Frank went into immediate action.
"Joe, you and Tony douse all those lights pronto! Chet, you and Bill get into those tall weeds and keep me covered." With that Chet drew his magnum and Bill pulled a gun out of his leg holster and jumped to the side into the weeds. Frank took a dive into the tent and grabbed a couple backpacks and a pair of rifles that Bill and Tony brought along. Chet fired at various areas of the hill, as did Bill. Frank sprinted back and jumped into the weeds. Joe and Tony were also planted in the back of the weeds well hidden. Tony looked up cautiously.
"Frank, toss me that rifle. I don't have a sidearm." Frank threw a rifle back. Tony grabbed it fast and checked the chamber. Frank tossed a bag over to Bill and Chet.
"Here's some extra ammo guys." he said tersely. A moment later a shot flew just inches over his head.
"Bastard has us pinpointed." he muttered. Chet took his reloaded pistol out and leveled it in the area he thought he saw the shots come from. He fired a couple shots. The canon boomed. Frank scanned the hillside. They heard some noise.
"I'm getting nervous." Bill said. "Did you notice the firing pattern on that rifle of his? Seemed to me an AK-47 or similar high-power semi auto."
"And we are sitting ducks." Tony said flatly. "Plans, anyone?" Joe gave a smile in spite of the situation.
"Well, we do have sufficient ammo to keep him at bay." Chet returned a comic expression.
"A lot of good it will do us if he is still up there come morning. Admittedly this is a pretty dark hollow even in the morning. But, there will be without a doubt significantly better lighting than there is now. And with his advantage of having the superior position, he will be able to pick us off like scared rab..." his words trailed off as a thought occurred to him. He looked about the ground and cursed.
"Frank, you didn't bring my big bag, man!" Joe shot him a look.
"Gee Chet, he was a little busy trying to grab a couple rifles and bags of ammo. Sorry if he forgot to bring you your wine." Chet rolled his eyes.
"I have a bit more in that bag than wine. In fact, I am going for it. Cover me!" he said. Frank looked tersely at him.
"You'd better haul ass, Chet. This guy has a sniper rifle with possibly an infrared scope." Chet smiled.
"I noticed, but I will try to not let that bother me." he said replacing his pistol in his belt. A moment later he made a sprint for the tent. Frank and Tony fired at will in the area of the sniper. Despite their efforts, the unknown gunman managed to fire off quite a few shots at Chet, barely missing him. Chet dove into the tent and grabbed his large bag and scurried back at breakneck speed. He dove into the weeds just as a shot ripped into a tree where he had been just a second before. Joe looked over at him with concern.
"You ok?" Chet nodded gasping for air. Physical activity of this sort was not in Chet's job description or social life, so he was bent over on the ground breathing heavily. He looked up.
"Yeah, I'm cool."
"That's debatable at best." Joe shot back. "You could have gotten yourself shot." Chet again, gave a smile.
"Really, Joe? I thought those were bumble bees whizzing by me!" Frank looked over.
"Ok Chet, what was so damn important you risked getting clipped for?" Chet smiled as he dug through his bag. A moment later he retrieved four hand grenades. Bill looked stunned.
"Hand grenades? Why on earth are you carrying hand grenades?" he asked. Chet shrugged.
"Just in case." he said simply. Bill looked somewhat annoyed.
"Just in case of what? That you have a case that takes you to Iraq?" Chet gave him a hurt expression.
"Actually, for situations just like this." he said. Frank looked down dubiously.
"I don't know Chet, someone could get hurt." Chet, and even Joe and the others looked somewhat quizzically back at him. Chet cleared his throat.
"Er, Frank. That guy up on the hillside is trying to kill us. Or at least part our hair the hard way. True, we have ammo to keep him reasonably at bay, but we have no cover. He could start taking pot shots into this general vicinity again and stand a good chance to hit one of us. And when morning comes he will have the advantage of illumination. I don't want to be here for either of those events. I am not necessarily trying to kill this guy myself. I just suggest that we toss these pineapples up in that area. It will likely scare the crap out of him. Yeah, maybe kill him too, but he started it. But we take the distraction and confusion to our advantage. Grab as many supplies as we can and run like Hell to the boat." Frank nodded and looked out into the darkness.
"Ok, but let's try not to kill him. I want to catch him later and ask him some questions." Chet smiled.
"Fair enough. Ok, Tony and I will lob these suckers over to the hill. After we throw them, the rest of you get into that tent and grab everything you can carry and make a dash for the boat. Tony and I will run for the boat immediately after letting these things go. With any luck we can make it out of here with just being winded by the sprint." Joe cleared his throat and gave a half smile.
"Supposing this guy has already been to the river and has paid a visit to our boat?" Chet gave him a wry smile and looked up.
"Then I guess we are definitely up shit creek, and definitely without a paddle." Tony took a couple of the grenades and handed Joe his rifle. Chet took the other two and hunched down. The others waited for a signal. Chet looked about into the darkness. He looked to Tony, who nodded. Chet nodded back and the two stood up. They immediately pulled the pins on their grenades. The others went into immediate action as Chet and Tony let the grenades fly. A moment later the earth rocked with a pair of explosions. Chet and Tony fired their second pair of grenades. Then ran like the wind for the boat. Another tremendous pair of explosions rocked the ground. Noises were heard in the bushes along the hillside. Bill, Frank and Joe had managed to collect about half of the supplies and exited the tent within seconds on the run. They were just about thirty seconds behind Chet and Tony who were sprinting without as much as a glance over their shoulders. Within six minutes the river came into view. Chet had his fingers mentally crossed that there was no sabotage to the boat. Luck was with them as the Sleuth was moored where they left it and appeared unmolested. Tony made a running leap from the river's edge into the boat. He immediately went about starting it. Chet pulled himself over the edge and collapsed in the bottom of the boat. The roar of the engine sounded just as the others were reaching the river's edge. The Hardys and Bill wasted no time in getting in. Tony gunned the throttle and the boat shot forward.
Frank lay on the floor of the boat next to Chet. He looked over at him with a faint smile.
"Nice going, man. That plan probably just saved our asses." He let his head rest on the bottom of the boat and slowly closed his eyes. His breath evened out a bit. The near brush with death reminded him of his own mortality and things that should or more importantly, shouldn't be taken for granted.
Tony sent the boat speeding up river. The boys were silent for the most part for nearly half an hour. Thinking about the attack and feeling lucky to get out alive. A few minutes later Tony pulled the Sleuth into a small cove and shut the motor off. He looked to the others.
"We are far away enough now. I don't think they could have followed us." Frank smiled as he sat up.
"I don't think that guy was in the position to follow us. If he didn't end up blown to bits he is probably deaf and running around in circles." The group got out of the boat. Joe looked down at it with concern.
"As this is our only ticket out of here, I think we should keep a watch on it." The others nodded. Chet smiled slightly to Frank.
"Well dude, we've been attacked by a maniac with an automatic rifle and we have pretty good circumstantial evidence that the captain is here lost somewhere. Do we go for the law yet or make a search?" Frank thought a moment. Then he shook his head.
"I don't want to go for the law until we have some hard evidence. Otherwise the locals might just chalk us off as paranoid campers. We don't have any definite proof the captain is here. No, I think three of us should hit the woods tomorrow and make a search. The other two should stay close to the boat and keep a headquarters established." Chet nodded.
"Sounds like a plan. Now, how about some coffee?" He went about gathering wood for a fire. The others set out some sleeping bags. Chet built a fire and put the coffee on. Frank looked to the group.
"Ok, who wants to take watch in the boat tonight?" Joe and Tony volunteered. Frank nodded with a smile.
"Sounds good guys. I'd offer, but I am bushed. I am going to have a cup of coffee and hit the sack." Bill and Tony nodded their agreement to this thought. So after a quick cup of coffee the three settled down in their sleeping bags. Tony and Joe took their second cups down to the river's edge and sat on a fallen tree. Tony smiled at the taste of the coffee.
"Chet makes a strange cup of coffee. Pretty tasty though." he smiled. Joe was smiling to himself at this statement, but was concentrating on cleaning his revolver. Tony watched the process of Joe running a wire brush through the chamber.
"You guys have a lot of guns. We found those rifles and shotguns in the Sleuth." Joe gave a laugh and looked up.
"Chet's is building a collection for sure. But I think we just also add weapons we have taken off of one scumbag or another. They build up." Joe finished his cleaning job and holstered the weapon.
"How goes the construction business Tony?" Joe asked hoping he hadn't dragged his friend off an important job. Tony shrugged.
"We are scheduled to start a couple homes next month, but are waiting on some materials as it's a pretty high-end custom job." Joe smiled.
"Sounds good. Was just hoping we didn't pull you away from your duties." Tony laughed.
"Nah. Just some tedious paperwork. But the office manager can do it, and if he has problems can ask dad. I am actually happy to get out now and again and hit the field with you guys. I noticed Chet is doing well after he recovered that lost child last month." Joe smiled and turned his head.
"Yeah, hell of a time for Frank and I to take vacation."
"Well, he spent some on that new Yukon didn't he?" Tony asked. Joe nodded.
"Yep. Pretty nice ride for sure. He managed to get it at auction wholesale. He has a friend who is a GMC dealer." Tony took another drink and sat back.
"Oh man, I'm getting a little sleepy." He yawned. Joe nodded groggily. By two in the morning they were nestled against the fallen tree dozing fitfully. This was to be short lived however. At just after three in the morning the darkness shook with a horrible scream. Joe and Tony sat bolt upright in a sweat.
It came again. They heard the others jumping up from their sleeping bags.
"Joe, Tony, it came from the east! Hurry!" Frank yelled. The two jumped up and ran towards the others who were already moving at a sprint. A few minutes passed and the horrible sounding scream of a woman who had to be in trouble sounded again. The group redoubled their efforts. They sprinted over fallen trees and bushes at breakneck speed for another ten minutes. They soon had to stop to gain their breath. The sound had not repeated itself in several minutes. Frank looked about the darkness. The wind was picking up.
"Any idea where it was coming from, Frank?" Joe asked. Frank slowly shook his head.
"No idea now." he said then looked back at them. "That was a different scream than we heard last night." Joe looked up and nodded.
"Yeah, I think your right. Man, we must have sprinted a mile. Must have set a record." At this statement Chet suddenly looked up.
"Not to be the negative one here..." he began, "but what if that scream was a ruse to get us away from camp?" he asked nervously. The others looked at him with serious expressions. Frank looked to them.
"Quick! Back to camp. Chet could be right!" he yelled, and the group started a run back in the direction of the camp. Though the group was running fast, they were drained from the run they had just made, not to mention the lack of sleep. It took a good twelve minutes to reach the location where they had set up camp. Frank looked down at their sleeping bags and supplies. They appeared unmolested. Chet ran past him toward the river. He stopped short and gasped!
"Oh no!" he wailed. The others followed him down to see that his eyes were glued to a hole in the front of the Sleuth. It was about four inches across.
"Looks like a sledgehammer." Tony said. "Come on, help me get the bow up and out of the water." With the others help they managed to pull the front of the boat up onto the shoreline.
"Can't really tell much in the darkness." Chet said. "Let's wait till morning and see what can be done." The others agreed and desired sleep besides. They figured that the sneak attack was a mission accomplished and the rest of the night would likely be without incident. So, they abandoned the idea of watching the boat further and all went to sleep for the little time that remained until daybreak.
Within a few hours daylight struck and found Chet and Tony investigating the damage to the bow. It was definitely inflicted by a heavy blunt object like a sledgehammer. Frank groggily walked down to the beach after he woke.
"Morning guys, any hope on a repair?" he asked. Chet looked up.
"Well, it is possible. We do have some heavy rubber footing left over from when we relined the floor with it. As well as some of that adhesive in the tool box. We could conceivably make a patch to hold us until we get down river. Tony said that town they stopped in for fuel had a public dock with a lift. There's a good chance to find a marine repair center there." Frank nodded.
"Sounds like a good idea. How about you and Tony do that while the rest of us go on with business as usual?" Chet nodded.
"That is about the only thing we can do. The boat won't last long with a temporary patch. It needs proper repair." he said. By this time Joe and Bill had joined them. Frank repeated the idea to them and they nodded.
"Lucky, they didn't have any more time." Bill said. "They could have done some real damage. Not that this isn't bad enough." Joe nodded and went about gathering up their belongings. Frank looked at his watch.
"We will take off to the east. You should be able to track us by the GPS tracker from the boat. I will have our signal on at all times." The GPS device was built into the Hardy's special radio which allowed them to switch on a signal that could be bounced off a satellite and tracked by any GPS monitor as long as they entered the correct frequency. Chet nodded.
"Sounds like a plan." he said. Joe returned with a pair of backpacks.
"Bill and I have the camp packed and ready." Frank nodded.
"Thanks. Guess that's it. Be careful guys." he advised. Tony and Chet smiled and Chet gave a casual wave as they walked off into the woods. He turned to Tony.
"Ok dude, let's get this hole patched up." He and Tony spent the next half an hour devising a patch for the bow. They soon had the hole packed and patched. They lowered the boat back into the water. The patch appeared to hold. They got in and Chet tried the ignition. The motor gave a brief grind. Chet looked over his shoulder.
"Hey Tony, check the motor out. The thing won't turn over for some reason." Tony nodded and turned and pulled the fiberglass cover off the compartment. He gave a start. Chet looked up.
"Something wrong?" he asked. Tony nodded.
"Yeah. They got to the motor, too. Take a look!" Chet got up and looked into the engine bay. The motor housing had what appeared to be another sledge hammer mark right into the motor housing at the flywheel. Chet sighed deeply.
"That doesn't look good. Well, let's see if we can get that motor cover off and get that dent out of the housing. It is apparently smashed into the flywheel preventing it from turning." Tony nodded opening the tool box. He soon had the housing bolts undone and with a little twisting pulled the housing off the flywheel. The flywheel appeared to have a crack in it. Tony frowned.
"That does Not look good. Think it will run?" Chet shrugged.
"Hard to say, man. Let's take the dent out of the housing and put it back and see what she does." Tony nodded. He took a hammer out and went to work on the housing. Within ten minutes he had the dents flattened considerably. He placed the cover back on and secured the bolts back in place. He nodded to Chet.
"Ok, see if she will fire up." Chet nodded and turned the ignition key. The motor sputtered to life. Though a very loud noise came from the motor bay. Chet looked back over his shoulder and listened for a moment.
"With the flywheel getting whacked and cracked, it's definitely off balance. It will definitely be prone to overheating." he sighed, then shrugged. "But we do have power and not much choice." He engaged the throttle. The boat a bit sluggishly jumped forward. They headed down river with their fingers crossed and a prayer. After thirty minutes Tony came up and sat next to Chet.
"How's it going?" he asked. "I noticed you reduced speed again." Chet nodded and pointed to the gauges.
"Temp is hitting a level for concern and the oil pressure isn't encouraging either. How far is this town ahead?" Tony thought for a moment.
"At least another forty minutes at this rate. More if you cut speed again." Chet shrugged and pushed the throttle up a little. Tony raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked.
"If we don't get there soon we won't have to worry about the motor." he said indicating the patch in the bow. It was taking in a steady light stream of water.
"Should I apply pressure to it?" Tony asked. Chet shook his head.
"That might just help in along. No, but you can flip the pump on." he said. Tony switched the pump on, which provided minimal relief as the pump motor was old. After thirty more minutes the leak was getting progressively worse. Tony said that they should be coming upon the town soon.
"I'm pretty sure they have a boat repair dock there too if memory serves." Chet looked worried. The leak was flowing nicely and the gauges were well in the red zone.
"We can't go much further." he said tersely. A few minutes later Tony pointed down the river.
"There! It's down there. Go, man!" he said. Without looking back Chet threw the throttle full out and the engine whined with an unpleasant screeching sound and the boat shot forward. They had gone about two thousand yards when Chet threw the throttle back down for fear of blowing the motor completely. The bow lowered slightly.
Suddenly the patch gave out completely and water poured in!