168-The Castle Conundrum by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:15:16+00:00

Chapter 9

Night Birds

The attackers arm closed around Joes neck. Joe reached up and grasped the forearm with both hands, then dropped to one knee. As he shifted his weight, preparing to throw the attacker over his shoulder, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent. In that same instant, he heard an alarmed "Aie!" next to his ear. "Marie-Laure?" he gasped. "Is that you?" "Joe!" Marie-Laure replied. She relaxed her arm and wriggled out of his grip.

Joe straightened up and took a quick look to his left.

Frank had a hammerlock on Jean-Claude. He released it and took a cautious step backward. Jean-Claude groaned and slumped to his knees.

"Oh!" Marie-Laure cried. "You've hurt him!" She rushed over to her brother. After a quick whispered exchange, she helped him to his feet.

Marie-Laure turned to face Joe. Her eyes blazed. "How dare you!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Why did you follow us? Answer me!"

Joe took a deep breath. "Does it matter that you tried to jump us?" he asked bitterly.

"We saw someone sneaking up here," Frank explained. "After everything that's happened, we figured they were up to no good. So we came after them."

"And all we knew was that somebody was following us," Jean-Claude said. He rubbed his neck. "So we decided to entrap them. Not a very bright idea, it seems."

Marie-Laure was still angry. "Why not?" she demanded. "They are trespassers. We should order them to leave at once!"

Jean-Claude gave her a quirky look. "And if they refuse? Will you try again to strangle Joe? I think not. And after what just happened, I promise Frank that he is safe from me!"

Jean-Claude walked into the great hall and switched off the flashlight. Frank, Joe, and Marie-Laure followed. They could still see one another. Moonlight flooded in through the open space where the roof had once been.

"Look, we're not your enemies," Frank said. "We want to stop these dirty tricks and find out who's in back of them."

Marie-Laure gave him a skeptical look. "Why should we believe you?" she asked. "And why do you believe you can do this?"

Joe met Frank's eyes. He raised one eyebrow. Should they trust the French brother and sister? Frank hesitated, then nodded.

"Listen," Joe said. "The fact is, Frank and I have had a lot of experience solving mysteries. Back home, we're pretty well known as detectives."

"I knew there was something out of the ordinary about you," Marie-Laure said.

"Why did you not say this before?" Jean-Claude asked.

"It might have sounded too much like bragging," Frank explained. "And then we saw something was going on here. We didn't want to alert the bad guys and put them on their guard."

"So you are already, as they say, on the case," Jean-Claude said. "Good. We need whatever help we can get."

"Help with what?" Joe asked. "What are you doing here in the middle of the night, anyway?"

It was Jean-Claude's and Marie-Laure's turn to exchange a questioning glance. They quickly reached a decision.

"We have been searching for our ancestor's treasure," Jean-Claude confessed.

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