They all pressed forward into the small room and shook heads at the stuffed sofa covered in doilies and dust. Old Tiffany styled lamps sat on slender wooden side tables and on the wall across from the door the intricate face of an old railway clock stared back passively.

"Wow! I never dreamed . . ."

"Is all this stuff yours, too?" Dillard asked.

"Yes it is," Charlotte answered. "The house, the land and everything in it."

"Wow! Can we go upstairs?"

"Let's just take it slowly and do the ground floor first, and don't touch anything please."

"Do the lights work?" Dillard asked, pressing a switch.

"No, and don't keep touching things," Penny pulled his hand away.

"So then the fridge won't work," Heddy said.

"Of course not." Penny groaned and shook her head. "There wouldn't be anything to eat or drink anyway, Heddy."

"I never said that."

"Right."

"Never did."

"Did so."

"Didn't."

The group drifted from room to room, exclaiming delight in each new discovery and when they had gone over the whole house, they went outside for some fresh air.

They sat at a weathered picnic table under a huge pine tree on the front lawn area discussing all the things they'd discovered inside. John was elated. Cleaned up, that stuff was better than most of the things he and his mother had at the farm. They found, dishes and crystal and silverware in carved wooden chests, paintings in ornate frames, more lamps, mirrors and ornaments galore.

Charlotte tried to itemize as much as she could on a large pad, hoping to help John organize his daunting challenge of cleaning the place. Dobbs offered to help out with the task on weekends; he hinted that he could manage to bring the school bus along for transporting stuff that would be sold or given away. Charlotte said she would like to help as well and had to shout for silence as the children all jumped on the volunteer bandwagon.

"I want to take another look in the cellar before we go," John said. "I think there must be an electric pump down there for the well 'cause I don't see a source of power anywhere upstairs."

"There's nothing out back," Penny agreed. "We went all through that old shed and it just has some rusty old car tire rims and a broken blade for a plough. We couldn't get in the metal shed. There are no windows either."

"I forgot about that. They only gave me the one key, I wonder how you get in there."

"Wouldn't take much to bust through the lock," Dobbs said. "It's not even a dead bolt."

"Well, I think the first order of business will be to get a lot of garbage bags and cartons before I start breaking into sheds. There'll be lots of time for that." He stood and brushed the seat of his pants. "I'll be right back, I just want to check if there's a pump down there."

"Can I come?" Heddy popped up from the table.

"Sure."

"Be careful, Heddy and do as John says." Charlotte gathered up her list and started for the van with the others.

**********

Haggard woke with a start, surprised that he had slept and sat quietly, unsure what woke him. He grabbed the suitcase and was about to step out when he heard the excited babble of voices. Peering through the partially open door, Haggard saw the kid he'd traded the deed to along with the young woman, the kids and another older guy; it was the same group from town only with kids.

Biting back the disappointment of his change in luck, Haggard shut the door and sat down to wait them out. The shed became stuffy and oppressive; sweat soaked his shirt and speckled his face and neck. He stood and leaned his ear to the wall hoping to catch some hint of their whereabouts but he heard nothing. Finally he could take the heat and thirst no longer and he decided to sneak into the house through the tunnel to the cellar and see what was going on.

Haggard stepped into the cellar from the tunnel behind the furnace and bumped straight into John and a small girl, surprising everyone. Before they could react, he grabbed John and pressed a knife against his neck, warning them to be quiet then he forced them upstairs and into the kitchen.

Heddy was ordered to get some water but, because the pump wasn't on, couldn't get any out of the tap and Haggard became angrier, pressing the knife into John's skin. Suddenly they heard someone call John's name and in a panic, Haggard slammed the haft of the knife into John's temple and grabbed Heddy, dragging her back into the yard and over to the shed.

**********

Sitting in the van sharing the excitement of their discoveries, no one noticed how long John and Heddy had been gone or that the sun had sunk below the tree line, casting long shadows across the drive. Suddenly Penny jerked up and pointed to the house.

"What? What's wrong?"

"The house is dark!"

"Well of cour- omigosh! The sun's gone down. Where are John and Heddy?"

They all jumped out of the van and ran to the house calling their names. Inside the house was quiet and it took on an eeriness that made them uncomfortable.

"John? Are you in here?" Charlotte crept down the hall toward the cellar door. "Heddy?"

"I'm scared." Justin said.

"Me too." Echoed Dillard.

"Just stay close to Mister Dobbs," Charlotte said, taking Penny's hand as she opened the door leading to the cellar.

"I don't feel all that comfortable myself," Dobbs muttered, feeling the two boys gripping his legs.

"John! Where are you?" Charlotte strained to see into the dark cellar, keeping a tight grip on Penny's hand.

Suddenly there was a bump and a crash at the back of the house and the group all screamed at once, jumping together in a lump for safety. 'What was that?"

"John? John is that you? Heddy?"

"Look," Justin said, pointing through one of the dining room's filthy windows.

Out in the side yard a large man was dragging a kicking and struggling Heddy toward the metal shed. Charlotte yelled and ran for the back door. On the step, John lay in a heap, a trickle of blood running from his head and soaking into the old wood.

"Oh god! John, John!" Charlotte lifted his head in her arms and rocked back and forth.

Haggard reached the door, quickly unlocked it and pushed the girl inside, turning to pull it closed.

"Heddy!" Penny jumped off the porch and charged across the yard, grabbing a rusty length of pipe from the weeds as she went. As she neared the shed the door began to close and with a desperate effort, she pushed the piece of pipe into the opening. There was a curse and a loud scuffling as the man tried to shove the pipe out but Penny put all her weight against the door to keep it jammed tight.

Haggard went to kick it out but the door suddenly banged tight up against it and the small girl began kicking him from behind. Penny could hear Miss Huddie yelling for Mister Dobbs to call for help on her cell phone in the van and she also heard Justin and Dillard shouting her name. Penny couldn't move. She was afraid that if she did, the man would shove the pipe out and lock the door. She began to yell for help.

Dillard and Justin found Penny propping the door shut and joined their extra weight to the task. Finally, Dobbs jogged around to the yard and replaced their effort with a large board, which he jammed against the metal door.

"Where's your sister?" He asked, out of breath.

"In there with the man." Penny wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Where's your teacher?"

"I'm here, Mister Dobbs. Did you get help on the phone?" Charlotte helped a weak-kneed John across the yard toward them.

Dobbs looked at the partially opened door and placed a finger to his lips then while shaking his head negatively, said, "Yes, they'll be here soon."

Charlotte bit her lip and motioned them all away from the shed.

"How's he?" Dobbs bent to look at John's face.

"He's fine. A little woozy, but fine. So you didn't get anyone?"

"No. I couldn't get a signal on your phone. Must be out of range."

"We have to get Heddy!" Penny urged. They all looked at one another.

Inside the shed, Haggard whacked at Heddy and knocked her down on top of Garth's body, which prompted a shriek from the startled girl. She scrambled to her feet and darted for the ladder that led down to the cellar. Haggard lunged for her and stumbled over the suitcase, missing Heddy and banging his shoulder against the top of the metal ladder.

He knew he wouldn't catch her before she got outside and he didn't want to leave the money just lying there, so he dragged the bag back down to its hiding place then took off after the girl.

©lyttlejoe 2002