Read Online Cult of Crime by Franklin W. Dixon - Free Book Online

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 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 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 I’ve got you.”
    Keller whipped his hand into the air. Rosie threw himself backward, out of the doorway.
    A half-dozen explosions burst at once, sending chips of wood flying from the door frame. Frank pulled Holly to the ground to shield 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