125-Mystery on Makatunk Island by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:14:59+00:00

Chapter 8

Moving Target

Everything was black. Frank ached all over. He felt like he had been hit by a wrecking ball. His head was throbbing, and he felt blood on the fingers of his right hand. "Joe?" he called out. "Joe, are you all right?"

There was no answer. A horrible feeling of dread came over Frank. He pushed aside the pieces of rotting wood that were pinning him to the ground, and slowly struggled to his feet. Above him, the stars were plainly visible where the roof of the building had been.

"Joe?" he called again, hunting for the flashlight that had been knocked out of his hand. But he couldn't find it. Only when the moon appeared out of some clouds was there any light.

Frank froze when he caught sight of a hand sticking out from under a beam. It wasn't moving.

"Joe!" Frank cried, rushing over and using all the strength left in him to push the beam aside. Joe was covered with so much debris, Frank couldn't imagine there was any air for breathing.

Finally, Frank managed to dig out his brother and pull him into a relatively clear space. "Joe! Are you all right?" he asked anxiously, kneeling at his side.

joe's eyes slowly flickered open. "Ooohhhh," he moaned softly. "What happened?"

"The roof came down, that's what happened," Frank said. "Are you okay?"

"I ... I heard you calling, but I was jammed under a beam," Joe said, trying to sit up. "I think I'm okay now."

"We're lucky the wood was so rotten," Frank said. "If the termites hadn't chewed out the center of these beams, making them lighter, we'd both be dead by now."

Frank got up and looked around the wreckage in the moonlight. Something caught his eye, and he knelt back down. "Hey! There are saw marks on this beam," he said, feeling the wood with his fingers. "This was no accident. I think someone lured us here to try to get rid of us!"

"That's good," Joe said. "We must be getting close to figuring out the mystery. Otherwise, why would they bother?"

"We'd better be a lot more careful from now on," Frank said. "Or we'll end up like the Halliwell paintings," he added grimly.

Joe got up and brushed the dust off his clothes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"My arm hurts, but it's nothing serious," Frank said. "How about you?"

"My leg is cut and I'm a little dizzy, but, heyI'm alive," Joe answered. "How lucky can I get?"

"Come on," Frank said. "Let's get home." The two brothers limped back up the hill to Emma's with only the light of the moon to guide them. Chet was still sound asleep. After Frank and Joe cleaned their cuts and checked their bruises they carefully lay down. As soon as Frank's head hit his pillow a wave of exhaustion crashed over him. The shock of what had happened had made him forget his aching stomach. He heard his brother's slow breathing and he knew Joe was already sleeping. Despite his fatigue, the events of the day whirled around in his head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.