Brother Against Brother by Franklin W. Dixon Read Free Book Online

about to start circling the cabin when he heard a dog bark. He stayed crouched in the brush as the barking and snarling continued.
    Then Frank heard a car engine and an instant later saw a Jeep roar into view and stop. Someone vaulted out and ran for the cabin. Frank squinted, trying to identify the person. Could it be Joe? No. It looked as though this guy was wearing a turban.
    Frank blinked. But that made no sense. He strained for a better view. The figure was too far away for Frank to see him clearly.
    Then the sound of gunshots exploded just above his head. Frank dove for cover. He had been spotted!
    After staying quiet for a minute, he crept back - to the edge of the clearing to a new observation site. But when he got there, the turbaned person had disappeared.
    Frank waited a moment or two. Part of him wanted to throw caution aside and rush the cabin, settling this thing right away. But the person he saw didn't look exactly like Joe. And someone inside that cabin had a gun and was willing to use it. No point in taking foolish risks.
    So Frank crept deep into the woods. He would eventually make his way to the cabin.
     
    ***
     
    At the first pistol shot, Joe whirled and tackled Rita, dragging her to cover behind the Jeep as two more shots sounded.
    "Wait here," he told her.
    "No! I'm going with you," she said through gritted teeth.
    " "Rita, I'm just going to check out the cabin. If Delbert is all right, I'll signal for you. But if I'm not back in a few minutes, you have to take the Jeep and get the sheriff."
    Rita gave him a mutinous glare but said nothing.
    Joe, crouching low, faded back, and used the trees for cover as he sneaked behind the cabin. He crept up to a window, and slowly rose to his full height and peered through the glass.
    Inside, Delbert appeared to be alone. Frightened and agitated, he darted back and forth at the front windows, looking out. He held the rifle 'in one hand and a pistol in the other. The dog stood guard near the door, barking furiously.
    Delbert sure has a nervous trigger finger, Joe thought. What's he afraid of?
    The words hit man went through his mind again.
    Joe shrugged. Whatever was going on, one thing was certain. When they left, he and Rita would take Delbert with them. He was in too much danger, alone in the woods. Of course, there was still the job of getting inside to tell ! - Delbert without getting shot.
    Gingerly, Joe unwrapped the bandage around his head, planning to wave it as a flag of truce. Then he heard Rita shouting, "Don't shoot! It's me, Rita!"
    Frank, hearing the girl's voice, peered out of the brush. A young woman came running from the Jeep toward the cabin.
    Then another figure came to join her from the far side of the cabin. Frank gasped. It was Joe! His younger brother looked much the worse for wear — but he was alive and apparently all right!
    Frank was about to shout to him when a man waving a pistol stepped from the cabin door. Frank remained down as the man motioned Joe and the girl inside.
    Still hiding, Frank tried to make sense of the situation. A cabin in the mountains, Joe hurt, a man with a gun — Wait a minute! Joe was heading for a cabin in the first place! Could'it be this place?
    He shut his eyes, trying to trace the route Joe was supposed to follow. Of course, that route would have followed roads. Frank had cut crosscountry on foot. Without a good map, he couldn't be sure. Still, it made a reasonable theory.
    But the guy with the gun? Was he the fugitive witness? Or could Joe have walked into the arms of the hit man? Frank was determined to find out as he moved deeper into the woods so he could use its cover to circle to the rear of the cabin.
    Behind the log walls, Rita's Uncle Delbert shouted, "Why'd you come back?"
    "Who were you shooting at?" Rita asked.
    "I saw someone moving outside. At least I thought I did — now I'm not sure. No one returned my fire. Must have been my nerves making me see things."
    "You don't understand," Joe cut in.