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When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky

Carlotta Valdez

Authors statement, disclosure and character outline.

Hello all... a few notes on this, my oldest and longest running story (there have been gaps of years between writing this one). Also, please note this, like many submissions here, is still a work in progress and not yet finished by any means.

I started this work out long ago as a revision to the published classic blue spine work, Clue of the Screeching Owl. Back in my younger years I had often felt the need to 'improve' some of the HB works that I read. (keep in mind this was before the internet really happened and you typed things on a typewriter!) Perhaps even back then the need to contemporize them was evident. Bear in mind I grew up on the original series and hadn't even touched a casefiles until I was in my twenties and even then I just couldn't get into them. Much less anything that came after casefiles.

I am disclosing this for the obvious reason that when you start out reading it, you will draw a base plot from the aforementioned title that was first published back in 1962. The story takes place in a more modern day setting however. I have also aged the characters a bit. Not by much. They are all in their twenties.

Other things to point out include that since I am basically of the 'old school', or at least this story was based on an old school plot. This means that some characters some of you are more used to do not even exist. For instance, there is no Vanessa in my stories (To this day I still ask myself who the Hell is Vanessa? Iola is still very much alive (I did gather from some research that perhaps she was killed off in one of the post Leslie written HB stories? Eh, I am not interested in following in that direction).

I have attempted to interweave the elements from the classic blue spine Leslie written characters and given them a bit more of a contemporary life with more up to date sense of things.

A brief preface might go along the lines of: "Long time, but obscure Hardy family friend, Captain Macguire writes the Hardys about some strange goings on in Black Hollow in Pennsylvania. Fenton Hardy is of course out of town, so a letter from the captain makes its way to the offices of Hardy, Morton & Hardy Investigations. Soon the three detectives are on their way to Black Hollow to investigate. They find the captain missing and start to investigate."

Ok, so that doesn't sound different from the original and you think of the original book (assuming you have read it). But, rest assured it deviates quite well over time. I'm sure some of you will recognize certain changes. For instance, Chet has a much more credible role. It might even seem that he gets more 'air time' than the Hardy's in a way. Rest assured it all levels out before all is said and done. I just had the need to even previous character 'imbalances' out a bit. If you have read the classic blue spines you can likely agree that Leslie(FWD) wrote Chet primarily as a character that provides the Hardy's the comic relief in their stories. And while I still enjoy writing Chet with that in mind since it works very well, I didn't think Leslie ever gave the Hardy's best friend the complete depth of character he deserved.

Also, this story does have its share of pulp. Pulp fiction (not the movie) has a great place when you are writing for fun and trying to at least keep a lighter element in the setting. A Subsequently, the pulp has made this writing, how shall I put it? A bit challenging if you are keeping track of things on the continuity meter. I do not ever wish to claim that this story was written to make sense in some regards of what happens here and there. Also with continuity being thrown a bit into the wind, a more observant reader may easily pick up on things that might not make sense (a character doing two things at once as a result of my free flowing and limited revision writing style).

Also with any work of pulp fiction there is going to be a bit of racy action. Often times I think that less is more and keeps things comfortable I suppose. But then there are other occasions when you just want to excite (or inadvertently offend) the reader with not only some innuendo, but outright descriptive storytelling of what happens between consenting adults. It is not intended to cheapen the characters. But let us be realistic. Today society is less sexually oppressed than it has ever been and why not have some occasions where we can depict our characters in this light?

I was asked to rate this story for submission. That is difficult based on the wide variety of content. The vast majority (95%) of this work can easily be rated PG/K+. However, there are parts that when read would be more appropriate for the over 17 crowd. So, please be warned that the work is pretty mellow, but there are some high points. Things that are in this story that may be deemed objectionable include: foul language (not a ton by any means, but it does happen from time to time), consumption of alcohol (Hey, they are on a camping trip! They whip out a cold one from time to time), sexual encounters.

Ok, now I will list a brief character description.

Frank Hardy- the more conservative of the two brothers. Frank is a bit of a play-it-straight kind of prude here. In parts of this work that your reading he will come off as one with issues and most will hope that he lightens up as things progress.

Joe Hardy- as true to the original series he is the younger brother who plays on the wild side more and is definitely more laid back than his older brother. He relates to his friends better and is generally the more liked of the brothers. As tradition of old dictates, he and Iola are still an item.

Chet Morton- There were times in some of the old books that Chet was quite obviously written as the not always bright third wheel of the team. Chet still keeps a jovial 'it's ok to poke fun at me' attitude, but has more of a real role. He is now an equal partner at the team's PI firm (Hardy, Morton & Hardy Investigations) and does more here than just eat pie and get scared.

Tony Prito- The close friend of the Hardys who hangs with the guys on this case. He now runs the Prito Construction Company. Tony had a recent bad relationship and so far in this one his social life isn't getting any better. But things have a way of changing.

Bill Hooper- Biff's long lost twin brother if you wish to see him that way. I was more desiring a character with a modern name and I haven't known anyone in recent years named Biff, so I changed it. He is still one of the Hardy's best pals and hangs out on this adventure too. Please do not be too critical for me playing God with the names. When I think of the name Biff used in this day and age I think that kid is going to get bullied or perhaps conversely Biff needs to be at the rumble at the drive-in being the bully. Either way I found the name a bit dated.

Iola Morton- What more can one say? Joe's babe. Chet's sister. Given more depth, but still keeps a traditional feel for her original character. Well, there might be a twist here and there.

Callie Shaw- Ah, sweet, adorable Callie. Angel one minute, giving Frank the 'what for' the next! Callie has been traditionally known as Frank's woman and heir to fill Laura Hardy's shoes. A sweet librarian type. So sweet and proper she could have married Jimmy Stewart if she were only real back in 1941. Do you hear the sound of the phonograph needle screeching across that Perry Como album? Stay tuned!

Fenton Hardy- You can still see him in that conservative brown suit he wore back in the 40s (he borrowed it from Gregory Peck) -making fun of some of the illustrations of him found in the blue spine books of the series in the 30s and 40s. Fenton has lightened a bit but is still pretty much the same guy you find in all the classic books.

Laura Hardy- Remember her from the original series? Cooking and polishing furniture? I couldn't mess with success! Feminists will try not to be offended since Laura Hardy was a great and noble character even if she was a housewife.

Aunt Gertrude- see above.

Tiffany Blake- Ah, a new character! You can't have jealousy, revenge and a good cat fight without another gal in the mix. Tiffany is referenced to somewhat vaguely at first, but you soon see her colors emerge.

Detective Kelly- One of Fenton Hardy's associates. Brought back from his last role in the classic 1941 book, Mystery of The Flying Express. Not a huge role here but his character had more depth and personality than most of the detectives that pop up from book to book to offer the Hardys a hand. A classic good ole boy detective.

Sharpton- One of many bad guys. He likes to sell goods he hijacks to finance satellite technology espionage, global terrorist style blackmail, etc. It's Not supposed to make too much sense. Remember… pulp!

Ok, so here we go! I always welcome opinions and questions. But I see a couple questions definitely popping up, so I will try to answer them in advance.

Question-How on earth did Chet fit all of these things in a backpack?

Answer-very carefully!

Question-in the middle of a warm hollow, how does it occur that these guys always seem to have an endless supply of ice and cold beer?

Answer-well, it's obvious. It's just a continuity error ;)

Question-There seems to be a lot of Good things happening to a few of these characters. Will they ever encounter trouble to counter what seems to be an excess of good fortune?

Answer-You can bet on it!

Question-There seem to be some misspelled or words used incorrectly or incompletely. Is this intentional?

Answer- Nope. MS Word auto correcting 130K words can be most challenging and this writer has poor vision so she unfortunately left many of the 'corrections' that Word did stand because she didn't notice them. The writer apologizes in advance. Again, if you compare it to a cheap pulp fiction novel of the 50's and remember the quality control back then you will probably be fine.

So, without further ado…..

Part 1

The painted sign on the second-floor window read: Hardy, Morton, & Hardy. Private Investigations. The building, an old turn of the century brick had a deli on the first floor and was settled downtown on Mulberry Street in the city of Bayport. Bayport was an eastern seaboard town with population of about forty thousand.

It was a warm day for October. A mailman in his fifties was making his rounds. He gave a start as he approached the steps to the agency. He disliked having to deliver bulk mail to businesses that weren't on the street. None the less he climbed the steps and came to a door with a glass panel that also had the detective's names stenciled on it. He walked into the offices which were nothing more than a large room consisting of the entire floor, divided by a few partitions. Sitting at a conference table just inside the door were three men.

All appeared to be in their twenties. Two of the men looked similar in facial appearance though one had dark hair and slightly larger frame than the other, who had blonde hair. The third man was of larger build than both. Easily over six foot and the build of a professional football player. He looked to the mailman as he walked in. He smiled.

"Mornin' Harry!" he greeted, "what's the good word?" The mail carrier smiled.

"Hey there, Chet. Not too much." he said. The dark hair man looked up from some paperwork and smiled.

"Hey, Harry. Anything exciting for us today?" The carrier smiled.

"Guess that all depends on what you are looking for. Looks like the usual bills," he said handing a bundle of mail to Frank. He then smiled and handed a wrapped periodical to Chet.

"Here ya go Chet, Playboy right on time." Chet sheepishly took the magazine as the blonde looked over to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Chet, why do you have that sent here and not your apartment?" Chet grinned.

"Well, Joe. When I first subscribed I was still living at home, and well, you know. My mom really doesn't need to see that." he said. Joe grinned.

"Ah Chet..." he started and then Frank looked up after reading a letter.

"Listen up guys, something important." he started. The mailman threw his bag over his shoulder and waved.

"Back to business, guys. Have a good one!" he called and walked out the door. Chet and Joe turned their attention to Frank. Frank looked up.

"Joe, remember Captain Macguire?" He asked. Joe thought for a moment then got a faraway look in his eye.

"Oh yeah. Dad's friend. Retired police captain." Frank nodded.

"That's the one. Well, this letter is from him. He was trying to reach dad, but couldn't I guess. Anyway, he says here that there have been some weird goings on in Black Hollow."

"Black Hollow?" Chet repeated. "Where in the world is that?" he asked. Frank looked up.

"Just outside a small town called Forrestburg over in Pennsylvania. He lives on the edge of this enormous hollow. The captain doesn't go into much detail but he is requesting help immediately as he is very concerned. But with what I don't know." Chet looked up.

"Sounds a bit cryptic." he said. Joe took a drink of coffee.

"Well, if I remember the captain, he wasn't one to ask for help unless he really needed it. He is a very self-sufficient chap as I recall." Frank nodded.

"Without a doubt. This letter bothers me. I think we should go there immediately and investigate. After all, if dad wasn't on the other side of the state on a case I'd just call him and ask him to check in on the captain. But we are closer." Joe nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea. Besides we haven't any other case pending right now anyway." Chet looked dubious.

"Well, I'm all for it too, but it seems that this area is not going to be filled with Holiday Inns and Wall-Marts. Seems more like a camping trip." Joe smiled.

"Right you are Chet. When we were last there with dad years ago this place was in the middle of nowhere. The small town of Forrestburg was tiny at best and what they did have there in regards to supplies was just an old Sears Roebuck that probably still had things on backorder from the 1940s. It would be wise to pack some good supplies before going as I'm not sure what other towns are around there and care not to gamble." Frank nodded and smiled. He stood up.

"Well then, how about you and Joe go get the supplies and I will drop a call to the girls to have them come in more often in the next week to check mail and messages and such." Chet and Joe nodded.

"That will work." Chet said and stood up. "Ready, Joe?" Joe smiled and got up. The pair walked out the door and down the steps. They came out on Mulberry street where Frank's car, a Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor sat. Joe motioned to Chet's vehicle.

"Yours is bigger and we will probably drive that anyway." he said motioning to Chet's recently purchased GMC Yukon. Joe got in the passenger side while Chet took the wheel. The motor roared into life. Chet looked to Joe.

"Where to first?" he asked. Joe gave it some thought.

"Seems we can get most of our stuff at Sports World." he said referring to a large sporting goods store chain in their area where they had everything remotely connected to any type of sporting activity. Chet nodded and turned the SUV onto the road. Within ten minutes Chet had found the interstate and was picking up the pace. A few moments later a bright red Camaro convertible slid up into the lane next to Chet. Chet glanced to the side, then did a double take. He saw the driver of the Camaro was a female in her early twenties sporting a short skirt and had a white blouse unbuttoned down to her navel. He smiled.

"Hey Joe. Check her out. Is it just me or did she forget to button up before she left the house?" Joe sat up and leaned over. He smiled.

"Yak think she's a tease, Chet?" he said. The Camaro sped up. Chet floored his accelerator also. Joe looked over at him quizzically.

"Just remember Chet, that is a small high-performance sports car and this is a damn near bus. Also 90% of women that age have nice legs... among other things." Chet slowed to a more reasonable speed.

"Your right, Joe. Anyway, that exit should be right around here somewhere. Ah, there it is." he said signaling to change lanes. Soon he exited off the freeway and was turning into the massive parking lot of Sports World which was located right off the highway. Chet parked and he and Joe got out and soon were inside the three-acre showroom.

"Let's see," said Chet, "a tent is in order." Joe nodded and was about to pick out a tent when Chet bore down on him.

"What is that?" he asked with doubt. Joe looked up.

"The box says it sleeps four." Chet placed it back on the shelf.

"It may Say that but take a look at it. Doesn't it look a lot like that tent we bought that we used in Mexico last year? It might sleep four midgets, but four men. No way! Now you sit back and let me handle it. I am flush with that case I did last month." He and Joe walked over to the information booth. Chet smiled.

"Hello, can you show me your largest sleeping tents. And also, one of those screened in tents that you can eat dinner at with a table and keep the bugs away at the same time?" The man smiled.

"Certainly. This way please." he said escorting them back to the tent area. He walked down a large isle and pulled upon a huge long box.

"Now, this sleeping tent has partitions that are removable. So, you can have one big room or five smaller rooms. The overall dimensions are twenty-four by thirty foot. And also," he said pulling on another large box. "We have this screened in tent. Comes with sealed floor and heavy gauge screen walls. It measures eighteen-foot square." Chet smiled with satisfaction.

"We'll take those. Now can you show me something in the line of gas grills?" he asked. Joe rolled his eyes. The man led them to the grills. Chet looked about.

"Now tell me which of these is the best?" The salesman pointed to a large stainless steel grille.

"This one here sir. It has twin grills and a broiler underneath. It also comes equipped with a self-contained sink and prep area. As well as an auxiliary backup propane tank." Chet nodded.

"Looks good. We'll take it too." Joe cleared his throat.

"Chet, do you really think we need the presidential treatment. I mean are we really going to lug all this stuff into the woods?"

"We might as well get what we need. If you say this place is so primitive then we had better come prepared." Joe gave a faint smile.

"Then again, we don't want to be over prepared either." he said. Chet waved him off. He grabbed a large cart.

"We have some other things to get, can you have those three items brought to the front for when we checkout?" he asked the salesman. He nodded.

"Certainly sir. Will be there waiting for you." he said with a smile and walked off. Chet and a less enthusiastic Joe whisked through another twenty isles with Chet filling the cart with an assortment of items, many of which Joe deemed unnecessary. They finally reached the checkout. Joe watched the scanner bleep away as the bill added up. After fifteen minutes the clerk had scanned the last item. He hit a few more buttons on the register and then looked to Chet.

"That will be $5,473.88 sir." Chet smiled and tossed down his American Express card. The boys soon had the Yukon bulging with everything one would need to camp and several things one wouldn't need. Joe smiled to Chet.

"Gee Chet, I really admire your ability to go all out on this case out of your own money." Chet smiled.

"That's ok, Joe. And since he is a friend of your family, I will only charge him cost for these things." Joe gave a start then smiled.

"I'd hate to tell you this Chet, but since the captain was a good friend of the family, if a case came up we were not going to charge him." Chet raised his eyebrows. Joe smiled.

"Perhaps it best to tell you about him. Captain Macguire is a retired police captain who lives in a small cabin and lives a very frugal existence on a small pension. He probably has less than a grand a month income." Chet gave a smile then shrugged.

"Well, then. Not a big deal. Charity work is important too." he said and guided the Yukon towards the east side of town was where the Hardy home was. Fifteen minutes later Chet pulled up to the corner of High and Elm. Frank's car was present. Chet and Joe got out and walked in the side kitchen door. Laura Hardy was in her ever-present place in the kitchen cooking. No one was sure why she is cooking since her husband is in another state and the boys are about to take off on a case, but none the less she was there fixing one of her famous twelve course meals. Joe gave her a kiss upon entering.

"Smells good mom, but I guess Frank has told you we got called out on a case?" His mother smiled and nodded.

"Yes, and do be careful. I hope the captain is alright. And please make sure you have enough supplies." Joe let out a laugh.

"We couldn't fit anything more in there if we tried." Mrs. Hardy smiled.

"Maybe not, but before you leave go downstairs to the deep freeze and take some meat with you." Chet smiled.

"Yes Ma'am." he said with his eye on a fresh pie that Mrs. Hardy had apparently recently made. Laura hardy smiled knowingly. She looked at Chet.

"Gertrude made that pie, Chet. She made it for the church social tomorrow." Chet sighed looking crestfallen. Mrs. Hardy walked over to the pantry. She opened it and pulled out another pie. She brought it over to Chet.

"Gertrude said to give this one to you when you stopped by and started eyeing the one on the table." Joe burst out laughing. Chet took the pie with a grin.

"Your aunt knows me too well, Joe" he said. Joe looked up.

"How could that be? Maybe because you eat more of your meals here than anywhere else?" he needled. Chet smiled as they headed into the back of the house and entered the Hardy study. Frank looked up from the desk.

"Hi, did you get everything?" he asked.

"And then some." Joe confirmed. Chet looked down at the desk.

"Mapping the route out, Frank?" he asked. Frank nodded.

"Yep. If we take some side roads I think we can make it there by late tonight." Chet nodded.

"Cool." Joe looked over to the safe.

"Guess a little money and hardware are in order." he said walking over to the large safe concealed in the closet. He dialed the combination and opened the door. He fished about in the safe and pulled out some money. He then took out several boxes of cartridges for their sidearms.

"Chet, got three hundred grain cartridges for your .44 if you need some." Chet smiled.

"It's ok. I bought some ordinance at Sports World." he said. Joe mockly slapped himself on the head.

"How could I forget. The clerk rang up so much ammunition I'm surprised he didn't ask if you were heading for Iraq." He said. Frank took a couple boxes of shells from Joe and placed them in a bag.

"Ready guys?" Frank asked. Joe and Chet nodded. The group headed back through to the kitchen where Mrs. Hardy was still making dinner. She looked to the boys.

"Now here is some meat I pulled from the freezer." she said gesturing to the bags on the floor. "You boys be careful and call your father if you get into a jam. Good luck and have fun!" she said. The group exchanged pleasantries and headed out towards the Yukon. Chet looked over his shoulder towards the house as he could still smell the dinner from the Hardy kitchen. He sighed. Joe grinned to Frank knowing their friend would much rather be sitting back at their kitchen table doing justice to the elaborate meal being prepared.

Frank looked in awe at the slam packed rear of the SUV.

"Wow Chet, we have enough goods to stay away until next summer." Chet nodded.

"Good to be prepared!" he smiled and started up the Yukon as Joe packed away the meat they just received. Chet launched the SUV out into the light traffic. Frank studied the map as Chet turned south on to the interstate.

"Ok Chet. In another hundred miles or so you will want to switch off to west bound highway 12." Chet nodded. They drove along in silence. A little over two hours later Chet exited onto highway 12. They drove on the small two lanner for some time. Seeing nothing as they penetrated into the deep rural heartland. Chet looked about wearily.

"Not even a Burger King around here." he grumbled, "Frank, are you sure this side road route will be quicker?" Frank nodded.

"This route will save us a couple hundred miles at least. Don't worry, when we come to a gas station we can stop and you can buy some candy bars if nothing else." Chet looked skeptical.

"Wish all that meat your mom gave us wasn't froze. We could get out and have a bar-b-cue." Frank and joe grinned. For they knew that under all his grumbling that Chet could be counted on in a tight spot. He was soon rewarded as a gas station came into view. Chet pulled up to the pump and got out. An attendant came up.

"Fill it up my good man." he said and headed into the station. He rolled his eyes when he found the only food was indeed candy bars, and in a vending machine no less. He walked to the attendant and handed him a twenty dollar bill.

"Can I get some quarters please?" he asked. The man gave him two rolls of quarters and Chet returned to the vending machines and pretty much emptied them of junk food. He placed everything in a paper bag and walked outside. He paid for the gas and got back in. He handed Joe the bag. Joe peered into the large bag and whistled.

"Gee Chet, there must be thirty thousand calories here." he said looking up. Chet smiled.

"Dig in boys, plenty for everyone." he said. He pulled out and continued down highway 12. In the late afternoon Frank studied the map again and looked over to Chet.

"You should be coming to a south highway 23 soon. When you do, take it." Chet nodded.

"Real peaceful around here" he said noting the lack of existence of anything for all practical purposes. Frank laughed.

"Highway 23 should take us into Pennsylvania. But don't expect any brass band. Since the interstate went up years back this stretch of road is pretty empty." Chet looked about.

"All I see out here are farms." Joe laughed.

"Well Chet, that is what they do out here. The Pennsylvania Dutch are primarily farmers." he said. Chet was still uneasy about the surroundings.

"Well, still, couldn't they put in some Wal-Marts around here and make the place at least look lived in?" he wondered aloud. Frank gave a laugh.

"Chet, the farmers and people in general around here are pretty conservative. They have little to no need for an excess of stores or any items they deem as luxuries."

Minutes later Chet turned onto the small rural road marked highway 23. They soon entered the state of Pennsylvania. There was nothing much beyond rolling hills and occasional woodlands to see. An hour and a half rolled by with little conversation. Frank looked down at the map.

"We should be getting closer guys. Within another fifteen minutes I'd estimate we will find a turnoff for highway-TT." he said. Chet nodded. Twenty minutes later Chet spied a beat up road sign indicating highway-TT. He turned onto it. The road was nothing more than a single lane in bad need of repair. A few moments later Chet hit an enormous pothole. He turned to Frank.

"How soon till we are off this washboard, Frank?" he asked. Frank looked down at his map again.

"I'd say in twenty minutes we should hit Rim Road, which is the road the captain lives on." he said. "The Rim part is because the road is on the edge of the hollow." Chet looked back over to him nervously.

"Oh yeah, that hollow. I hope we don't have to go near that." he said. Joe smiled.

"Well Chet, we are going to have to go near it at least since the captain lives right on the edge." Chet looked over to him with a bit of nervousness. A short while later Frank pointed to a small wooden sign. It read simply: Rim Road. Chet turned onto it. Rim Road was not much more than a paved road. No asphalt to speak of.

"The captain lives at the end of the road." Frank said. Chet nodded and sped along the road as fast as he dared. Thirty minutes later Frank and Joe began to show vague signs of recognition of the area.

"Should be anytime now." Joe said. Chet nodded wearily.

"I hope so. There isn't much left to this road." He said bouncing along. Sure enough minutes later they pulled up before a small cabin. It sat very close to the large expanse that was Black Hollow. The cabin was small and neat. There was a small older black convertible sitting in front. Joe smiled.

"That's the captain's car. It's over forty years old but he keeps it looking like new." he said. The group got out of the Yukon and stretched. Frank led the way to the cabin door. It seemed eerily quiet. Frank looked about and gave a few sharp raps upon the door. No answer. Frank knocked again, harder. Still, no one came to the door. Perplexed by the presence of the car yet no owner made the group wonder. Frank led the way around back. Again, he rapped loudly upon the rear door. Still, no answer. Joe and Chet walked in the small back yard to the hollow's edge. There was a sheer drop into the blackness. The hollow indeed lived up to its name. Chet quavered at the eerie darkness which seemed to go on forever. They walked back to the cabin where Frank was still looking about the outside.

"Guess we should check out the inside." Frank said finding no clues outside to where the captain might be. He tried the back door and to his surprise it opened. They walked inside and Frank called out the captain's name. Silence. He looked to the others.

"Well, let's each take a room and search for clues. This is damn strange." he said in a somewhat worried tone. Chet looked up with a shrug.

"Why so strange? I mean maybe he's just not home." Chet countered. Frank shook his head.

"It's not like the captain to not lock his door, or not leave a note when expecting visitors or to not put the top up on his car. He is a meticulous person that way. I don't want to think negatively either, but I am beginning to think that he left here in a big hurry." Joe nodded.

"Me too. Let's search this cabin and see what we can find." he said. "Let's each take a room." the three separated and started investigating. In less than thirty minutes later Joe and Chet came back into the kitchen where Frank was searching. Frank looked up.

"Well, the only real thing I could find is the fact that the captain's old time ice box had overflowed. The water trays on these things need to be changed and when they aren't they overflow onto the floor. I'd say judging by the amount of water here that he hasn't been around for at least a full day. Maybe more. How about you guys?" he asked. Joe held up a calendar.

"There are some strange notations on this calendar. For instance, September third, she screamed. September eighth, explosion. September nineteenth, she screamed. September twenty sixth, she screamed..."

"Who screamed?" Chet asked aloud with a blank expression. Frank and Joe shook their heads together.

"Not sure, but I mean to find out." Frank said. Joe looked to Chet.

"Did you find anything?" he asked. Chet held out a hand.

"Well, IF the captain's gun rack was full, then there is a rifle missing. And I could only find one box of shells. Judging by the quantity of guns it would seem he would have more ammo. It's my guess that if he went somewhere he went with a gun and a fair amount of ordinance." Frank slapped his fist into his palm.

"That clinches it for me. I am betting that the captain left here suddenly. He took a gun and it possibly involved those weird calendar notations about screams." Joe nodded.

"Makes sense. And I will bet he went right into that hollow!" he said flatly. Frank nodded and looked at his watch.

"Let's pack it up and head down. We could get a couple miles before having to pitch camp." Chet looked dubious but conceded that the sooner the better.