To God Be The Glory

Chapter Twelve: The Truth

There was more howling, then a man's voice called out. "Trixie! Bobby!" suddenly after another howling sound that was the closest yet, there was a gun shot, then silence. Dan stood frozen, staring out at the woods. Suddenly Bill Regan, his uncle, bust through the trees. The next thing Dan knew, he was knocked backwards and the knife was wrenched from his grasp, and a hand griped his arm tightly. He looked up into the furious eyes of his uncle, and he tensed, his body beginning to shake. His uncle, with out taking his eyes off Dan called out

"They're okay, Mr. Belden!" There was a sound of crashing, and a man, and Brian, and Mart burst through the woods.

Dan watched in silence as Trixie turned to Regan "He wasn't trying to do anything wrong! He was only trying to protect us from that horrible wildcat!"

Dan's uncle turned abruptly to Dan, shaking him, "Is that the truth, Dan? Out with it!"

Dan shrugged, pushing his emotions aside, "What did you think I was doing? Holding them for a kidnap payoff or something?" He struggled to keep his emotions away, instead opting for a tough angry exterior. He watched as everyone there watched him with distrust, and sighed to him self. Brian, Mart's brother, stepped towards Trixie holding a mug of hot broth, but she shook her head, glaring at him slightly, "Dan needs that more than I do, he came right away when I asked him to help us, and he made me wear his jacket so I wouldn't get cold while he was crawling down into that horrible hole to save Bobby from freezing to death with his legs caught under a rock!"

Dan stared as the others accepted her speech. The man who had crashed through the woods with Mart, and Brian, who Dan assumed was Bobby's father, looked at him

"Thanks, Dan, we won't forget it!"

Dan shrugged, then took a sip of the broth, warming his face with the steam that was rising off it. Bobby looked up when Mart put a blanket around him "I falled in a hole but the kitty wasn't there. An' Dan digged me out, an' there was a fairy shoemaker an' he said-" Bobby yawned deeply, then added, just before he fell asleep, "Tip-tap, rip-rap-" he broke off as he slipped into slumber.

Dan shifted as he saw Bobby's father look curiously at Trixie and bit his lip, "I'm sorry, It was just a little rhyme, about a leprechaun. My Mum used to sing it to me."

Trixie hopped a bit, surprising Dan, "A leprechaun! I know what we'll do! We need something special for the carnival! We'll have Dan recite the rhyme, and Bobby will do his little skating number dressed in a leprechaun costume! Honey can make it in nothing flat!"

Regan who had let go of his arm looked at Dan speculatively "Danny's a good skater, aren't you, boy? Didn't I hear you won a medal in the Police Athletic League games a couple of years ago?"

Dan bit his lip, looking away from his uncle. He had no idea how to act. It seemed that as soon as he did one good thing that they could prove he did, they acted as if they trusted him all the time, that they hadn't hurt him with their looks and actions "Yeah." He hesitated then looking at Trixie's exited face he sighed, not wanting to disappoint her "But I haven't skated for a long time. And I don't know what the carnival is for."

Trixie's smile just grew brighter, " We're raising money for some friends in Mexico, who's town was wrecked by a storm, and the skating, that's easy to take care of, we still have a few day's before Saturday and the carnival, and you can practice like mad. We're all going to, and if you don't have your skates with you, you can use Mart's or Brian's old ones. We can sharpen them up for you!"

Dan's uncle put his arm across Dan's shoulders, ignoring his stiffening body. "Needn't bother, Trixie. I'll pick up a pair for my nephew in town tomorrow morning, brand-new, and he can start practising tomorrow afternoon."

Dan sighed, apparently a pair of skates would make it all alright. They would make the fact that the only people who trusted him was a maid, a old man, and a six year old boy. None of whom were his uncle. They would make the fact that his uncle pretended to not be related to him till he did something good.

Brian held out a mug to Trixie, and after she drank it she handed the mug to Brian "I feel great now. Let's start home. Moms must be simply frantic with worry about Bobby."

Brian nodded, his face serious, "She was frantic about both of you! She was sure you had both been kidnaped by that tram that robbed our clubhouse."

Dan winced as he remembered Luke. Trixie's eyes suddenly snapped to his, "The tramp! Dan! Dan! Tell them what that awful Luke is planing to do! Maybe Regan can get there and stop him before he does it!"

Regan's hand moved to Dan's arm, and his voice grew sharp, "What's all this?"

Dan hesitated, and Trixie rolled her eyes, "Go on! Don't forget what he promised to do to you because you wouldn't help him! It's not snitching to protect your own self from a person like him!"

Dan scowled, "I'm not thinking that it would be snitching, I've got some things left that I need to worry about. Even if everyone suddenly trusts me." He clenched his jaw and shook his head, "Forget it." He took a breath then explained to Regan and Bobby's father about Luke.

As soon as he had finished, Mr. Belden smiled "This Luke will run into big trouble if he tries it. Mr. Wheeler hired extra guards to patrol the Manor House grounds when he came home and found out the clubhouse had been burglarized. Luke will run head-on into them if he steps on the Wheeler estate."

Dan let a small smile flicker across his face, he wasn't foolish enough to think that his trouble with the Cowhands was over, but at least it was put on hold for a bit. He shifted his attention towards the woods as he shifted, wanting to get away and see Maypenny. He stood still, watching as the fire was put out, and the things gathered up. Soon they were on their way, heading towards Maypenny's cabin, where they had stabled their horses in order to search for Trixie and Bobby.