by Paul Moxham
Five minutes later, they reached the gorge. In front of that was the bridge. No one was in sight.
“What if the Golden Dragons have already reached the bridge and they’re lying in wait for us?” Will asked.
“That could happen,” Christo admitted as he peered from one tree to the next, “but there’s no way we’re going to be certain and, if we wait, there’s a risk that the soldiers will show up.”
Max nodded. “There’s no use stopping now. But there’s no need to run. Let’s just conserve our energy in case we need it.”
A second later, the group left the shelter of the trees and walked to the bridge. Everyone gazed to the left and then the right as they wondered if anyone would appear, but no one did. They all breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the bridge without a single person calling out.
Amy smiled. “We made it!”
“Are you sure this bridge is safe?” Will asked as he studied the rickety structure. “From back in the woods it looked okay, but up close it looks pretty old and rotten.”
“We’d better take it nice and slowly and only have one person on it at a time just to be safe,” Christo suggested.
“Yes, there’s no need to hurry now.” Max glanced behind him at the woods. “I can’t see any soldiers, so we’re clear. But if the Golden Dragons do appear, then we’ll need to hurry up. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Max turned his attention back to the bridge which was supported by two ropes on either side. “I’ll walk across first to test how stable it is.”
Half a minute later, Max was safely on the other side. “Come over one at a time.”
Amy and Will were the next to go. They did exactly what Max had done and were soon across. Then it was Sarah’s turn.
Sarah looked anxiously at the bridge. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Of course,” Christo replied in a confident voice. “You’ll be on the other side before you know it.”
“Could you hold my hand?” Sarah asked.
“Well, I suppose so.” Christo turned to Joe. “Do you mind going last?”
Joe shook his head. “No, I’ll be fine.”
Christo smiled at Sarah. “Let’s get going then.” He reached out and took the girl’s hand firmly in his.
As they began to cross the bridge, Joe wondered if it would hold the weight of two people and, luckily, it did. As they reached solid ground, he stepped onto the bridge.
Suddenly, a man yelled out. Joe turned around and was shocked to see two soldiers running towards him.
“Run!” Max shouted.
Joe did just that but, as he ran, the timber began to creak and the bridge swayed from side to side. Fearing that the bridge might collapse, he slowed down.
As a gunshot rang out, Joe decided to run again. However, this proved to be his undoing as his feet fell from under him as the wooden slat he was standing on gave way completely.
All he could do was to reach out with his hands and grab onto the next one as his feet dangled in the air below the bridge.
As Max realised the position that Joe was in, his expression turned to one of horror. Without a second thought, he hurried back across the bridge, casting aside his own personal safety in order to rescue the boy. As he did so, a second gunshot rang out and a bullet whistled past his face.
“That will be far enough,” a voice yelled out.
Without even turning around, Joe realised who had spoken. It was Chang. It was no surprise that he had appeared since he had been the one who had kidnapped the others in the first place and the mastermind behind the stealing of the crown jewels.
As Joe attempted to hold on, the others watched anxiously as Chang advanced toward him from the other side of the bridge. “One more step from you and I’ll order my men to open fire.”
“Joe can’t hold on forever!” Max yelled. “If you’re going to stop me from rescuing him, then rescue Joe yourself!”
“That is precisely what I intend to do,” Chang replied. “But before I do so, I want you to rejoin the others.”
As Max reluctantly did so, Chang turned around and spoke to one of his soldiers who reached into a rucksack and pulled out a coil of rope. He gave one end to his leader.
As Chang stepped onto the bridge and towards Joe, the bridge began to sway once more. Already, quite a few of the wooden slats had fallen down. It was clear the bridge wasn’t going to survive much longer.
Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind and the bridge swayed from side to side. Chang clutched the rope tightly as the middle part of the bridge broke apart.
Chapter 23: Barely Hanging On
For a moment, the others thought Joe was doomed and that he was going to hurtle to the bottom of the gorge and plunge into the river far below.
However, luckily this wasn’t the case since Joe hung onto the remaining part of the bridge which smashed up against the side of the cliff that the others were on.
As Max saw Joe hanging below him, he glanced at Christo. “Hold onto my legs. I’m going to see if I can reach him.”
Will, Amy and Sarah watched on as Max tried his best to reach down to Joe who was barely hanging onto the rest of the bridge which, if it gave way, would send him plunging to the rocks far below and certain death.
Amy took a moment to glance across at the other side, wondering what Chang was doing, but he was doing nothing. He had pulled himself up over the edge of the cliff and appeared to be content to watch what was happening for the time being.
By this time, Max’s hand had almost reached Joe’s. “Let go of the rope and grab my hand.”
“If I let go, I’ll fall,” Joe replied.
“If you don’t let go, you’ll eventually fall,” Max stated. “That piece of rope isn’t going to hold you much longer. As soon as you grab my hand, I’ll pull you up. Do it on the count of three. One, two, three!”
As soon as Max uttered the number three, Joe let go of the rope with one hand and reached out. He had just managed to put his hand around Max’s hand when the rope broke apart. As he yelled out, Max pulled him up, helped by Christo.
A few moments later, Joe was lying on the grass, thankful to be alive. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks Max. That was really scary being down there.” As he stood up, he looked towards the other side of the gorge and saw with surprise that no one was in sight. “Hey, what happened to Chang?”
Amy peered across to the other side. “I’m not sure. I was concentrating so much on you I didn’t see them leave, but I’m glad they did. Now, at long last, we can be rid of them.”
“I’m surprised they left just like that,” Will said. “I really thought Chang was going to try something.”
“Like what?” Christo questioned. “He was trapped on the other side of the gorge.”
“But he could have shot at us,” Will said.
Max nodded. “Yes, but maybe he has another plan which he could be putting in motion right now. So even though we’re in Sukova, it’s best to keep moving until we reach Monrovia.”
~
Even though it was less than twenty four hours since his near-death experience with the rickety rope bridge, all thoughts of that had gone from Joe’s mind. Right now he was beaming, as were his sisters and Will, for they were standing in front of King Otto.
They were back at his palace and the king, dressed in his best clothes, complete with royal crown and royal sceptre, was in the process of pinning a medal on each one of them. As the king reached Joe, he shook the boy’s hand. “I heard what happened on the bridge. I’m very thankful you were able to escape without any injuries.”
Joe grinned. “So am I.”
The king smiled and stepped back as he admired all four children. “You children have done me a wonderful service in helping to get my crown jewels back. If it weren’t for you, I would have had to do a deal with the Golden Dragons which would have been very unpleasant. And as for you two brave men…” The king walked over to where Max and Christo were standing. He shook thei
r hands and pinned a medal on both of them. “Both of you were outstanding. If it hadn’t been for you, these brave children might not be standing where they are today, and so I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Max smiled. “It’s good to be of service.” He glanced at his watch. “Speaking of which, I promised Captain Williamson I would pay him and his men a visit in hospital as soon as I could. So if you will excuse me—”
“By all means, and please tell the captain that I wish him a speedy recovery,” King Otto replied. “If it wasn’t for him, you might not be standing here either.”
Joe nodded. “He’s a brave man.”
“And lucky,” Sarah piped up. “For him and three of his men to walk across the border with the injuries they had, it’s a miracle they’re alive.”
“Yes, a miracle indeed,” the king replied. “Oh, and talking about such things, while you were in Zakova, we arrested the lion tamer from Gringo’s Circus. A police officer had pulled him over for a faulty headlight and soon discovered who he was and quickly arrested him. So while it may have been more luck than a miracle, it was still good fortune.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about Mango the Magnificent?” Will asked.
King Otto shook his head. “No, however, the lion tamer has confessed that it was Mango who stole the jewels in the first place and that his job was to hide them in the lion cage and to hand them over to a person the very next day. In return, he would get a large sum of cash.”
“So how did Mango pull it off?” Amy asked.
The king smiled. “It was very simple actually. It’s a wonder no one thought of it. After all, the evidence was right in front of us the whole time. We knew he had seen the crown jewels earlier in the night, we just didn’t know that he saw the jewels again, which is when he stole them.”
Sarah looked puzzled. “But how could he have stolen them? He wasn’t on the list twice.”
“That’s because the second time he used hypnosis.” As the king saw the puzzled expressions on the children’s faces, he explained. “Before Mango became a magician, he was a hypnotist and was so skilled in the art of hypnosis that he was able to convince people to do things that they wouldn’t normally do by putting them into a trance.”
“Which is what he did with the guard, right?” Will asked.
The king nodded. “Precisely. Once the guard was under the trance, all Mango had to do was to remove the key, enter the tower, put the jewels under his cape and then break the trance. I have since spoken to the guard and confirmed that the magician did speak to him shortly before the jewels disappeared, but the man hadn’t thought to mention it since it had been a very brief talk.”
“But in reality it was much longer,” Joe said.
King Otto nodded. “Correct. It was a very clever plan, one that almost worked.”
“But how did Chang convince Mango and the lion tamer to steal the jewels?” Amy asked.
“Well, I’ve made some inquiries and it seems as though Gringo’s Circus was going to shut down at the end of the year,” the king replied. “I believe both the magician and the lion tamer knew that and decided to make a bit of extra money while they could. Now, would you like me to give you an official tour of the palace? I know it might not be as exciting as what you have just been through, but that depends on what you think of a secret tunnel underneath the building.”
Joe’s eyes lit up. “A secret tunnel?”
King Otto smiled. “Yes.” He looked at Christo. “Do you want to join us?”
Christo shook his head. “As much as I would like to, I must get back to Nadia. I promised I would take her out to dinner to make up for all the worry I’ve caused her while I’ve been away.”
“Okay, well don’t worry about the children,” the king said. “I’ll see that they get back to your place safe and sound.”
“Thank you,” Christo replied.
As the man left the room, the king turned his attention back to the children. “Let’s get going.”
As the children followed King Otto down the hallway, Joe glanced at Will. “Imagine, a secret tunnel right here in this palace! I wonder where it leads.”
“I suppose we’re going to find out soon,” Will said. “I just hope there isn’t another mystery in it.”
“You mean you don’t want another mystery?” Joe questioned.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that, but I think I’d like to have a break for a few days,” Will replied.
Joe grinned. “Let’s do that then. Even I can live without a mystery for a few days.”
The End
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