FriendorFoe by Frances Pauli Read Free Book Online Page A

remember to limp!"
    "I--"
    "You look like an idiot walking around in that thing."
    Simon heard footsteps retreating and tried to judge the size of the room from their echo. He gauged it to be cavernous and the word matched his original suspicions. They had him in a cave, no doubt near the ravine where he'd tumbled into their trap. Now Spaulding would return to the finish line. The mayor and the whole town would watch Agnes cross first. Not on his shift.
    He arched his back and twisted his wrists. His bonds held. He bent his knees, pulled his ankles in closer and rubbed his feet together. He kicked them. He rolled onto his back and felt along the floor with his whole body. If he lay in a cave, there might be a rough spot, even a projection he could use to free himself.
    "Simon?" Agnes called nearby.
    He renewed his efforts.
    "Simon, hold still for heaven's sake."
    He shook his head blindly and scooted a few inches to one side, hopefully away from her. The floor did feel rough, pitted and laced with nubs that proved a little too smooth for his purposes. He twisted against them just the same.
    "Simon."
    Her voice hovered near his ear. She knelt beside him.
    "Simon, don't be ridiculous. How can I untie you while you're writhing around like that?"
    "Silence, fiend!" Simon deployed his favorite line just for her. "I'll not fall prey to your villainous plot, Rutherford."
    "Rutherford," Agnes whispered. "I hate to tell you this, Maxwell , but you've already fallen."
    Simon clenched his jaw.
    "Now hold still so I can get these off."
    He felt her hands brush at his wrists and pulled hard in the other direction.
    She heaved a sigh. "Really, Simon. Do we have to do everything the hard way?"
    "You won't win today, Agnes."
    "Fine, but can we please get you free before you beat me?"
    She touched his hands again and he scooted away.
    "Simon!"
    "What?"
    "If this is a trap, why am I still here? Why am I not scampering back up the nets to finish the race while you lie here in the dark?"
    "I don't know."
    "Then can I please untie you now?"
    "Fine." He stopped moving and waited. This time he let her touch him, her hands quickly loosening whatever tied his wrists together. As soon as the restraint fell away, he reached up and tore the blindfold from his eyes. He blinked against the darkness until Agnes's outline materialized at his feet.
    She squatted at his ankles, balanced on her toes. When she stood, a bit of rope dangled in her left hand. She faced him, but the wan lighting hid her expression.
    "Come on, Simon. This way." She moved.
    He had to scramble to his feet and jog to catch up with her. He glanced around the cave and nodded. Not quite cavernous, maybe, but he'd made a respectable guess. Had Agnes not shown the way, he might have wasted valuable time searching for the tunnel where the light crept in.
    She led him directly to it, placed a dainty hand against the stone and ducked into the passage. Simon frowned. She didn't hurry and hadn't offered a single word of explanation. She said nothing, in fact, and Simon's agitation swelled with each pace down the tunnel. He watched her back as she stepped gingerly over the jutting rock and waited for her to speak.
    The circle of light came into view, the end of the tunnel gaped out on the ravine, and Agnes still said nothing. Simon stopped walking and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Do you know what my father told me about you?"
    "No." Agnes didn't look at him. "Poor Agnes again?" she whispered, but the echo bounced along the tunnel.
    "He said you were a good soul and you had a kind heart."
    She refused to look at him, but Simon thought he saw a change in the defiant stance, a ripple that softened her outline against the light of day. Her face fixed on the tunnel's end. Only her voice reached him.
    "We don't have any time, Simon." She might have meant anything by it.
    "Agnes." He stepped closer to her. Every moment alone provided an opportunity to sway her, to swing her away from