by Paul Moxham
But that was in the past. The men had stolen the jeep and, if Sarah or she didn’t do something, the men would not only get away with the jeep, but a whole lot of valuables.
That was one of the good things about having an amphibious vehicle. After the men had robbed the house of whatever valuables it had, they could return to the jeep and head back into the water. And, even if the police found out about the theft straight away, they wouldn’t think about searching the water.
A few moments later, the rocky motion of the water was replaced by a different motion as the wheels came into contact with sand. As they did so, the hatch closed and the man climbed back into the jeep.
It only took another minute before the vehicle lurched and anything that wasn’t fixed in place slid as the jeep headed up a hill.
After two minutes driving upwards, the vehicle levelled and, a minute or so after that, it came to a stop. The engine was switched off and the girls listened to the two men as they spoke once more.
“I think we’re close enough,” Elmer said.
“Yes, there’s no need to get closer,” Frenchie agreed. “Especially since the guard dogs might get a whiff of our scent and get curious.”
“I did think about getting some sleeping pills and putting them in some meat,” Elmer admitted. “However, that would only get rid of the dogs and not the guards. Which is why I am relying on your knowledge.”
“Okay, well, I say we wait here and keep watch for the guard and his dog,” Frenchie said. “It should be ten minutes and then fifteen. But we won’t know which is which unless we see the guard pass—”
“Hey, there’s a torchlight,” Elmer interrupted. “That must be him coming now.”
As the men fell silent, the two girls peered out of the rear window to see if they could spot the guard. But only darkness greeted them.
A few moments later, Elmer resumed talking. “Yes, that was him. Now we just have to wait and see if it’s ten or fifteen minutes until he passes again.”
~
Fifteen minutes later, Frenchie spoke. “Here he comes now. So the next gap will be ten minutes.”
“I wonder how many trips we’ll need,” Elmer said.
“At least three, so it might be best to find something in the house to carry the loot in,” Frenchie said. “If we just use the bag we brought it will take too long. Come on, let’s go.”
The two men ceased talking as they climbed up the hatch and left the jeep. Then, after waiting for another minute to make sure that the men had in fact gone, Amy slowly crept down the passageway and up the hatch.
The men had left it open, so it only took a moment for her to glance towards the house. As it was mostly in darkness, she couldn’t see any sign of the men.
After listening for a few moments, Sarah called up to her. “Are the men gone?”
“Yes,” Amy replied as she climbed back down.
Sarah sighed. “Phew! We’re finally alone.”
“Yes, but we’re not out of danger yet,” Amy said.
“But once we tell the police—” Sarah said.
“We don’t know where we are, let alone where the police are,” Amy interrupted.
“Well, surely there would be someone in the house who could telephone the police,” Sarah said.
Amy thought for a moment. “Maybe, but maybe not. After all, if these men are stealing stuff from the house, maybe they know that the house is empty at the moment.”
“We could tell the guard when he comes around again,” Sarah said.
Amy nodded as she glanced at her watch. “Yes, he should be in sight in seven minutes.”
“So, as soon as we see him, how about we run up to him and tell him about the crooks?” Sarah suggested.
Amy peered into the darkness. “Yes. I think that’s the best plan. But what if the crooks return to the jeep before the guard appears?”
“I don’t think they will,” Said said. “However, if we do see the crooks returning, we could hide again.”
“Let’s stand on top the jeep so we have a good view of the house,” Amy said.
“Yes, let’s do that,” Sarah said.
The two girls climbed back up the hatch and sat on the top of the jeep, their legs hanging down on the side as they waited for the guard and his dog to appear.
The minutes ticked by agonizingly slowly but, finally, the seven minutes was up. But, no guard appeared.
Amy glanced at her watch. “I don’t understand it. The guard should be in sight by now.”
“Maybe he will come in another minute or so,” Sarah said.
“Maybe,” Amy replied, hopeful.
Another minute passed and still the guard didn’t appear. Wondering what was going on, Amy made sure that her watch hadn’t stopped. “The men said that the guard patrolled every ten minutes, then fifteen and then ten and so on. But seventeen minutes have passed and the guard hasn’t appeared.”
“Maybe the guard heard the crooks inside the house and went to investigate,” Sarah said.
Amy frowned. “Possibly. Well, I suppose we could wait for a few more minutes just in case the guard got delayed for some reason.”
Another few more minutes passed, but the situation remained the same. Finally, Amy could stand it no longer. “We can’t just wait here and do nothing. We have to do something.”
“What do you suggest?” Sarah questioned.
“Let’s go to the house and see what we can find,” Amy said.
“Okay, I’m coming with you. I’m not going to stay here by myself,” Sarah said as she followed her sister down the ladder and onto the grass.
Side by side, the two hurried towards the house.
~
Since the only light was coming from inside the house, Amy and Sarah couldn’t see much as they hurried towards the building. The house seemed very large, larger than Chandler Manor.
As they reached it, Amy paused and glanced around. Not seeing or hearing any sign of anyone, they made their way towards the back door. This door, they assumed, would have been the door that the men would most likely have entered through. So, hopefully, it would be unlocked.
It was. Amy pushed it open slowly and looked around. For the first time, she heard a noise. She listened for a moment. It was the unmistakable sound of a dog barking. She whispered to her sister. “It’s a dog!”
“I wonder if it’s the one that belonged to that guard that passed by earlier,” Sarah said.
Amy nodded. “Yes, let’s see where it’s coming from.”
The two girls hurried down the long passageway. It was a massive house and it had countless rooms of all sorts and sizes. There was a study, an empty room, a library, another empty room, a living room, and so on.
They finally came to the end of the passageway where there was a grand marble staircase leading to the upper floor. The barking was coming from behind the closed door of a room just next to the staircase.
As Amy walked over to the door, she caught sight of a figure lying hunched over on the ground by the base of the staircase. It was the guard. He appeared to be unconscious.
“Oh no!” Amy rushed over and tried to wake him, but she couldn’t. She felt for the man’s pulse for a number of seconds. The dreaded thought of the man being dead crossed her mind but, luckily, he wasn’t. His pulse was still there. It was weak, but his heart was still beating. “The burglars must have knocked him out.” Amy stood up and turned towards the door. “And then they locked the dog in that room.”
“So, what are we going to do now?” Sarah questioned.
Amy thought for a moment. “I’m tempted to open the door and let the dog out, but what if he attacks us instead of the burglars? After all, the animal may have no idea who locked him in the room and, when he sees his fallen master, he could attack whoever is closest to him, which would be us.”
“But surely…” Sarah paused as she heard voices, and then footsteps. “The men are coming downstairs!”
Amy grabbed Sarah’s hand and quick
ly hid behind the base of the staircase. A few moments later, the two burglars came down the stairs.
“One more trip and that should be it,” Frenchie said.
“Yes, but we’d better make it snappy,” Elmer replied. “We only have a limited time before the other guard notices his partner isn’t around. I just wish we could somehow shut up the dog.”
“Be my guest,” Frenchie said. “But to do that you’d have to open the door, and then you’d only have a few seconds before the dog attacked you.”
The two voices faded away as the men hurried down the passageway.
“One more trip,” Amy muttered. “That’s not going to give us much time.”
“Enough time for what?” Sarah questioned.
“To get help of course!” Amy sighed and looked at the unconscious guard. “I wish he would wake up. Even better, I wish I knew where the other guard was. But I’ve no idea how large this property is and, if the other man is patrolling the grounds, the only way we’d be able to find him quickly would be if we shouted.”
“But if we yelled out, the crooks would hear us,” Sarah said.
Amy nodded. “Which is why we can’t do that.”
“What are we going to do then?” Sarah asked.
“I’m not sure,” Amy admitted. “Let’s just think for a minute or two.”
The two girls thought all the while until they heard Elmer and Frenchie returning. They made sure they couldn’t be seen and stayed still until the men were on the upper floor.
As Amy stood up, she suddenly grinned. “Come on, I’ve just thought of an idea.”
“What is it?” Sarah asked.
Amy hurried down the passageway. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
As Amy led the way outside and headed towards the jeep, she explained her plan. “We can start the jeep and drive it to the nearest house and get them to contact the police.”
“But you’ve never driven a car, let alone an amphibious jeep!” Sarah exclaimed.
“Well, Tex did show us the basics,” Amy said. “Besides, it’s almost like driving a car and, though I’ve never driven a car, I know how to drive one.”
They arrived at the jeep a few moments later and climbed up the ladder. Once they were inside the vehicle, Amy sat down in the driver’s seat.
“What about the accelerator and brake pedals?” Sarah asked. “Can you reach them?”
Amy pressed her feet down. “Only just. Now I need to switch on the ignition.” Recalling what Tex had shown them earlier, she followed his example.
A second later, the jeep rumbled to life. “Yes!” Sarah exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Amy peered through the front window. “It’s awfully dark out there. I think I need to switch on the headlights. But I wonder what button I have to press. I don’t remember what Tex told us. Do you?”
“No, I don’t,” Sarah replied.
“I’ll have a look to see if the men are coming back yet while you think.” Sarah climbed up the ladder and up through the hatch which they had left open earlier. As she glanced around, she was met with darkness.
She was just about to head back down when a slight movement caught her eye. It was only for a few seconds as a shape appeared near the house and then it was gone.
But then the clouds parted and the full moon appeared. As it lit up the surrounding area, she caught a glimpse of two figures running towards the jeep.
It was the men!
“They’re coming!” Sarah scrambled down the ladder and closed the hatch. As she reached her sister, the jeep lurched forward.
“I couldn’t find the headlights, but at least the moon provides some light.” Amy swung the wheel to the right, away from the house, and pressed down on the accelerator.
Unlike a car, the amphibious jeep was fairly slow, especially to get going and Sarah feared that the men would catch up and climb back into the jeep. She voiced her concerns to her sister. “We need to go faster!”
“Okay, but I don’t want to hit a tree or a large bush,” Amy replied. “Can you see where the men are now?”
Sarah rushed to the rear of the vehicle and peered out. Relief filled her as she saw the two men running after them. However, they were still some distance away. Then, as she watched, Elmer dropped the bag of loot he was carrying.
As the seconds passed, the distance between the jeep and Elmer decreased. Sarah realised that the man was catching up and, unless they increased speed, Elmer would probably catch up to them.
Sarah turned and hurried back to where Amy was intently gazing through the front window as she swung the wheel to the left and then to the right to avoid the numerous trees that were ahead of them. “Go Faster! They’re catching up!”
“I can’t press down any further,” Amy said. “My legs won’t reach.”
“What are we going to do then?” Sarah asked.
“Just hope that the men don’t catch us,” Amy replied.
Sarah hurried back to the rear window and gazed out. She was shocked to see that Elmer was now within an arm’s reach of the jeep.
Then, to her horror, the man reached out and grabbed the railing that surrounded the outside of the jeep.
As his legs flailed in the air, Sarah realised that if she didn’t make one last ditch effort to save her and Amy, they would be captured by Elmer very soon. She ran back to Amy and yelled out. “Elmer’s clinging onto the back of the jeep.”
Amy swung the wheel to the right and then to the left. “Hopefully this will dislodge him.”
“But we need to go faster.” Sarah suddenly dropped to her knees. “I’ve got it! I’ll press down on the accelerator while you steer.”
“I suppose that will work.” Amy moved her legs, giving her sister enough room to reach the pedals. As soon as she felt her hands by her feet, she released her foot from the pedal and concentrated on steering.
A second later, the jeep shot forward as Sarah pressed the accelerator pedal down as far as it could go. Amy continued swerving as she attempted to navigate her way past the trees.
At least she didn’t have to worry about other vehicles since she wasn’t on a proper road, but she realised that she would soon encounter something other than trees. If only she could get the headlights to work.
Then it suddenly came to her. “Of course! Tex mentioned the headlights just after he talked about the lever that started the propeller.” Amy glanced at the three levers beside the steering wheel. “The top one was for the propeller, but I don’t know which one was for the headlights.”
“Try them both then!” Sarah shouted.
Amy nodded and moved the bottom one. It moved, but nothing happened. She then tried moving the middle one. As soon as she did so, the darkness in front of the jeep was swept away as the headlights came on.
“Yes! The lights…” Amy paused as she caught sight of a tall, stone wall which was right in front of them and getting closer with every passing second. With both hands now back on the wheel, she turned to the left hard. She breathed a sigh of the relief as the jeep passed within a few feet of hitting the wall.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asked.
“I just avoided a wall,” Amy replied. “But luckily I got the headlights on just in time.”
“Do you think Elmer is still holding onto the back of the jeep?” Sarah questioned.
Amy glanced behind her and attempted to peer through the rear window. However, it was too dark to see anything. “I have no idea. But I haven’t heard anything, so maybe he lost his grip and fell off.”
“So how long am I going to stay down here?” Sarah asked.
“Well, we shouldn’t go slow until we know for certain that Elmer isn’t hanging...” Amy’s heart suddenly caught in her throat.
They were heading directly for what looked like the entrance to the estate. Two, big, steel gates loomed in front of them.
“Press down on the brake!” Amy shouted.
“Okay!” Sarah replied.
Amy wondered if she shoul
d turn the wheel, but she didn’t do so since they were now heading down a driveway and there were trees on both sides of the jeep. Besides, the gates was still some distance away and she thought they would be able to stop in time.
However, the jeep wasn’t slowing down. “Why aren’t you pressing on the brake?” Amy shouted.
“It’s stuck!” Sarah yelled.
“Let me try.” Amy clambered down while Sarah held the steering wheel steady. Amy pressed down on the brake pedal, but nothing happened. It was just like her sister had said. It was stuck.
“We’re going to hit the gates!” Sarah shouted.
Amy attempted one last effort to budge the pedal, but it didn’t move. She didn’t want to give up, but since she didn’t want to be underneath the wheel when the jeep hit the gates, she scrambled back up to the seat.
Since the vehicle had been going at the fastest speed possible, the gates hadn’t stood a chance and, as the sturdy jeep smash into them, the gates parted.
The girls were tossed around with the impact.
As Amy sat back down in the seat and took hold of the steering wheel, Sarah sat beside her, clearly shaken up. “What are we going to do?”
“I’m not sure. I wish…” Amy paused as she navigated a tight corner as she drove down the road. “Now that we’re not in the estate any longer, I’ll have to pay a lot more attention to steering the jeep in case a car comes towards us.”
“Then why don’t we head back to the estate?” Sarah asked.
“In order to do that, I’d have to turn this around,” Amy replied. “And I don’t want to do that. With a vehicle this long, and on a narrow road like this, and with an embankment on one side, it would be impossible to do so.”
“A car!” Sarah shouted, pointing.
Amy nodded as she saw the headlights approaching from the other direction. “Yes, I see it. At least our headlights are working…” She suddenly fell silent.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked, worried.
Amy waited until the car had passed by before she quickly glanced at her sister. “I just recall something that Tex said straight after he mentioned the headlights. He mentioned the words constant speed. That’s what the other lever does. And I moved it, just before I moved the lever that switched on the headlights. That’s why we can’t slow down.”
