The Alaskan Adventure (12 page)

•  •  •

A little over an hour later Joe studied the intent faces around him in the loft. He and Frank had talked Peter, David, and Gregg into joining them as witnesses. David and Gregg were still awkward with each other, but Joe could tell they were both glad to have found out their suspicions weren't true. They wanted to be friends again, and Joe had a hunch they'd succeed.

Curt was downstairs. Joe heard him cough and rustle some papers. Unless Jake insisted on whispering, those in the loft would hear every word clearly.

If
Jake showed up. . . .

The group sat down on the floor to wait. Frank looked at his watch, then met Joe's eyes. Would
Curt's note be enough bait to pull the wily storekeeper in? That phrase about closer cooperation—would Jake read that to mean a payoff, as they'd intended him to? Frank had hoped Curt would have said he wanted to reimburse Jake for his efforts. But Frank understood why Curt had refused to take the risk. What if his note ended up being read in court?

The minutes dragged on. What if Jake had been keeping an eye on Curt's cabin and had seen them all arrive? He'd know then that Curt's letter was intended to draw him into a trap. And even if he hadn't seen them, he was sure to be suspicious of Curt's summons. Peter had insisted on sweeping away their footprints in the snow, but had he done a thorough enough job?

To distract himself, Joe tried reciting in his mind “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” by Robert W. Service, the Canadian poet who wrote about the north country. How did it begin? Something about a cold winter evening? He jumped when Gregg, who was seated next to him, touched him on the shoulder and put his fingers to his lips. Joe realized he'd been reciting aloud. What if Jake had come in and heard him?

Not that it looked as if there was much chance of that. Where was Jake anyway? Joe was beginning to think he wouldn't show up. Then he
heard a knock on the door. His companions stilled their movements and waited.

Joe heard Curt's footsteps as he crossed the room. The cabin door creaked open.

“Hi, Jake,” Curt said. “Glad you could come. What's the rifle for—going hunting?”

Joe glanced at the others. Their grave faces showed they understood Jake was armed.

“I don't believe in taking chances, that's all,” Jake said.

Curt said, “Good. Neither do I. I'm not taking any chances that my company's plan might be turned down because of a few agitators. And I think we can work together. Let's sit down and talk about it.”

Frank took out a microcassette recorder, ready to tape what Curt and Jake said. He pressed the Record button. The noise the machine made was faint, but Jake heard the click.

“Hey, what was that?” he asked, and scraped back his chair.

Then Joe heard the
snick
of a rifle's being cocked.

Frank froze. If Jake came up to the loft, he'd see them. Their plan would be ruined, and they'd be face-to-face with an angry and desperate man who had a rifle. Rather than run that risk, Frank decided he'd attack Jake the instant he started up the ladder. With surprise as his ally, he was sure he could overpower Jake.

“What are you doing?” he heard Curt ask. “Will you put that thing down? And put the safety back on. Guns make me nervous.”

“I heard something,” Jake said. “It came from up there.”

“Mice,” Curt said. “This cabin's full of them. I'm half tempted to take something off the rent
because of it. Now, can we get down to business?”

Frank heard Jake uncock the rifle, then a chair scraped on the floor. He must have gone back to his seat. Frank took a deep breath and let it out. The recorder was still on, the tape turning silently. Frank placed the recorder on the floor and hoped the tape wouldn't run out too soon.

“What kind of business did you have in mind?” Jake asked cautiously. “Your note was kind of vague.”

“Let's not beat around the bush,” Curt replied. “I figured out what you've been up to. I wouldn't have thought of it myself, but I can tell it's persuading people to vote my way, so I'm all for it.”

“Uh-huh,” Jake said. “Glad to hear it. So?”

“So, I want you to know that ThemeLife is ready to pay your expenses and a sizable bonus for keeping up the pressure on the people who are trying to get in the way of progress.”

“A sizable bonus,” Jake said in a thoughtful tone. “When?”

“Right after the voters of Glitter approve the ThemeLife proposal,” Curt told him. “Your expense money you can get as we go along. What do you say?”

“It's a deal,” Jake said.

Frank caught Joe's eye and grinned. The fish
had just snapped at the bait. Now all Curt had to do was set the hook and reel him in.

Curt's tone changed. “I wonder . . . ” he said. “I'm not a hundred percent sure you're the man I want.”

Jake's voice rose. “What do you mean, not the man you want!”

“I'm just wondering, that's all,” Curt said. “Are you really the one who did all those things?”

“Of course I am!” Jake said. “Who else?”

Curt sounded skeptical. “Why would you blow up your own building?”

Jake laughed. “Because nobody would think I would blow up my own building, that's why. They'd think someone else was doing all this stuff. It put me in the clear. Besides, that old shack was about to fall down anyway.”

“And Peter Windman's cabin?” Curt continued.

In the loft Peter stirred. His face was taut, and his fists were clenched. Frank shot him a quick warning glance, and he settled back.

“Easy as pie,” Jake boasted. “I just dropped a Mason jar of gasoline through the back window, near the stove, and threw in a match.

“Then, after they settled in at the Natik place,” he added, “I flung a log through the window, just to keep them on edge. That Peter's
been talking to too many people, working them up against the plan.”

“So you broke into his cache and stole his meat supply, too?” Curt asked.

“Say, you've really been keeping track, haven't you?” Jake said. “Sure, that was me. And I wrecked Ralph Hunter's longboat, too. I just waited till nobody was around, then went to work with a hammer and big spike.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Didn't take me long at all.”

Curt said, “One thing I don't understand is why you went after Gregg's dog team. His dad hasn't said anything against ThemeLife.”

Jake laughed, a low sound that gave Frank shivers. “That was really a smart touch,” he said. “See, I'm planning to get at Peter through his nephew, David. I already started, by letting one of David's best dogs loose. But then it came to me. If I pull a few tricks on Gregg, too, everybody will think that the two kids are feuding with each other. They'll never suspect me.”

This was too much for Gregg. He jumped to his feet and ran down the ladder. “You skunk!” he shouted. “You tried to poison my dogs! I'll kill you for that!”

Frank stood up and looked over the barricade of cartons. Jake had grabbed his rifle and was aiming it at Gregg.

“Hold it right there, or I'll put daylight
through you,” Jake told Gregg. His voice was trembling. He looked over at Curt and added, “And you—you set a trap for me. I'll settle with you, see if I don't!”

Curt's face turned pale. “You can't get away now,” he said. He backed away from Jake.

“Why not?” Jake asked. The rifle barrel moved in a little circle, covering Curt as well as Gregg. “All I've got to do is shoot both of you and make it look like you shot each other. Everyone'll think that Gregg figured out you'd messed with his dog team and came after you.”

Frank's eyes widened. Jake thought that Curt and Gregg were the only other people in the cabin! Frank made an urgent gesture to Joe, David, and Peter to keep absolutely still.

“Now, let's see,” Jake said. He sounded as if he was starting to enjoy himself. “Which of you should I plug first? Curt, I think, for trying to double-cross me.”

He raised the rifle and aimed it Curt. Frank took a deep breath and launched himself from the edge of the loft. At that same moment Joe gave the sharp, high-pitched shout of a martial arts expert.

Startled and distracted, Jake swung the rifle around. But before he could bring it to bear, Frank cannoned into him and knocked him to the floor.

There was a deafening noise right next to Frank's ear. Though partly stunned, he got to his knees, grabbed Jake by the front of his shirt, and gave him a solid right to the jaw. Jake's eyes rolled upward, and he slumped back to the floor.

Frank stumbled to his feet, picked up Jake's rifle, and looked around. “Anybody hurt?” he called.

Peter, David, and Joe rushed down the ladder. “No, we're fine,” Joe said. “The bullet hit the ceiling.”

“And you all heard what Jake said, right?” Frank asked.

Peter came over and stared down at the groggy Jake. “We sure did,” he said. “And we're ready to repeat it in court, too.”

“You hear that, Jake?” Joe said. He waved the recorder. “Your goose is cooked.”

David laughed and said, “You're in the Alaskan bush now, Joe. Up here we say, Your
moose
is cooked!”

•  •  •

The next morning a plane from the Alaska state police flew up from Fairbanks and landed on the river. Two troopers handcuffed Jake, took statements from all the witnesses, and pocketed Frank's tape.

“Congratulations,” one of the troopers said to Frank and Joe before taking Jake off to jail. “That
was good, solid detective work. I wouldn't be surprised if our commander will want to send you a testimonial letter.”

Later that day Curt called a meeting of the townspeople in the assembly room. “I've learned a lot in the last few months,” he told them. “I've seen the pride you have in your way of life. I still believe that my company's plan will help preserve that way of life, not destroy it, but I respect those of you who disagree.”

He paused and looked over to where Peter, Mona, Justine, and David were sitting. “I'd also like to announce that I spoke to the home office of ThemeLife this morning. Even though we had no responsibility for the damage, the company is going to rebuild the Windmans' cabin and replace Ralph Hunter's boat.”

Everyone clapped and cheered. When the applause died down, Curt added, with a twinkle in his eye, “I've also asked the grocer in Fairbanks to send up his biggest basket of fresh fruit for the town. And I will personally test each piece of fruit myself!”

As everybody laughed, Peter jumped to his feet and said, “Thanks, Curt. I've been giving a great deal of thought to the ThemeLife plan. I've never been against you, and I appreciate what you did to smoke out Jake. I'm beginning to think you and the town can work together to bring
modern amenities to Glitter without destroying our way of life.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Peter held up his hand. “We've got a lot to discuss, and I'm not saying for sure I'll vote for ThemeLife until we find out more.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” Curt said. “Let's talk later.”

“That'll be fine,” Peter said. “But for now, I think the whole town ought to give a vote of thanks to Frank and Joe Hardy, whose wonderful detective work saved our town from Jake. His greed would have destroyed us. We must never allow ourselves to be greedy.”

The townspeople cheered, although a few shook their heads in disbelief at Peter's change of heart.

Frank felt his cheeks get warm as all at once the townspeople surged to their feet, applauding him and his brother. He knew these people would make it.

•  •  •

On Friday morning Frank and Joe helped David move his team, sled, and supplies out onto the river next to the landing strip. Gregg and his team were already there.

Justine was petting Gregg's lead dog, which bared its teeth at Ironheart as soon as he saw him. Justine pulled back, but Ironheart gave a loud
sniff and ignored his rival. David laughed and reached down to ruffle his fur.

Joe glanced over his shoulder. It looked as if the entire population of Glitter was coming onto the ice to join them. What had someone said? It was ten feet thick? Was that thick enough? No one else seemed concerned.

“Uh, David?” he said. “That's an awfully big crowd.”

“Don't worry Joe, the ice can hold it.”

“I didn't mean that,” Joe said. “I was just wondering whether the plane would have enough room for everybody.”

“Don't sweat it, Joe,” David said. “Uncle Peter called Flip yesterday to let him know there'd be two dog teams and a lot of passengers flying out today. They're sending two big planes. Besides, most of these people are here to see us off. They're not coming with us.”

“Hey, David,” Gregg called. “I want to wish you luck in the Iditarod,” he said.

“Thanks, Gregg. The same to you. We've got to make Glitter proud of us.”

Joe heard the hum of an engine in the distance. He looked up and saw a dot in the sky. “There's the first plane,” he said.

Peter and Mona joined the group.

“I know there's not much chance that either
you or I will come in first,” David said. “It's the first time we're running the race, after all.”

“But we'll give it our best shot.” Gregg slapped David on the shoulder. “Won't we?”

“Sure, you will,” said Curt, who arrived in time to hear Gregg and David. He turned to the crowd. “Hey, people, let's give three cheers for Gregg, David, and their two champion teams.” The people clapped and shouted. Mona hugged David.

“And three more for Frank and Joe Hardy!” Justine called, and ran over and hugged each one in turn.

More clapping and shouting. After the noise died down, Joe raised his hands over his head and said, “Thanks, everybody. It's been great coming to Glitter and getting to know you. Frank and I are going to be at the Iditarod starting line in Anchorage, cheering on your hometown champions. We'll be thinking of all of you.” He winked at Justine.