unload
the packages when Don noticed some items he had collected.
"What's this?' he asked Pete.
Pete stared at Don. One of the items was a crystal was the exact same pattern and color from a few days earlier.
Then the next day, he showed Pete something else that Pete had collected. His grandmother had bought it for a very reasonable
price from a bearded dark man at a boutique. What made it strange was that it matched the description of our very charity
leader, Kurt Gains.
When Don told us of the peculiarity, I realized that Gains might be taking us kids for a ride. We rode a bus that day downtown
to investigate the man.
Good night, it was Gains actually selling what we were collecting for charity! Don, being the most curious, confronted Gains
in front of his buying crowd and received an unsatisfactory reply. I don't know about you, but the two of us had enough suspicion
for the four of us.
"I told you he was a glib talker," I told Don. "You should know better."
"Yeah, George, but now we've a job to do. -- prove Gains is crooked"
"How do you propose to do that. -- prove that Gains is a crook?"
"It's very simple. We know where he's getting the goods. -- from us. We know where the goods end up. -- at his store. So what
don't we know?" Don explained.
"We don't know where his warehouse is," Tom answered.
"Right. For the police to check on Gains, they must find where he gets the goods, where he takes the goods, and where he sells
the goods. Thus, proving an illegal source, we have proved an illegal business," Don clarified.
Our group gathered for a confabulation. Don gave us how we were going to proceed.
"I have a plan for proving Gains is a crook," Don told us. "Just wait until tomorrow when we bring our merchandise to the
truck. First of all, who wants to come?"
Only Pete answered no. "You need an outside man in case anything goes wrong. You do the dangerous, and I do the worrying.
I'll give you a few hours, and if you should not be back by --."
"Don't overdo it, Pete," I reprimanded. "I'll go. How about you, Tom?"
"Well, uh, alright. I'll go with you two."
Fine. We'll need a diversion so that we could sneak into the truck, any ideas?" asked Don with an evil eye.
"Pete, you could fake a fall off your bicycle," I suggested.
Don became serious. "Could you do it, Pete?"
The next day at two, we met at our usual corner, and Gains was just closing the doors of the truck when Pete feigned a crash
into a tree, Gains fell for the diversion. When he hurried over to the scene, Don, Tom, and I slipped into the back of this
truck without detection.
Once inside a truck loaded with furniture, we jumped at every bump, shake, twist, and turn. It was pitch dark in there, and
we didn't know where we were going.
It wasn't long before we'd completely stopped, supposedly at the warehouse. The last case was an adventure in a warehouse
for Don. I guessed we all were invited to this one.
Our problem was how to get out of the truck without being seen. With the three of us, we were better off splitting into two
groups with yours truly being left alone. We needed my staying behind in case the others were caught, and it proved we were
smart.
Don and Tom were caught trying to sneak out of the truck after Gains had opened it and had taken his first load. He also peered
into the truck for others, but I owe a bureau and a lampshade for hiding me in time.
As I heard their going, Gains was practically dragging them in each arm to the warehouse. I quickly peered out of the truck,
and I saw the coast was clear. I ran across the stoned driveway and hid behind some bushes in a corner while waiting for Gains
to come out of the warehouse. I had a view of the back entrance and the truck. As he came out, minus Tom and Don, I hear him
mutter.
"Meddling kids! I'll take care of them when I get back."
I came out from behind the bushes as I heard him move items in the truck. Unfortunately, Gains continued to unload the truck,
so I hid again.
Seeing that I could not get into the warehouse from the back, I knew Gains must have put them somewhere in the warehouse.
I must get into the warehouse somehow, so I turned the corner and worked the windows along the side. At the front, I opened
a carelessly unlocked window to get inside and pulled myself in.
Darkness and uncertainty greeted me as I groped my way to the back staircase. Making sure that Gains was in the truck, I passed
over his recently brought merchandise and climbed up the stairs.
The second floor was just a massive room filled with household furniture and large appliances. My mind pondered that Gains
had shoved them into a refrigerator or freezer, but I found just empty coolboxes.
There was no sign that my buddies were on that floor, so I moved up to the third floor. The next two floors were hallways
with every door unlocked. I knew Gains had put them in a locked room somewhere. I could hear voices farther up.
When I reached the fifth floor, I saw an end to the staircase, as it led to the roof. I could almost make out what those voices
were saying. Being much higher than Gains, I nearly shouted, "Don, Tom, where are you?"
I was quite shocked to hear, "Over here, George, in this room." I made my way to a locked room and shouted above a whisper.
"Don, Tom, are you in there?"
"Yes," Tom affirmed.
"What do we do now?"
From inside, I heard a voice, "George, don't worry about us. Meet us on the roof!"
On the roof? I looked up, and I was staring at a skylight. My mind was perplexed. Of course, that's how they were going to
meet me on the roof. What are they going to do -- fly? Then it hit me. There must be something in that room upon which they
were going to climb.
I climbed up the final stairs to the roof, and I went to the first skylight in the right direction. Surely enough, below the
glass were Don and Tom setting a desk on its side. Tom went first and stood on the makeshift boost.
"You fellows are hard to find in this warehouse," I joked as I opened the skylight.
"Never mind that, give us a hand," Don commanded as he climbed the bureau to join his pal. Don boosted up our mutual buddy,
then we two pulled up Don.
"Now that we're all up here, let's get down," I said triumphantly as if I had won the race to the top of the building.
"Wait. Let's check for Gains," Don halted us as he approached the edge of the back of the building. I joined him and looked
down. some fifteen meters below, Gains was still unloading the truck.
"Great. How do we get down, and more importantly how do we prove Gains is a crook?" Tom asked as he joined us at the edge
of the roof.
He turned to me. "Could we go down the way you came in?"
"It's very risky, unless we wait until Gains leaves, but he's surely going to come back up and check on you guys. There's
no other stairway except the back one. I wouldn't try the elevator."
"But where are we going to go? We can't stay on this rooftop!" Tom exclaimed.
Don was looking across the roof. Tom took the hint.
"Don't suggest we cross over to the other building."
Then I glanced in the direction of the other building.
"What luck. It's approximately the same height as this building."
"Oh, no! Not you too, George," Tom begged.
"Why not? There are boards here plenty long enough to cross over to the other side," I answered, noting the distance at about
two meters.
By then, Don was lifting a board and placing it over the gap. Don had made a good choice of board. It was at least three meters
long. The gap was too wide to jump over.
"How much weight do you think that one of the boards would hold?" I asked Don.
"I'd guess about 500 Newtons, but we'd better use two boards."
Let's go," I agreed, placing the boards across the edges of the two buildings.
Don went first, slightly shaking, but walking upright. I was more cautious, crawling across the boards while avoiding looking
down. Tom tried the same, but he needed encouragement. Contrary to Tom's belief, the boards had not even cracked.
Once over, Don placed the boards on the blue roof of the adjacent warehouse. We found that roof door open and proceeded down
to ground level as fast as we dared.
"I think I've done enough acrobatics for today," I remarked while smiling.
Back on the first floor, Don halted us as he looked through a back window.
"Wait. Yes, Gains is finished unpacking. He must go to a pickup at four o'clock. Let's sneak back into the truck before he
closes the doors."
We raced for the truck when Gains had just gone back for the last items. Back we were in a half empty truck, only this time
to a definite location. At least, I thought it had been definite. Gains must have heard us in the truck because he soon stopped
the truck and opened the doors again.
This time, he caught all three of us. Gains was smart; he knew he couldn't catch the three of us if we were out of the truck,
so he grabbed Tom and slammed the doors in our faces.
Soon we were all bound, gagged, and thrown back into the truck. Obviously, Gains realized he had a much larger problem on
his hands than he'd thought. I wasn't happy with the state of helplessness myself, until I saw the sharp edge of a chest behind
Don and called his attention to it.>
Gains continued his journey to nowhere as Don freed us.
"Now, what'll we do?" Tom whispered.
Then we stopped again, and Gains began opening the door. Don and I were in position to jump Gains. Drat! He saw that we were
freed, and he grabbed Don and me, leaving Tom inside while slamming the doors.
Between struggles, Gains was dragging us along a dusty road. I saw a barn ahead of us. It was a rural setting with distant
woods and green pastures, with no people in sight.
The barn was larger now, and Gains grabbed the key on a ring hanging on a nail by the barn door. Pushing us inside, he brought
it inside and closed the door. If we could break away from Gains, he'd never catch us both, for we'd go in opposite directions!
"Now you kids won't escape this time," He mused as he locked the doors.
I watched his eyes rise to the hayloft behind us.
"There's an excellent place for me to leave you nosy kids. I think I'll put you up in the hay loft."
Motioning me towards the ladder, he pointed.
"Now get up there, and no funny stuff."
"Alright, but you'll have to help me. I'm acrophobic."
I noticed that he was facing me, and Don had gone down on all fours. He motioned to me with his thumb to give Gains a push,
which I did.
Gains tumbled over Don and into a haystack. Don ran one way, and I ran another. Drat! I thought. I can't find a way out of
here!
In one of the stalls, I found a huge net. I grabbed it, and I gradually crept toward the doorway and the main part of the
barn. I retraced my path to where Gains had caught Don.
He was discussing my capture with his back towards me. Don saw me and proceeded to draw his attention while I skulked closer.
Gains was trying to force Don up the ladder and didn't see my entrance.
"Aargh!" Gains yelled as I netted him. Don and I ran toward the stalls. Behind us, we could hear Gains's groaning. I had netted
him fairly hard.
"Hey, look! Another door!" I shouted as my eyes fixed upon an outside source at the end of the stalls. It took both of us
to push open the rusted porte, but sunshine greeted our sally. We hurried toward the truck still standing undisturbed on the
road.
"I hope he'd left the keys in the ignition. He didn't have them on him," I sperated.
Don opened the passenger door and looked in the cab.
"Yes, here they are."
"Hurry, Don," I urged while turning from the barn to see only Don's jeans and sneakers as he squirmed to reach the keys.
"I have them!" he exclaimed, sliding down to the ground.
We hastened to the doors and unlocked them. Out came Tom, very glad to be freed from the hot truck.
As we unlocked the truck doors, Gains unlocked the barn doors.
"Wait until I get you kids!"
We looked at each other for only a second.
"Everyone run toward the woods in all directions," Don guided. "After he gives up, double back, and we'll meet back here."
I ran at right angles to Don and opposite to Tom. Branches slapped at my face as I dodged trunks in a pathless route into
the woods. I looked back just long enough to see Gains pick up the keys that Don had dropped.
After much dodging and ducking, I managed to find a path, which made it easier to get farther away. Huffing and puffing, my
feet finally ceased my forward motion. I found a nice rock to sit on while I regained my composure.
As I sat on the obsidian stone, I realized that it was getting dark. Facing the path I had just taken, I noticed no sign of
pursuit. I decided to make my way back to join the guys. Gains could not have pursued all of us. Gains must have driven away,
hoping to get out of town before we returned.
I groped my way out of the woods and walked up the mound to the road. Darkness continued to invade the area, but under the
appearing stars, I saw no truck where Gains had been standing.
"Don, Tom, are you around here?" I cried.
They must come out of the woods soon, or it'll be much too dark to see in the foliage. I now was at the spot from where we
had run. In the darkness I could make out tire tracks' encircling the area. Stars of fourth magnitude appeared as the last
bit of light faded in the western heavens.
"George, over here!"
That was Don's voice. Whirling around, I saw a silhouette come out of the woods as branches cracked on the ground.
"Don, what took you so long to get back?"
"I wanted to make sure that Gaines would give up and leave."
"Yes, but he'd get away if we shouldn't inform the police about his activities," I protested. "Say, where's Tom?"
"I don't know. Let's look around."
We called for Tom in the direction we remembered he had taken in the woods, but there was no response except for cricket chirps
and leaf rustles.
"Hey, guys, over here in the barn."
The voice came from the direction of the barn, but it didn't sound like Tom.
"Who else could be here?" Don wondered.
In silent agreement, I walked with Don to the barn. We slipped through the ajar door filled with uncertainty. Suddenly, I
felt someone grab my collar.
"Now I have you kids again!" Gains announced.
The barn was painted black, except for a small oil lamp which pierced the darkness underneath the loft with its light.
Now you kids will get back to obeying my command to get up in the loft," Gains mused.
In the loft we could see Tom bound and gagged. There went my theory of escape.
"Get up there!" yelled Gains, pushing me up the ladder. Gains laid the ladder on its side while still grasping Don.
"Don't go away," Gains smirked. "After I tie up your friend, I'll be right back."
The words rang in my ears as they disappeared below us.
Sliding over to Tom, I endeavored to untie the ropes, but they were too well knotted.
"I guess if we couldn't depend upon you, we'd just have to depend upon me." I empathized, noticing the bales of hay below
us.
When I dropped, I was hanging over the ledge just to minimize the distance in case I missed the hay. I fell approximately
two meters, bounced two bales, and landed on two feet. Hearing Gains's coming back, I ran into the room with the stalls. Standing
in the shadows behind the doorway, I observed Gains and Don's going up the ladder after Gains had righted it.
"Hey, where'd the other one go?" he raged as he finished binding Don's legs. I saw I couldn't pull the ladder down from the
loft, for Gains was standing on it.
My first thought was the woods, but I would never make it without his knowing. Gains was checking the room and was locking
the barn doors. I realized that Gains would search the barn and lock it so that I could not get in and rescue the guys.
I quietly slipped out the back door just as the light of the oil lamp invaded the room with the stalls. A cool rush of air
chilled my face as I closed the door with difficulty as before. Looking skyward, I saw dark clouds were advancing across the
starry heavens.
I rushed to the side of the barn as the door began rumbling. I reached the side of the barn just as Gains pushed open the
door. Fearfully, I glanced around the corner to see Gains walk the other way. A loud clap of thunder sent a chill down my
spine as I walked briskly toward the door following Gains.
Then, before I knew it, Gains was advancing toward me in an insane rage! My legs were frozen just a second as the heavens
protested with a loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightning, but I managed to escape the snatch with which Gains attempted
to capture me.
I scurried towards the road with Gains' footsteps close behind. When I reached the road, the atmosphere burst, and rain pelted
us.
I slipped into the woods and groped my way through the tree branches. I was very angry with myself, because I was in the very
position I did not want to be. I was slipping over wet leaves, and sliding in drenched mud. I was tired, wet, frightened,
angry, and frustrated.
A madman was pursuing me with an oil lamp. Fortunately, the raindrops put out that lamp long enough to blind Gains, and he
banged his head on a tree trunk. It did not produce unconsciousness, but it was enough for my escape.
Once I found the path which I had taken earlier, it was easy for my placing distance between him and me. I pushed my dirty,
wet, blond hair out of my left eye for the umpteenth time and sat down on that familiar obsidian stone.
I was safe from Gains only until daybreak, but I was so tired. I felt sleep seize my legs and my head. I staggered into the
bushes and fell into unconsciousness with rain still beating upon a natural covering.
I found myself coming to consciousness the next morning. It was now light. I could see the oaks' looking down at me and the
pine trees behind me. I sat up, brushing the pine needles off my shirt. My sneakers were caked with mud, my clothes were filled
with dirt, and my moral was low with reality. I looked at my right arm, then remembering I was not wearing a watch.
Da nab it, I thought, and my intestines growled. -- My last meal was lunch from yesterday. As I stood up, I smiled, thinking
Gains probably suffered from the same thing.
I decided to return to the barn despite Gains's probable presence, but I heard the delightful gurgling of a small stream.
Moving toward the sound, I saw it. Small but clear, the stream rolled on. I plunged my face into the stream after I'd dropped
to my knees.
My groggy feeling washed away as I felt my face dry in the morning wind. I bent over again and drank the wild, unchlorinated
water I could hold in my hands. After refreshing myself, I heading back to the barn.
Cautiously I parted the tall grass and peered across the yard. To my surprise, there were two police cars parked aside Gains's
truck. I jumped out of my position and hurried across the ground. I was met by the two policemen's guiding Don and Tom out
of the barn.
"A fine friend you turned out to be,: Don smiled. "We were bored sitting in the hayloft while Gains chased you in the woods."
"How did you know that?"
"You should have heard Gains when he came back to the barn," Tom answered.
"Where's Gains now?"
"The owners discovered us this morning while Gains was sleeping in the cab. They called the police, who arrived just before
you did. Gains is in the patrol car, so far charged with illegal detention. Once they find the goods in the warehouse, we
won't have to worry about Gains anymore," Tom concluded.
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