Sky and the Hijackers

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter 2

“...and when they were finished loading the truck, that man Egan came back from the loading dock,” said Copper with dramatic emphasis made easier by the luxury of hindsight. “He checked to make sure we were all tied up tight, then he set that bomb to go off.” She rubbed the rope marks around her wrists at the memory, then shuddered as she concluded: “I thought we were all goners.”

     Karen Irons nodded.

     “I did too, Sky,” she said. “Thank goodness the Sheriff and his deputies came along when they did.” She turned to the two woman deputies. “And thanks especially to Amy and Sue for risking their lives to get us all out of the office like that.”

     The four women were still seated in their chairs in the dusty space between the Irons Transport office and the vacant warehouse next door. Amy and Sue had cut the prisoners’ bonds, but the Sheriff had had ordered everyone to stay out of the building while other deputies searched for more explosives. Sky Ryder and Sheriff Winchell stood in front of the women, both with their arms folded across their chests as they listened to the women’s story.

     “How did you know that we needed help, Sheriff? Asked Copper.

     “Not by using a crystal ball, I can tell you,” said Winchell. “Sky was the one who told us that it looked like some hombres were up to no good here.”

     “I was running a little late in getting to the airport,” explained Sky. “When I flew over the office, I saw the station wagon parked outside and several strangers moving and loading the truck. With all the trouble that Karen and Jill have been having, I thought that those men might be making more, so I suggested to Winch that he have a look.”

     “And you’re sure you’ve never seen those men before?” Winchell asked Karen.

     She shook her head.

     “I’m about as sure I can be that I haven’t.”

     “Never fired any of them or turned any of them down for a job maybe?”

     She wearily ran a hand through her permanent waved blond hair.

     “Sheriff, I’m desperate for help right now! With all the accidents and harassment we’ve been though, Don Henderson’s the only man I have left, and he’s scared enough that he won’t make any of the runs to the archaeological sites.”

     “Karen and I have to do all the driving to those ourselves!” Jill added emphatically.

     Sky looked at Copper. The girl had slid her massaging hands up to where the ropes binding her to the chair had crossed her upper arms.

     “You didn’t know them, did you Copper?”

     “They were strangers to me too, Sky.”

     Sky turned to Winchell.

     “I’ve never seen any of them, Winch, and I’ll bet you haven’t either.”

     Winchell shook his head thoughtfully. He looked at the fourth woman.

     “How about you, ma’am?”

     The woman managed to force a little smile.

     “Winthrop’s the name, Sheriff. Mrs. Martha Winthrop.”

     “I guess you don’t know Martha yet, Sheriff,” interrupted Karen. “She bought the general store across the road a couple months ago, and just happened to be bringing a few things over when those men came in and pulled out guns.”

     “I thought I recognized you,” said Copper with a smile. “We haven’t met before, but I’m sure we’ve seen one another. I’m Copper Ryder.”

     “Of course I’ve seen you,” said the woman, returning the smile. “You’ve been helping these poor girls try to stay in business. This was a hard way to meet.”

     As they all laughed, Harry Tyler joined them. He stood between Sky and Winchell.

     “The ambulance left with the guy that was wounded,” he reported. “Steve Cooley’s riding with him. MacKeever and Norris have the two men who gave up here and Andy and I’ll handle that fellow Egan. Anything special you want Bill Harrison to do?”

     “Have him help MacKeever and Norris,” said Winchell. “I don’t want to take any chances with those other two, even if they did give up easily. He can pick up Steve later. Anything else in the building?”

     Tyler shook his head.

     “It’s clear, but there’s something you and Sky ought to see.”

     “We really need to get this shipment off to Professor Stanton, Sheriff,” said Karen.

     “We’ll be as quick as we can, Miss Irons,” Winchell said, touching the brim of his hat.

     The three men started for the office.

     “What is it, Harry?” asked Winchell when they were away from the women.

     “It’s about that bomb.”

     In front of the office, a greatly subdued Egan sat in the back seat of a patrol car under the watchful eyes of Deputies Rivera and Harrison. Tyler led the way into the office where lanky Deputy Charlie Barnes was leaning against the doorframe, looking at the device on the table. He straightened up as the Sheriff entered.

     “How close did we all come to getting blown up?” asked Winchell.

     Tyler stood over the bomb and held up the ends of the two wires leading from the clock.

     “You can’t make much of a bomb if you don’t hook up your wires right.”

     “They were loose?” asked Sky

     Tyler snorted.

     “They weren’t connected at all, just tucked under the sticks. They couldn’t have set off a match as they were, not that it mattered very much.”

     The two looked at him inquiringly. Tyler picked up the taped together bundle and tossed it casually to Sky. The tall rancher caught it and looked at it with a wry smile.

     “Ordinary highway flares,” he said showing them to Winchell.

     Winchell shook his head slowly as he studied them. He pushed his hat back far enough to scratch his graying hair.

     “Now what kind of outfit tries to keep a trucking company from delivering supplies by blowing it up with a bomb that won’t work?”

     After a last look at the dummy bomb, Sky handed it back to Tyler.

     “I don’t know, Winch,” Sky said grimly. “But I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of them.”

The knock at the study door was firm, but not peremptory. The trim sixtyish man in the neat blue suit seated at the desk did not answer or stop writing, but, after a pause of three or four seconds, the door opened just enough for a tall, slender blonde to slip into the room. Her black high-heeled pumps made no noise on the thick carpet. The man did not speak or even look up as she walked over near the desk and stood waiting. He wrote a concluding line and finally looked up at her, smiling appreciatively.

     “Ah, Mary, my sweet,” he said, methodically screwing the cap on his fountain pen. He rose and walked around the desk, put his arms halfway around her and kissed her warmly. “You’re looking quite lovely this morning. I trust there’s good news.”

     He sat on the edge of the desk while she settled into a padded armchair facing him.

     “I’m afraid the news isn’t good, Paul,” she said, tucking her clutch purse between her hip and the chair arm.

     She was, all things considered, a very attractive woman of about thirty years of age. Her features were regular and pleasing, nose just the right size, cheekbones exactly adequate, and her makeup was tastefully applied. The lightweight belted dress she wore had a rather high neckline, but was form fitting enough to show that she had a trim waistline and generous, beautifully rounded breasts. Her skirt fit snugly below the waist as well. Her hips were womanly, the legs she crossed long and shapely.

     But somehow, the overall effect of the woman’s beauty failed to equal the sum of its parts. The face was perhaps too regular to be striking, the kind of face that would be instantly overshadowed by a more distinctive, though less classic, look. And there was something about her expression: an over-coolness, even a kind of resignation. In some way, it seemed to be an acknowledgment the woman knew that in a beauty contest she would always take second place. She had the look of an underdog.

     “What’s that you say?” he asked solicitously. “Bad news?”

     The woman looked at him evenly.

     “I warned you about that man Egan, I think. The fool took three of our men through the front door of the Irons sisters’ office and tried to take the truck and cargo right there in broad daylight.

     The man shook his head sadly.

     “That was a poor decision on his part,” he understated. “I gather that he’s paid for his foolishness.”

     “One man was shot and wounded in the struggle and all four of them were taken by the Sheriff. The shipment was taken to the professor’s site with hardly a delay.”

     “How was the Sheriff warned?”

     “It was that man Sky Ryder,” the woman answered. “At least I saw his plane circling the office while Egan’s men were loading the truck. Within minutes the Sheriff had ten deputies outside the place.”

     The man shook his head slowly.

     “Sky Ryder again!” he muttered. He looked at her. “All of them taken?”

     She nodded.

     “Egan managed to get out and make a run for it, but Ryder flew after him and somehow ran him off the road. Then Ryder and his niece flew the supplies out.”

     The man raised his hand to his chin and stroked it thoughtfully.

     “That plane of his is causing us considerable difficulty,” he mused. “What arrangements have been made about the next shipment day after tomorrow? Dr. Folger’s team is southwest of Cactus Springs where, if I’m not mistaken, there’s a road but no place to land a plane. That should neutralize Mr. Ryder, I would think.”

     The woman said nothing, but her expression showed that she did not agree.

     “And now we must replace the unlamented Mr. Egan and his team,” the man continued.

     “Laughton is our best man now,” the woman said. “He has a plan to hijack the next shipment, and I’ve authorized him to go ahead. But I doubt that Laughton is capable of being our permanent leader.”

     She opened her handbag and handed him a folded slip of paper.

     “One of the men suggested that this man would be a good choice.”

     He unfolded the paper and read it. He made a face.

     “A bar in Los Angeles? This is the only address you have?”

     “The man said his friend could usually be found there.”

     He nodded.

     “Very well. If Laughton fails, I’ll go find this man myself. Keep me informed.”

     She nodded.

     “I’m at the West Side Motel registered under the name La Rocque. Mary La Rocque.”

     He leaned toward her and stroked his right index finger over her crossed knee.

     “I like your use of a French name,” he said softly. “It’s very sensual.”

     She rose from the chair and took the lapels of his suitcoat to pull him closer to her. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him.

“Come on, Sky. Don’t you think it’s a good idea?”

     Sky Ryder took a comb from his pocket and ran it through his hair, checking the effect in the wall mirror just inside the front door.

     “Escorting Karen and Jill’s trucks in the Hummingbird is a wonderful idea in theory, Copper,” he said patiently. “The only trouble is that I need it to fly into Flagstaff today and pick up Julie from her commercial flight.”

     “I know it’s been hard on you two, being separated while Julie was taking care of her sister back East,” said Copper. “You’re still practically newlyweds. But since we told Karen and Jill that we’d help them, isn’t this more important? After all, there is a later flight to Kermit so Julie could be home in a few hours.”

     Sky was now using the mirror to straighten his string tie.

     “Julie would have to wait almost eight hours for a flight that lasts less than an hour, even on a DC-3. It won’t take me that long to pick her up, and I can fly over the road to Dr. Folger’s dig this afternoon when I get back.”

     Copper looked nervously at her watch.

     “But Karen and Jill are leaving in less than an hour.”

     Sky turned to her. He smiled and put a reassuring arm around his niece’s shoulder.

     “And we’ll have to leave them in Winch’s capable hands until I get back.”

     Copper gave him a worried and disappointed frown.

     “Look, honey,” Sky continued, “Dr. Folger’s group is out there in rugged country: broken hills, mountains of nearly ten thousand feet, and forests. If there were any trouble out there, the Hummingbird would be almost useless. We’d need a helicopter to be of any help.”

     “But we could watch them!” protested Copper. “This gang, whoever they are, might be scared off if they knew we were watching and could radio the police right away.

     “And they’ll be equally scared when they find that the Sheriff and the State Police are keeping their eyes on the trucks. Karen and Jill will be fine. We’ve got to trust Winch and Sergeant Boyer.”

     He gave the still frowning girl another squeeze. Finally, she smiled at him.

     “All right, Sky,” she said. “And you promise that you’ll check on things when you get back?”

     “Even before we land, we’ll be sure that everything’s okay.”

     The girl seemed reassured.

     “I’m sorry to be such a worrier about this.”

     Sky looked at her with pride.

     “No need to be sorry. I’m glad you’re such a good friend to Karen and Jill.”

     He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then swung the front door open. Copper followed him onto the porch and into the side yard to watch him go.

     “You have a smooth flight and hurry back,” she called after him.

     Copper waved as the sturdy Cessna Bobcat lifted off. As it headed into the morning sun, Copper had a brilliant idea. She hurried back to the house.

The big, dark-haired man looked at the other players around the table then back at the cards in his hand. He took two red chips from one of the stacks in front of him.

     “I see your five and raise five more,” he announced, tossing them into the pot.

     The tall, very lean, shifty-looking blond haired man to his left dropped his cards face down on the table.

     “Too rich for me,” he said.

     The next man was of medium height but strongly built, with a pointed chin, a sharp nose and dark curly hair. He shook his head and also folded.

     The last man at the table looked at his hand again. Like the other players he wore a shirt and tie but had his jacket over the chair back. He was a tall, good-looking man, and he rubbed the side of his well-sculpted nose with his index finger as he studied his cards with clear, confident blue eyes. He looked at the dark-haired man.

     “Well, Reeves,” the handsome man drawled, “the question is do you have the better hand or do I?”

     The blue eyes scanned the dark man. Not only was the hair on Reeves’ head very dark, but the five o’clock shadow on his face looked almost black. His eyes and complexion were also dark, giving him a sinister, dangerous appearance. The blue eyes took in all of this with confidence that approached arrogance.

     “Come on, Laughton,” growled Reeves. “What’re ya gonna do?”

     Laughton picked up a red chip of his own and studied it before tossing it into the pot.

     “Call.”

     Reeves laid his cards face up.

     “Two pair: kings and tens,” he said, one corner of his mouth curling up slightly.

     “Very good,” said Laughton, nodding. He laid down his cards. “Three sixes.”

     Reeves let out a hissing breath and slammed a fist on the table. Laughton raked in the chips, his eyes never leaving Reeves, as though on alert for an outburst. None came.

     The athletic looking dark-haired man collected the cards and started shuffling. He stopped when they all heard the sound of knocking on one of the heavy metal doors. The card players all froze and waited. Another man, fiftyish and burly, appeared at the doorway leading to a little hallway at one end of the room.

     “It’s her,” he said to Laughton.

     Laughton stood. He picked up the stack of blue chips in front of him and slipped them into his pocket.

     “You can sit in for me for the last two hands, Harding,” he said.

     “Glad to,” said Harding.

     Laughton let Harding take his chair, then strolled to the hall doorway.

     Looking back he saw the card table at one end of what had been the main work area of an auto shop. The few windows on the walls had been painted over, and some boarded up as well. Aside from the card table and chairs, there were only five Army surplus cots and a refrigerator in the room. Most of the floor space was taken up by three cars facing two roll-up style corrugated metal doors.

     The wiry man was dealing the cards.

     “You better deal those cards straight, Ritchie,” muttered Reeves. “I got some catchin’ up t’ do now.”

     Laughton walked a few steps down the hall through what had at been the offices and waiting room of the business. On the threadbare couch that remained in the waiting area sat Mary La Rocque. As Laughton entered, she crossed her legs, causing her tight dark skirt to rise above her knees. Laughton looked directly at the leg show she offered him.

     “Good morning,” he said evenly.

     “Good morning, Mr. Laughton,” she answered. “Are you and your men ready?”

     “Everything’s set. The trucks’ll be leaving in a few minutes and we’ll be waiting.”

     “And everyone knows what to do?”

     “They all know. And there’ll be a couple of accidents to keep the Sheriff and the State cops busy.”

     “You’ve planned this quite well.”

     “I hope you talked to the boss about my promotion.”

     She regarded him coolly.

     “One of the other men recommended someone else to replace Egan. Whether you or he gets the job depends on how this operation goes.” She stood up. “Where are the women we hired?”

     “On their way from Lake Havasu City. Having them stay with us would have been...”

     He trailed off.

     “Awkward?” she finished.

     “That’s a good way of putting it. You know how men like these get when they’re away from female companionship for a couple weeks.”

     “Yes. I know.”

     She stood up, threw her arms around him and hungrily pressed her lips over his.

Copper Ryder pressed the accelerator of the station wagon a bit more as she took the radio handset and raised it to her mouth.

     “Copper to Sheriff’s Car Four. Copper to Car Four. Do you read me, Amy? Over.”

     She released the transmit button with her thumb and waited a few seconds. She repeated the call. Finally Amy answered.

     “Car Four to Copper. What’s up, Copper? Over.”

     “Where are you, Amy? I’m cutting across one of the back roads to the highway. I can just see the trucks ahead, but I don’t see you. Over.”

     Amy looked at the scene in front of her patrol car. A rusty pickup truck trying to make a left turn from the oncoming lane into a farm road had been hit on the passenger side by an old Packard sedan. The vehicles were now virtually locked together, completely blocking the road. Deputy Sue Kendall and some motorists were giving aid to the slightly injured drivers and turning traffic back to Kermit.

     “We’ve had an accident just south of town,” said Amy. “Fortunately, there’s no one hurt badly, but we have to wait for the ambulance and Jim Lester’s wrecker to get the road clear. Over.”

     “What about Karen and Jill?” Copper asked fretfully. “Over.”

     “I guess it’s a good thing you’re there to watch them. Sergeant Boyer’s on his way from Bullhead City. You’d better stay with them until he gets there. Over.”

     “All right, Amy. I hope he hurries. Copper out.”

     “Car Four out.” Amy hung the handset on its hook and went over to Sue.

     “How are they?” Amy asked looking at the two injured men.

     “A couple of lucky old guys,” Sue replied. She looked at the equally elderly smashed vehicles. “And lucky insurance companies too. Not much to pay on there.”

     Amy looked too. An uneasy feeling began to grow.

     Sue pointed in the direction of Kermit. “Here come Jim and the ambulance,” she said.

     “Let’s get this thing cleared away fast,” said Amy. “There’s something fishy here.”

It was a rough ride for young Jill Irons, jolting over the barely discernible road that ran from the highway to the Professor’s camp. The heavily laden truck she drove was a converted World War II Army two-and-a-half ton model, its conversion consisting of a new coat of blue paint that barely covered the white stars on the cab doors and installation of an AM radio. Jill had the radio on and at maximum volume could just hear Guy Mitchell singing something about being in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania over the din of the engine. The Hulalapai Mountains rose to her left front, but the road they were taking led gently to the right. Ahead of her was Karen in the sleeker but less powerful panel truck. It was also carried a heavy load and would require greater skill to maneuver as they continued up the slopes to their destination.

     The girl leaned her elbow on the bottom of the open window frame. It was going to be a very dusty ride with the windows open or an unbearably hot one with them closed. Jill had just opted for the dust when the brake lights of Karen’s truck flashed and the vehicle jolted to a stop. Jill had all she could do to keep from rear-ending the smaller truck. Before she could open her door, Karen was running back to her.

     “What is it, Sis?” the younger woman called, looking down at the curvaceous and elegant Karen.

     “I don’t know. It looks like some kind of accident.”

     Jill looked up the road. A couple hundred yards ahead, two cars that had been headed in opposite directions sat diagonally across both lanes. A woman dressed in a white blouse and dark skirt trotted a few steps toward them and began waving.

     “It looks like they need help!” said Jill.

     “It could also be a trap,” said Karen, her face uncertain. She looked back in the direction from which they had come, then to the cars ahead again. “Look, I’ll go on ahead and see if it’s all right. You wait here. If you see anything funny, turn around and head back for town. Amy Cole and her partner are supposed to be following us.”

     Jill bit her lower lip.

     “All right. But you be careful.”

     “I will.”

     Karen returned to her truck and went slowly forward. She could not tell why the two cars had collided, but the doors of one were open, and a man sat in the seat with his feet on the ground outside the car. He was holding a cloth to his head. Another man sat on the ground with his arms laid across his knees and his head resting on his arms. She now saw that the dark-haired woman had a cloth pressed to the side of her head as well. The woman staggered forward in the middle of the road.

     “Please help us!” she called.

     Karen had no sooner pulled up to within a few yards, opened the door and put a foot out of the truck when all the accident ‘victims’ sprang into action. Both men rose and ran toward her. The woman stretched the cloth across her face and drew a gun from behind her.

     Karen jumped back into the truck and slammed the door.

     “I wouldn’t, Miss Irons,” said the woman, pointing the pistol at her.

     Karen hesitated for a moment, her hand just above the gear lever.

     “Look!” the woman called, pointing back at Jill’s truck.

     Karen looked in the mirror. Jill was standing in the road beside her truck engaged in an unequal struggle against a man and a woman. The woman grabbed her arms from the front and held her while the man began tying her hands behind her back. Another man got into Jill’s truck.

     “Even if you get away, she won’t,” the woman with the pistol said.

     With no choice, Karen slowly got out of the truck and raised her hands.

     The two men, now masked, joined the woman as she advanced on Karen. Another woman, this one a blonde dressed in a white blouse, tan slacks and boots, and also masked, stepped out from behind the accident cars.

     “A very wise choice, Miss Irons,” the blonde said. She turned to the men. “Get the cars out of sight. We’ll take care of the women.”

     One of the men waved an acknowledgment, and they headed back to the cars. The blonde drew a pistol of her own and pointed it in the direction of a rocky ravine at the side of the road.

     “Let’s go, Miss Irons.”

     Karen hesitated, watching as the couple dragged Jill toward them. The man in the larger truck had put it in gear and was edging forward. A fifth masked man stepped from behind the car barricade as the drivers started the engines.

     “Well, well,” said the newest man, easily the tallest and best built of the gang. He also had a pleasant baritone voice. “They’re quite an attractive pair of sisters. This is going to be a pleasure, a real pleasure.”

     “The girls and I can handle them,” the blonde said flatly. “All we need is one man to stand by. The rest of you can get the trucks ready to move.”

     “I’ll be glad to stand by,” he said affably. “Especially since I know what you have in store for them.”

     Karen looked apprehensively at the woman.

     “What are you going to do?” she demanded, unable to keep a note of panic from her voice.

     “Don’t worry,” the blonde replied. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

     “Nothing too bad, that is,” added the brunette woman, tucking her pistol into her belt and taking out a two foot piece of rope.

     The couple from behind came up, pushing Jill ahead of them. Karen put an arm protectively around her younger and much smaller sister. The three women forced the sisters into the shelter of the rocks. The man ambled after them. A box of rope sat waiting in the ravine.

     “Untie her,” the blonde ordered the woman who held Jill by the arm. “At least, for now. And then ladies---“ She looked at Karen and Jill --- “I want you both to strip.”

     The wide-eyed sisters stared at her in disbelief.

     “What?” cried Karen.

     “I think you heard me. We want your clothes. And be quick about it or I’ll have Lois and Judy do it for you. And I’m sure some of the men would be glad to help.”

     “I know I would,” said the tall man.

     Jill’s hands were now free. She rubbed her wrists and looked anxiously at Karen.

     “We don’t seem to have much choice,” Karen said as she reached for the top button of her blue work shirt. “Is it really worth all this trouble to ruin a two-bit trucking outfit?”

     “You let us worry about the trouble,” said Lois, the distress signal woman. “Let’s see some skin. Right now.”

Copper frantically worked the jack handle. Of all the times to have a tire go flat! She had noticed a slight pull to the left two days ago as she was driving to the trucking office, but in all the excitement she had forgotten to have it checked. And now when speed was essential...!

     When the wheel had lifted off the ground sufficiently, Copper hurried to remove the already loosened lug nuts. This was undoubtedly the fastest she had ever changed a tire. She hoped it would be quick enough. Amy and Sue were still busy clearing away the accident so, even with this delay, Copper might still catch up to the trucks first.

“That looks like a really first-rate job, girls,” said the tall man as he watched the three women secure the Irons sisters. “And good-looking women like these two deserve a good-looking job.”

     Karen and Jill, their hands bound behind their backs and clad in just their bras and panties, stood helplessly looking on as their abductors looped bands of rope around their bodies. The blond sisters’ wrists were tied so their palms were facing and multiple wraps of cord around both girls pressed their arms against their sides and backs.

     “Karen!” cried Jill. “Why are they doing this to us?”

     Karen grimaced as Lois pulled a rope tightly around her in preparation for securing the ends.

     “I don’t know, Jill,” she answered. She gave the blonde leader a defiant look. “But I do know that they won’t get away with it.”

     “Very bravely said, Miss Irons,” the blonde said coolly. She turned to Judy and pointed at Jill. “You think her clothes’ll fit you?”

     “As long as I can wear her shirt, there’s no problem,” the shorter woman said. She patted her own hips and upper thighs. “I’ve got my own jeans.”

     The leader nodded and turned to Lois. “You’d better start getting dressed. Any problem for you?"

     Lois cocked an eyebrow at Karen’s voluptuous figure.

     “No problem for me,” she said.

     The man cleared his throat. Though Lois was well built, she was hardly up to Karen’s measurements. Lois glared at him. He said nothing.

     The blonde watched it all calmly. She took two wads of cloth from a bag inside the box of ropes and tossed one to Judy.

     “Gag her. I’ll do this one.”

     Karen and Jill protested weakly and tried to back away from the women, but the blonde caught Karen by the hair, and Judy got a hand behind Jill’s neck. Despite their struggles, the gags were forced into their mouths. The man handed two more cloth strips each to Judy and the blonde. The women used the first strips to secure the gag pads by wrapping them around their prisoners’ heads and passing them between their jaws, then used the second bands to cover their mouths completely. The sisters coughed and mewed helplessly into the gags. The blonde told the man to bring the box of rope while she and Judy forced Karen and Jill back toward the road. The sight of the bound and nearly naked sisters transfixed the men gathered around the trucks for a few seconds. Finally, one man remembered what he was supposed to do, checked to see that there was no passing traffic and waved them up. Karen and Jill were prodded toward the cab of the panel truck.

     The men moved the two cars a little way down the road, headed back toward Kermit. The drivers sat and waited, leaving their engines running.

     The blonde opened the passenger door of the small truck and motioned Karen to sit. Both sisters were walking gingerly due to the sun’s warming of the sand under their bare feet. Karen sat. The blonde stopped her from swinging her legs inside the cab. The man handed her more rope and she used it to bind Karen’s legs together at the knees and ankles. The blonde tugged on the loops just under Karen’s breasts, pulling her to her feet. She reached back.

     “Give me something to blindfold her.”

     Jill, watching in horror, squealed into her gag and tried to take a step to her sister. Judy held her and Karen looked at her younger sister and shook her head, warning her not to resist.

     The blonde took the band of cloth the man handed her and bound it over Karen’s eyes.

     “Take her,” she said to the man.

     The man stepped forward, lowered his shoulder into Karen’s midsection and wrapped an arm about her upper legs. He straightened up and carried his helpless prize to the back of the panel truck. He swung the rear doors open with his free hand then gently lowered Karen onto a crate covered with a pile of blankets. In a few moments he was joined by Judy, who was buttoning up Jill’s shirt. The man returned to the truck cab in time to see the blonde finishing the tying of Jill’s feet and legs. She forced the bound girl to stand, then blindfolded her as well. The man lifted her exactly as he had done with Karen and carried her to the rear of the truck. As the blonde woman watched, Jill was placed beside her sister.

     Mary La Rocque removed the cloth mask.

     “Thank goodness we don’t have to wear these any longer.”

     Judy and the man removed their masks as well.

     “It is kinda hot in there,” Laughton remarked breezily as he replaced his hat.

     “It’s not fair that they get to be the coolest ones,” said Judy, looking at the bra and panty-clad captives.

     Laughton sidled over and ran his hand along the ropes under Karen Irons’ breasts.

     “Yeah. This is first class all right.”

     Mary laid her hand on Laughton’s arm and pulled it away.

     “Down, boy,” she said. “We’ll take very good care of them.”

     He shrugged.

     “Whatever you say.”

     Lois appeared, wearing Karen’s clothes. Both the shirt and jeans had loose areas on her less spectacular figure. She had to undo the belt and pull it one notch tighter.

     “All set,” she announced.

     Mary reached into the rope box and pulled out two blonde wigs.

     “All right,” she said, handing the wigs to Judy and Lois. “You two know what to do, so get in those trucks and let’s get started.”

     Lois headed for the larger truck. Judy took the wheel of the smaller one.

     “I’ll just ride with you,” said Laughton addressing Mary but with his eyes on the Irons sisters.

     She gave him a frosty look.

     “You’ll ride with one of the men. There’s no room back here, and we can’t let a man be seen in the cab with one of the ‘Irons sisters.’ ”

     “Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug.

     Before he could rejoin the men, Mary, after a quick glance around to make sure no one was looking, grabbed him by the hand. He stopped and turned to her. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. She abruptly let him go and said:

     “Let me see the box.”

     Laughton held up the box of rope. She selected two fairly short pieces from it, climbed into the back of the truck and closed the double doors. Laughton shook his head and walked quickly to Ritchie’s car.

     Mary La Rocque looked at the two bound and helpless women in the truck.

     “You look far too comfortable, ladies. Let’s see what I can do about that.”