Author’s note: For those who have not been following The Long Way Home, all you really need to know for this story is that Jim and Trixie are married and live next door to the Manor House, on the opposite side to Crabapple Farm. Everything else is fairly self-explanatory, I think.
August, 1996
“Moms!” Bobby yelled, as he and his friends thundered in through the back door of Crabapple Farm. “Moms! Are you here?”
“There’s no need to shout,” she chided. “I’m right here.”
He barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes, but only because he was about to make a request. “Sorry. Can I please go camping for a couple of days with Larry and Terry? We just found this really great spot in the Preserve and we saw Mr. Wheeler while we were coming back here and he told us we could camp there if it was okay with our parents and Mr. Lynch agreed already, too, so long as I can go, too.”
“All by yourselves?” Helen Belden asked, looking sceptical. “I don’t really think you’re old enough, yet, for that.”
“Moms! I’m nearly seventeen. I’m not a baby.” She did not look convinced and Bobby’s heart sank. “Please, Moms. It’s just for a couple of nights.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m sorry.”
Disheartened, the three went back outside to vent their feelings out of her earshot. As soon as they were far enough from the house, Bobby began to complain.
“Everyone still treats me like I’m still a little kid. And it’s worse since Mart left. Moms wants me to stick around forever. I can’t wait to get out of this stupid town. Just one more year and I’m outta here.” He kicked the dirt. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to go camping anyway, whether they like it or not.”
The Lynch twins exchanged a wary look. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Terry asked. “Aren’t you going to get in a lot of trouble for that?”
“Only if I get caught,” Bobby mumbled, “which I have no intention of doing.”
The other two stared at him in disbelief. “How does that work?” Larry wondered. “Your mom would definitely know if you weren’t in the house.”
“But what if she thought I was at Trixie’s place?” Bobby’s face took on a sneaky expression. “How about if we convince Trixie to let us camp out in her barn – Moms can’t object to that, can she? – only then, we go and camp in the place we found today. If we weren’t in the barn in the morning if someone comes to check, we can just say that we were out for a walk, or something.”
“That could work,” Larry decided, after a few moments’ thought. “But will both Trixie and your mother agree?”
“One way to find out,” Bobby answered. “Let’s go and see if anyone’s home at Trixie’s place now.”
The three conspirators shared a grin, then set off on a trail that took them past the Wheeler stables and onto a short-cut to Jim and Trixie’s home. They emerged onto the lawn to find the house looking closed-up and deserted. Larry and Terry looked ready to turn around and leave, but Bobby urged them on.
“Let’s take a look in the barn and make sure there’s room to camp out. It’s this way.”
They made their way back to the old farm buildings, stopping to peek into the old stables on the way. These, they decided, were too cramped for their purpose. The barn stood a little further away, a good distance from the house. Trees had grown up all around in the days since this was a working farm and from here there was no other sign of civilisation in sight.
“Maybe this would be a good enough place to camp out anyway,” Terry suggested, looking all around. “They couldn’t hear us talk from the house, even if we were really loud.”
Bobby nodded. “That’s just what I was thinking. No one would know whether we were here or not.”
He walked over and pulled open one of the doors. The others followed him inside.
“On second thoughts, it’s kind of dusty in here,” Terry grumbled. “And crowded.”
“What, are you afraid of getting dirty, or something?” Larry teased. He affected a high, girly voice. “Oh, no! I might get dust on my dress!”
Terry gave his twin a thump. “You’re the one who likes dresses, not me.”
“Only on girls,” Larry argued. “I don’t wear dresses. Not like you.”
“Quit it and come over here,” Bobby told them. “This is where I was thinking.”
“I’ve never worn a dress!” Terry, intent on the argument, ignored Bobby.
Bobby let out a groan. “Neither of you wear dresses, okay? Now, can you come and see what I brought you here for?”
Larry and Terry shot each other hostile looks, both of them still grumbling under their breaths about the other’s predilection for ladies’ clothing, but followed the direction this time. They were soon standing in the clear space that Bobby had found.
“Well?” Bobby asked, when it became clear that neither was going to say anything aloud.
“Yeah, this would do, I guess,” Larry admitted.
Terry only nodded.
Bobby shrugged at their behaviour and started back towards the door. Just as he reached it, he turned, having noticed that the other two were not following.
“What’s up?”
Before they had a chance to answer, he felt a large hand drop firmly onto his shoulder and he bit back a yell. Wrenching away from the grip, he found himself face to face with his brother-in-law.
“What are you doing in my barn?” Jim asked, in a rather stern voice.
“S-s-sorry. Uh… we were… uh, just looking around,” Bobby stammered. A moment later, he saw that Jim was not really mad and he relaxed. “Actually, we came to ask a favour, but there didn’t seem to be anyone home.”
Jim nodded. “I just got here. What was it you wanted?”
Bobby frowned a little in remembrance of the problem. “Larry and Terry and me were wanting to go camping in the Preserve, but Moms said no, so we were thinking that maybe, if it was okay with you, we might convince her to let us camp out in here, so we kind of came in here to see if there was space. What do you think?”
“I guess there’s enough space, if you don’t mind the mess,” his brother-in-law answered thoughtfully. “We never have gotten around to properly cleaning it out.”
“I meant, would that be okay?” Bobby clarified, with barely concealed disdain at the vagaries of older people. “Would you agree to us camping out in here?”
Once more, Jim nodded. “I’ll go and call your mother about it now, if you’d like.”
Bobby grinned. “Thanks, Jim. That would be great. Come on, guys. We’d better go and find all of our gear.”
“What gear?” Terry demanded, as Jim walked away. “How much gear do we need to sleep in a barn?”
Bobby shook his head in exasperation. With a quick glance, he confirmed that Jim was now too far away to hear. “We’re not going to sleep in the barn. We’re going camping. I thought you understood this plan!”
Larry stopped short. “We’re not going to be able to use our camping gear. Dad was going to get someone to drive over with it, so we wouldn’t have to carry it too far. Where are we going to get a tent from, now?”
“The Bob-Whites’ old clubhouse,” Bobby answered, as if this was totally obvious. “Most of the stuff we’ll need should be in there. Anything else, we might need to get from my house. I know that Mart has some pretty cool gear that he stuck up in the attic. I really wanted to try out his sleeping bag, but last time I asked he said no.”
“Mart would kill us if we took his stuff without asking,” Terry pointed out.
Bobby waved the objection away. “Mart is in Australia. How is he going to know?”
“Somehow, I don’t think we’re going to get away with this,” Terry persisted. “Maybe we should just camp out in the barn after all. That way, we won’t get into trouble.”
“Ooh, I’m so afraid,” Bobby wailed, in a high voice. “Maybe I was wrong and you do wear a dress.”
Terry turned a vivid shade of red. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. And I don’t wear a dress!”
He surged ahead, making for the old clubhouse.
“Good one, Bobby.” Larry smirked. “I’ll have to remember that the next time he’s trying to talk me out of the good stuff.”
Late that afternoon, the trio met at the barn behind Rose Cottage. They were in high spirits, having managed to convince all of the adults that this was, indeed, a good idea. All three had become anxious when Mr. Lynch was suddenly called away on a last-minute business trip. Mrs. Lynch had, for some reason, become nervous about the plan and withdrew permission. In the end, her boys had convinced her to let them go.
All of their plans were in place and they intended to go off to their secret camping spot as soon as they felt it to be safe to do so. Earlier in the day, they had lugged the camping gear from the old clubhouse and hidden it near the place. Bobby had also made a covert trip into the attic to borrow some of Mart’s things, but was not able to do so until too late to take them to the clearing. They had decided not to put up the tent until later, in case someone spotted it and reported them to their parents.
In the meantime, however, they had a meal to prepare and eat. Jim had set up a fire pit for them, a short distance from the barn, and had piled up some fallen branches and kindling. He had also supplied an axe so that they could cut up some of the wood. This kept them occupied for some time. Once the fire was well-established, they began trying to cook on it. This was less successful, but they enjoyed themselves nonetheless. Some of their sausages were charred on the outside and nearly raw inside, but they ate them anyway. From there, they moved on to marshmallows, most of which they set on fire.
They were enjoying themselves so much that it was late in the night before the plan even entered their heads. The supply of firewood had run out and the former blaze had been reduced to coals.
“I’m bored,” Bobby declared. He prodded the coals with one of the marshmallow-toasting sticks, but little happened. “We should have already gone by now.”
“Let’s just stay here,” Terry suggested. “We can camp out tomorrow night.”
Bobby frowned. “What, are you scared or something?”
“Nah, just lazy,” Terry answered.
“Well, I’m game, even if you’re scared,” Larry answered.
Terry growled. “I’m not scared.”
“Come on, then,” Larry goaded.
“Fine. I’m coming. Keep your hair on.” He stooped to pick up the sleeping bag he had been sitting on.
“Just leave it here,” Bobby told him. “We’ve got some more at the camp site.”
“Hey, what about the fire?” Terry asked, as they began to walk away. “Didn’t Jim say to put it out before we went to bed?”
“Nah, it’ll be fine.” Bobby strode ahead into the darkness. “It’s almost out already. It’s not going to flare up again now.”
Terry nodded and followed his friend away.
Inside the house, Jim and Trixie were already in bed. Unknown to their guests, they had been down to check on them twice, mostly so that they could tell Trixie’s mother that they had. Just before midnight, Jim rolled over and eased himself out of bed.
“Where are you going?” Trixie demanded, without opening her eyes.
“I’m just going to make sure the fire’s out,” he told her, while pulling on his shoes. “They won’t know I’m there.”
She nodded and snuggled down, already going back to sleep. Jim went down the stairs and out through the kitchen. By the time that he reached the kitchen door, however, he was becoming alarmed.
“Trixie!” he yelled. “Get down here!”
He wrenched open the door and set out for the barn at a run. Through the trees, he could see flames and they seemed to be spreading. As he passed the old stables, he paused to grab an old sack that he knew was just inside the door. There was a bucket of water near the barn, he knew, since he had left it for the boys to wash their hands in, if needed. It would not go very far in putting the fire out, but it could be used to dampen the sack.
“Bobby!” he called, as loud as he could. “Larry! Terry!”
There was no response. By now, he feared for the three boys’ lives. The fire was licking at the long grass near the corner of the barn and smoke was blowing in through its open door. With all of the energy he could muster, Jim started beating out the flames nearest the barn. He managed to keep the building from catching alight, but the fire was spreading away from him faster than he could fight it. He barely noticed when his wife came and joined in the fight. She called something to him, but he did not register what she said.
The fire was taking hold among the clumps of trees that surrounded the clearing. With the wind the way it was, their own house was not in danger just yet, but if the fire could not be controlled the Manor House might be under threat soon.
Jim’s muscles ached, his throat was dry and he could feel his endurance and strength waning when he heard the welcome sound of sirens. As the fire fighters came to take over, he sank onto a nearby garden wall and watched. He left the talking to Trixie, having found that he could do little more than croak. His head fell into his hands and he covered his face. He was still in this position when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“They’re not in there,” Trixie told him, her voice cracking. “They’ve searched the building and they’re not there. What am I going to tell Moms and Mrs. Lynch?”
Jim looked up at her, torn between shock and relief. He had been so thoroughly convinced that the boys were inside that barn, unconscious or worse, that no other idea had occurred to him.
“We need to set up a search party,” he rasped out. “Call my Dad… Regan… Tom… anyone who can come and help.”
She nodded and raced off towards the house. Jim followed, at a slightly slower pace. He entered the kitchen to hear her already on the phone, apparently speaking to Margery Trask and dividing up the task with her. She pressed the receiver button to end the call and dialled another number at once.
Jim got himself a drink of water and began gathering the supplies he thought he might need. When he passed back through the kitchen, he could hear a car already pulling up outside. Trixie was still on the phone and seemed to be talking to her father. He kept walking and found that the car contained his own father.
“Dad. I’m glad to see you,” Jim croaked.
Matthew Wheeler strode over and gave Jim a firm pat on the back. “You sound terrible. Are you really okay?”
Jim nodded. “Don’t worry about me. It’s those boys we need to be worrying about.”
“We’ll find them, Jim. I’m sure we will.”
They went into the kitchen together, where Trixie was beginning to make another call. She put her hand across the receiver and asked, “Do you know where they were planning to camp? Moms thought – oh, hello. I’m sorry to call so late…”
Jim and Matthew turned away as she began her conversation.
“I don’t really know,” he told Jim, in answer to the question. “They tried to describe the place to me, but all three were talking at once. From where I saw them, and the direction they approached from, I’d say that it was somewhere near the boundary between your land and mine, but exactly where… I couldn’t say. I take it that Helen thought they might have decided to go camping after all.”
“It’s a good theory,” Jim agreed. Outside there was the sound of another car. “They must have left rather late, if they did.”
“How so?”
Jim glanced at his wife, who seemed to be dealing with a very unhappy person on the other end of the line. “Helen asked me to check on them a few times, so I went down and looked in on them around eight-thirty, then about ten. I got up around midnight to see that the fire was out, which was when I found it out of control. I wish I’d gone a bit earlier. I meant to; I was just too sleepy.”
“It’s not your fault, Jim.”
They were interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door, almost immediately followed by Regan and Tom’s entrance.
“We’re here. What’s the plan?” Tom asked.
Matthew Wheeler hesitated for only a moment, before taking the telephone receiver from his daughter-in-law’s hand. “I’m sorry, but this conversation will have to wait until later. We need Trixie for the briefing of the search party. Someone will get back to you as soon as possible.”
Before the person on the other end could reply, he had hung up.
“Now, then. I’ve brought with me a map of the area,” he announced, as if nothing had happened. “I suggest that we break up into pairs and start walking. Two people can go in this direction – just ignore the phone – two can take the path that goes past the stables and go this way and, when we have another person free, two people can start by combing the grounds here more thoroughly, then go that way. We need to concentrate on the lower areas, I think. From what I gathered, they went over a small hill and down into a hollow below and that’s where they were planning to camp. Perhaps Jim should lead the first pair on his property and Regan can lead the one from mine. I’ll take the other as soon as possible.”
Trixie gave a guilty glance at the telephone, which was still ringing. “What are we going to do about poor Mrs. Lynch? I didn’t quite get what she was saying, but something’s wrong there and it’s just her and the girls in the house and she’s really upset.”
Her father-in-law patted her arm. “Don’t worry about her. I’ll make sure someone gets back to her.”
Another car pulled up outside and the telephone, which had stopped, began to ring again. The kitchen door opened again and Margery Trask entered, carrying a box.
“Oh, good.” Matthew took the box from her and began distributing its contents while his estate manager answered the phone. “Now that Margery is here, she can handle the communications side of things. Each pair take a radio and make sure to check in regularly, whether you find anything or not. Are you ready?”
The other four nodded and headed for the door. Tom went with Regan and Trixie with Jim. They met up with Trixie’s parents almost at the door, her mother laden with a large basket.
“I’m sorry, Moms!” Trixie cried, when she saw her. “I didn’t do a very good job of looking after them.”
“It’s not your fault,” her mother assured her.
From inside the house, they heard Matthew Wheeler. “Peter! Good. You and I are together. Are you ready to set out?”
While Helen entered the kitchen and established herself there, the searchers set off into the night.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Preserve, the three teenage boys were thoroughly lost. They had found their camping site with ease in daylight, when leaving from the old clubhouse, but soon discovered that they did not know the way from Jim and Trixie’s place in the dark. The shortcut that they thought they were taking, by not crossing back past the Manor House, had instead left them somewhere unfamiliar.
“Face it, Bobby, we’re lost. We’ve been lost for ages. We’re not getting any less lost by stumbling around in the dark like this.” Terry sat down on a fallen log with a thump. “We should have stayed where we were.”
“We’re not lost,” Bobby asserted, not for the first time. “It’s just a bit further if you go this way.”
Terry let out a derisive huff. “We’ve been walking for an hour. And we’re too far up the hill. And I don’t think that was the right direction in the first place. We could be anywhere by now. We’re lucky we didn’t fall off a cliff or something.”
“Well, what do you suggest we do?” Bobby demanded. “You have any better ideas?”
Terry was silent. His twin brother sat down next to him. “I think we’d better just stay still. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you’re lost?”
“You want to stay here and get eaten by a catamount.” Bobby eyed him critically. “You really think that’s a good idea.”
Larry shook his head. “There’s no catamounts around here.”
“Yes, there are. I saw one, once. If Regan hadn’t been there with a rifle…”
“Yeah, but that was years ago,” Larry argued. “There’s none any more.”
“Hey, can you smell smoke?” Terry asked. “I keep thinking I can.”
Bobby shook his head. “It’s just in our clothes.”
Terry pulled his T-shirt up over his nose. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“So, we’ll keep going?” Bobby asked, taking a few steps away from the other two.
“No,” the Lynch twins answered together.
“Come on! We’re not going to find our camp site just sitting here.”
“No,” Terry answered, more quietly this time. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay here until it’s light and then, maybe, we’ll know which way to get back.”
Bobby swatted at some nearby vegetation. “Fine. Stay here. I’m going.”
As he stomped away, the other two exchanged a look.
“Maybe we should have stopped him,” Terry suggested.
Larry shrugged. “He’ll probably be back soon.”
In the kitchen at Rose Cottage, Helen and Marge were both busy. Between preparing refreshments for the searchers, keeping the lines of communication open between the different search parties and answering repeated calls from the Lynch Estate, they had more than enough to keep them occupied.
The first news that came to them was from Regan. Both women stopped what they were doing when they heard his voice over the radio.
“This is Regan. We’ve found their camp, but they’re not here. Over.”
Helen put a hand over her mouth, as her friend asked some other particulars.
“The tent isn’t up,” Regan answered. “There’s enough gear here, but it’s all still packed up. Over.”
The telephone began to ring again and Helen answered it, without thinking. Once more, it was Mrs. Lynch, still on the edge of hysterics.
“Have they found them?” she demanded. “Have they found my boys?”
“Not yet,” Helen soothed. “It looks very much like they were planning on going off by themselves, but they’re not at the camp site they chose.”
“They were burned up in the fire, I just know it!” the other woman wailed. “Why aren’t you searching there?”
Helen tried to shush her as best she could. “No, the fire chief is certain that they’re not in the burnt-out area. He and his men have checked carefully and they’re not there.”
“Then they’re lost! We’ll never see them again!”
In spite of her own worries, Helen rolled her eyes. “There’s no need to think that way. We’ve got several teams out looking for them as we speak. I’m sure they’ll find them soon.”
Mrs. Lynch could be heard to burst into tears and put the phone down without another word. Shaking her head, Helen returned to her task of making sandwiches. She was certain that there would be several hungry men when the search was over, especially if it took as long as she feared it might.
The radio crackled to life again and she heard her son-in-law speak.
“This is Jim. Nothing to report. Over and out.”
A similar message came from each of the other pairs, one after the other. Marge acknowledged each as it came. The two women shared a look. The telephone began to ring again.
“I think we’re getting too far uphill,” Trixie grumbled, as she trudged behind Jim. “Aren’t we supposed to be looking for hollows?”
“I’ve looked in every hollow that I can think of in our section,” he answered. “I’m pretty sure now that they’re lost, so we might as we look everywhere we can.”
Trixie sighed. “We’re going to be – wait! Can you hear something?”
The pair stopped still and waited for a few moments. Then they heard someone call out, “Hello? Can you hear us?”
“Hello?” Jim yelled back.
“Help! Help!” they heard, rather faintly. “Can you hear us?”
Both Jim and Trixie set off in the direction of the voice, racing up the rough trail they were following.
“Keep calling out,” Jim directed, when the voice stopped.
“Here! Here!”
Jim swerved off the main trail and onto a smaller path. In a few moments, he stopped short.
“Am I glad to see you two,” he told them, “but where’s Bobby?”
At once, the pair looked sheepish. “Well… he kind of left.”
Larry had spoken and he took a few steps forward. “We decided to stop and wait until it was light, because we were sure we were lost, but he kind of didn’t think so. He went that way, but that was ages ago.”
“Uh, you wouldn’t have any water, would you? I’m kind of thirsty.” Terry seemed hesitant to ask.
“You didn’t bring any supplies with you?” Trixie asked, as she and Jim each handed over a water bottle.
“We weren’t going that far,” Larry explained.
Jim let out a sigh, then turned to his radio. “This is Jim. Larry and Terry are with us, but Bobby is not here. Over.”
“This is main base. Can you repeat that? Over.”
“Larry and Terry are with Trixie and me. Bobby is not with us. Over.”
“This is Matthew. Jim, can you describe where you are? Over.”
“This is Jim. Dad, I’m about twenty feet from the trail we rode on yesterday morning. About two-thirds of the way up the biggest hill. Over.”
“This is Matthew. I know it and I’m on my way. Be there in about ten minutes. Over.”
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll meet you there. Over and out.”
He turned to the pair. “I think you’d better start preparing yourselves for what’s going to happen next. From what I hear, your mother is pretty upset with you at the moment.”
Both boys groaned. “We’re never going to be allowed out ever again,” Larry grumbled.
“Probably not, no,” Trixie agreed. “So, whose idea was this anyway?”
Larry and Terry seemed unwilling to answer this question.
“Bobby’s, like we thought,” Jim filled in for them. “If it’s any comfort, I don’t think he’ll be allowed out, either.”
“We should have stayed at the barn,” Terry muttered. “We were having a good time there.”
“So, why did you leave?” Trixie wondered.
Larry glanced at his brother. “Bobby really wanted to go camping. Terry tried to get us to stay, but… well, we kind of…”
“Said I was scared if I didn’t go with you,” Terry sneered. “Now look what’s happened.”
“And did you think about putting out the fire before you went?” Jim asked, in a carefully neutral voice.
Both boys looked alarmed nonetheless.
“Terry did, but Bobby said it would be okay how it was,” Larry admitted. “Is everything all right?”
Trixie scowled. “If you think a half-acre burnt patch and some damage to the barn is all right, yeah.”
At this, both boys looked horrified and Terry sank back onto the log.
“We’re really sorry,” Larry told them. “We didn’t mean for things to go like this.”
“We know that.” Jim laid a hand on Terry’s shoulder. “It looks like you’ve tried to be the responsible one. That’s a pretty hard thing to do.”
“We’d probably better get back to the main trail,” Trixie suggested a few moments later. “Your Dad will be here soon.”
“You stay here,” Jim directed. “I’ll take these two back to the trail, but I want the next stage of the search to start from here and I’m not sure I can find my way back here in the dark.”
She nodded and watched the other three go.
Back in the kitchen, Marge picked up the telephone and dialled the number of the Lynch Estate. It was snatched up almost as soon as it began to ring and a female voice demanded, “What’s happening now? Have they found them?”
“Yes, your sons have been found and they’re fine, but we haven’t found Bobby yet,” she replied. “It will take a little while for them to be brought back, but you can relax now. They’re completely fine.”
“Relax?” Mrs. Lynch demanded. “How can I relax? I won’t believe it until I can see it with my own eyes. Someone needs to bring them here right now.”
“We’ll get them home as soon as we can,” Marge promised. “I need to go now. Good bye.”
She hung up without waiting for a reply. The radio crackled again and she stepped up to ensure she heard what was said.
“This is Matthew. I’m bringing Larry and Terry back now. Peter is going with Jim and Trixie to continue the search. Over.”
“This is main base. Received. Over.”
“This is Regan. We’re approaching the same search area from the opposite side. Over.”
Marge acknowledged this message also and the radio fell silent. She turned to Helen, who was sitting at the kitchen table, her chin in her hands.
“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She gave Helen’s shoulder a pat. “If it wasn’t for the fire, we wouldn’t be going to all of this trouble. The boys just would have been in trouble in the morning.”
Helen sighed. “Yes, I know. It’s just been a stressful few hours.”
The telephone rang again and Marge turned to answer it.
“Are they back, yet?” Mrs. Lynch asked.
“No, not yet. I’ll call you when they are. Good bye.” She hung up without waiting for an answer. “I do wish that woman would take a hold of herself.”
Helen smiled and went to pour a cup of coffee for each of them.
“We need to circle around a different way, because they’re probably still fighting spot fires,” Matthew explained and saw both boys gulp. “I expect that the fire department will be there for a number of hours yet.”
He guided them back to the house, which was still surrounded by cars. The kitchen door stood open and with a push to each boy’s shoulder blades, he managed to get them both to walk up the back steps, across the porch and in the door.
“Larry! Terry! I’m so glad you’re both okay,” Helen Belden greeted them. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
She pushed each of them into a chair and gave them each a glass of water. She also pulled the cover off a plate of sandwiches, which was waiting on the table. This done, she pressed a glass of water into her neighbour’s hand and offered him some sandwiches as well. Marge, by this time, was on the phone to Mrs. Lynch.
“They’re here, safe and sound,” she informed the anxious mother.
“Well, bring them here right away!” Mrs. Lynch demanded.
“I’m sorry, but the search is continuing for Bobby. If you want them right now, you’ll need to collect them. Otherwise, they can be dropped home in perhaps half an hour to an hour.”
“An hour! I can’t wait that long!”
A stern look crossed Marge’s face. “Then, I’m afraid you’ll have to make your own arrangements. Good bye.” She replaced the receiver and pursed her lips.
“Maybe we should have talked to her,” Terry mumbled, his mouth full of sandwich. “We could have tried to calm her down.”
“I wouldn’t,” Larry answered, around a similar mouthful. “I don’t want to go home and I definitely don’t want to talk to Mum.”
Terry nodded. “Me neither.”
“Well, thank you for the refreshments, ladies. I’m going to head back to the search area,” Matthew announced, setting down his glass. “You boys behave yourselves, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” they mumbled, and he left.
“Do you really think she’ll come and get us?” Larry asked Terry.
“I really hope not.” Terry shuddered.
“Hello? Is someone there?” Regan called. He thought he could hear voices.
“Regan? Is that you? It’s Jim.”
After a few minutes of calling back and forth, they managed to find each other. All five searchers were, by now, weary and discouraged.
“I was really hoping that one or other of us would find him before we met up,” Regan admitted, running a hand through his hair.
“So was I,” Jim answered. “So much for my idea of starting the search where he was last seen and taking the same direction.”
“I don’t think we can do any more tonight.” Trixie glanced at her father when she said this. “What do you think, Dad? Should we leave him for now and start up again in a couple of hours when it gets light, or should we keep going?”
He sighed. “Maybe we should consult with Matthew before we make a decision. Jim, do you have the radio?”
Jim nodded. “This is Jim. Dad, can you hear me? Over.”
“Yes, I can. What’s happening? Over.”
“We’ve met up with Regan and Tom, but no sign of Bobby. We’re wondering if we should call it a night. Over.”
A short pause ensued. “Yes. Maybe that’s for the best. Make your way back to the house. Over and out.”
Trixie’s shoulders slumped. “I really thought we’d find him.”
Jim put an arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “We’ll find him.”
“We’ll all be rather annoyed if he’s found his way out and is sleeping somewhere safe,” her father noted. “He has no idea that we’re looking for him. He could be asleep on the porch swing at home, oblivious to the fuss.”
Trixie nodded, looking unconvinced. “The least we can do is split up into two groups again. We can cover more ground that way.”
“Ground that’s already been covered, for the most part,” Tom argued.
“I don’t think that matters,” Peter answered. “If he’s in here, it’s fairly likely that he’s wandering around. We could have crossed his path any number of times without knowing it.”
Tom nodded. “That’s a good point. We’ll see you back at the house.”
At that, he and Regan split off from the main trail and took a different path back.
Everyone involved in the search was now in the kitchen at Rose Cottage, save Margery Trask, who was driving the Lynch twins home. In spite of their mother’s dramatic statement, she did not appear to have made any effort to collect them. Perhaps she had been reluctant to leave her sleeping teenage daughters alone in the house, even for the fifteen minutes the trip would have taken.
“Let’s all go home and get an hour or two of sleep,” Matthew Wheeler suggested to the gathered assembly, as they polished off the refreshments and rested in chairs and on counters. “If he hasn’t turned up by say, seven in the morning we can meet again to make a new search. How does that sound?”
This plan was met with general approval.
“I’ll do what I should have done tonight and bring my dogs,” Tom offered.
“We should meet at the stables,” Regan suggested, “instead of here. We can search faster on horseback than on foot. I’ll have all of the horses ready at seven.”
“Thank you. And anyone who wants to help search but doesn’t ride can still meet there and we’ll put them in pairs,” his boss continued. “Agreed?”
He was answered with general assent and the group began to disperse. Jim and Trixie followed their friends and family out into the yard and saw them all off. While Trixie returned to the house and slumped into her bed, Jim did one more tour of the area near the barn.
A couple of fire fighters were still working, damping down hot spots that flared up every so often. Part of the area that had burned contained a lot of old, fallen timber, which was difficult to fully extinguish. Trixie’s estimate of a half-acre burnt patch was also well short of the mark. Seeing that everything was under control, Jim returned to the house and allowed himself to relax. Morning would come soon enough.
As dawn broke, Bobby began to wonder if he would ever find his way out. He had climbed a ridge, in the hope of being able to see something which would give him a clue to his whereabouts. All he could see in every direction was more trees.
Swearing under his breath, he slumped onto the bare ground. He searched his pockets in the vain hope that they might contain something, anything, that he could eat, but he came up blank. He had been walking for hours. At some point, quite a long time ago now, he had rested on a boulder. It was hard to tell how long ago that was, as around the same time he had lost his wristwatch. His legs ached, he had scratches on his face and arms and some kind of insect had been biting him. In all, he was thoroughly sick of this adventure and wished that he had never thought of it.
He wondered where Larry and Terry were and when anyone was likely to miss them. Their insistence that they were old enough to be independent had seemed enough to Jim and Trixie. Maybe they would take them at their word and not notice all day that there was no one in the barn. He shuddered at the thought. Maybe he would be out here all day and all night and no one would look for him before tomorrow!
His throat was already dry and his head beginning to ache. What would he feel like in a few hours, let alone tomorrow? As soon as he began thinking about it, he realised just how thirsty he was. They had not brought any water with them and the last time he had come across a stream – by standing in it – he had not thought to have a drink. He had only been angry since he then had wet shoes, which had soon given him blisters.
It felt like it was going to be a warm day. Bobby peered up at the cloudless sky and shuddered. Just what was he going to do now?
By seven o’clock, the searchers were all ready and waiting at the stables. All of the buildings in the area had been checked and none of them contained the missing teenager. The search party had been expanded from the six who had walked out last night and several other people had been put on alert in case they were not successful this morning.
It was still a few minutes before the hour when Jim swung into Jupiter’s saddle and announced that he was setting off. His father nodded his approval and let him go. He set off at a quick pace, wanting to get to his task. Only a few minutes into his ride, however, he saw something on the ground. He was going fast enough, however, that he could not prevent Jupiter from stepping on it.
“Oh, great,” he grumbled, as he dismounted and led the horse back to see what it had been.
Keeping hold of the reins, he bent down and examined his find. It had been a wristwatch; he was almost certain it was Bobby’s. He left the shattered remains where they lay and got on the radio.
“This is Jim. I think I’ve found Bobby’s watch. Over.”
“This is main base. Where are you, Jim? Over.”
“About fifty yards past the clubhouse. I’ve left it. Uh, Jupe kind of trod on it. Over.”
“We’ll send searchers on foot your way, Jim. Continue in the direction you were already taking. Over.”
“Will do. Over and out.”
Before mounting Jupiter again, Jim stood still and listened for a few moments. He called Bobby’s name a couple of times, then waited some more. There being no response, he sighed and set off again. There was no telling how long the watch had been there and he had a particular area to search.
Peter Belden found the watch where Jim had left it and let out a sigh. He turned to Tom, who was accompanying him.
“It’s his all right. Which way will we go from here, do you think?”
Tom considered for a moment. “Well, Jim’s just ridden up the trail, so maybe we should search around here, off the trail. There’s kind of a path that crosses just here.” He sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left the dogs with Matt. Maybe I should call back and ask if he can bring them up here.”
“Let’s take a look around first. It was a good plan for them to be with a rider and there’s no telling how cold this trail is.” Peter looked both ways, seeing a big boulder just off the path on the side closest to Jim and Trixie’s house. He pointed the other way. “Let’s try this side.”
Tom nodded and they began to follow the path. It wound back and forth, seeming to go nowhere in particular, sometimes doubling back on itself as the land became steeper. Soon neither of them had any idea which way they were facing.
“This is hopeless,” Tom grumbled. “I don’t have a clue where we are.”
“Let’s try climbing that ridge,” Peter suggested. “We might be able to get a bearing.”
As they neared the top, Peter cried out. “Look! Someone’s been here.”
On the ground was a nickel, still bright and shiny. Beside it, in the soft earth, they could see part of a footprint and some scuff marks.
“It could be him,” Peter continued, kneeling to examine the marks. “It might have been one of the searchers last night, I guess, but I don’t think anyone came over this way.”
“Report it in,” Tom suggested. “If we can find out where we are, they can bring the dogs up here and see if they can sniff him out.”
While Peter did so, Tom looked around for a landmark, but could not see one. He also could not see any other evidence of Bobby’s presence. They paused a few moments to call, then at Tom’s suggestion headed for a slightly higher ridge. Once they reached the top, they easily got a bearing on where they were. They had hardly travelled any distance since they left the trail.
“I knew that path was taking us nowhere,” Tom grumbled. “All that time to go a hundred yards up the trail.”
“He’d been there, though,” Peter argued. “At least we know he’s been this way.”
“If he had the good sense to stay put… and not to split up with the other boys…” Tom trailed off. “Sorry, Peter. I didn’t mean that how it sounded.”
“No, you’re absolutely right. He’s going to be hearing from me, at length, about both of those things when we find him.”
“I just hope that’s soon. It’s really heating up now. I think it’s going to be a hot day.”
Peter nodded, looking grim.
Bobby stumbled as he tried to clamber down the steep slope. He was so thirsty now that he was becoming desperate. His only thought was that water ran downhill and that if he wanted some he should go downhill, too. He was blazing his own trail, regardless of the difficulties that presented, heading for the bottom of the slope.
At length, he reached the gully and started searching around. Soon, he had to admit that it was dry. The stream he had imagined would be down here did not exist. There was nothing to show for his effort and, now that he was here, he found that in every direction the land rose around him. He was not in a gully, but in a hollow.
No one knew where he was. No one would be looking for him. He did not have the energy to climb back out of this hollow. The sweat was making his T-shirt stick to his skin. He felt hot and his skin itched. He was dirty, tired and, above all, thirsty.
He lay down on the ground and stared at the canopy of branches above him. In that moment, he wondered what it would be like to die.
It took little time for Matthew Wheeler to backtrack to the place Tom had described. He called to the two dogs, who came running at once. After a moment’s consideration, he tied Starlight to a tree and set off on foot. He and the two dogs crested the rise and found the place where the nickel still lay. The two dogs sniffed around for a few moments, then set off in a different direction. In only a few minutes, Matt had been left behind.
As soon as he realised that he no longer knew where the dogs were, he stopped and waited where he was. He took the time to report in on the radio, but took no other action. His patience was rewarded by the sound of distant barking. He waited, listening.
Some minutes later, a furry body wriggled out through the undergrowth, but in a different direction, he was sure. The dog gave a soft bark.
“What is it, boy?” asked Matt. “And where’s your companion?”
The dog barked again and turned away. Matt followed.
Down in the hollow, Bobby was wondering if he was going to die after all. He had just been visited by Tom’s dogs, Marley and Coco. He had taken a firm grip of Coco’s collar and kept her with him. Marley had gone back the way he came. Since the two dogs were never apart, he hoped that someone would care enough to come looking for her – even if they wouldn’t look for Bobby himself.
“You’ve got to stay with me, girl,” he told her, when she whined to go with Marley. “No one knows I’m here and I need them to find me.”
He idly wondered just why the dogs were here, but thought that perhaps he was closer to Tom and Celia’s house than to his own home now. If that was the case, he had walked a lot further than he thought.
Coco lay down next to Bobby, apparently having accepted her situation, and hung out her tongue. Bobby closed his eyes and settled down to wait.
Only a few minutes later, Matt followed Marley down into the hollow and breathed a sigh of relief. Bobby’s eyes opened and a soft smile crossed his face.
“Am I glad to see you, Mr. Wheeler.”
“Here, have a drink. I’m sure you need it. Not too fast, though.”
Bobby nodded and accepted the water bottle. He let go of Coco’s collar and she bounded over to Marley. The pair gambolled up the opposite slope and disappeared from view. Matt got on the radio and reported his find. Only a minute later, Tom reported in to say that his dogs had come to him.
From here, things moved quickly. The dogs guided Tom and Peter to the hollow. Without stopping to think about it, Peter embraced his son.
“I’m glad you’re found. We’ve been looking for you for hours.”
Bobby gulped. “Hours?”
“Jim raised the alarm around half-past midnight, after they got the fire under control.”
“Fire?” Bobby repeated, weakly. “Uh, where are Larry and Terry?”
“We found them around two this morning, right where you left them.” Peter cleared his throat. “Speaking of which, I think you’re old enough to know not to split up when you’re lost. Or to keep on wandering aimlessly in the dark.”
“I didn’t want to be eaten by a catamount,” Bobby muttered, half under his breath.
“We’ll speak about this further a little later,” Peter promised. “Now, get up. We need to get out of here.”
“Dad! I can’t walk much further. I’m tired.”
Peter shrugged. “You’ll just have to walk. None of us are going to carry you.”
Bobby hung his head, but allowed them to help him to his feet. They led him up and over the hill opposite the one he had descended, where he let out a groan.
“I was, what? Fifty yards from the lake? I was dying of thirst over there.”
Peter shook his head. “I don’t think you were quite that badly off. And this might be a good time to point out the foolishness of setting out with no water and no real idea of where you were going.”
Bobby looked rebellious, but did not reply. He trudged along the path towards the Manor House without a word. Before it was even in sight, they met up with Helen Belden, who hugged and kissed Bobby and promptly burst into tears. Even as she cried, she muttered about how ridiculous she was being.
“You’re entitled to a few tears,” Matt assured her.
“No, I’m not,” she answered. “Not after the things I thought through the night and some of the things I said on the phone.”
“What?” asked Bobby, perplexed.
None of the adults chose to enlighten him.
“If you’re not going to give me any information, at least you could give me something to eat,” Bobby grumbled. “I’m starving.”
Peter shook his head. “I think, first, you should see the damage you’ve caused.”
The cheers were still ringing in his ears as Bobby got into the family car. Everyone had been so glad to have him found. He had found it quite touching. Now, however, there was an odd tension in the air. His parents were in the front seat and he was sitting in the back. None of them were talking. His father turned the car away from home and very shortly afterwards into Trixie’s driveway. Up the long drive, there was no sign of anything wrong, but as they drew near to the house, Bobby could see a few signs that something had happened since yesterday.
His parents got out of the car and his father waved him out, too. Bobby did as indicated and followed his Dad out towards the barn. By now, he could smell the smoke and see the trampled areas where a lot of people had passed. Deep marks showed where a heavy vehicle had driven through. When the area they had been last night came into view, his mouth dropped open.
“How did this happen?” he asked, stunned. “It was just a few coals. I poked at it and nothing happened.”
His father glanced at him, a stern expression on his face. “Take a better look around and see what it is that you’ve done.”
Bobby nodded and started walking across the blackened earth. He noted the scorch marks along one side of the barn, the small trees that Jim had planted a few years back and were now dead, the wide expanse cleared by the flames. He turned back to the fire pit Jim had made for them and tried to think how this had happened. He remembered poking at the coals with his marshmallow stick. He remembered dropping the stick and getting up. He remembered Terry suggesting that they put out the fire and take the sleeping bags with them.
“Oh, no!” he moaned, half under his breath. “That was Mart’s sleeping bag.”
He turned to his father. “We left our sleeping bags here, next to where the fire had been. Before we left, I kind of poked it with a stick, to see if I could make it flame up again, only nothing happened. I guess something must have happened after we left.”
His father looked stern. “You know, Bobby, we found your sleeping bag last night, in the place you intended to camp out. I know, because we checked there this morning to make sure you hadn’t found your way there in the night.”
“This one was Mart’s,” Bobby mumbled, too low to be heard.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
Bobby looked at his feet. “This one was Mart’s.”
“I see.” His father was staring him down. “Did you ask your brother if you could borrow his sleeping bag?”
“No.”
“And what do you think you’re going to do about this?”
Bobby shrugged. “Not tell him? Maybe he’ll have forgotten that he had one by the time he comes back.”
“Hmm. I can see that we need to talk some more.”
Bobby looked up. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know this was going to happen.”
His father shrugged. “Not good enough. I think you’re old enough to understand that actions have consequences and that your actions in the last twenty-four hours will have some far-reaching consequences.”
Rubbing his eyes, Bobby agreed. “Can we go home, now? My head hurts.”
“Yes, I think so. I hope you understand that you won’t be going anywhere else for a while, unless it’s here to help Jim and Trixie repair the damage you’ve done.” He shook his head. “You’re going to have to make it up to Mart, too.”
“I will,” Bobby answered. “I’m sorry. Really.”
“I’m sure you are.” He put a hand on Bobby’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get you home and cleaned up and fed, then you’d better have a sleep.”
Bobby nodded. His body ached in a way that it never had before and he longed for the comfort of his own bed. He knew, however, that he would be paying for this long after his aches and pains were gone. They were never going to let him do things on his own now and it was all his own fault.
The End