MAKING IT OFFICIAL
by
RM
Chapter 12
THE CHAPTERS
A
while later, Frank and Caren made their way to the Fieldstone Estate. Once
through the gates, Caren parked her car near the path Frank pointed out and
they began the trek to the hut.
As
they walked along, Caren asked, “Are you sure you should be walking
without your crutches?”
“I’m
fine,” Frank said, taking Caren’s hand in his. “It’s only a little
twinge. And besides, I need to see how much I can do since the ceremony is
tomorrow.”
“Just
don’t overdo it,” Caren said. “I want to enjoy our honeymoon.”
Frank
smiled. “I’m looking forward to it as well.”
Together
they continued to the building. As they cleared the tree line, Caren said,
“Oh, wow.”
“It
is a little run down,” Frank admitted. “We don’t think anyone has
been here in a while.”
“It
definitely looks that way.”
As
they stepped inside, they saw it was just as empty as the last time Frank
had been there.
“All
right, Caren. You read the journal. Where do we go?”
“We
head down to the cellar.”
“It’s
over here.”
Frank
led the way over to the hole. He saw that they ladder was right where they
had left it. He slowly began his descent, being extra careful that he
didn’t fall. Once down, he held the ladder secure as Caren followed.
Caren
turned away from the ladder as Frank turned the flashlight on. He asked,
“Which way now?”
Caren
looked around the cellar. She took the flashlight from Frank as she moved
over to the table and crouched down. Frank watched her with fascination.
Caren seemed so intent on what she was doing and he loved the determination
she had to get something done.
She
ducked under the table making it impossible to see what she was doing. He
could hear her grunting as she tried to move something and she suddenly
fell back on the dirt floor. Dirt flew up around her.
“Are
you all right?” Frank asked, veering his nose and mouth so he didn’t
inhale anymore.
“I’m
fine. But I found what we were looking for.” Caren got on her knees and
crawled under the table. A moment later, she was gone.
“Are
you coming?” Caren asked.
Letting
out a sigh, Frank crouched down and crawled under the table. He saw what
looked to be part of a wall had been moved. Continuing through the hole, he
saw Caren standing in the middle of the room.
Looking
about the room as he moved to a standing position, he saw cobwebs covering
everything in the room. There were shelves lining the walls. There was a
single chair in the middle of the room with a table beside it.
“I
can’t believe you found this,” Frank said.
“Believe
me, I’m just as surprised, Caren said, shining the light around the room.
“I Just thought it was a theory. I didn’t expect it to be here.”
“But
it is here,” Frank said. “And since it is, we might as well look around
for the chest.”
Caren
looked at him. “Where do you want to start?”
“Let’s
start by the entrance here and move our way around together.”
“I
think that’s a good idea, especially since we have only one
flashlight.”
“Then
let’s begin.”
Together
they slowly went through the shelves as they moved about the room. There
wasn’t much there except for some jars and old equipment used for hunting
and fishing.
They
were halfway through the room when Frank stopped. He thought he had heard
something moving upstairs, but at that moment, he didn’t hear a thing.
Figuring it was an animal scurrying across the floor, he went back to the
search.
They
sound of the floor creaking a few minutes later forced both of them to look
up. Caren said, “I think we need to get out of here.”
“I
agree,” Frank said.
They
moved to the hole and exited the room. Caren went first with the flashlight
and Frank followed behind. Once through, Frank stood up and brushed the
dirt from his jeans. He said, “We should head on up.”
“You’re
not going anywhere.”
Frank
looked up and saw Caren was being held from behind. A hand was covering her
mouth. He could see the terror in his eyes.
He
focused on the two men who were behind Caren. Both were muscular and had
beards and mustaches.
“What
do you want?”
“We
are here to claim what is rightfully ours.”
“What
are you talking about?” Frank asked.
“We
know what you are doing and came to collect.”
Frank
had a feeling they had heard about the chest. “I don’t know what
you’re looking for, but there’s nothing here. We’ve come up empty.”
“We’ll
see about that.” The man who wasn’t holding Caren pulled a knife and
placed it against her throat. “Now let’s move.”
Frank
waited for a moment. He knew he couldn’t fight the two men. If he did, he
would be putting Caren into harms way. He wouldn’t let that happen. He
had to protect her.
“What
do you want us to do?”
“I
can see you understand what we want,” the man said. “Now, we will head
back into the room an get what we came for.” The man nodded toward the
hole. “Move.”
Caren was pushed forward and was forced through the opening first. The man that had held her quickly followed. Frank looked at the second man who motioned for him to move.
Frank
got down again and made his way back into the other room. As he stood up,
he saw Caren was being held once again with the knife against her throat.
He was pushed away from the opened and turned to look at the second man.
“Now,
tell us where it is,” the man demanded.
“There’s
nothing here,” Frank said. “We’re telling you the truth.”
“That’s
the wrong answer.”
Caren
whimpered. Frank spun around to see what was happening. The man had pressed
the knife against her throat.
“Let
her go.” Frank moved toward the man.
He
had taken only one step when he felt a searing pain shoot through the base
of his head. He felt himself fall to the floor and remained numb. He
couldn’t fight back as his arms were pulled behind his back and secured.
“Let
him go!” Caren called out.
Frank
tried to turn and look at her, but he was unable to. Darkness seemed to
swallow him. As he blacked out, he heard Caren scream.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.