A/N: I'm a little under the weather and confined to bed/sofa for a few days, so lucky you are getting two chapters in one day!
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Chapter 11: A Close Call
With Kiki perched on his shoulder Jack bolted through the woods, determined to get as much space between himself and Klaus as possible. As he ran he could feel the tins fall from the cloth one by one. Every time one fell down, he had to stop and kick it into the undergrowth to be out of sight. Otherwise Klaus would have been on his trail too easily!
The morning turned into noon; it was another bright day and the sun was merciless. It shone through the treetops and made Jack uncomfortably hot. The ropes on his wrists were smarting like anything – even without the weight of the tins – and his breath was coming in short, painful gasps now. Sweat was running into his eyes, but he couldn't wipe it away.
After he had been crisscrossing through the forest for a while, the thick growth began to lighten in front of him and he wondered if he had reached the lake Isabel had spoken of.
He had! There it was, the gray-green surface lying before him, a little way down a steep, thickly, overgrown slope – and he stared down, taking in what seemed like a most peculiar scene. There was an airplane, sitting on the surface of the water and not very far from it three men stood on a stony ledge across on the other side of the lake. The men were gesticulating wildly and they seemed to be shouting too. Their attention was directed at a motor boat which sped across the water in the middle of the lake with no obvious destination.
Jack strained his eyes. Wasn't that Philip, steering the motor boat?
It was – but whatever was he doing? Jack looked at the men again. They were holding their guns in their hands! Then he realised that his friend's crisscrossing across the water was meant to keep them busy, while Isabel searched the plane for hints to their destination in Austria. And of course Philip had to keep the boat in motion or else he would risk being shot at.
Hiding himself in a bush Jack began to think about what he could do to help. First of all, however, he had to get rid of his binds. He tore at the rope until it was painfully cutting into his skin – but it simply wouldn't come off. He did notice that it had loosened a little though.
Kiki was perched on a bough above his head. She was very happy to be back with Jack. If only he would just scratch her poll a bit! She couldn't understand what kept him from showing some affection after the long time they had been separated. 'What a pity, what a pity!' she said, meaning to catch his attention. When he didn't react, she added in a sulky tone, 'open your book on page six,' and gave a little squawk afterwards.
But Jack was still busy as he hadn't quite managed to free his hands yet. He nearly had wriggled one hand out, thinking that it was probably a good thing they were so slippery with sweat. Just another tug and then –
There! He'd freed it! Now he could move both arms to his front and work on the rope properly. After it had come off completely he breathed a relieved sigh and rolled his shoulders a couple of times. They were stiff from carrying the heavy tins behind his back for so long.
After rubbing some life back into his hands and wiping the sweat off on his shorts Jack was just about to pet Kiki, for she really had done well helping him to escape when quite suddenly a frightful sound tore across the lake. It was unmistakably the sound of a revolver being fired! Kiki screeched and nearly flew out of the bush. Jack squinted to see what was happening down on the lake.
Inside his boat Philip had heard the noise as well, and he realised with great fear that one of the men had opened fire on him. There could be no other target. He sped up the boat even more, trying to figure out what had made the men decide to shoot at the boat they needed so much.
Maybe they had come to the conclusion that their time was running out and they had better leave now, taking with them what they already had of the gold. And before that they meant to get rid of him! Gracious! Whatever was he to do?
Another few gunshots made him wince and duck. He was quite sure he had felt a bullet swish past his ear. Then he noticed that his feet were getting wet. Another bullet must have hit the boat – meaning that it would be sinking eventually! And he was still a good bit away from the nearest shore. Well, he might still make it to the other side – after all, it was just one small leak. And even if not, he could swim the last bit of the way.
Unfortunately, several more shots forced Philip to give up on the boat much sooner than he had hoped. It was leaking in more than one place and already it was sinking lower and lower. Then another bullet hit the engine.
'I'd better dive into the water now,' thought Philip and jumped.
From above Jack watched as the boat sank into the darkness of the water. He was surprised at how quickly it had gone down. It must be bullet-ridden!
'Golly, I do hope Philip's not hurt,' he thought, but gladly, it didn't seem that way.
For his superior position Jack could see that Philip was already on his way to the shore, swimming almost directly towards him. He still had a long way ahead of him but Philip was a good swimmer. Jack was sure that his friend would make it safely to the shore. The men had stopped shooting too – maybe because they couldn't see their target well enough anymore.
Jack felt relieved for a moment, but then he remembered Klaus. And the fact that Philip had no idea that the Austrian was still somewhere about on their side of the lake. 'I'll have to warn Tufty,' he thought. 'Otherwise he might run straight into Klaus' arms.'
He crept out of the bush, very cautiously, and whispered to Kiki, 'Come on, old girl, but be quiet. We need to get down to the shore and hopefully manage to warn Philip from Klaus.'
'What a pity, what a pity,' said Kiki and flew to Jack's shoulder. 'God save the queen!' Jack tapped her beak and she was quiet after that.
Across the lake the three men were just now diving into the water, no doubt meaning to get aboard their plane and get away as long as they still could. Poor Isabel. Jack hoped that she would be able to defend herself against the villains.
The way down the slope to meet Philip was more difficult than Jack had thought it would be. He slipped several times on loose pebbles and landed on his backside more than once. One time he even tore his shorts on a sharp stony edge. Soon, he was beginning to feel sore, and his arms and legs were scratched and torn from the thorns of bushes he used to steady himself.
In the water Philip suddenly became aware that there was someone on the shore just in front of him. He couldn't see who it was for the person was hidden by the thick bushes and fern. But the movement of the boughs gave it away that someone was there.
Could it be Klaus? The Austrian seemed to have disappeared, or at least Philip hadn't seen him at all, since he and the others had narrowly escaped him just after dawn.
'Golly, we've been up and about since after dawn,' he thought to himself, trying to recall all that had happened since. He remembered mainly having run this way and that – and now that he thought about it he was really beginning to feel very tired out by all the exertion. But he still had a bit to swim. Every time he stopped moving for a moment he became aware of how unpleasantly cold the water was.
On the rocks in front him the bushes moved again, but much further down – telling him that whoever was about must be almost on the edge of the water!
Gracious, if this was Klaus, Philip would have to stay in the water and keep away from the shore. Blow! He was exhausted and he really had no idea for how much longer he could swim.
But then Philip saw something – or rather someone – he really hadn't expected. From beyond a bush down on the very edge a tall, slender figure emerged, slightly hunched over, red hair shining brightly in the midday sun, a white parrot perched on his shoulder. It wasn't Klaus – it was old Freckles! Whatever was he doing here? Oughtn't he be miles and miles away, fetching the police reinforcements? Or had they arrived already?
On the rocks Jack had realised that Philip had seen him and he put a finger across his lips to make sure Philip wasn't going to shout for him.
He couldn't have known that his friend was too out of breath to shout anyway. Philip was swimming as fast as he could now, and when he had almost reached the shore he felt like he was going to faint – unless he was to get a break. He certainly didn't have any breath left to shout!
On the shore, Jack removed his shoes and cautiously stepped into the water, meaning to help pulling his friend out. He kept his head bent low though, hoping to stay hidden by the bushes if Klaus was hovering somewhere above.
When Philip was close enough Jack held out his hand. He was almost thigh deep in the water now and it was difficult to avoid slipping on the mossy, wet rock beneath his feet. The bottom of his shorts were wet, but he didn't mind. He gripped Philip's outstretched hand and cautiously helped his exhausted friend to climb the rocks on the edge of the lake's embankment.
After staggering up the slope a few yards, Philip's legs felt too wobbly to hold him up any longer and he slumped down on the moss. He felt frozen too, from staying in the cold water for so long, and even the heat of the midday sun did nothing to warm him up for a while.
Jack pulled off his dry shirt and gave it to his friend who accepted it gratefully and pulled it over his head. 'I say, I feel like I won't want to go swimming again any time soon,' Jack could hear him say from somewhere inside the shirt. After he re-emerged through the neckhole he ran a hand through his moist hair, making it stand on end.
Jack grinned and nudged him in the side with his foot. 'Well, you were the one who wanted to play hero this morning, weren't you?' he said teasingly, making Philip scowl. 'Anyway, I wish I could say we're out of danger, but we're not. Klaus is still somewhere about and I have no idea where exactly.'
'Well if Klaus is about, so's the police. See?' Philip said, pointing.
Only then Jack noticed the noises. They had been very faint at first but where quickly getting louder and louder. A helicopter was approaching from across the hills and a few motorboats came from where the lake bended several miles away.
Jack beamed. 'Golly! The girls! They must have gone to fetch them on their own.'
'Why would they have to?' asked Philip who still had no idea what had kept Jack from going with the girls.
'Well … never mind that now,' said Jack sheepishly, looking a bit red in the face. 'I'll tell you everything later. For now let's just stay hidden here and watch as they take the men away.' He crouched down next to Philip and reached for his shoes to put them back on.
The two of them watched contently as the motor boats approached the water plane and police men disappeared into it. The helicopter had no place where it could land, it flew over their heads and the boys guessed that it would come down on that field nearby, where Isabel had parked the car.
'Thank goodness, Isabel's safe now too,' said Philip when he saw the police coming out of the plane with the villains in handcuffs one by one.
Jack grinned and gave him a light shove in the side. 'You do like her, don't you?' he teased.
'Well, she's helped us and –' Philip began saying but after realising what Jack had really meant he interrupted himself, shaking his head vigorously. 'Oh no, it's not what you think!'
'Is it not?'
'No, of course not. For one thing she's much too old – older than Tilda said anyway – and she's certainly not my type. Besides –' Philip grinned broadly, '– she's way too keen on bossing people around for my liking anyway. – Look, there she comes out of the plane. I bet she's taking command over the policemen already!'
They both snickered. Indeed, Isabel was bossy!
The police boat with the robbers in it was already speeding away while Isabel was in one of the other boats talking to the officers. Philip could see that she was pointing at the shore, probably telling the police about the missing Klaus – and about Jack and him.
'They'll be looking for us,' said Jack who had seen Isabel gesticulating as well. 'I wish we could just stand up and show ourselves, but then Klaus might see us too. I haven't the faintest idea where he's gone to.'
Philip clutched his arm. 'Well, I do,' he whispered, pointing. 'He's climbing along the rocks, just a little bit further up. See?'
Jack peered through the bushes, seeing Klaus clambering along the rocks above their heads. He was only a few yards away. Bother! What were they to do now?
