Joe opened his eyes and looked at Frank, but otherwise stayed deathly still. He stared up at his older brother, his blue eyes shining with a combination of terror and renewed hope.

Frank looked around the little room, hoping to find something with which to divert the snakes’ attention from Joe, but there was nothing there, save the lights, and the video camera relentlessly taping the ghastly scene.

"Rich - Perry!" Frank turned his head slightly and hissed the words over his shoulder. "Go tell the officers that we’ve found Joe, but there are three big rattlesnakes keeping him company!"

The two boys took off at a run. Frank turned back to the room, hoping that he could do something to help Joe remain calm, so the snakes wouldn’t strike at him.

"Take it easy, Joe…." Frank’s voice was just loud enough to be heard by the bound youth. "Just stay calm and lie still, and they won’t attack you…."

Joe kept his gaze fastened on his brother’s face, concentrating fiercely on Frank’s words. With the gag in his mouth, he was unable to speak, but even if he had been able, he wouldn’t have. He knew enough about snakes to realize that as long as he remained quiet and motionless, the rattlers wouldn’t view him as a threat, and wouldn’t strike. But he wondered just how long he could manage it - Joe didn’t know how long he had been there, but it seemed like hours, and his nerves were just about shot! He felt sweat running through his hair and trickling down his face. It itched abominably.

Frank hovered in the doorway, his face pale, whispering words of encouragement. "It’s okay, Joe - just lie still….Just relax. Slow, even breaths - count in your head - hang on, there’s help coming. Just a little longer…you can do it…."

*****

Seconds crawled by, and became minutes. Endless minutes….

*****

Footsteps could be heard now, rapidly approaching the tiny, hot room. Joe heard them, and his eyes brightened. But the snakes were aware of it too. Their heads lifted defensively, and a brief warning rattle cut through Frank’s murmurs. He stopped speaking, and held his breath.

Joe squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, then opened them. Keep your eyes on Frank, he told himself. Concentrate on Frank!

Slowly, Frank backed out of the doorway to allow the newcomer to enter. Joe’s eyes followed his brother imploringly, trying not to lose sight of him. A tall, rangy man with short blonde hair and a weather-beaten face edged past Frank into the chamber.

He carried a long pole with a rope looped at one end. Another man stopped in the doorway, holding something in his hands.

"Easy, son…." the man murmured, circling Joe cautiously. "I’m Tex, the snake wrangler from the zoo. You just stay still and let me take it from here."

He kept circling and talking, until the snakes began moving, angling towards him, trying to get within reach of this new intruder. One slithered over Joe’s bound ankles, and the watching Frank saw his brother’s face tighten into a grimace - but he stayed still. With a sudden, swift movement, Tex stepped in and lassoed a reptilian neck, yanking it with speed off Joe and towards the door. He maneuvered his long pole near the other man, who was waiting with a burlap sack. Tex dropped the rattler into the sack, and his partner quickly tied it shut, and dropped it into a plastic barrel which stood in the janitor’s closet.

Tex repeated the procedure, and the second snake was captured. Again, he circled and talked, and a third time a deadly serpent was caught, bagged, and dropped into the container.

"And that’ll do ‘er." Tex grinned down at Joe. "You can come visit your little friends at the zoo, son." He winked, and he and his assistant departed, taking the barrel of snakes along with them.

Frank dashed into the room and flung himself to his knees beside Joe, his fingers already fumbling for the bonds that held him immobile. Kevin Barnes and Len Henderson followed him in; Barnes went to turn off the video camera which had recorded the whole scene, and Henderson unplugged one of the floodlights, reducing the glare in the chamber to a more comfortable level.

"Fogle’s in custody, Joe - only one left on the loose is Brookshire…" Frank muttered as he worked. "…afraid we wouldn’t find you in time….Good Lord, those snakes were huge!….Hang on, almost got it…."

He managed to loosen the gag and removed it from Joe’s mouth. Joe waggled his jaw tentatively.

"Are you okay?" Frank anxiously demanded, helping Joe to a sitting position.

Joe swallowed, trying to work some saliva back into his mouth. Finally, he spoke: " ‘Stay calm and they won’t attack!’?" He stared at Frank in disbelief. "Well, DUH!" And with a shaky sigh, he sagged against Frank’s shoulder.

Frank grinned sheepishly and hugged Joe tightly, feeling the convulsive shudders rippling through his brother’s body. "I know, I know, it was dumb!" he admitted. He didn’t blame Joe for his reaction; he knew his nerves were raw and on edge at this point. "It’s over, baby brother; all over." he whispered.

Frank helped Joe to his feet, and they exited the janitor’s closet. Rich and Perry huddled close to the Hardys, their faces full of worry.

"Joe, are you okay?" Perry demanded, at the same time Rich was saying: "This is all my fault…"

"I’m fine." Joe assured them. "Rich, this definitely wasn’t your fault! If you hadn’t been there to see Fogle grab me, I’d be dead by now!"

He looked at Sergeant Henderson. "Brookshire told Fogle he was going to get the original painting, and put it back in the frame; then he was going to come back here and get the film-" Joe gulped, stammering slightly. "…and get the film of m-my…of my death…and ready it for the TV broadcast."

"I wonder why Fogle wasn’t setting up Brookshire to take the fall for him, the way he did Crigger." Frank speculated.

"Good question," Henderson nodded. "And for that matter, why put the real painting back in the frame?"

"There’s still something that doesn’t make sense about this whole thing." Agent Barnes commented. He directed one of his men to make another check of the painting, and soon received the news that it was, indeed, the original painting by Francois Boucher, and that the plastique had been removed from the frame.

"It’s nearly time for Mr. Freemont and the rest of the class to get here." Joe observed, looking at the massive clock in the entrance hall. "Hey, why didn’t Brookshire get caught when he came back to switch out the paintings, anyway?"

Sergeant Henderson looked a little embarrassed. "He took out the agent in back, and the one in front didn’t see him. He managed to slip in and out without anyone noticing."

"Oh." Joe’s eyes flickered toward Frank, but he didn’t say anything more. Frank’s lips quirked up in a small smile, and then he hastily departed for his assigned duties upstairs with the security cameras.

Mr. Freemont arrived, with the rest of Joe’s class, and the students entered the beautiful building decorously. According to their instructions, they broke into small groups, and began their tour of the museum with several guides.

Joe, Rich and Perry managed to stick together for the tour, and they dutifully admired the paintings and other artwork on exhibit. Slowly, they worked their way to the piece de resistance, the half-million-dollar painting by Francois Boucher: The Martyrdom of Elisa.

By this time, the Parthenon was filled to bursting with media personnel and general public there to view the exhibit. The Bayport students worked their way to the front of the crowd and stood watching as Theodore Ratkin, the museum director, unveiled the painting. A soft chorus of ‘Ohhh’s’ and ‘Ahh’s’ filled the room as he did so.

Joe stared at the painting critically. He wasn’t sure he liked it. There was a beautiful brunette woman in a long, flowing white dress with a somewhat overflowing bodice. A thin streak of blood showed from an open wound, and she appeared to be sitting in desolate, war-torn ruins. Huge brown eyes turned heavenward toward two angels floating overhead. Joe supposed it was a well-done piece of artwork, but it wasn’t exactly a style or a subject he felt warmly about!

Upstairs, Frank was watching the events unfold on a security monitor screen. He kept his eyes on Joe, feeling a prickling sense of unease and disquiet. Fogle and Crigger are in custody…Brookshire’s not around. Joe should be safe…so why do I feel like this?

What’s that? Frank bent close to the screen. Joe was on camera, and there was a small red light shining on his chest! Frank leaped from his chair, nearly overturning it in his haste, and hurtled towards the stairs.

Rich Sutton threw an arm across Joe’s shoulders. "So, Joe, what do you think of the painting that’s worth half as much as the whole rest of the collection?" he bantered, swinging Joe away from the picture.

Before Joe could answer, the sharp report of gunfire shattered the quiet! Screams erupted from the crowd, but the most piercing one came from Rich Sutton, as a bullet slammed into his arm!

"Stay here, Rich!" Joe commanded, scrambling to his knees.

"N-no - Joe, don’t leave me alone!" Sutton pleaded. He was gripping his arm tightly, and blood was oozing between his fingers.

"It’s me this guy’s after; you’ll be safe. Just stay put." Joe lurched into a half-crouch, and scuttled across the floor, towards the shelter of a large piece of sculpture. Rich, terrified but compliant, obeyed.

Pounding footsteps heralded the arrival of Frank, Sergeant Henderson, Kevin Barnes, and two or three other officers; all who could be spared from guarding the cash upstairs. Guns drawn, they spread out, searching for the shooter. Frank dashed over to his brother, clutching at Joe to reassure himself he was still intact.

"Saw - red light - on you…" he panted.

Joe blinked at him in confusion, then gestured to Agent Barnes. "The shots came from over there, behind that statue." Joe pointed.

"Right - you two stay here." Barnes directed. For once, neither Hardy had any inclination to disobey a police order!

It seemed like only a few seconds had elapsed when there came the sound of shouting from one of the side exit doors. "FREEZE! Hold it right there! Drop the weapon." followed by the clatter of something hitting the marble flooring.

Frank turned relieved brown eyes on his brother. "Sounds like they got him."

The snarling whine of emergency vehicles now filled the air, and soon paramedics were attending to Rich Sutton’s bullet-creased arm. Classmates hovered about him in horrified fascination, but Perry Nichols kept watchful guard to see that no one ventured too close, or bothered the redheaded boy.

Joe gestured towards where Brookshire was being read his rights. "Let’s check it out." He and Frank strolled calmly through the museum to where officers were searching Bradley Brookshire, and watched the proceedings with a great deal of relief.

"Sergeant Henderson, could we ask him a couple of questions?" Joe requested quietly. Henderson nodded, and the boys stepped forward.

"Why did you try to kill me?" Joe asked. "Fogle and Crigger are already in jail."

"I had a score to settle with your dad, same as Fogle did." Brookshire readily admitted. "He was the reason I did time. Crigger was the patsy."

"Why did you put plastique in the picture frame and then remove it?" Frank queried. "That still makes no sense to me."

"Fogle figured you two would hunt around the area, and if you found something, then you’d be satisfied and we could go ahead with our plans without you interfering." Brookshire said sullenly. Apparently he resented their thoroughness.

"Where’d the snakes come from?" Joe inquired, shuddering slightly.

Brookshire grinned maliciously at him. "That was Fogle’s doing." he replied. "He found a nest of them out near Bayridge Mountain, when he was mountain climbing. He thought it would be great if your old man watched you die real slow."

"All right, that’s all for now." One of the uniformed officers took Brookshire’s arm and led him away towards a waiting patrol car.

Frank and Joe turned towards the crowd of Joe’s classmates. "Let’s check on Rich." Joe said. "He saved my life, Frank - if he hadn’t swung me around right when he did, that bullet would have hit my chest instead of his arm!"

Rich was just finishing being patched up by the medics, still guarded by the watchful Perry. They both grinned as the Hardys neared, although Sutton’s looked a bit forced.

"How’s your arm, Rich?" Joe asked solicitously.

"It’s okay - but it stings like crazy!" Rich admitted. "After this," he announced. "I’m going to leave this stuff to you guys. There’s way too much excitement for my taste!"

"You mean you don’t want to be a detective after all? Bullet wounds aren’t as exciting as they look on TV?" Frank teased, and chuckled as Rich shook his head violently.

"Let’s get out of here!" Perry urged. They went outside, and headed towards the bus, where to Frank’s surprise, Joe climbed on with the rest of his classmates.

"We’re going to pick up the CD’S" Joe called out the bus window. "I’ll meet you back at the hotel!"

Frank shook his head in baffled amusement at Joe’s insouciance - you gotta love the guy! - and walked to the van.

*****

"Mr. Freemont, is it okay if I drive back to Bayport with Frank, instead of riding on the bus?" Joe asked, several hours later, as the students sat in the hotel lobby discussing the eventful days just past. It was the group’s consensus that no Bayport High school trip had ever been as exciting as this one had! The fact that Rich, Perry, and the Hardys would have to return to Nashville later, to testify at Fogle’s trial, only added to the students’ exhilaration.

"I thought making the CD was going to be the most exciting part," Amy Farragut was saying now, through the chatter. "But a gunfight at a museum has to top that!"

Frank shook his head ruefully, but had to chuckle. "It wasn’t a gunfight, Amy - it was supposed to be an execution." He looked over at Joe. "I don’t think we’re going to want to add that film to the family home movies, though." he added.

Mr. Freemont was pondering Joe’s question. Ordinarily, it would have been an automatic ‘no,’ but the events at the museum had made him reconsider the wisdom of traveling with a Hardy brother in the group. "I believe it would be all right, Joe." he said, finally. "But you’ll need to clear it with your parents first, of course. Will it be a problem, getting their permission, from Hawaii?"

Joe grinned. "No, I don’t think so. After watching somebody use me for target practice on live TV today, they’ll be so relieved I’m still alive they’ll agree to anything."