"If they haven't caught up with us by now, odds are we don't have to worry about them," Frank agreed. "It's what's ahead that we have to be prepared for."

Holly nodded, but there was still a hint of doubt in her slight smile. She tried the cabin door. It swung open at her touch.

"Go on in," Joe told Holly. "You'll be safe. We've got some things to do." She nodded again, then vanished into the cabin.

When she was out of sight, Joe un-strapped the communicator from his back, set it on the ground in front of him, and raised its antenna. Quickly he twisted the dial to a secret radio frequency and slipped in a special scrambler circuit. It was used 70.

only by members- of the clandestine government agency called the Network.

"Hardys calling Gray Man," he said into his handset. "Hardys calling Gray Man.

Come in, Gray Man. Mayday. Mayday."

White noise crackled unintelligibly on the speaker. Slowly a voice rose out of the static.

"I read you, Hardy," it said.

It was the Gray Man.

Frank took the microphone as Joe fine-tuned the signal "We've run into some trouble, Gray Man," Frank said. "We could use some backup."

"Negative," the Gray Man replied. "We are fully apprised of your situation. Until the charges against you have been dropped, this agency can't afford to become involved."

Joe took back the microphone. "We understand," he said. It was a lie. He didn't under- stand, but he knew there was nothing to be gained by challenging the Gray Man's decision. "At least send someone to Pickwee to get the van. We had to leave it there."

"Affirmative," the Gray Man's voice said. "Contact me again when it's over. And good luck." A loud click sounded, and. white noise filled the airwaves.

Frank sighed. "Looks like we're on our own. Might as well leave the communicator here. It won't do us any good, and it'll only slow us down. "

A scream ripped from the cabin.

71.

Holly!" Frank cried. Unsheathing his knife, he kicked in the cabin door. Holly was on the floor, crawling backward toward him. Her shrieks filled the air, but he couldn't see what she was shrieking at.

Then a creature with matted hair and mad eyes rose from the floor. It was giant, and in the darkness, it seemed like an ogre risen from the night. There had been no one in the cabin before, and no door except the one in front.

How did it get in? Frank wondered. He peered at the creature, and it became a bearded man who stood well over six feet tall. Long hair and a beard framed his face. In his hands was an ancient shotgun.

It was aimed at Frank.

Chapter 9.

FRANK'S BREATH CAUGHT in his throat. He had faced death many times before, and he would have thought its nearness could no longer affect him. But it did. Each time it came in some new form, equally dangerous and frightening.

The giant with the old gun was no exception. His matted, unkempt hair and his ragged clothes were laughable, but nothing was funny about the deadly weapon he held.

"Keep cool," Frank said. He raised his hands over his head. "We're not going to hurt you."

As the giant approached, Frank slowly moved toward the near wall.

"My house," the giant said as they circled around each other. "You shouldn't be in Rosie's house."

73.

"Rosie, huh? I bet you're named for your rosy personality," Frank quipped, He wished he were as confident as he sounded. Holly was curled up in the corner, trembling with fear. He couldn't depend on her in a fight.

The giant called Rosie steadied the gun. "Hold still," he growled.

Frank kept circling. He stopped finally at the back wall of the cabin. Rosie stood silhouetted against the window, his huge frame almost blocking out the moonlight.

"Think you're smart, don't you?" Rosie muttered. He peered with one eye down the shotgun barrel until Frank was locked in his sights. "This'll make you smart, smart boy."

He c.o.c.ked back the shotgun's hammer with his thumb. His finger tightened around the trigger.

At that moment, Joe crashed through the window, smas.h.i.+ng into Rosie's back. The giant tumbled forward and landed con his knees. His shotgun skidded across the floor and came to a halt at Frank's feet. Joe scrambled onto the giant and pinned him to the ground.

"You tricked me," Rosie muttered. Still stunned, he shook his head, and long strands of his hair whipped across Joe's chest. Bits of windowpane fell from his shoulders.

"Down, boy," Joe said as Rosie tried to stand.

He s.h.i.+fted his weight onto the giant's shoulders to force him down again. To his surprise, Rosie 74.didn't even seem to notice he was there, rising up stiffly, a growl forming in his throat.

Frank picked up the shotgun.

The giant lurched back suddenly, slamming Joe into the wall. The wind was knocked out of Joe, and he stumbled, his hand clutching at his chest. Rosie's arm locked around his neck. The giant started to squeeze.

Frank took careful aim with the shotgun. "Drop him!" he shouted.

Rosie grinned savagely and tightened his grip on Joe's throat. "He hasn't got much time left."

He squeezed again for emphasis. Joe sputtered and coughed. "Better give me the gun, boy. Otherwise. . ."

Frank was adamant. "Otherwise, I'll have to pull the trigger," he said calmly. "The second you kill him... Or you can let him go... Now."

The grin faded from Rosie's lips. He swallowed hard. Frank could see from the doubt in Rosie's eyes that he had gotten through to the giant.

They stood there for long seconds, staring each other down. Then Rosie opened his arm, and Joe fell away, gasping for breath.

Frank handed the shotgun back to the giant. "We didn't come here looking for trouble,"

he explained. "We only wanted shelter."

"Thought you was some of Keller's boys," Rosie said. Now that the fighting had stopped and he had his gun back, he smiled like they were all 75.

old friends. "He sends them around now and then. He's been trying to drive me off the mountain since I got here."

Frank helped Holly to her feet. She was still cowering in the corner, her fear-glazed eyes fixed on the giant. "Shhh," Frank comforted her. "It was just a misunderstanding.

Everything's all right."

Joe sat where he'd fallen, rubbing his neck. "We ran into the sheriff, too," he told Rosie. "He's enough to put anyone on edge. What are you doing all alone out here, anyway?"

"Surviving," Rosie replied. "See, someday our whole civilization's going to collapse.

There I won't be food in the cities, and it'll be every man for himself. I'm taking care of myself now, so I can make it through those times of woe." !

"Really?" Joe said. "This is surviving?"

"It's all I need. Plenty of squirrels to eat, and some nuts and berries. It's easy when you get the hang of it. I raise a few crops, too, but Keller's boys keep tearing them up."

"How long have you been at this?" Joe asked.

Rosie opened his arms wide and beamed from one side of the cabin to the other. His chest beaved with pride. "I've had this little homestead since nineteen-seventy."

"They're here," Frank said abruptly. He was staring out a window at beams of light that pierced the darkness of the woods. Coming into 76.the clearing were half a dozen men, led by Keller, who carried a hunting rifle and a bullhorn.

Rosie sidled up to the door. "Get away from here, Sheriff. I've got no business with you."

"Maybe I've got business with you," the sheriff replied. "We're looking for some kids- two boys and a girl. You seen them?"

"Can't say as I have, Sheriff," Rosie said.

"They're trying to surround us," Frank whispered as the six men fanned out around the edges of the clearing.

"Mind telling me how you broke your window, Rosie?" Keller called. "You're usually pretty careful about things like that."

Rosie spat out the door. "Maybe someone broke it for me, Sheriff. You'd know more about that than I would."

"There's no way we can make a run for it," Joe whispered. "We're trapped in here."

"Let's cut the chitchat, Rosie," the sheriff shouted. "We know you've got them in there.

Send out the girl and we'll let the others go."

"Frank!" Holly pleaded. Rosie looked over at them, waiting for a response. Frank shook his head.

"Sorry, Sheriff," the giant said.

Keller's eyes bulged with anger. "I've been waiting years for this, Rosie. I never thought you'd give me an excuse to come down on you as hard as I wanted. But this time J got you."

77.

Keller whipped his hand into the air. Rosie threw himself backward, out of the door- way.

A half-dozen explosions burst at once, sending chips of wood flying from the door frame. Frank pulled Holly to the ground to s.h.i.+eld her from the shots, and Joe slid into the door, knocking it closed.

"Get over there," Rosie barked. He pointed to the trap door. "Start down. I'll catch up in a minute. "

"You've got thirty seconds to come out," Keller yelled from outside. "Then we shoot the whole place down around you. We've got enough ammo to do it."

Frank dropped into the dark hole. His foot touched a ladder rung, slipped, and then he was tumbling. He managed to grab hold of the ladder. It seemed as if he was dangling over a vast, unending void, broken only by a soft hum.

There's an engine down here, he thought. Maybe Rosie's not so crazy, after all.

"Frank?" Holly said from somewhere in the darkness above him. "Where ate you?"

"Here." He raised a hand, caught hers, and helped her down the ladder. He was suddenly conscious of her smooth fingers brus.h.i.+ng and tightening against him. Then she was in his arms, again.

"Watch out!" Joe called softly as his foot 78.kicked Frank's shoulder. "Coming through Step aside."

A light glowed above them. "Take this," Rosie called. He dropped a flashlight into the shaft, and Joe caught it. "I'll be right-"

His words were cut off by bursts of gunfire followed by a dull thud.

"Rosie!" the three of them cried at once.

No answer came.

"They must have gotten him," Joe said over the gunshots. "All because of us." He turned sadly, swinging the flashlight up.

He jumped back, nearly knocking over Frank and Holly. A man stood before them, his long hair matted over his bearded, smiling face.

"I had to jump," Rosie explained. "That's bad. No time to latch the trap door. They'll find it as soon as they stop shooting." He took the flashlight from Joe and shone it into the darkness.

They were in a cave. Frank had been right about the motor. A small engine chugged and purred in a corner, and boxes filled with dried foods were stacked near it. Nearby were a small cot and a cooking stove. This was Rosie's real home, he realized. The cabin above was just for show.

Down a long corridor was a big-wheeler Jeep, the kind that was specially made for off- road travel.

Rosie ran for it, and the Hardys and Holly 79.

followed. "Hop in," Rosie said. They scrambled aboard. It was old, they could tell, but in perfect shape. The engine started up as soon as Rosie turned the key.

"Ride out!" the giant cried, and the Jeep shot forward. Joe, Frank, and Holly screamed, and the Hardys both lunged for the steering wheel.

Rosie laughed wildly, the look of madness creeping back into his face.

The Jeep careened straight at the cave wall.