Julie stood at the bedroom window and looked at the sky. It had been so long since she had been able to look at the stars at night, or see a clear sky after sunset. This was wonderful. She turned to see Clete stepping out of the washroom, wearing his nice suit. He certainly stood apart from Julie, dressed as she was in a grass skirt and a blouse tied off above her middle.
"We're going to a luau, Clete, why the suit?"
"This is the first social function we've had a chance to attend in months. I thought I'd take advantage of the situation and dress up a bit. I haven't had occasion to wear my suit since we left the coast."
"Well," Julie slinked over to her husband, "you do cut a dashing figure. I'm sure I'll have the best-dressed man at the party on my arm!" Clete actually thought he looked rather casual, his jacket unbuttoned and foregoing a necktie. When the pair reached the luau, this became evident when they saw the Boss was wearing a rather snappy suit himself. His wife was dolled up in a fantastic evening gown. In his business, the Boss learned early on that impressions are everything. He looked the part of an industrious leader, which made it more effortless for his friends to come to him if they had any issues he could help them with. It was as much for function as it was for show.
His employees remained more causal about the whole affair. The stars were an assorted lot. Misty had come from society and so dressed the part in a knockout dress, accessorized with her ever-present string of plastic pearls. Most of the other girls were dressed similarly to Julie. Some were content to wear their Creek Bend bikinis to the party, accessorized with leis and flowers in their hair. Minerva particularly liked to dress comfortably, which in Creek Bend meant pretty light covering whenever possible. Although tropical, Hawaii lacked even Creek Bend's omnipresent humidity. Before too long, Minerva actually felt a little cool dressed only in her tiny bikini. This situation was quickly solved by her joining in the native dancing. This developed into a full show, as Minerva's unfamiliarity with the dance steps became more and more obvious. She finally began faking ineptitude as she was getting laughs for her missteps. Although she didn't know the hula, Minerva was a fine dancer and was able to expertly execute a planned fall which looked like a real trip into the musicians. This she used as a chance to lead the musicians into a tune which would let her sing a song.
During the whole thing, the Boss kept notes. Had his cameras been set up, this would have been a hysterical one-reeler. But the movie was finished and this was fun time. Still, this was too good not to have Minerva re-create the whole thing the next night. A planned performance would lack the freshness of this spontaneous event, but it was too good not to try it a second time. This would make a brilliant climax to the picture.
Watching from the bushes was Donald and his gang. They eyed Dr. Noyman as Denny pointed him out. The scientist was seated next to Crissy, who nervously eyed a bowl of poi. Noyman noticed.
"Something wrong with the poi, Mrs. Ralphwit?"
"I wouldn't know," Crissy passed the bowl along to Noyman, "I'm just not ready to go that Hawaiian." Noyman scooped out a sample and nodded approvingly.
"Very good."
"I'll take your word for it, Doc. I really can't bring myself to eat what looks like wallpaper paste with my bare fingers. It runs counter to everything I was ever taught about good manners, to say nothing of how it looks."
"It's really quite good. I'm sure you can get away with using a spoon if you wish."
"I'll pass, but thank you. I guess my tastes are dictated by the mainland." Noyman laughed. Donald made sure his henchmen Sawyer and Jenkins knew their target. Sawyer noticed how chummy Noyman and Crissy were being.
"What about the rabbit, Boss?"
"What about it, Denny? You said the Doc had an assistant. Is that her?"
"Could be. There was talk about a girl named Julie being in the lab. That must be her."
"Alright," Donald said, "we can't make a move with all these people around. We'll put the snatch on them in the morning."
The sun was just coming up as Sawyer and Jenkins snooped around the window to the Ralphwit cabin. The window itself was open but the curtains were drawn. Sawyer cautiously stuck his head inside and pushed aside the curtain. He then turned back to Jenkins to make his report.
"She's in there. That big wolf must be her husband, because he's in there too. What'll we do?"
"They're both asleep?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think we can get the girl without waking up her husband?"
"Only if he's a deep sleeper."
"We'll use the chloroform."
"You better use it fast. I get the feeling this guy could rip our arms off if he had reason to. Snatching his wife is a pretty good reason."
"Don't worry, this stuff works a lot faster than you see in the movies. If we can get in there without waking either of them up, we can keep them out and it'll only take a second." Sawyer nodded and the men slipped into the cabin. Now standing over Roger, Jenkins could see what Sawyer was talking about. If this guy got mad, there would probably be nothing short of a gunshot that would slow him down. Jenkins urgently dabbed chloroform into a cloth. Sawyer made ready to collect Crissy, but getting to her nose and mouth would be more difficult since she was sleeping on her stomach. He made ready to pull her head up and slip the cloth in place. The two men looked at each other and nodded. Roger sensed someone in the room and opened his eyes just as the cloth was about to cover his nose. Although he quickly succumbed to the chloroform, he was still able to strike Jenkins and send him to his knees.
Crissy was wakened by the commotion, as it temporarily distracted Sawyer before he grabbed Crissy's hair and lifted her head. In a few seconds, she was likewise out cold. Jenkins gasped as he returned to his feet.
"Who is this guy?"
"Maybe the Doc wanted some muscle around, just for cases like this."
"He's got a punch like a bull." Jenkins was still shaking off the attack, but he took another breath and pointed at Crissy. "Grab the rabbit and let's go."
"Right." Sawyer paused long enough to grab a robe for Crissy, since she was dressed only in her undies. Jenkins shook his head as Sawyer stuffed Crissy into the robe before lifting her off the bed.
"We're trying to kidnap somebody and you're taking the time to be a gentleman."
"If somebody put the snatch on my wife, I'd want them to do the same."
"Alright, alright, let's beat it before this guy wakes up again."
Close by was Noyman's cabin, though it was less ornate than the honeymoon cottage Mr. Mallen had given to the Ralphwits. Noyman was already up, used to working early hours in the lab. This came as an unexpected turn for Donald and Denny as they crouched outside the living room window.
"What do we do?" Denny whispered. Donald mulled it over before fishing out a revolver from his jacket pocket.
"We get what we came for." Donald was about to move when the two heard Noyman walking toward the window. Across the way, the scientist could see Sawyer and Jenkins carrying unconscious Crissy toward a station wagon. Noyman gasped and started to yell for help, but his efforts were cut short by Donald standing up and holding the gun at the ready.
"Not a word, Doc. Just come with us. Or else the girl dies." Noyman immediately agreed to save Crissy's life. Fortunately, he was already dressed and took time only to slip on his shoes before Donald herded him into the station wagon next to Crissy. It was about to look like a clean getaway until Roger burst out his door wielding a Wydmark rifle. Fortunately, he was wearing his pajamas. Sawyer didn't wait for Donald's urging to move out. Roger took aim but feared hitting Crissy. Instead, he fired a shot into the air. Clete, also used to working early hours, was on scene a second later as Roger as starting up one of Mallen's company jeeps.
"What goes on?"
"Some men took Crissy! Looks like Dr. Noyman is with them, too!" Clete jumped into the passenger seat as Roger roared off after the wagon.
"What's this all about?"
"I have no idea."
Up ahead, Denny looked out the back window. Donald stuck himself out the rear seat window and took aim. He fired off a couple of shots. Roger didn't slow down. Donald turned back to Jenkins.
"Radio the field and tell them to get the plane warmed up. We've got to make this fast!" Although Sawyer managed to pull well ahead of Roger's jeep, it wasn't far from the landing strip and Roger was able to keep tabs on the offenders. The gangsters managed to get Noyman and Crissy aboard a twin-engine cargo plane before Roger was able to turn onto the tarmac. In a minute, the plane would be aloft. Roger stopped the jeep just long enough for Clete to take the wheel. Now standing in the passenger seat, Roger leveled his rifle at the plane.
Inside, Crissy was coming to as she was being strapped down. Noyman was already strapped into the seat next to her.
"Dr. Noyman? What on earth is going on?"
"I don't know, Crissy. These men haven't had a chance to tell me why they've kidnapped us."
"That's simple enough," Donald waved his revolver at the pair, "you came up with a killer plant and we want the secret."
"You can't be serious," Noyman protested, "that experiment was a complete failure."
"That depends on what you do with it. You've created the perfect weapon without realizing it. Once we get that secret out of you, we're going to make a bundle off it."
The plane began moving.
"What about Mrs. Ralphwit? What do you want with her."
"If she's not your assistant, that's too bad for her." Donald pointed the gun at Crissy's head.
"She's my assistant."
"I'm his assistant."
Clete pushed the jeep as hard as he could, running up alongside the plane. Roger took aim at the engine nearest them.
"I don't think that's gonna work," Clete warned, "we don't have enough runway left for a shot like that!"
"Maybe you're right." Roger adjusted his aim and fired off a series of shots at the tire under the wing. The gangsters inside had just enough time to wonder what Roger was up to before the wheel blew out and the gear collapsed under the wing. Clete pulled back as the plane crippled and slide to a stop. Clete then drove up to the hatch. Roger jumped out of the jeep just as Donald's men jumped out and moved for him. Roger swung the rifle like a club and knocked the wind out of Sawyer before slamming him into Jenkins. Swinging the rifle back the other way clipped Denny in the head. Clete stayed with the men as Roger ran to the hatch and leaned into the plane. Donald was on the floor, but he fired a couple of shots at Roger, who ducked out of the way. Crissy and Noyman were helpless as they sat strapped into the seats next to Donald, who was getting back to his feet and pointing the gun at Crissy's head.
"Throw down the rifle or I blow a hole in the bunny's head! You hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you." Roger complied and dropped the rifle to the tarmac. "The police are on their way, you know. Once this action on the runway started, the tower had to call them."
"I got time." Donald thought furiously for a way out of this. Difficulty was added when the pilot grabbed Donald from behind and held the gun away from Crissy. Donald still managed to fire off a couple of shots which went into the fuselage. Roger dove into the area behind the seats.
"Give up, Mr. Donald!" The pilot pleaded as Donald struggled. "It's over, and I don't want a murder on my plane. I'll already lose my license over this, don't make it worse!" Donald managed to break an arm free and elbowed the pilot in the gut. He fell back and Donald readied to empty his gun on him. Roger had managed to get Crissy free during the struggle. Now he was leaping for Donald before he could pull the trigger. Although Donald was knocked off his feet, Roger failed to make his tackle and ended up landing on top of the pilot. Crissy pulled loose of her seat and kicked the gun away before Donald could make good his shot.
Furious, the gangster backhanded Crissy and sent her flying over the seat. Roger was really mad now. Donald was victim of a proper tackle this time, and he was being crushed in a bear hug. Donald put up a good fight, though, and used his head to butt Roger's face. Stunned, Roger fell back. Crissy had returned to her feet and executed a high kick that landed in Donald's face. Donald fell back into Roger's grasp.
"Stop fighting before I kill you!" Roger warned. Donald was still in so much of a rage that he ignored the advice. The click of a hammer managed to bring him to his senses, however. Noyman stood over the scene, aiming the revolver at Donald's head. Donald finally gave up and collapsed. Within a few minutes, the entire gang was bundled in a cargo rope and waiting for the police to arrive. The sirens could be heard approaching. Clete smiled, as it meant he could soon put down the rifle. Roger shook Noyman's hand while he cuddled Crissy in the other arm.
"I can never thank you enough, Doc."
"Just be glad he didn't call my bluff." Noyman opened the chamber of the revolver. "I kept score. He fired all six shots. Two at the jeep while on the road, two at you in the doorway, and two more in the fight with the pilot. He was out of bullets." Overhearing this, Donald was dumbfounded. He would have collapsed had the other men not been tied to him. Roger and Crissy exchanged a bemused look.
After that, the rest of the Hawaiian vacation was pretty uneventful.
THE END
No comments:
Post a Comment