The Riverview Robberies

By Luther Dean

Chapter Two

The next day, Mughead showed up at Betsy's door. He had gotten a note from her in his locker asking him to show up.

"Um, Betsy, are you in here?" he asked, entering the house and finding no one around.

"I'll be right there Mug" Betsy's voice came from another room. Mug nodded and scanned the room looking for something to eat.

After a few minutes, Betsy came out from her room. She was dressed in a pink sweater and a pair of blue jeans. Only a pair of white socks covered her dainty feet.

"OK Bets I'm here, what did you want?" Mughead asked, still wishing she had served some kind of refreshments.

"I need you to do something for me" Betsy said, "I want you to tie me up."

"Excuse me?"

"Well I was listening to Rob talk earlier today about how she was tied up when those crooks robbed her house" Betsy explained. "And it got me thinking, if Artie was so responsive to that, think how great he'd feel if he saved one of us from a robber. That's where you come in."

"I don't like the sound of this" Mug replied.

"I thought you'd say that, so I have a little incentive" Betsy replied. She went into the kitchen and returned with a pie and a hamburger. "Help me out and they're all yours" she replied.

Mughead's mouth watered like a hyperactive dog. "Let's get started," he said.

"OK" Betsy replied, sitting down in a nearby wooden chair. "I found a bunch of stuff in the attic you can use. It's in that box over there."

Mughead went over to the box and looked inside. It contained an old jump rope, several scarves, a length of twine and a spotted handkerchief. Mug grabbed one of the scarves, went behind Betsy, then used it to tie her wrists.

"Tie me as tight as you can" Betsy said, "I want this to look like a real robbery."

"Don't worry" Mug said, "I spent a few weeks in the Boy Scouts. Before I dropped out when I realized they expected me to actually do things."

Mughead tightly cinched the scarf around Betsy's wrists. Betsy tested her hands until she was satisfied that she couldn't escape.

"Now use the jump rope to bind my arms," she said.

Mug did so, looping the plastic ends behind her, and cinching them with a square knot. He took the twine and used it to bind Betsy's ankles and knees. The blonde girl was amazed at how well Mug was at his task.

"I’m impressed Muggie" she said, "are you sure you've never done this before?"

"Nope, first time" Mughead said, "can I have the pie now?"

"Not yet, you'd better gag me too, and make it good" Betsy explained, "then, after you leave, find Artie and tell him you saw a mysterious looking guy creeping around my house."

"Can do Bets," he said, taking the bandanna from the box of objects. He crammed the red cloth into Betsy's mouth, and secured another of the scarves around it.

"Is that okay Bets?" he asked.

"Mmmmph" Betsy replied.

"Can I go then?"

"Mmm mmm" Betsy replied, nodding her head.

"Ok, I'll tell Artie what you said when I see him" Mughead said, walking out of her house with the food "thanks for the grub." Then he closed the door and left.

From her chair, Betsy struggled and squirmed against her bonds. Mug did a real good job she thought it's like an intruder has really tied me up. Now all I have to do is wait for my knight in shining armor to come release me.

Elsewhere in Riverview the object of Betsy's affections was walking down the street, still concerned about what had happened to Roberta.

"Man, I still can't believe that Rob got robbed" he said, "maybe I'd better ask dad to add an extra lock to the door. Who knows if those thieves are still around here looking for somewhere else to hit."

He was interrupted from his thoughts about robbery by Mughead, who had just come around the corner, after polishing off the hamburger he had been given.

"Hey Mug" he said, "what security precautions are you taking in case those crooks that robbed Rob's house strike again?"

"I don't need to worry about that" Mughead replied "because Corn Dog is a great watchdog. Plus I don't have anything worth stealing."

"I guess you've got a point there" Artie replied.

"Anyway, the one you should be really worried about is Betsy" Mughead replied.

"Betsy? Why, did something happen?" Artie asked, obviously concerned.

"I don't know" Mughead said, "I was walking by her house earlier today and I thought I saw a mysterious looking guy creeping around the place. He could be trouble Art."

"Thanks for the tip" Artie said, "I'd better get over there and make sure Betsy's all right!" And he made a mad dash for Betsy's house.

"You do that" Mughead said as he watched his pal disappear over the horizon "in the meantime, I think I'll go to the chock'lit shop and get a soda."

Artie ran like a marathon runner toward the Cooper household and was relieved when he saw no signs of a break-in. "Looks OK from the outside" he said, "but I'd better check inside just to be safe."

Artie approached the house and knocked on the door.

"Hello, Betsy, are you home?" he asked.

From inside, Betsy could hear the voice of her freckle faced rescuer and mmpphed as loud as she could.

"No response" Artie said, "looks like I'll just have to break it down." So he readied himself to ram into the door, only to find out it was already open.

"Ow!" Artie exclaimed as he hit the floor; it was then that he noticed Betsy, tied and gagged and struggling for all she was worth.

"Bets, are you all right?" Artie asked, removing the gag from her mouth. Betsy spit out the wadded up handkerchief that served as packing.

"Oh Artie, thank goodness you found me!" she exclaimed, doing her best to act like she was really in danger. "It was horrible, I heard a knock at the door and when I opened it, this man in black pointed a gun at me and forced me to let him in. He tied me up like this and…" she paused, trying to develop more of her story.

"Don't worry, you're safe with me" Artie replied, as he picked apart the knot that held the scarf around her wrists. He easily untied the jump rope around her torso, and removed her leg bindings with minimal effort.

"Oh Artie, you're my hero!" Betsy exclaimed, giving her crush a big hug, which made his cheeks almost as red as his hair.

"Yeah well that guy is lucky I didn't get here earlier" Artie said angrily "I would have cleaned his clock and taught him a thing or two about who to mess with."

That's Artie for you Betsy thought he sets his mind to something, regardless of how much of a chance he has of achieving it. "This robbery thing has me all shaken up" Betsy said, still pretending to be frightened "I'm afraid to leave the house."

"Not to worry Bets" Artie said, "I'll protect you. Why don't you and I head to the chock'lit shop and get something to eat?"

"I guess that would be okay" Betsy replied. Yes! My plan is working! She thought I have a date with Artie! This was the most ingenious idea I ever had. "Let's go" Betsy said, grabbing her jacket before the two teenagers left the house.