 
The Girth Brothers and the Sandal Pointe Castle

Published by Rick Berry at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Rick Berry
Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
**Table of Contents**

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

About the author
This book is dedicated to

Danny "Odie" Rajnic, Jr.
Chapter 1

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and glanced at the clock. "Almost quitting time," he thought to himself. He then looked around the dining room. Everything seemed to be in order. All the glasses and silverware shone, and the tables and chairs were ready for the customers.

"One day, I'm going to miss this place," Raz found himself saying out loud.

"Going somewhere?" a voice from behind Raz asked.

Raz turned around and there stood his best friend, O.

"Hey, O. How long have we worked here?" Raz asked.

O thought for a second and said, "I guess maybe five years. Why?"

Raz reached to straighten the chair in front of him. "That's right. We started working here when we entered high school. This was a great place to work."

"Was a great place to work?" O prodded. "Again, I'll ask, 'Are you going somewhere?' "

Raz lowered his eyeglasses once again and looked at O. "A year ago we graduated from high school." Raz said, stepping closer to O. "And last week, my fellow girth, we both graduated from the police academy. We are now licensed private investigators!"

O took one step toward Raz. Their stomachs were now touching each other. "In case you haven't noticed, my more than round buddy, we still need this job," O said as he maintained his position.

Raz pushed back up his eyeglasses and retreated one step. "I know we need this job, but I have a feeling our first case is going to happen soon!"

As Raz finished his sentence, they heard the front door open. Raz and O turned and saw a familiar face walk toward them.

"Miss Zlata, everything is clean and straightened. The Barefoot Lounge is ready for business!" Raz exclaimed.

"Hi guys!" Zlata said as she looked around the room. "The place looks fabulous! Good job!"

Zlata stopped next to Raz and O and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. O's face turned three shades of red. The kiss did not seem to bother Raz.

Zlata then looked at both Raz and O. "I really am proud of you two for graduating from the academy last week. I know at some point you will be too busy with your investigative work to help me out. I just want you to know that I will understand. Your future is far more important than this old place."

O was the first to speak: "Don't worry, Zlata, we will be around to help out as long as we can. The Barefoot Lounge is like home to us."

Zlata looked over at the clock. "Well, it is 11 a.m. It's time to open up for the lunchtime crowd. Can I get you something to eat before you leave?"

Raz and O looked at each other and then back at Zlata.

"Yes," Raz exclaimed. "Our usual. A big fat cheeseburger, french fries and a chocolate malt!"

Zlata just laughed. "I should have known. I'll have the cook prepare it for you. By the way, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

O pretended to be businesslike. "We have a meeting with Police Chief Bailey. It's kind of like an orientation for our new line of work."

"Excellent!" Zlata answered as she started to head back toward the kitchen. Before she got to the kitchen door, she turned and said, "Again, I am very proud of both of you!"

Raz and O felt goose bumps all over when Zlata said that. You see, it was not long ago when they had doubts about their future. Though Raz and O were not related, they were the same age. They were always in the same class at school on the small island of Sandal Pointe and hung around together. And they were always the biggest boys in the class. Sometimes, at that age, boys can be very self-conscious, in particular if they were considered a little overweight. Not Raz and O. They were proud of their largeness and loved to jest about it.

"Hello, o round one," O would say.

"Hello back at you, my plump and chubby buddy," Raz would reply.

That kind of dialogue went on all day long, as they would find humor in their physical appearance. Then one day as they were walking home from school, the usual banter was going on.

"Your body has girth!" Raz hollered out loud.

O stopped and said, "I have never heard that word before, my stout friend." O looked down at his stomach. "Indeed, my girth is superior!"

"I also have girth!" Raz shot back as he rubbed his stomach.

O seemed delighted with the new word. "Yes, we are the Brothers of Girth!"

"The Girth Brothers," Raz said as he lowered his eyeglasses. "Now that has a nice ring to it."

"It certainly does, my overweight friend. From now on, we shall call ourselves the Girth Brothers!"

"RAH!" Raz roared back at O.

Ever since that day, Raz and O were known to the people of Sandal Pointe as the Girth Brothers.

After high school, both Raz and O were desperate to be a part of the local police force, but neither could pass the required physical exam. It was Police Chief Bailey who suggested the boys become private investigators. The requirements were not as strict, and they could still be a part of the criminal justice system. Within a year after graduating from high school, they graduated from the local police academy as private investigators. Raz and O wasted no time in forming their own business and with pride named it, "The Girth Brothers – Private Investigators."

Zlata, the owner of the Barefoot Lounge down by the Sandal Pointe Harbor, met Raz and O five years ago when they were entering high school. The Barefoot was a favorite of the locals and all that passed through the harbor. Zlata hired Raz and O to do general cleaning before and after school. She made sure that they were both home by dinner and she would not let them work the next day if she found out their homework was not done the night before. Raz and O had a few extra dollars in their pockets and they learned the meaning of an honest day's pay. And now that they were full-fledged private investigators, they were eager for their first case.

"Hey O, have you heard the reports of the missing dock workers?" Raz muttered as he swallowed a bite of his cheeseburger lunch. O was too busy devouring his food.

After a few seconds, O looked up and over at Raz, "I'm sorry Raz. Did you say something?"

Raz just shook his head and said, "I'm sure if I mentioned the words cheeseburger and fries, you would have heard me."

O's eyes lit up. "Cheeseburgers and fries! You know those are my three favorite words in the whole wide world."

Raz took another bite and asked again, "Have you heard the reports of the missing dock workers?"

O responded with a full mouth of food: "Yes, I have. What do you make of it?"

"Maybe this could be our first big case," Raz answered as he finished his burger. "Let's ask Chief Bailey about it when we see him this afternoon."

"Good idea. The Girth Brothers might have their first case!" O laughed as he downed the last drop of his chocolate malt.

Raz also laughed and nodded as he wiped the remains of his cheeseburger from his chin.

****

Just outside the Barefoot Lounge, a tall man dressed in ragged clothing stood near the front door, his face half covered with a scarf. He gazed inside and was quick to inspect the main room. The lone people he saw were the owner and two of her workers, the two fat ones. The tall man began to chuckle to himself. He then heard a soft whistle coming from behind him. He turned and saw a man wearing a long, black coat walk toward him. The man approached the tall man and stood beside him. The tall man, without a word, pointed inside at Raz and O.

The man in the long, black coat put his arm around the tall man and said, "Don't worry, my friend. I already have our next subject in mind. The dock workers have served our purpose. Now it is time for someone with more than half a brain, but it will not be those two idiots!"

The man motioned for the tall man to follow him. They headed north toward the island's little-known marshlands.

Inside, Raz and O were clearing the table. Little did they know that they would soon meet up with the mysterious men!
Chapter 2

Raz and O met with Police Chief Bailey that afternoon. Since it was now almost the end of October and the busy summer season behind them, the chief gave them a few hours of his undivided attention. He educated Raz and O on Sandal Pointe police protocol and procedures. He even drove them around the island and lectured them on the cases that were under investigation. Raz and O were eager to listen as Chief Bailey filled them in on the important aspects of each case. As they drove near the marshlands on the north end of the island, Chief Bailey stopped the car and put it in park. The ocean lay just ahead.

"The water seems a little rough today," Chief Bailey said as he rolled down the driver's window.

"I hear we have some bad weather coming our way," Raz said.

"We have been pretty lucky this fall," O chimed in.

Raz and Chief Bailey knew O was right. The fall season of 1955 had been nothing short of spectacular. With the daytime temperatures still hanging in the 80s and the ocean temperature still in the low 70s, October thus far had been a month to remember. Every weekend, people from miles around took advantage of the summerlike weather. Sales surged at the local shops. The activity down by the docks and in town was vibrant.

"Would you look at that?" Chief Bailey muttered as he turned his head and pointed to his left. "Who in the world would hang a sign like that?" The sign read, "DO NOT ENTER THESE MARSHLANDS, OR ELSE!"

"Or else, what?" Raz asked out loud as he lowered his eyeglasses to read the sign.

The three of them were now looking left toward the mysterious marshlands. The marshlands on the north end of Sandal Pointe were dark and sinister-looking. The brush and trees were so dense and thick, it was just about impossible to travel through this eerie, swampy area. Over the years, it had been rumored that people had wandered into the marshlands, never to return. But those rumors had never been confirmed.

"It has to be some kids playing a prank," the chief said as they continued to stare into the marshlands. "And it looks like they have posted these signs all up and down the marshland border." The chief said as he pointed to other signs that were nailed up to other trees that lined the marshlands. "I guess I have to have one of my men come up here and remove them. They are not signs that have been approved."

O almost heard the last comment the chief made as he turned his attention back toward town. Just less than a quarter-mile from the marshlands, workers were laboring on the lower foundation of what would be a large new house.

"I guess that is going to be the home of the new doctor?" O asked out loud, not expecting an answer from the other two.

Chief Bailey forgot the signs for a moment. "Yes, O. They just started construction a few days ago." The chief said as he looked at his watch. "Well, it's time we got back to the station. I need to get a few things done."

Chief Bailey put the police car into drive and started to drive back to town.

When they arrived at the police station, Chief Bailey led Raz and O back into his office. Raz could not wait any longer: "Chief, have you heard the rumors that some of the dock workers have been reported missing?"

The chief sat down in his chair and looked at Raz. "Yes, I have. We first got word of the missing workers about a week ago." He then looked at both of them. "I have one of my men working on the case, but so far he has come up with nothing. Have you two got any ideas to offer?"

Both Raz and O took a step forward with broad smiles on their faces.

"Yes chief, we have an idea," O said. "I'm sure you have heard that Dr. Chickenman has retired."

Chief Bailey leaned forward in his chair. "Yes, I have heard that Dr. Chickenman just retired out of the blue. What about it?"

Raz then took a step in front of O and said, "We believe the missing dock workers and Dr. Chickenman's unexpected retirement, as you just called it, have something in common."

"Go on," the chief said.

"On the day that the doctor closed his practice and retired, a note was put on his office door in town saying he had gone out of business," Raz started. "The very same morning, a pile of boxes were delivered to the local hospital. In these boxes were his patients' charts and personal information."

O continued from there, "There have been rumors flying around that Dr. Chickenman has been conducting private experiments late at night. Raz and I believe that these experiments and the missing dock workers are somehow related."

Chief Bailey sat back in his chair and just looked at Raz and O. After a few seconds, the chief spoke. "All right, you might have a point, but we don't have enough evidence to start pointing the finger at the good doctor. But I will tell you this, if you can come up with some concrete leads to pursue this idea you two have, I'll be the first one to knock on Dr. Chickenman's door."

Raz and O both said at the same time, "We won't let you down, Chief!"

"OK. Report back here when you have any info. And by all means, be careful!"

"Yes, Chief!" Raz and O responded in unison as they left his office.

As Raz and O left the police station, they turned, looked at each other, and gave each other a high-five.

"OK, O, we have to find some dirt on Chickenman. Where do we start?" Raz asked.

"We start at the beginning. We find out when he got here and go from there." O responded. "But first, we need to go home and get a good night sleep, and then after work tomorrow morning, we'll start digging up some dirt!"

Raz seemed giddy. "Hey O, this could be our very first case! Pretty cool, huh?"

O just smiled back at Raz, "Yeah, pretty cool."

****

The next morning, Raz and O arrived at the Barefoot Lounge at their usual time, 8 a.m. When they got there, they found the front door already open. As they walked in, Zlata was sitting at a table near the front door talking to Chief Bailey. Raz and O could tell that something was wrong by the look on Zlata's face. Chief Bailey saw them walk in and motioned them over.

"Hi guys. It looks like we have another missing person case," Chief Bailey said. "It seems that Zlata's guitar player, Mac, did not show for work last night. We went over to his house and he's not there. It looks like he never made it home from here two nights ago."

Zlata spoke next, "Mac has never missed a day of work since he has started here. That is why I called Police Chief Bailey."

Both Raz and O nodded.

"So you see, I am worried that Mac is in some sort of danger. It is not like him to miss work and not tell anyone," Zlata said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Chief Bailey glanced over at Zlata and said, "The guys here have a theory on the missing people. Go ahead and tell Zlata what you told me yesterday."

Raz and O told Zlata everything they told the chief the day before. After they were finished, Zlata looked at the two of them and asked, "First, how do you know all this information, and furthermore, do you think Mac was kidnapped by Dr. Chickenman?"

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and responded, "We know this because this is what we do. We have to be aware of all surroundings. And yes, we think Mac's disappearance and Dr. Chickenman's late-night experiments could be related."

O looked at Raz and asked, "We do?"

Zlata seemed more worried now. "What do we do? How do we find out if Dr. Chickenman is the reason these people are missing?"

O blurted out, "We have to go up to Dr. Chickenman's mansion and find out."

Raz looked at O and asked, "We do?"

O fired back at Raz, "Come on Raz! This could be our big break and our very first case as private investigators. We can't pass this up!"

Raz changed his look. "WE DO! RAH!"

Chief Bailey got up from the table and said, "OK, you guys are on the case. There's no better time to start your new line of work than right now."

Zlata also got up from the table and went over and gave them a big hug. "I'm so proud of you two with your new business!"

Raz again lowered his eyeglasses and looked at Zlata. "It was you, dear Miss Zlata, who taught us the meaning of hard work equals good pay. We can't thank you enough for letting us two rotund individuals sweep your floors and take out your trash. It gave us purpose!"

Chief Bailey interrupted, "After you guys finish your work here this morning, I want you to stop by the police station this afternoon. I'll get you ready for your visit to Dr. Chickenman's place. I don't think we have much time to lose, so I want you to be ready to go tonight."

"I will get some supplies ready," Zlata offered as she leaned over and kissed O on the cheek. O's face turned bright red.

Raz saw O's face and blurted, "C'mon O. Let's get to work here. We have a big day ahead of us!"

****

Later that night, at 11 p.m. on the button, Raz and O met Chief Bailey at the Barefoot Lounge. Zlata had everything ready for them. Armed with only a couple of flashlights, matches in case the flashlights failed, and some rope, Raz, O, and Chief Bailey set off in search of Mac.

As the chief drove Raz and O up toward Chickenman's mansion, he reminded them of the procedures of a stakeout. "Remember, we do not enter the premises unless we have undisputable evidence. We don't need a lawsuit because of our carelessness." Raz and O both agreed with the chief as they continued to drive toward the marshlands.

The nighttime sky was clear that night. The moon was almost full and the stars filled the sky. As they got near Chickenman's place, the chief slowed the car down to a stop. They were about a quarter of a mile away. "From here we will walk," the chief said as he put the police car in park.

Within minutes, Raz, O, and Chief Bailey were standing in front of Dr. Chickenman's gigantic mansion.

"Man, this is a big place," O said as he looked up toward the top of the structure.

"Let's walk around and inspect the sides and the back." Chief Bailey said as he motioned Raz and O to follow him.

When they reached the back of the enormous mansion, Raz paused, looked up, and lowered his eyeglasses. "Hey, guys. Look at that!" he said as he pointed to an upper window.

Chief Bailey and O gazed up to where Raz was pointing. They saw lights flashing through the upper window. As they continued to look at the window, they started to hear loud noises coming from the inside.

"What do you think, Chief?" Raz asked as they looked away from the window and at each other.

"There is still not enough evidence to just barge in, but we will go back around to the front and I will knock on the door. I would like to speak to the good doctor," the chief said.

O turned on his flashlight and started to walk away from the group. He stopped near the lower back door. He bent down and reached for something that was lying on the ground.

"O, you might want to turn off the flashlight. We can see pretty well out here tonight. The moon is almost full," Chief Bailey said as he walked over to where O was.

O stood up and held his hand out. "What do you make of this, Chief?"

Chief Bailey looked down at what was in O's hand. He reached down and grabbed it. He turned on his flashlight and inspected it. "It looks like a capo."

"A what?" both Raz and O said in unison.

"A capo," the chief continued. "You clamp it down on guitar strings and it changes the sound of the guitar."

The three of them just looked at each other, eyes wide.

"It must be Mac's!" Raz blurted in an excited voice.

O turned back on his flashlight and started to look around again. As he got closer to the back door, he noticed a little black bag lying near where he found the capo. He picked it up and opened it. His eyes grew wide as he shone the light into the bag.

"Uh, Chief Bailey," O stuttered as he handed the bag to him.

Chief Bailey looked at the contents of the bag. His hands started to shake. "They're guitar picks!"

"I don't think Dr. Chickenman was a guitar player," Raz said as he, too, looked at the picks that were in the bag. "Mac must have dropped these things before he was dragged into Chickenman's place." Raz then turned and pointed toward the lower back door. "They must have taken him through this door!"

Chief Bailey put the capo into the bag of guitar picks and looked at Raz and O. "OK, I am now going around to the front door. I want to talk to Dr. Chickenman. I want you two to find another way in. I suggest you try this lower back door first. And please, be quiet about it. I don't want Chickenman to know of your presence."

Chief Bailey took the bag and walked back around to the front of the structure. Raz and O looked at each other and then looked at the lower back door.

"OK, O. Let's make Chief Bailey proud of us," Raz said as he started toward the door. O nodded and followed Raz. When they reached the lower back door, Raz reached down and turned the door handle. They found the door unlocked!
Chapter 3

Raz and O entered through the lower back door of Dr. Chickenman's mansion. It was pitch black inside. Raz leaned over and whispered to O, "Hey O. Do you think we should use our flashlights?"

"Good idea," O responded.

They both turned on their flashlights and pointed them around the room. The bottom of Chickenman's mansion was large and open. It was damp, musty, and cold. The ceiling was 12 feet high with cobwebs that seemed to fill the room.

"This is one, creepy place." Raz said as he shone his flashlight toward the ground. A mouse scurried by their feet.

"Chickenman not only needs a maid but also an exterminator," O offered as he pointed his flashlight straight ahead. "Come on, Raz. Let's see what's up ahead."

Raz kept his flashlight pointed toward the floor as they walked forward. "I hope mice are afraid of the light," he said, his hands now shaking.

After about 20 steps, Raz and O stopped. Just ahead of them were two dark passageways.

"Well?" Raz asked as he looked over at O.

"OK. We have to split up. I'll take this opening," O said, indicating the right passageway. He then pointed to the left: "Why don't you try that one?"

Raz nodded and the two separated. O watched Raz disappear into his tunnel. O then started to walk into his. After a few minutes, O stopped and sniffed the air. He was starting to smell smoke. He continued to walk forward and then came to an abrupt stop. The smoke was getting thicker, but this time he also started to hear a humming sound coming from above. As he continued, the sound got louder, and a faint light was now visible through the smoke above.

When O reached the tunnel's end, he looked around. The sound was louder and the light above was much brighter. On the right wall of the tunnel, O saw a large wooden door frame. The smoke was now very dense as he went over to inspect the frame. O could tell the door itself was made of solid rock, just like the tunnel walls. O turned back around and through the smoke he saw a metal ladder attached to the left tunnel wall.

O went over to the ladder and looked up. The light above was growing brighter. O grabbed the ladder rung above his head and started to climb up the ladder. He continued up through the smoke until he came to a railing. Reaching up, O peered his round, beady eyes above the railing. Smoke was billowing everywhere.

"Drats!" he exclaimed. "I can't see anything!" He tried to lift himself higher to scamper over the railing, but his weight was too much to handle the task by himself.

O was still hanging on the railing when he heard a voice below him.

"Hey, O!" O recognized the voice. It was Raz!

"Up here, you girth!" O yelled back.

Raz climbed his way up the ladder toward O. "How in the world did you get up here by yourself?" Raz asked, looking confused.

O answered, "I used my girth to propel me up here, just like you did."

"I guess having a little girth has its advantages," Raz shot back. "What do you see up here, besides smoke? And what is that noise?"

"I can't see anything yet, and that noise is getting louder and louder." O said. "Push me over this top rail so I can get a better look."

Raz lowered his black-rimmed eyeglasses and looked at O. "Push you over the top rail? Are you nuts?! I'm just getting over my last hernia when I had to lift you over something."

O did not hesitate: "Push me now!"

Raz reached underneath O and gave his mightiest shove. Raz hurled O over the top rail and into the thick smoke above.

Seconds passed without a sign or sound from O. Raz started to get a little panicky.

"Hey, O. Are you all right?"

O appeared over the top railing and looked down at Raz. "Holy moly, Raz! You must have put all your girth behind that shove. I shot over the railing like a big, fat cannonball!"

Raz again lowered his eyeglasses and looked straight at O. "Never underestimate the strength of a girth. Now help me over this railing!"

Once over the railing, Raz and O found themselves in a thick cloud of smoke. The loud humming sound and the lights were now straight ahead. They made their way toward them. As they got closer, Raz and O heard a laugh that made them stop in their tracks. Far across the room, they were now able to make out the profile of a man. Raz knew in an instant who the person was. It was the ominous figure of Dr. Chickenman! Dr. Chickenman stood a little less than 6 feet tall and was wearing a long, white laboratory coat.

"Hey O, do you see who I see?" Raz asked as he pointed toward Chickenman.

O squinted in the direction that Raz was pointing. "Where? Who? I can't see a thing through this smoke."

"You're as blind as a bat!" Raz responded. "And may I say a bat with girthhh! Please remind me to remind you to get some eyewear when we get out of here. Straight ahead is Chickenman!"

O's vision was now starting to become clearer. He focused his eyes in the direction where Raz was pointing. He now saw Chickenman moving around.

"What is he doing?" O asked, still focusing his eyes.

"I'm not sure. Let's get a little closer," Raz said as he nudged O to follow him.

Raz and O found their way to the other side of the room and hid behind a pile of crates that were stacked three high. They then saw something that made them just about cry out.

"Hey O!" Raz exclaimed in a hushed voice. He pointed toward the middle of the room. "There's Mac!"

In the middle of the gigantic room was a table. Raz and O could tell that Mac was tied to the table with straps that crossed his upper body and around his ankles. The table was connected to two large machines on either side that were creating the humming noise. Behind the table and the two machines was a container three-quarters full of liquid. Chickenman was putting a weird helmet on Mac's head. The helmet had coils attached that stretched all the way up to the container of liquid.

As Raz and O watched, another figure entered the room.

"Raz, who is that tall individual standing behind Chickenman?" Just then O's jaw dropped. "Is that who I think it is? Is that Slab?"

Raz looked at O with astonishment. "I believe you are right. But I thought he was dead? I thought he vanished during that nor'easter we had last year. The locals said he was down at the docks when the storm hit, and Slab sacrificed his own life trying to save countless dock workers from all the heavy winds and rain. After Slab guided the workers to a safe place, he rushed back to the docks and continued to search for people. That's when the tidal wave hit! That tidal wave flooded the town for over a week. Slab was credited with saving over 20 lives that day, but Slab's body was never recovered."

O looked at Raz and said, "Chickenman must have saved him somehow. Now Slab must be indebted to Chickenman!"

Raz fought back his emotions. "OK, we have to figure out how to save Mac. We need to get closer."

With those words, O started to move toward Chickenman, Slab, and Mac.

"Hey, O, hold on. Let me turn on this flashlight to see better through this smoke."

O responded, "No, you idiot! Chickenman and Slab will see us." O then pulled out the matches that Zlata had given them. "Maybe we can light a fire and cause a distraction."

"OK, I'll light a match over here by these crates," Raz offered. "Give me something to light."

O reached into his pockets and found some crumbled napkins from the Barefoot Lounge.

"Here, Raz. Light these and put them on top of the crates. Then follow me over behind Mac." O pointed to an opening that was about five yards behind Mac, out of view to Chickenman and Slab.

Raz took the wad of napkins and lit a match to them. He was quick to lay the burning paper on the boxes in front of him. Looking down to his left, Raz noticed pieces of straw scattered on the floor. "Hmmm," he thought to himself. "I'll put these with the napkins and create a larger fire. O will like this idea." Raz grabbed a handful of straw and put it on top of the burning napkins. Raz then followed O through the smoke.

Chickenman and Slab were too busy working on Mac to notice Raz and O moving around the room. The smoke was still very thick, and the machines that were connected to Mac were now operating at a higher level than before. The machines and the large container of liquid were beginning to vibrate. Mac's body was beginning to shake as he lay on the table. Raz and O made it to the opening behind Mac without being seen, and were now close enough to hear Chickenman's voice.

"We are now reaching the critical point in this experiment," Chickenman exclaimed to Slab. Chickenman pointed to a gauge that was connected to one of the machines. "When the needle on that gauge reaches the top, the experiment will be complete. Mac's brain cells will be transferred from his mind into the large container of brain matter." Chickenman pointed toward the massive tank that was connected to the machines. "Once Mac's brain cells are transferred to the tank, I will have the most powerful weapon known to mankind. This weapon will have the capacity to destroy anything it is pointed at. This energy will soon be used to conquer the world!"

Raz and O looked at each other with fear in their eyes. "My goodness!" Raz exclaimed in a hushed voice. "We have to stop them now!"

As Raz and O pondered their next move, the fire they started was growing bigger. All of a sudden, they heard an explosion, prompting Raz and O to look at each other.

"Holy Moses! Those crates must contain dynamite!" Raz yelled, not thinking that Chickenman and Slab could now hear them.

In that instant, Chickenman and Slab's eyes were fixed on Raz and O. Chickenman motioned to Slab to go for them. As Slab moved toward them, Chickenman ramped up the machines in hope of finishing Mac's brain transfer.

As Slab moved closer, Raz stood up and yelled, "Come on O! Let's give this guy some Girth power!"

With a head start, Raz raced toward Slab, slid feet first and leg-whipped Slab, a much larger man. Slab went down hard. As Slab lay on the ground, another explosion occurred, much louder than the first. Fire started to spread throughout the room, moving at a tremendous pace toward Chickenman and Mac.

Slab, conscious but dazed, started to get up. Seeing Slab rise from the floor, O dashed toward him and catapulted himself into mid-air, doing a flying wedge into Slab's midsection. Slab went down again, this time unconscious. Raz lowered his eyeglasses and looked at O with a smile.

Meanwhile, the fire raced toward Chickenman, prompting him to abandon the experiment and get out before he was attacked and captured. Chickenman flipped a switch on one of the machines and watched as the liquid started to disappear from the large container. He then looked at Raz and O and exclaimed, "Behold, my fat, adventurous friends. It is time for me to go, but we shall meet again!" Chickenman then let out a loud, hideous laugh as he vanished through the smoke and fire.

As Raz and O started to feel the effects of the fire's smoke, they ran over and untied Mac. They lifted him off the table and started back toward the railing. When they got to the railing, Raz tied their rope around Mac. After O went down the ladder first, Raz, with care, lowered Mac down toward O. When Mac was safe and down with O, another crate of dynamite exploded! The entire room was now in flames. Raz hopped up onto the rail and grabbed the top rung of the ladder. He shot a glance back towards Slab. Slab was gone! There was nothing more Raz could do, or see for that matter. He went down the ladder toward O and Mac.

Raz and O fought their way back through the tunnel, with O carrying Mac over his shoulders. Just as they reached the tunnel's end, they felt a massive rumbling from above. The walls started to shake and crumble. They hurried toward the lower back door of the mansion. Just as they reached the door, the tunnel behind them started to collapse. Raz and O ran out the door, carrying Mac with them.

Chief Bailey was waiting just outside the back door as Raz, O, and Mac came barreling out.

"What in the world happened?" the chief started. "I was knocking on the front door and then all of a sudden I heard an explosion. And then two more!"

O laid Mac on the ground and spoke, "We were right, Chief. Chickenman was getting ready to suck Mac's brains out of his head. We got there just in time!"

Chief Bailey looked astonished. "I can't believe it. Come on. Let's get a little farther away from this place. It looks like it's going to burn to the ground. I just called the police and fire departments on my radio. They're on their way."

As the four of them distanced themselves from the burning mansion, they turned around and watched in horror as the mansion became engulfed in flames.

"Hey," Raz yelled as the fire raged throughout the mammoth structure. "Look up at the top of the mansion!"

There at the very top of the burning mansion stood Chickenman and Slab, staring down at them!

"I got a very bad feeling about this," Raz exclaimed.

"Me too," O answered.

As soon as O finished his sentence, another explosion occurred, 10 times louder than the first three. Raz, O, and Chief Bailey watched in shock and awe as the gigantic structure started to disintegrate. The fire and heat became too great and the mansion started to crumble to the ground, taking Chickenman and Slab with it!

Raz and O watched as the last of the gigantic mansion pillars collapsed in a heap of fire and smoke. It seemed odd to them that Chickenman and Slab would be foolish enough to go to the top of the burning mansion only to perish. But there was no time to think about that now. They had to get Mac back to town and to a hospital. They could only hope that they rescued him in time before Chickenman completed the brainwashing process.

Tire and exhausted, Raz and O waited for the ambulance that would take them and Mac back to town. They knew their very first job had been a success. They beamed with confidence and knew this confidence would be needed if they were to be successful in their future work. What they did not know is that this would not be the last time they would have a run-in with Chickenman and Slab!
Chapter 4

As Raz and O walked home from the hospital that night, they both had a funny feeling about the sight of Chickenman and Slab on top of the burning mansion. Yes, they rescued Mac from a hideous outcome, but something did not seem right.

They had just left Mac at the local hospital, where Zlata met them and said she would stay and watch over Mac until morning. The doctor on staff seemed to believe that whatever Chickenman was doing to Mac, the experiment did not succeed. Mac had become conscious at the hospital and was acting like he had no idea what had happened to him. He just remembered walking home a few nights ago and then everything was a blank. Everyone seemed relieved that Mac was feeling normal, and Zlata in particular was grateful to both Raz and O. While they were still at the hospital, Police Chief Bailey told Raz and O that the fire department fought hard to save Chickenman's mansion, but the fire was too great and burned all but the lower part of the structure to the ground. Now, walking home, Raz and O were trying to figure out the reason why Chickenman and Slab were at the top of the mansion as it was destroyed.

"Hey O. Why do you think those two knuckleheads went to the top when they knew the mansion was going to collapse?" Raz asked.

O thought long and hard for a moment. Then a light seemed to go on in his head. "Maybe they had an escape route. You know, a way out through the fire!"

Raz stopped and looked at O. "O, you might have something there. You mentioned there was a door at the end of your tunnel. Remember, the one you said had the large wooden door frame. Maybe Chickenman and Slab escaped through that door." Raz paused and thought for a moment. "I wonder what is on the other side of that door?" he said.

"It could be another tunnel!" O yelled out loud.

Raz and O were giddy about the prospect of other hidden tunnels that could be uncovered. But they knew they were tired and needed rest. They would have to wait until later that morning to begin their next adventure.

As they continued toward their apartment, O started to reflect. "Raz, can you believe all that has happened to us in the last few weeks?"

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and didn't say a word. He knew exactly what O meant. It was just a few weeks ago that Raz and O decided to move in to their own place. With the help of their parents, they rented a small apartment near the center of town. With just two bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and a bath, they proudly named their new residence "The Girth Shelter." Then last week, much to the delight of their families, they graduated from the police academy as private eyes.

"You're right, O. The last few weeks have been pretty eventful. And last night was the cherry on the cake!" Raz exclaimed as they were now getting close to home.

"Oh, man, you just made me hungry!" O said, laughing out loud.

As they turned the last corner and started to head down their street, Raz noticed something odd on their front steps.

"Hey O! Look!" Raz exclaimed as he pointed toward the front of their apartment. They both stopped and stared at a very large man lying on their top step.

"Who do you think that is?" O asked, squinting to see the man.

"I don't know, but I think we should sneak up on him from two sides," Raz offered.

"I agree. I'll go this way." O motioned to his right. "You go that way."

They both tiptoed their way toward the man. When they got within a few feet, the man rolled over and made a loud yawn. In that instant, Raz and O propelled themselves onto the man, who was stunned and let out a scream.

"Help me! Help me! I'm being attacked! Somebody help me!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

While Raz and O had him pinned on the steps, Raz yelled back, "What are you doing on our front steps at this hour of the night? And what is your name?"

The man stopped fighting back and looked up at Raz and O. "I was tired and I needed some rest. And my name is Buffalo!"

Buffalo lay there in a daze as he tried to explain the events that led him to Raz and O's front steps.

"I use to be the train conductor at Mother Goose Land until last night when I got laid off. I was so tired, and I needed some rest. Your steps just seemed so comfortable. I had nowhere else to go," Buffalo finished as he stared at Raz and O.

"Why didn't you go to your own home?" O demanded.

Still dazed, Buffalo just looked at them and said, "They use to let me sleep in Little Bo Peep's place. But since I don't work there anymore, they wouldn't let me stay there."

Both Raz and O always had a soft spot for a sob story. Raz just looked at Buffalo and said, "Listen here, Buffalo. You may come inside and rest on our couch tonight, but in the morning you will have to leave because we have some official business to take care of."

O chimed in, "That's right. We have to go up and explore the ruins of Dr. Chickenman's mansion. We need to see if there are any other secret passageways that might lead us to where he might be."

Raz looked disgusted at O as he blurted out their intentions for the next morning. Buffalo, who wore eyeglasses just like Raz, jumped up with his eyes wide open as O announced their plans.

"Please, please take me with you!" Buffalo started to ramble. "I am very good at finding things. I once found my missing dog that ran away. No one else could find him, but I did."

"Where did you find him?" Raz asked.

"He was underneath my bed. He always went under there when he was missing."

Raz and O looked at each other. Raz nodded for O to follow him.

"You stay there, Buffalo. O and I need to talk about this situation."

Buffalo brightened. "Hey, your name is O? How about you?" Buffalo asked as he looked at Raz.

"My name is Raz. Just stay there a minute, OK?"

Raz and O walked a few feet away from Buffalo. Raz lowered his spectacles and spoke to O. "I'm not sure we need a tag-a-long with us in the morning. We have some serious work to do."

O looked back at Buffalo, who was sitting upright with a big, wide smile on his face. "Raz, look at him. He looks so innocent sitting there. Getting fired from Mother Goose Land must have been traumatic for him. He needs a new outlook on life. He needs us!"

Raz paused for a moment and said, "All right, we'll take him along with us this time. Maybe he could be of some use as we search the ruins. Let's tell him."

Before Raz and O could turn around, Buffalo, who had overheard everything they said, leaped onto the two of them and gave them a big hug.

"Thank you, thank you very much!" Buffalo said as he held onto them.

"OK, Buffalo! You can let go of us. We are both tired and we need our rest. Say, how did you hear us from over there?" O asked.

"I have exceptional hearing. I can hear a pin drop from a mile away. It's like I have extra large eardrums in this melon head of mine."

"I don't doubt it," Raz responded. "Like I said, you can sleep on the couch tonight. We'll wake you when we are ready to leave."

Buffalo jumped up and down and started to do a little dance around Raz and O. "Oh boy! I will not let you down. Maybe we can be a team forever! Maybe from now on we can be Raz, O, and Buffalo!"

Raz looked at Buffalo and said, "Right now, I will settle for Winken, Blinken, and Nod. Now let's go in and get some sleep!"
Chapter 5

As Zlata wiped down the last table before she opened the Barefoot Lounge, she thought about the story Raz and O had told her. She wondered what could have happened to Chickenman and Slab. It had been a few days since Raz and O rescued Mac from the burning mansion. While Mac had returned back to work, their narrow escape the other night continued to worry Zlata. She wondered what other troubling things could be going on in her quiet seaside community.

Zlata paused again and went over to the window. She looked toward the north end of the island where Chickenman's mansion once stood. She could still see the smoldering smoke rise into the sky. Then she looked past the mansion. Another mile or so farther north, closer to the marshlands, construction continued on another huge building. This one was almost identical in size to Dr. Chickenman's place. The structure had earned the name "The Sandal Pointe Castle" by the locals in town. With Chickenman's place destroyed, the Sandal Pointe Castle was now the largest building on the island. Zlata had heard that a successful doctor from Europe had purchased most of the land near the marshlands and began construction on the immense structure. All she knew of this doctor was his name, Dr. Stine. She could just hope that this doctor would turn out to be a lot friendlier than Dr. Chickenman. Just as that last thought left her head, she heard the back door open.

"Oh, Zlata!"

She knew in an instant to whom the voice belonged. It was O. Zlata felt relieved.

"O!" Zlata exclaimed. As soon as O heard his name, he started blushing.

"My dear Zlata, you look lovely today! And may I say, very refreshing."

"Ah, O. Thank you." She then moved toward him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. O's face turned deep red. "And let me ask you a question. Have you been allowed to inspect the ruins yet?"

O's expression turned serious. "Not yet. But it should be anytime now. Raz is up there with Buffalo waiting for the word."

"Buffalo?" Zlata asked. "Who is Buffalo?"

O told her how they found the despondent Buffalo on their front steps. "Raz and I took him in, and we are making Buffalo an honorary Girth Brother."

Zlata chimed in, "I guess three Girth Brothers is better than two!"

O and Zlata both laughed.

"I just stopped by to see if everything is kind of back to normal here," O continued. "Is Mac back to work yet?"

Zlata answered, "Yes, he came back to work last night. He seems fine. Like nothing ever happened."

"Yeah, right!" O blurted, as he looked up at the clock on the wall. He knew he was on a tight schedule. "I told Raz and Buffalo that I would stop by before I went up to Chickenman's to help out. Chickenman and Slab have to be somewhere. By the way, when is the new doctor arriving?"

Zlata looked at O and answered, "From what I hear, he should be arriving from Europe soon. It looks like his castle is almost finished." Both Zlata and O looked up at the north end of the island. "That enormous building looks almost haunting," said Zlata, who paused, and then said, "I think a ship is arriving any day now from Europe. I hear Dr. Stine is on it."

A thought then occurred to O: "Wasn't Chickenman from Europe?"

Zlata knew O was right. Since the Second World War ended 10 years ago, there had been a steady flow of immigrants arriving by ship from Europe. Sandal Pointe had always been the east coast hub for the shipping industry, and passengers coming from Europe by ship had to land and clear customs in Sandal Pointe. Most of the immigrants who entered the Sandal Pointe Harbor moved on to other parts of the country. Just about all of them were here to start a new life. Once in a while, some of the immigrants settled in Sandal Pointe. That was the case in 1947. A young doctor came over from Europe and stayed. He set up a private practice on the island. As more families acquired cars, they would come from as far as 60 miles away to be tended to by this doctor. This young doctor's name was Dr. Wilhelm Chickenman. Dr. Chickenman built his home on the north end of the island, near the marshlands and just a few miles from the center of town. At the time, Dr. Chickenman's home was the largest structure on Sandal Pointe Island, earning its nickname, "The Mansion."

Zlata looked thoughtful. "You know O, I think you're right. Do you think there could be a connection? Europe is a big place, you know."

O felt a strange feeling come over him. "I think I'll check the town records on Chickenman. Then I'll check with the docks on the arriving ship. I'll let you know what I find out. Gotta go!"

Zlata then gave O another kiss on the cheek as he turned to leave. O turned red again.

"Goodbye O, my hero!" Zlata exclaimed as O rushed out the door.

Before going to Sandal Pointe's records office, O decided that he would first stop by the shipping docks. The docks were closer than the records office, and within minutes O was standing inside the shipping office. The Sandal Pointe Harbor shipping office was small and unassuming. There was nothing on the walls except for a large map of the harbor, and at the moment there was no one in the office. O figured the manager must have been on break or stepped out for a moment. As O waited for someone to show up, he noticed a shipping log on the counter. Since he was alone, he reached toward the counter and opened the log manual. As soon as he started to look through it, the back door of the shipping office opened. In walked a little hunchbacked man about 5 feet tall.

"May I help you, or have you already helped yourself?" the man asked.

O felt a lump in his throat. "I am here to see the shipping manager," he blurted.

"I am the shipping manager, you round piece of flesh!" the shipping manager bellowed.

O composed himself. "I am here to see if you have a ship arriving from Europe anytime soon. I need to find out what part of Europe it is coming from and if you have a passenger list yet."

The shipping manager seemed curious about the request, but started to look for the list anyway.

"Ah, yes. Here it is. It looks like it sailed from England last week with passengers from all over Europe."

O was now feeling more confident. "Is there a Dr. Stine on the ship?" he asked.

The shipping manager scanned the list. "Yes, there is a Dr. Ronald Stine from Berlin, Germany, on the ship." The shipping manager looked up at O and asked, "Is he the doctor that is moving into the new castle up the ways?" The shipping manager pointed toward the north end of the island.

"Yes, he is the one." O answered. "When does the ship arrive, and is there anyone else on the ship from Berlin?"

The shipping manager groaned as he scanned the list again. "No, it looks like the good doctor is the only passenger from Berlin. The ship is to arrive either later today or tomorrow, depending on how rough the seas are."

With that information, O thanked the shipping manager and headed out the door and toward the town records office. His suspicion was now growing that the former Dr. Chickenman and the arriving Dr. Stine were somehow connected!
Chapter 6

Raz and Buffalo stood near the remains of Chickenman's mansion. The fire had consumed the upper floors, but the bottom half of the residence was still intact. Raz had talked to Police Chief Bailey and secured a legal pass for the Girth Brothers to investigate the site. Since Buffalo was now with Raz and O, Chief Bailey gave him permission to tag along as a Girth Brother, P.I.

"Hey Raz!" Buffalo exclaimed. "When is O getting here?"

Raz somewhat heard the question as he surveyed the rubble that just a few nights ago was a gigantic mansion. Raz was wondering what lay beneath the debris.

"I'm sorry, Buffalo. What did you ask?"

Buffalo responded, "I asked, when is O going to get here? I'm anxious to get investigating!"

"O will be here soon. He had to check some things out in town," Raz said as he adjusted his eyeglasses. "I'm going over to talk to Chief Bailey. You stay here and don't get into any trouble!"

Police Chief Bailey had been in charge of the Sandal Pointe Police Department for the last five years. When Raz and O applied to get their private investigators' license, Chief Bailey made sure they were updated on all current police procedures. When he was convinced that they were ready, he gave them a positive endorsement to the head of the investigative agency. When Raz and O graduated from the academy, they were put under the jurisdiction of the Chief of Police.

As Raz approached Chief Bailey, Raz noticed that he was talking to a woman he had never seen before. She had a microphone in her hand as Raz made his way to where they were standing.

"So Police Chief Bailey, do you have any idea if the now infamous Dr. Chickenman survived this horrible tragedy?" the woman asked.

"My dear lady, I am sorry. I did not catch your name," Chief Bailey responded.

"My name is Rita Whittaker, and I am a reporter with the Sandal Pointe Journal," she replied.

Chief Bailey looked straight at her. "Well Miss Whittaker, I believe that Dr. Chickenman and his manservant perished in this horrible tragedy, as you just called it."

Rita did not let up. "But if Dr. Chickenman and his servant died here, how come you have not recovered the bodies?"

Chief Bailey was getting agitated. "The process of recovering any bodies is still going on as we speak. We have not gotten full access to search the ruins. Now if you would excuse me, I have some official business to take care of."

Chief Bailey had noticed that Raz was standing nearby and was glad to get away from the pesky reporter. "Hello, Raz. Thanks for coming." Chief Bailey then motioned Raz to follow him to where no one could hear them. "As you know, we have not found Dr. Chickenman or his servant's remains yet."

"Do you think there is a chance that they escaped the fiery inferno?" Raz asked as they looked at what was left of the mansion.

Chief Bailey shook his head. "I'm not sure. We should soon have total permission from the fire department to start searching through the ruins. I want you and O to head up a team as soon as we have the green light. Is O here?"

"Not yet. But he should be here in a few minutes. I have Buffalo over there keeping an eye out for him." Raz pointed in the direction where he left Buffalo. Chief Bailey looked and saw Buffalo talking to the reporter. "Oh, no!" was the only thing he could get out.

"And you say your name is Buffalo?" Rita asked him as she kept the microphone in front of his mouth.

"That's right! And the Girth Brothers made me an honorary detective, just like them!" Buffalo exclaimed.

"Buffalo seems like a strange name, but you look like you have the size of a buffalo. Tell me Buffalo, your Girth Brothers were here the night of the fire. Do you know what happened to Dr. Chickenman and his servant?"

Buffalo all of a sudden felt a tug on his shirt. It was Raz and Chief Bailey. In an instant, Buffalo saw the look in Raz's eyes.

"Buffalo!" Raz yelled. "You do not talk to reporters unless I tell you to. Is that understood?"

Buffalo glanced at Chief Bailey and realized his predicament. He swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, Raz. This young lady was so nice to me and really seemed to care about me."

Rita interjected, "That is right, Mr. Raz. Your friend Buffalo sounded like he had a good story. Is it true that you and your friend O were the last to see Dr. Chickenman and his servant? I believe his name was Slab?"

"You may call me Raz. There is no mister involved with my name." Raz said. "And Police Chief Bailey does not want anyone talking to the press at this moment."

Chief Bailey continued, "Miss Whittaker, you have to give us time to get all the information that we can. Then at that time we can give it to you."

"All right Chief. I have enough information right now for my next story." Rita turned to Buffalo and said, "Thank you, Buffalo. You have been a big help. Maybe we can meet again sometime." Before Rita turned to leave, she gave Buffalo a big wink. Buffalo's heart started pounding through his chest and he saw hearts flying around his head. Raz looked at Buffalo and could see that he was smitten by the young reporter.

"Hey Buffalo. You just heard her. 'Maybe we can meet again sometime.' You might have yourself a girlfriend." Raz laughed after he said that. "Now pull yourself together and hope that O gets here soon. Chief Bailey just told me we could soon be allowed to go underneath Chickenman's place."

Not too far away from where Raz and Buffalo stood, Rita Whittaker had stopped to adjust her microphone. Rita overheard everything that Raz had just said!

****

As O opened the door leading into the records office, he recognized the sweet smell of perfume. Sally, as usual, was sitting behind her desk working with her normal diligence. She looked up at O and smiled.

"O!" Sally exclaimed. "What honor do I have today?"

O felt another rosy blush come on. "My dear Sally. What lovely perfume you're wearing."

It was Sally's turn to blush. "This old perfume. I call it 'Ode to O'."

O smiled and said, "How appropriate to call something that smells so good after little old me. Thank you."

Sally then asked, "How can I help you today, O?"

O proceeded to tell Sally his theory of Dr. Chickenman and the new doctor arriving on this week's ship. O continued, "I need to find out, if you can, where Chickenman came from. I know that he is not from around here. I just have this gut feeling about the two," O said as he looked down at his large stomach. "No pun intended, of course."

Sally didn't seem to mind the comment. "How long do you think Dr. Chickenman lived in town?"

O thought hard. "I would say at least six to eight years."

"Then you will have to give me time to research this," Sally informed O. "Why don't you check back later today and I should have an answer for you."

O seemed pleased. "Thank you, Sally. I'll be back with Raz before you close. We'll see you then."

"How is my handsome devil?" Sally asked as O was getting ready to leave.

O responded with a sly grin. "You know Raz. Always playing hard to get. But with that perfume you are wearing, I'm sure he won't be able to resist you. Ta ta."

Sally always felt a different kind of feeling when Raz was around. She couldn't wait to see him. She knew he felt the same way, but they were both sort of awkward when together. So, she decided to get that thought out of her mind and start on O's request. On a normal day, this request would fall in line behind her other work. But since it involved Raz and O, this would go straight to the top of the pile.

As Sally sifted through record book after record book, she glanced up at the clock on the wall. "One more hour to go before quitting time," she thought to herself. She then came across an old shipping log dated eight years ago. She opened the log and turned to the section of inbound cargo and passenger ships. Just three ships arrived from Europe that year. She started to look at the passenger lists when she spotted a familiar name. It was Dr. Chickenman! A Dr. Wilhelm Chickenman! As Sally scanned the list, her eyes froze on the entry in front of her. Dr. Wilhelm Chickenman's place of origin was Germany—Berlin, Germany!

Sally's hands started to shake as she read the page. She then calmed herself and took the shipping log over to the copier machine and made a copy for Raz and O. Sally took the log back to her desk and started to make notes, forgetting to grab the copy that was still in the machine. It was getting dark out, and she knew Raz and O would be back soon. She got up and went over to turn the office lights on, and as she was heading back to her desk, she heard the office door start to open behind her. Sally turned and saw a tall figure of a man enter the room. The man's face was partially covered with a scarf. His clothes were burned and tattered. Sally all of a sudden felt very nervous.

"May I help you?" Sally asked as her words trembled.

The stranger reached over and turned off the lights. He then started toward Sally. Sally let out a scream just before her whole world went black!
Chapter 7

When O got back to the site of Chickenman's mansion, he found Raz and Buffalo standing near the ruins.

"O!" Buffalo screamed as he jumped up and down and gave O a big hug. "Where have you been?"

Raz scowled and said, "I told you Buffalo, O had to go into town and check on a few things." Raz then turned to O. "Hey O, what did you find out?"

Still lurking nearby and unnoticed, Rita began to record O's response.

"I went to the records office to find out when Chickenman first arrived in this town. I have Sally checking on that and also where he came from."

Raz's eyes lit up. "Sally?" he asked. "I can float on air just hearing that name." Raz leaped into the air and made his feet cross a few times before he landed.

Buffalo couldn't believe his eyes. "Hey Raz, can you do that again?" he asked.

"Only when he hears the name Sally," O responded.

Raz jumped and crossed his feet a couple of times again.

"Sally, Sally, Sally!" Buffalo yelled.

Raz jumped so high his whole body was above the boys' heads.

"OK, Raz. Come on down from up there. I've got some more news to tell you guys," O yelled.

Raz came down and landed with a twinkle in his eyes. Buffalo couldn't stop laughing. Nearby, Rita looked amazed.

O continued, "I also stopped by the shipping office to see when the next ship is arriving from Europe."

Buffalo stopped laughing and both he and Raz got a serious look on their faces. Rita inched closer.

"It looks like Dr. Stine's ship is arriving either later today or tomorrow. I have a sneaky suspicion that Dr. Stine and Chickenman are somehow connected. Don't ask me how or why, but that is a theory that Zlata and I came up with."

Raz, O, and Buffalo all looked north toward Stine's massive home under construction.

"It really looks like a castle, doesn't it, Raz?" Buffalo asked.

Raz dropped his jaw in awe. "You know what, Buffalo, I think you're right! It looks gigantic! Those workers sure work hard up there. It seems like just last week it wasn't even half built!"

O replied, "It wasn't."

Just as O finished his last word, Chief Bailey came by. "I've got some news. Tomorrow afternoon we can start inspecting the ruins. I need you boys to get some rest before we start. I want you as an independent search team when we begin. I also will need your cooperation with me and the other team that will be searching down there with you."

Buffalo chirped up, "What about me? Can I go?"

Chief Bailey looked at Buffalo. "If Raz and O think it is OK, that's fine with me," the Chief said. He turned to Raz and O and added, "He is your responsibility. No screw-ups! This is official business!"

"Don't worry, Chief. Buffalo won't be a problem," Raz said as he lowered his eyeglasses and looked at Buffalo. "Will you?"

Buffalo tried to appear businesslike. "Don't worry about me. I will make you proud and show you that I can be a Girth Brother!"

"OK. I will see you tomorrow at 1 p.m.," Chief Bailey said as he walked away.

O looked at Raz and said, "Let's go back to the records office and see if Sally has found out anything yet."

Raz did a slight jump and a small pirouette. "I'm all for that!"

Raz landed again with a twinkle in his eyes. The three Girth Brothers then headed off in the direction of the records office.

Meanwhile, Rita started making arrangements to be back at the ruins the next day. She would have to come up with an idea to sneak in behind the search parties when they started. She knew this was an opportunity of a lifetime. The story of the century was at her feet and she knew she had to get it, no matter what!

****

About 10 miles out on the open seas, a huge passenger ship tossed and turned as it made its way toward the mainland. Inside a small, corner cabin near the far end of the ship, a man dressed in a black overcoat sat on his ruffled bed and finished his cup of tea. The fresh aroma of ginger lifted from the cup, filling the room with a most pleasant odor. Waves continued to batter the sides of the ship, causing a chrome-framed mirror to rock back and forth while it hung on the wooden wall in front of him. "It won't be long until I reach my destination," he thought to himself. "I have confirmation that my residence is almost complete. All I have to do now is finish preparing for my arrival. Everything should be in place the minute I arrive. It has been a long time since I have seen him. I look forward to our long, awaited meeting."

Growing drowsy, the man set the cup of tea on the small table next to the bed. "That's funny," he again thought to himself, "I almost don't remember what he looks like. It has been over eight years since I last saw him."

He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes while the vibrating sound from the ship's engines continued to pulsate underneath the floor of his room. This sound only made the man dressed in the black overcoat sleep better.
Chapter 8

As the Girth Brothers made their way toward the town records office, they were eager to find out if the arriving Dr. Stine and the now-missing Dr. Chickenman were somehow related. Halfway to town, they reached the top of a very steep hill. Buffalo turned to the other two and yelled, "Hey guys, watch this!"

Raz and O stopped and watched as Buffalo bent over, tucked himself into a ball, and rolled down the hill. Buffalo rotated like a wheel all the way down to the bottom of the hill, and once at the bottom, he unwound himself, stood up, and looked back up the hill with a huge smile on his face.

"What in the world?" Raz said as he lowered his eyeglasses and looked over at O.

"You got me," was all that O could say.

"Buffalo is very nimble!" Raz said.

Buffalo then yelled from the bottom of the hill, "Come on guys! Let's see if you can do that!"

O reached over and grabbed Raz and said, "We're doing this the old-fashioned way. We are going to walk down this hill!"

Raz and O made their way down to the bottom of the hill where Buffalo was waiting for them.

"You never cease to amaze us, Buffalo," Raz said to Buffalo. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Aw, that was easy. I've been doing that since I was a little Buffalo," he answered with a sly grin.

"Well, maybe one day you can teach us two round ones that technique," Raz responded. Raz then looked at O, "Hey O, on the count of three. Ready?"

"Ready," O answered.

"One, two, three. Pants up!" Raz demanded.

In the same instant, both Raz and O pulled their drooping pants up to their natural positions.

Buffalo was mesmerized. "What did you just do?" he asked.

O responded, "When our pants start sliding down past our girth, we have to pull them up so we feel comfortable again."

Raz continued, "You see, Buffalo, every once in a while our girth pushes our pants so low that our butt cracks start showing. Being the professionals that we are, we can't allow that to happen. When one of us notices the other's butt crack, we count to three and say 'Pants up!' Based on your physique, you should have the same problem."

Buffalo sighed and said, "My pants never did fit me."

O replied, "The next time we count to three, you can pull your pants up, too."

"OK!" Buffalo said with pride.

"All right, we have to get to the records office. Let's go!" O barked as the three of them continued on their quest.

When they arrived at the outskirts of town, they stopped as they noticed a large ship entering the Sandal Pointe Harbor.

"That must be the ship that Dr. Stine is on. It looks like it is right on schedule," O said.

"We don't have much time," Raz shot back. "But first, one, two, three. Pants up!"

All three pulled up their pants in unison.

Buffalo was glowing with pride. "I did it!" he exclaimed.

O didn't seem to hear him. "Let's go!"

With that command, Raz, O, and Buffalo raced off down the street. Within a few minutes, they were at the records office. Looking inside the front door, they noticed that the lights were out.

"Drats!" O exclaimed. "We're too late! Sally must have left before closing time."

Raz once again did a little pirouette when he heard Sally's name.

Buffalo reached toward the door and turned the knob. The door was unlocked. He opened the door and walked in. "Do you guys want to follow me?" he asked with another sly grin.

Raz and O followed Buffalo into the office. O reached for the light switch and turned it on. There before them the whole office was in shambles. Furniture was overturned, and papers were scattered everywhere.

"I don't know about you guys, but I have a bad feeling about this," Buffalo said.

O replied, "Something bad has happened. Sally would never leave her office like this."

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and started to inspect the surroundings. There was no pirouette this time. He realized, like the others, that something was wrong. He started to walk around the office. He then stopped and saw something on the floor that startled him. It was blood!

"Hey O. Come here!"

O made his way over to where Raz was standing. He saw the blood and gasped.

"It doesn't look like a whole lot of blood," O observed.

"But it is still blood!" Raz retorted. Raz then noticed something else. It was Sally's coat and pocketbook. "It looks like Sally left here in a hurry. She didn't take her purse or jacket with her. That is not like her." Raz then turned to Buffalo. "We need to inform Chief Bailey about this. Buffalo, go down to the station and get him."

"I'll be right back," Buffalo said as he headed out the door.

After Buffalo left, Raz and O continued to inspect the situation. "I asked Sally to look in the record books for any information on Chickenman. She must have found something!"

"Or someone stopped her from finding something," Raz said. Raz then noticed the copying machine in the corner of the room. It was still on. He walked over to the machine, looked at it for a few seconds, and saw a piece of paper still sitting in the side tray.

"Hey O. Look at this!"

O walked over as Raz grabbed the piece of paper from the tray. O could tell Raz was holding a copy of a passenger list.

"Sally must have left this copy in the tray by mistake," O said as he looked at the piece of paper.

They scanned the list and saw a name that they were familiar with: Dr. Wilhelm Chickenman. Arrival date: June 4, 1947. Place of origin: Berlin, Germany! Both Raz and O were stunned. They both looked at each other, then at the page again.

"Zlata and I were right. Chickenman and this Dr. Stine are somehow connected. But how?" O asked out loud.

Raz looked at O and said, "We must keep this a secret for now. We can't let Chief Bailey or anyone for that matter know about what we just found. Let's keep this log sheet hidden until we can figure out some more information. In the meantime, we have to find out what has happened to Sally. It looks obvious to me that someone has taken her. But who? And why?"

O thought long and hard. He then said, "Do you think we should go and meet this Dr. Stine before he goes to his new place?"

"I think you're right, O," Raz said. "We'll wait here until Buffalo gets back with Chief Bailey and then we'll go down to the docks. Maybe we can catch him in time."

O nodded in agreement.

As Raz and O waited for Buffalo to arrive with Chief Bailey, they continued to inspect the office for any more clues. With Sally's pocketbook and jacket still in the office, they knew Sally was in trouble. They could only hope that she was all right!
Chapter 9

As the large passenger ship sat in port waiting for clearance, the man dressed in the black overcoat paced back and forth in his cabin. He was anxious to get off the ship and travel to his new residence. He had gotten word before his ship set sail that everything was on schedule and going as planned. He even heard from his contact that the people in Sandal Pointe were amazed at the progress being made on his new place. The locals were even calling this place a castle. The man chuckled to himself when he thought of this. "Let them call my place a castle. Little do they know what is about to take place in this castle. All they know is that I am a doctor who is going to set up my practice and reside on their charming, little island."

He was starting to grow impatient with the clearance of the ship. "This country has too many restrictions," he thought to himself. All of a sudden there was a knock on his cabin door. "Come in," the man said.

The cabin door opened and in walked one of the ship's workers.

"Dr. Stine. I am here to escort you off the ship. I need to take you to customs so you can enter the country according to protocol. I will have someone bring your bags." The worker glanced around and noticed Dr. Stine only had one bag in the cabin.

"This is all I am traveling with, my fine sir," Dr. Stine said. "If you would be so kind as to carry this for me, it would be very much appreciated." Dr. Stine waited for the worker to grab his bag.

"Follow me, Dr. Stine," the worker said.

The worker led Dr. Stine through the corridors of the ship until they arrived at the exit door.

"I will take you and your bag to the customs area. From there you are on your own," the worker said. "I hope you had a pleasant trip, Dr. Stine. Please travel with us again."

Dr. Stine responded with silence. Once at the customs area, the worker said his final goodbye and left the doctor on his own.

Once he had cleared the customs area, Dr. Stine went over and sat on a nearby bench. Many minutes passed without a single person acknowledging him. He started to feel a little uncomfortable. Then he heard a voice behind him say, "Hello, Dr. Stine?" Dr. Stine turned around and saw three rotund individuals standing there.

"Yes. I am Dr. Stine. Whom may I ask are you?"

Raz spoke first, "We are the Girth Brothers. My name is Raz, this is O, and this is Buffalo. We came down here to meet with you before you went up to your place."

Buffalo interjected, "And may we say it is a huge place!"

Dr. Stine fixed his eyes on the Girth Brothers and said, "I am sure my place is not as large as you three. I do not have time to meet with you. I am waiting for my ride. So if you would excuse me, I should be on my way."

O couldn't resist, "Are you waiting for a Dr. Chickenman?"

Dr. Stine projected a cold stare right at O, who could feel Dr. Stine's menacing look go right through him.

"What about Dr. Chickenman?" Dr. Stine demanded.

"He's dead," Buffalo blurted out.

Raz gave Buffalo a hard stare. "What Buffalo meant to say is that Dr. Chickenman had an unfortunate accident the other night. We don't know what happened to him."

Dr. Stine was growing impatient. "What kind of accident?"

"His mansion burned to the ground and we cannot find his remains," O said without much authority.

Dr. Stine was quick to change the subject. "Can you find me transportation to my place? I am very tired from my trip."

"Yes sir, Dr. Stine. I will get you a cab," O said.

"Dr. Stine, if you don't mind me asking while we wait for your cab, what connections do you have with Dr. Chickenman?" Raz asked.

"My dear, fat sir. I never said I had any connection with your Dr. Chickenman. Now I expect you to leave me alone. My trip was very exhausting!" Dr. Stine exclaimed.

Buffalo started to laugh out loud. "Hey Raz, he called you a fat sir. That is funny!"

Now growing irritated, Dr. Stine turned to Buffalo and said, "It is obvious that you have not had a recent look in a mirror! Now be off, all of you!"

As Dr. Stine finished his last words, a cab pulled up next to them. The cab driver leaned over and rolled down the window. "Who needs a cab ride up to the Sandal Pointe Castle?"

That was all Dr. Stine needed to hear. He grabbed his bag and got into the back seat of the cab. All Raz, O, and Buffalo could do was just watch as the cab pulled away. They then turned and looked at each other.

"Something is very, very fishy here." Raz started. "I think we should give Dr. Stine a visit soon. But first we have business to take care of back at the records office. Let's go and see if Chief Bailey has any updated information on Sally."

When they arrived back at the records office, Chief Bailey was still there with a few of his men. So was that pesky reporter, Rita Whittaker. Chief Bailey told the Girth Brothers that he had no concrete leads at the moment. He then reminded them that the search at Dr. Chickenman's place was still on for 1 p.m. the next day. He suggested that they get a good night's rest and be fresh for the search. As Raz, O, and Buffalo were getting ready to leave, Rita approached them when they got near the front door.

"Excuse me, guys, but do you have any idea what happened here today? I mean, this place is a mess. The girl that works here is missing, and there is a trace of blood on the floor."

"How did you get in here?" Raz asked.

"I let myself in," Rita answered.

"We have no answers for you." Raz stated as he turned to O. "Hey O. Let's go over to the Barefoot Lounge and fill Zlata in on the updates."

"Good idea. Buffalo, do you want to come with us?" O asked as he looked at Buffalo.

Buffalo blushed as he answered, "I'll meet up with you guys in a little bit." Buffalo then turned to Rita and asked, "May I escort you back to your office or to your home?"

Rita looked at Buffalo and gave him another wink. "Buffalo, that would be a very gentlemanly thing to do. I accept. It is obvious to me that there is nothing more I can get from anyone here." Rita grabbed Buffalo's arm and motioned him to escort her to the door.

O looked at the two leaving arm-in-arm and said, "I think I am going to be sick."

"Hey Buffalo. We'll be at the Barefoot when you are done being an escort," Raz said.

"Where is that?" Rita asked.

Buffalo answered, "The Barefoot Lounge. It is just a few blocks up the street."

"Oh, I hear that is such a nice place. Would you take me there first?" she asked Buffalo.

Buffalo started to turn three shades of red in front of Raz and O.

"Now I know I'm going to be sick!" O said as he watched Buffalo and Rita head out the door.

"We'll see you two lovebirds there. I think Mac is playing tonight," Raz said as he and O got ready to leave.

As they walked up the street toward the Barefoot Lounge, Raz stopped and looked at O. "I have this sneaky suspicion that Dr. Stine's arrival and Sally's disappearance are somehow connected."

O responded, "I think you're right, Raz. Something doesn't smell right. We can't find Chickenman and Slab's remains. Stine arrives from the very city that Chickeman is from. And now Sally is missing. It all seems to add up to one big, fat, frightful association." O then looked straight at Raz and said, "Don't worry, Raz. We'll find Sally. I promise you!"

****

Far off in a cold, dark place, Sally started to open her eyes. She tried to move, but her hands were tied behind her. In her mouth was an old, soggy cloth that prevented her from making a sound. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. Her head was pounding and she could tell that something was dry and sticky in her hair. She felt hungry. All Sally remembered was working on a project for O. Someone had entered her office and then everything went black. And now here she was. But where? Her eyes were starting to focus a little better, but it was still too dark to see anything. The room she was in felt cold and damp. She started to feel tears run down the side of her cheeks. Sally felt helpless as she lay there in the cold, dark room. Most of all, Sally felt very frightened!
Chapter 10

The Barefoot Lounge was extremely busy that night. When Raz and O showed up, the last table available was near the front door. Zlata saw them when they walked in, so she went over to their table.

"Hi guys! What will it be?" she asked.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and said with respect, "I will have the usual, my dear Miss Zlata."

"Me too," O said with a smile on his face.

"Ok. Two chocolate malts, coming up!" Zlata responded as she bent over and gave them both a kiss on their cheeks. O's face turned deep red again. The kiss did not seem to bother Raz.

As soon as Zlata left, Raz and O heard the front door open behind them. They both turned around and saw Buffalo waltzing in with Rita by his side.

"Hey Raz. Hey O. Do you mind if we join you?" Buffalo asked.

"Have a seat, Buffalo," O said. "We just ordered drinks. You can order yours when Zlata returns."

As Rita sat down at the table, she glanced at the people that were sitting around the room. "This is a wonderful place. Everyone seems so happy to be here."

"The best place in town!" Raz offered.

As soon as Raz finished his comment, Zlata returned with the drinks. "Two chocolate malts for my two favorite Girth Brothers!" she exclaimed. "Oh, and who might your friends be?"

"This is Buffalo, and this is Miss Rita Whittaker. She is a reporter for the Sandal Pointe Journal," O answered.

Zlata looked at them for a second and said, "I've heard about you, Buffalo. How come I've never seen you before?"

"I used to work at Mother Goose Land. I was the train conductor there. They never gave me any time off," Buffalo responded.

"I see," Zlata said as she shifted her focus to Rita. "It is nice to make your acquaintance. My name is Zlata. I am the owner of the Barefoot Lounge."

"It is nice to meet you, Zlata. You have such a wonderful place here," Rita answered.

"What can I get you and Buffalo to drink?" Zlata asked, looking at Rita.

Buffalo was the first to answer, "I'll take what Raz and O are having! I just love chocolate malts!"

Rita then said, "I'll just have an iced tea. Sweetened, please."

"Coming right up!" Zlata said as she turned to go get the drinks.

Rita then turned her attention to Raz and O. "So when do you go and investigate Dr. Chickenman's place? I know it is too late tonight. What time are you going tomorrow?"

Raz and O just looked at each other with disgust. They knew Buffalo had told her some more private information.

"Buffalo! When are you going to keep your mouth shut?" Raz demanded.

"I'm sorry," Buffalo said as he started to slide lower in his seat.

Rita tried to defend Buffalo. "He only told me he was now an honorary Girth Brother and that tomorrow you start a new case. I just assumed this case has to do with Dr. Chickenman and his servant."

Buffalo felt a little relieved that Rita took up for him. He sat up in his chair with a wide smile on his face.

"OK, Buffalo," O said. "I hope you have not told this reporter anything else."

Buffalo answered, "Oh no, O. We have been busy talking about me rolling down the hill and our run-in with Dr. Stine."

A large scowl came over O's face. By this time, Zlata had come back with the rest of the drinks. The four of them sat there in silence until Raz turned to O and whispered into his ear. "You know O, I think this reporter might be able to help us."

"How do you mean?" O asked.

Raz got a little closer to O so the other two could not hear. "Maybe we can send Buffalo and Rita up to Dr. Stine's place tomorrow and have her try to get an interview. We can hide a tape recorder on Buffalo to tape the interview on the sly."

Buffalo jumped up in an instant. "I think that is a great idea, Raz. A most wonderful idea!"

"I forgot you have excellent hearing, Buffalo," Raz said. Then Raz thought of something else. "But you know what, I just had another idea. Maybe Buffalo can come with us tomorrow and help us at the ruins. And Miss Whittaker, if you think you can handle this, it might be a good idea for you to go up to Dr. Stine's place for an interview. He has not seen you and he would not think to turn down a good-looking reporter. Just play the angle of a reporter welcoming a foreigner to our country. I'm sure he would be very obliged to give you an interview."

O agreed and added, "You know what, Raz? Sometimes that girth of a brain has some good ideas in it."

Rita looked at the three of them and said, "All right. I will try that tomorrow. I will give Dr. Stine the option for an interview tomorrow or at his convenience. That way I won't seem too pushy."

With tomorrow's plan in place, the four of them raised their glasses as O made a toast: "Here's to a successful day tomorrow, and above all else, may we find Sally alive and well!"

As the four of them took a sip of their drinks, O noticed that Raz had a saddened look about him. O could tell his lifelong friend was in anguish over Sally's sudden disappearance. O was now determined more than ever to find Sally!

****

With his travel bag in hand, Dr. Stine stood in front of his new home and stared at the front door. The taxi driver had just dropped him off. This had been an odd day, he thought. For weeks his contact had insisted on meeting him when he got off the ship. Instead, it was those three fat detectives who called themselves the Girth Brothers that met him first.

As he stood there, he heard a noise from inside the home. He watched the front door as it started to open. When the door was almost all the way open, a hand reached around the middle of the door. Dr. Stine looked up and saw a man standing there in burned and tattered clothing. "Welcome, my dear cousin Ronald," the man said. "Welcome to your new home."

"Wilhelm?" Dr. Stine asked as he laid down the travel bag he was holding. "Is that you?"

Just then another man, much larger, appeared in the doorway next to Dr. Chickenman. The clothing on the larger man was also ragged and singed.

"Yes, Ronald. It is me. I am sorry I could not..."

As Chickenman finished his last word, a sudden weakness came over him as he slumped back into the arms of the larger man and faded into unconsciousness!
Chapter 11

It was late at night when Chickenman opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the familiar face of his cousin. "Hello, Ronald. I hope your trip was pleasant. I am sorry I could not meet you at the dock. I had the most unpleasant evening a few nights back, and I was not able to meet you. How do you find your new place? In good order, I hope."

"A most pleasant place you have built for me, Wilhelm. When you are ready to show me around, I would like a tour," Stine said as he watched Chickenman.

Chickenman started to rise from his bed. "I am ready, Ronald. We don't have much time, and there is so much to show you. But first, let me look at you. You look just like the last time I saw you. You're even starting to show a little gray in the hair, but that is to be expected."

Stine gave a faint smile. "And you look a little more tattered than the last time I saw you. Three large individuals met me at the docks and told me your place burned down the other night. I presume that is why you did not meet me. They called themselves The Girth Brothers. They definitely fit that description. I pretended I knew nothing of you."

Chickenman thought for a moment and said, "They must be the same fat morons that were responsible for my place going up in flames the other night, but there were only two of them." Chickenman then sat up in bed, swung his legs around toward the floor, and turned to Stine. "Let me put some clean clothes on. Then I need you to follow me."

Chickenman got himself ready and motioned Stine to follow him. When they got outside the bedroom, Slab was waiting for them. Chickenman turned to Stine and said, "This is Slab. He helped me escape from my burning mansion the other night. Slab does not speak, but he is loyal and strong as an ox."

"And where did you get the other servants that are here?" Stine asked.

"They are the product of my experiments. I will show you what I mean," Chickenman said as he led Stine down the long hallway outside of the bedroom. When they reached the end of the hallway, they started down the huge staircase to the floor below. Once down the stairs, Chickenman stopped and looked at his cousin. "When I started building this place, I made sure there were secret passageways underneath. I had them go in two different directions. One passageway led straight to my mansion. I wanted us to be connected in a secretive way." Chickenman then paused and said, "My dear Ronald, I again must offer my deepest sympathies for your recent loss. Words can not begin to comfort the pain you must feel."

Stine gazed into his cousin's eyes and could tell his words were genuine. "Thank you, Wilhelm. She was a beautiful woman and a faithful companion, but now she is gone."

Chickenman then thought of the last letter he received from his cousin detailing the unfortunate events. Stine and his wife were walking home one night from the theater when three men approached them, pulled a gun, and demanded money and jewelry. His wife unwisely tried to fend off the attackers, and the gun discharged, hitting her in the mid-section. The three men ran off into the night as Stine's wife fell back into his arms. In desperation, Stine tried to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. Within minutes, she was dead.

Stine looked away from his cousin as he finished, "For months I grieved her death. I lost interest in my practice, and in the end it failed." Stine then looked back at Chickenman. "That is when I received your letter. I read your words of a machine that you have developed that operates on the brain matter of humans. The same theories that we shared as young adults is now a reality. Wilhelm, I am here to help you with your work!"

Chickenman let out a sinister laugh. "You will, Ronald. You will!"

Stine seemed curious. "I had no idea you were performing the experiments. Why did you not tell me?"

"It all happened so quickly. And now it does not matter, because you are here. Let me tell you about the progress I have made."

Stine listened as Chickenman detailed the process of the experiments. Chickenman explained how he and Slab would kidnap the dock workers late at night after the workers had been out on the town drinking. They would bring them back to Chickenman's mansion and perform the delicate procedure of extracting their brain matter.

Chickenman continued, "Once I finished this extreme process, I realized they still had their motor skills, so I started using the workers to build the connecting tunnels with help from Slab. I could not send them back to town because they were like zombies. The townspeople would have realized something was wrong. When these tunnels were complete, I had them start building your 'castle,' as the locals call it. The amazing thing I found out when I finished with these dock workers was that they did not become tired. They could work all day without rest. It took only a few short weeks to finish this structure."

Stine looked at Chickenman and asked, "You said the tunnels went in two different directions. You have mentioned only one tunnel. Where does the other tunnel go?"

"Very good, Ronald. You still listen well," Chickenman said. "Follow me."

Chickenman led Stine through the massive foyer that was at the bottom of the stairs. Stine could tell they were back on the first floor. The foyer was as big as he had ever seen. It was circular with marble statues lining the perimeter. Chickenman walked across the foyer and stopped when he reached a door. Chickenman opened the door and walked through. He then reached along the inside of the wall and found a light switch. He flipped it on, turned around and looked at Stine. "You see Ronald, when you're in the business that I'm in, you always need an alternative escape route. Yes, there is another tunnel. It leads far into the marshlands that border this place. Follow me."

Chickenman started down a long, narrow set of stairs. Stine followed. The stairs seemed like they were going straight down into the earth. When they reached the bottom, Chickenman stopped and clapped his hands twice. From out of the shadows came two individuals.

"These are two of my servants." Chickenman began. "They keep an eye out for intruders. This is the tunnel that leads to my place. Since my place has been destroyed, it won't be long until someone happens along and finds this tunnel. We need to seal off the other end before it is discovered. After we do that, then I will show you the machine."

"But what is at the end of the other tunnel?" Stine asked.

Chickenman looked straight at Stine. "At the end of the other tunnel is another castle, just like this one. A safe house if we need to escape. But this one, my dear cousin, is built underground. It can not be seen from the sky above. As I said, the tunnel leads far into the marshlands. The locals will never attempt to look for us up there. They are afraid to go into the marshlands. They have heard rumors of wild animals that devour human flesh. Signs are posted all along the marshland border of these creatures. Of course I put them there to keep the locals out. I have my servants just inside the border. They are programmed to first scare the person out of the marshlands. If the scare tactic does not work, then the servants are told to kill the person and bury that person deep in the marshes."

Stine looked at his cousin and asked, "What if people find out that the marshlands are not really dangerous?"

Chickenman turned and answered, "Then we will need to find another place to live. Now let's go and seal off the end of this tunnel!"
Chapter 12

When Raz, O and Buffalo arrived at the Barefoot Lounge the next morning, Rita was waiting for them. Zlata was inside gathering some last-minute things for the group to take on their journey. When Zlata saw the boys walk through the door, a sigh of relief came across her face.

"I'm so glad you have permission to help out with this case," she said as she went over to meet them. "I know you are going to be looking for Chickenman's remains, but I really hope you find Sally instead."

O glanced at Zlata and said, "Don't worry, Zlata. We will find Sally and bring her back alive."

Zlata looked at Raz with a tear in her eye. "I know this must be difficult for you. Please be careful and watch out for these other two. I am depending on all of you to get the job done."

Rita watched and listened to Zlata as she spoke. Rita again got a sense that there was some sort of connection between Raz and Sally.

"OK. Here are some more supplies. The usual: rope, flashlights, and matches. I also packed a little food and water. When are you scheduled to meet Chief Bailey?" Zlata asked.

Buffalo piped up, "One o'clock on the dot!"

"Well, you better get going." Zlata said as she leaned over and gave O a soft kiss on his cheek. O's face turned beet red.

"Hey O, you look like a big, fat, red tomato!" Buffalo exclaimed.

Rita grabbed Buffalo by his ear and said to him, "You be nice, Buffalo. Maybe one day I'll give you a kiss on the cheek."

Buffalo's heart started to beat through his chest. "Oh please, please do it."

"When you find Sally and get her back here. Not a minute sooner," Rita responded.

Buffalo started to get excited, "Then let's go!"

Raz looked at O and then at Zlata. "Miss Zlata, thank you for everything. We won't let you down."

Zlata turned to Rita and said, "I will call you a cab. It's a long walk up to the north end of the island. Plus I hear reports of a severe storm heading our way."

"Thank you," Rita replied.

Raz motioned to O and Buffalo to follow him. "We don't need a cab, Zlata. It won't take us long to get to the ruins." Zlata and Rita watched as the Girth Brothers hurried out the door.

Zlata wiped a tear from her eye as she thought about Sally. She could only hope that Raz, O, and Buffalo would find her and bring her back safe and sound.

****

The servants sealed off the tunnel that led to Chickenman's mansion. They laid rock upon rock until they filled the doorway that once led to the area just below Chickenman's laboratory. Chickenman turned to his cousin and said, "We will now go back to your castle and prepare for our last brain transfer. By tonight, we should have enough energy stored to activate the weapon!"

Stine looked at his cousin and asked, "Wilhelm, you said your mansion burned to the ground the other night and everything was destroyed. What about the machine?"

Chickenman gave his cousin a serious look. "My dear Ronald, when I was building your castle, I made sure that a duplicate machine was built. I transferred all the information and energy from my machine to yours just before my place was destroyed. I have already verified the transfer. Everything is intact. By my calculations, we need only one more subject for our plan to come true. I already have that person in our custody. She is the perfect subject to complete the process."

"Where do you have her now?" Stine asked.

"She is being held underneath your castle. Once we have our preparations complete, I will have Slab bring her up to the laboratory."

"I would like to see the laboratory now, Wilhelm. I would also like to see the girl that you have. I would like to see everything. I want to know everything!" Stine said as his voice got louder with each word.

With a devious smile on his face, Chickenman responded, "You will, Ronald. You will."
**Chapter 13**

Police Chief Bailey started to pace back and forth as he and his men waited for the Girth Brothers. He told Raz and O that at 1 o'clock they would be allowed to begin searching the ruins. Though it was only 12:30 p.m., Chief Bailey was still a little nervous about their whereabouts. He was proud of the way that Raz and O handled themselves when they confronted Chickenman a few nights ago. He was even more impressed that they rescued Mac from a life-threatening situation. Chief Bailey knew this was an important day because they now had two objectives. One was to search for the remains of Chickenman and his servant, Slab. The other objective was to locate Sally, who had disappeared the day before. Chief Bailey could only hope that they would find her, and alive.

Knowing that it was getting close to 1 o'clock, Raz and O stepped up the pace. Buffalo was starting to pant as he tried to keep up with his new buddies.

"Hey guys. Slow down! I can't keep up with you," Buffalo said.

Raz turned as he and O hurried down the street, "Come on, Buffalo. You got to keep up with us or we will leave you behind!"

Buffalo knew that Rita was counting on him, so he quickened his pace. He did not want to get left behind today.

When they arrived at the ruins, Chief Bailey breathed a sigh of relief. "OK, you guys made it in the nick of time." He then motioned for his men to gather around him. "In a few minutes, we will have clearance to go down into the ruins. We'll go down in two groups. My men and I will be in one group." Chief Bailey then looked at Raz, O, and Buffalo, "The three of you will be in the other group. Since the lower, back entrance is still intact, we will try that way first. Are you guys ready?"

"Yes sir!" everyone responded.

"OK," Chief Bailey continued, "When we get down there, let's hope the tunnels Raz and O saw the other night are still operational. I urge everyone to be careful. There could be some unstable areas. Also, I can not emphasize the importance of this search. We all know the situation. Our primary mission is to search for the remains of Dr. Chickenman and his servant, Slab. Once they are located, we retreat from the ruins and regroup. We also know that Sally from the town records office has been missing since yesterday afternoon. Our preliminary indications lead us to believe that she was taken from her office. We need to be on the lookout for any clues of her while we are down there. There could be a connection between these ruins and Sally. OK, are you ready?"

Each man nodded.

Chief Bailey spoke one last time, "All right. Let's go, men. And may God be on our side!"

****

As her cab approached Dr. Stine's castle, Rita could not help but notice its majestic craftsmanship. The details of each stone that made up this structure seemed dazzling. She wondered how the workers built this colossal place in such a short period of time. Raz and O mentioned that it took less than a month to complete the construction. "Never has a place of this immense size been built so quickly," Rita thought to herself.

When the cab arrived at the front entrance, Rita got out and paid the driver his fare. The cab driver asked if he should wait. Rita told him no thanks, but she would call him for a ride when she was ready to leave. The cab driver reminded Rita about the storm that was approaching, pointing out over the ocean toward the black clouds that were forming on the horizon. Rita thanked him for the ride and said that she would be just fine. As the cab driver drove away, Rita looked around the before she knocked on the door. First, she looked back toward the Sandal Pointe Harbor. The cab driver said it was just three miles back to town. "It seems so far away," she thought to herself. Rita then glanced north toward the marshlands. A desolate-looking place, she thought. No sign of life at all. Not even a flock of birds. After a few moments, Rita looked back out over the water. Dark clouds now filled the sky. The storm was getting closer. Rita turned and walked to the front door. She knocked. Seconds passed without an answer. She knocked again, this time with more authority. Again there was no answer. Rita wondered if the doctor was still resting from his long trip, or maybe he was not at home. She could not call ahead because the doctor's phone was unlisted. She thought that was strange. If there was an emergency, how would you be able to contact him?

Rita just stared at the door. If she decided to leave now, it would probably take her most of the afternoon to walk back to town. With the storm fast approaching, she might just make it. She now wished she had told the cab driver to stay. After a few more minutes, Rita decided the interview would have to wait until another time. As Rita turned to leave, she heard a noise coming from inside the front door. She turned back around and saw the front door start to open. When the door was just half open, it stopped. Rita walked toward the door, and when she got to the door, she paused.

"Hello," she said. There was no response. She pushed the door until it was wide open.

"Hello," she said again with a little more confidence. Again there was no response. Rita gathered her courage and walked through the door. She was standing in the foyer. She looked around the foyer and marveled at the sight before her. The foyer was huge. Columns made of marble lined the enormous, circular room, with sculptures of animals and men. Exquisite paintings were everywhere. Rita was impressed. Just then Rita heard another door open. Far on the other side of the foyer, she saw a man walk through a door and head toward her. When he got close to Rita, he stopped. The man looked distinguished, Rita thought.

"Good afternoon, Miss Whittaker. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Dr. Stine. Dr. Ronald Stine."

Rita composed herself as she stood before him. "It is an honor to meet you, Dr. Stine. But how did you know my name? We have not met before."

Stine looked cautious as he answered. "Miss Whittaker, your newspaper called and told me to expect you."

Rita thought that was odd. She had only told her boss at the Sandal Pointe Journal and he said he would keep it a secret until she returned from the interview.

"Of course," Rita said. "Then you know I am here to ask you for your first interview in our country. I hope you don't mind me barging in on you so soon."

"Oh heavens no," Stine started. "But first, I need to finish a few chores. This should take me about an hour or two. Do you mind? I have a guest room all ready for you. You can rest there until I am finished. I will have one of my servants bring you some tea and a sandwich. I presume you must be getting hungry."

"That will be fine, Doctor," Rita said, absorbing his every word. "I just would like to get back to town before the storm hits." Rita then pointed out the front door toward the dark clouds.

"Of course, my dear. Of course. If you would follow me, I will show you to your room." Dr. Stine led Rita through the foyer. At the other end of the foyer was a set of stairs which they took up to the next floor. Rit followed Dr. Stine down a long hallway and they stopped in front of a door. He opened the door and they both walked into the room.

"This is one of my guest rooms. I hope that you will find everything to your satisfaction. This room even has an ocean view. I will have your tea and sandwich delivered in a few moments. Now if you would excuse me, I will go and finish what I was doing."

Dr. Stine closed the door as he left the room. Rita looked around the room and seemed pleased with it. She went over to the bed and sat on it. Just then there was a knock on the door. Before she could get up, the door opened and in walked a man with a tray in his hands. On the tray was a cup of tea and a sandwich. The man looked peculiar, Rita thought. He put the tray on the table by the window. Rita noticed the man had tattoos all over his arms.

"Excuse me sir, but where did you get all of the tattoos?" Rita asked.

The man pretended he did not hear her and turned around to walk out of the room. After he closed the door, a thought flashed through her mind. "I have only seen that style of tattoos on some of the dock workers." Just then the window blew open. The wind outside was blowing hard. Rita went over to the window to shut it. Before she closed the window, she looked out at the ocean. The water was getting rough, and there were whitecaps as far as the eye could see. She felt raindrops hit her face as she stared up at the dark clouds that now filled the entire sky. She closed the window and locked it. Though it was just mid-afternoon, the room was almost dark because of the storm. She went over and turned on the light switch that was next to the door. Three lights in the room came on. Rita started to feel a little uneasy. She couldn't wait until the interview with Dr. Stine was over and she was back in town. The storm was getting closer. Rita looked around the room again and noticed a phone on the nightstand that was next to the bed. She went over, picked it up, and put the receiver to her ear. There was no dial tone. The phone line was dead! With the receiver still at her ear, a bolt of lightning flashed outside her window. The lights in the room began to flicker. Within seconds, a loud burst of thunder resonated around the castle. Then all the lights in the room went out!
**Chapter 14**

Stine made his way back down the staircase that led to the tunnel. As he approached the bottom step, he saw Chickenman waiting for him.

"I hope she does not interfere with our work," Chickenman said with a scowl as he stared at Stine.

"Don't worry, Wilhelm. I have her in one of the guest rooms for the next few hours," Stine responded. "By the way, how did you know her name?"

"I always made it a point to know everyone in town, in particular newspaper reporters," Chickenman replied. He then paused for a moment and continued, "Before I show you the laboratory, I want you to see our final subject."

Chickenman walked past the staircase and over to the tunnel wall that was made of solid granite. He reached out toward the wall and found a metal lever protruding from the rock. Chickenman pulled the lever and the granite wall opened like an elevator door. He walked through the opening, turned and motioned Stine to follow. Once inside, Chickenman lit some candles. Over in the corner, Stine could almost make out a body lying on a mattress, motionless. Chickenman went over to the body and prodded it with his foot. The body started to move.

"This is our last subject," Chickenman explained. "By my calculations, we will need the brain matter of one more person to complete our work. This young lady will do just fine."

Stine went over to the woman and bent down. She had a piece of cloth in her mouth to keep her from making any noise. He pulled the cloth out. "What is your name?" Stine asked.

The woman looked at Stine. Her hair was hanging down over her face. Stine could tell there was blood on the back of her head. It looked dry.

"My name is Sally," she said, looking confused. "Who are you and what am I doing here?"

"My name is Dr. Stine."

Sally looked at Dr. Stine with a horrified look. "You just came over from Europe on the ship, didn't you?" Sally asked. "You are somehow related to Dr. Chickenman."

"Very good, my dear. You are right on both accounts." Stine answered. "May I introduce you to my cousin, Dr. Wilhelm Chickenman." Stine rose and pointed to Chickenman standing behind him.

"But you died in the fire," Sally said as she stared at Chickenman. "Raz and O told me you and your manservant Slab perished with your mansion. How can you be here?"

Chickenman let out a sinister laugh as he looked at Sally. "Those two fat idiots underestimated me! Yes, they destroyed my mansion. But they did not destroy me. Once I finish with you, I will wreak havoc on the Girth Brothers!" Chickenman let out another laugh as he turned and walked out of the room. Stine looked down at Sally and said before he left, "It is a shame, my dear. You have such a beautiful face."

Stine shoved the cloth back in Sally's mouth and followed his cousin out through the door. Sally lay back down on the mattress and started to cry. She wondered if she would ever see Raz and O again!

****

Chief Bailey led his group of men through the lower back door that was once the bottom of Chickenman's mansion. Since the ceiling and walls of this large open area were made of rock, damage to this area was minimal. The large, open area was still cold and damp. Cobwebs still hung from the high ceiling.

Chief Bailey turned and looked at the Girth Brothers. "Now where was that passageway you found?"

O pointed toward the far right side. "Over there, where all the rubble is. We might have to dig through it."

O led the two groups over to where he was pointing. Rocks and gravel covered an area that was once an entranceway.

"It won't take us long to uncover this mess. If we all pitch in, we should have this pile cleared in no time," Chief Bailey said.

With everyone's help, the pile of debris was removed within minutes. Once they entered the passageway, they walked on top of more fallen rock. The farther they walked, the more difficult it became. When they reached the end of the passageway, O saw a metal object hanging on the left wall.

"This must be the remains of the ladder that led up to Chickenman's laboratory," he said. O then turned around and looked for the wooden door frame. In its place was a large pile of boulders.

Chief Bailey walked up to the boulders. "It looks like this is as far as we go. There is too much here to dig through by hand. We have to go back. We'll split up back outside this passageway and continue our search."

"OK, Chief. We will follow you in a minute. We just want to inspect the area just a little bit longer," O said.

"That is fine with me. We'll meet at the back entrance in one hour," Chief Bailey responded. "If you find anything, send Buffalo to get us."

"Yes sir," Raz responded.

After Chief Bailey and his men departed, Raz and O walked back to where the ladder used to be. Raz grabbed his flashlight and pointed the light upward. They could only see scarred timber and rock. Raz brought the light down and started to inspect the surrounding area. The passageway seemed like a dead end, just like Chief Bailey said. Buffalo walked toward the mountain of rock that the chief said was unmovable, and started to inspect the pile of debris. After a few seconds, a thought came to him.

"Hey Raz. Hey O. Come here," Buffalo said as he motioned them to the wall of rock.

They both stood beside Buffalo and looked at the rock.

"Come on, Buffalo. Chief Bailey said this was too much rubble to dig through by hand. What can you possibly tell us that we don't already know?" O asked as he checked out the pile.

"Don't you notice something odd about this heap of rock?" Buffalo asked.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses, looked at Buffalo and said, "Rock is rock, Buffalo."

Buffalo started to get excited. "No. Look! This pile of rock is too neat!"

"What do you mean it is too neat?" O asked as he continued to look at the pile.

Raz's eyes started to grow wide as he began to understand. "Wait a minute, O. I think Buffalo might have a point here. Look at the positioning of each rock. It looks like every rock was put in its place to make sure it fit in with the other rocks." Raz inched closer to the large wall of rock. "Give me a boost up to the top and let me see if I can pry loose the top boulder."

O and Buffalo gave Raz a shove so he could climb to the top of the pile.

After a few seconds, all O and Buffalo heard was, "Look out below!"

O and Buffalo backed away as a boulder tumbled to the ground.

"Hey O. I can feel air coming through the opening," Raz said as he tried to shove his head through the hole. He grabbed his flashlight and pointed it through the opening. He moved the light to the right and then to the left. He could not make out anything.

"I need to dig a few more rocks out of here!" he yelled down at the other two. "I'm going to send a few more down. Watch out!"

As the rocks were removed, Raz could feel a steadier stream of air rushing through the opening. He again pointed his flashlight through the opening. As he looked down on the other side of the pile, he could make out pieces of wood lying on the ground. He then pointed the light up. Just above him were the remains of a wooden door frame. Raz turned his flashlight off and scampered down the pile toward O and Buffalo.

"O, you need to see this. It looks like a wooden door frame on the other side of this pile. It's probably the one you saw the other night. It must have been destroyed during the explosions, just like everything else. Someone must have constructed this wall of rock to keep people from finding out what is on the other side."

O hurried up the pile to look through the opening. Buffalo, not to be left out, also went up. Both O and Buffalo tried to look through the opening at the same time. They hit their heads together.

"Ouch!" yelled O. "One fat head at a time, Buffalo!"

Buffalo adjusted himself on the pile as O looked through the opening. While Buffalo tried to sit still, the rocks he was sitting on began to move. All of a sudden they gave way and both O and Buffalo were sent crashing to the ground. The whole top section of rock came down with them. Raz saw the entire situation develop and got out of the way of the falling boulders. Raz looked at the two of them on the ground and said, "I guess Chief Bailey was wrong. All we needed was a little weight to move this pile. You two sure have the qualifications for that."

"Boy, that was fun!" Buffalo exclaimed. "Let's do it again!"

Raz looked at O. "Chief Bailey said that if we found anything, we report the findings to him. Buffalo, go find Chief Bailey. We'll wait here for you."

O looked a little mischievous and said, "Wait. Why don't we go on the other side of the pile? We'll take a quick look, and then come back and get Chief Bailey."

Raz thought for a moment. "OK. Let's make it quick."

O was the first one to go up the pile of rubble. Once he got to the top, he made his way through the opening. He yelled back to the others, "I made it through. It looks like another tunnel on the other side. Be careful when you reach the top. It looks like the foundation above is not too stable."

Raz looked at Buffalo and said, "I'll go next. You bring up the rear."

Raz started up the pile, being careful not to disturb the foundation that O just told him about. Once at the top, he looked back down at Buffalo and then hurried through the opening. While Buffalo waited for his turn, he heard a sound below him. Looking down, he saw four rats running by his feet. Frightened, Buffalo shot up the pile lickety-split. As he tried to go through the opening, his shirt got snagged on a board that was hanging from the damaged, wooden door frame. He gave a mighty tug and his shirt came free, but the door frame became dislodged. A sudden rumble came from above as Buffalo hurried down the other side of the pile. Dirt and rock began to rain down. It seemed like a ton of earth was falling. Within seconds, the opening was no longer there. The Girth Brothers were now trapped inside the dark tunnel!
**Chapter 15**

By now, Rita was growing impatient with Dr. Stine. It had been close to two hours since he left her in the guest room. The storm continued to rage outside. The lights were still out and the room was becoming darker as the afternoon passed. Rita decided that the interview would have to wait. She had to find Dr. Stine and arrange for transportation back to town.

She walked over to the bedroom door and put her ear up to it. She could not hear anything. She reached down, turned the doorknob and walked out into the hallway. Every light in the hall was out. She saw lightening flash through the hallway windows and could hear thunder echo throughout the castle. Looking toward the other end of the long hallway, she saw the stairs that led down to the foyer. She walked toward them. When Rita got to the stairs, she paused. The thunder and lightening were growing more intense. Rain pounded the castle's exterior. The wind howled in the empty hallway.

Rita started down the winding staircase. She felt mesmerized by the storm's presence. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was back in the enormous foyer. Columns lined the circular room, and statues of gods and goddesses were present throughout. As Rita made her way toward the front door of the castle, she heard a voice behind her.

"Miss Whittaker," the voice said.

Rita turned around and was face to face with Dr. Stine.

"Oh. Hello, Dr. Stine. I was just trying to find you."

Dr. Stine just stared at her. "Well, it looks like I found you first. Why were you walking toward the front door?"

"I was hoping I could get a ride back to town. I was not planning on staying so long. You seem to be quite busy, and I understand. I can come back at another time for the interview, if you don't mind."

Dr. Stine walked past Rita and stood between her and the front door. Rita watched him and started to feel frightened.

"Miss Whittaker, I'm sure you know that the phone lines are out. The storm has made it impossible for any contact with the outside. Since I have no transportation for you, you might as well make yourself at home. I will call you a cab as soon as the phone lines are restored. Until then, I shall ask that you stay in your room. I still have business to take care of in my laboratory, so it would be wise for you if you stayed out of my way."

Rita watched as Dr. Stine turned and walked away. When he approached a door on the other side of the foyer, he turned to Rita and said, "I insist that you stay in your room. It is not in your best interest to be wandering around. You never know who or what you might run into."

Dr. Stine opened the door, walked through it and slammed it shut behind him. Rita just stood there for a moment, trying to find a reason for Dr. Stine's sudden rudeness. Rita knew she wanted to leave, but now she had another feeling come over her. Now she wanted to know what was behind the door that Dr. Stine just walked through!

****

Raz turned on his flashlight and looked at the opening that used to be there. He then looked down at Buffalo, who was still gathering himself off the ground.

"Hey Buffalo. Are you OK?" Raz asked.

Buffalo looked at Raz and O and said, "I'm sorry, guys. I saw a bunch of rats down by my feet and I got scared. I just ran up the pile to the opening and then I got my shirt caught on a board. The next thing I knew, the whole ceiling started to collapse."

O went over to the pile of rock and dirt. "There is no way we can go back through here."

The three Girth Brothers then turned and looked down the dark tunnel.

"Well, I guess we have to go this way," Raz said as he looked at the other two. "We still have our flashlights and supplies. The air seems OK to breathe. We just need to start moving. The sooner we can find the other end of the tunnel, the better."

Buffalo seemed distraught. "I left my supplies on the other side. Those rats scared the living daylights out of me. I'm sorry."

O stared at Buffalo. "How in the world did you see rats around your feet? I'm surprised you can even see your feet. Look at that girth!"

"Can you see your feet, fat boy?" Buffalo shot back.

"Do not call me fat boy!" O yelled back. "I do not like being called fat boy!"

Raz jumped between O and Buffalo. "Hold on. You two are wasting oxygen! We have to get out of this mess. Now let's move. But first: One, two, three. Pants up!"

On command, Raz, O, and Buffalo all pulled their pants up and adjusted them around their waists. Then they began to walk down the long, dark tunnel!
**Chapter 16**

Stine shut the door behind him with authority and started back down the stairs. This was not how he planned to spend his first full day in this new country. So many things had gone wrong since he had arrived. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Chickenman was again waiting for him.

"Did you get rid of her?" Chickenman asked.

"No, Wilhelm. I am making her wait a little bit longer until I am ready for her. I told her to go back and wait in the guest room. She will not interfere with our work."

Chickenman seemed displeased. "This is most unfortunate. I hope you know what you are doing. Our time is precious and we do not need any outside interference right now. We are ready to finish our work. I have ordered Slab to bring our final test subject to the laboratory."

Stine's eyes lit up. "I would like to see the laboratory now."

"Follow me." Chickenman motioned as he started back up the stairs.

Rita was almost halfway across the foyer when she heard footsteps coming from behind the door Dr. Stine had just walked through. She moved to her left and hid behind one of the massive columns. She watched in awe as she saw two men emerge from behind the door. She recognized the second man as Dr. Stine. The first man she did not recognize at first until...

"Wilhelm, when we are finished with the final experiment, what do we do next?" Dr. Stine asked.

Rita then knew who the other person was. It was Dr. Chickenman! He was alive!

"Don't worry, Ronald. I have it all planned out. Trust me."

Dr. Chickenman led Dr. Stine to the opposite side of the foyer where Rita was hiding. She watched them disappear behind another door.

"Oh my goodness!" she thought to herself. "I must get out of here and warn Chief Bailey and the Girth Brothers." Rita kept still for a moment as she started to formulate her next move.

As Stine entered the room, he could not believe his eyes. He was now in the laboratory and before him was two machines that looked similar to the ones that he and his cousin built many years ago, but these machines were much larger, with countless coils running from the machines to a larger container that stored the liquid, or brain matter. A large table was placed between the machines and the container. This table, Stine recognized, was where the test subject would be placed.

"You see, Ronald, I have perfected the process we once worked on together. But since then, I have graduated from animals to humans. The stakes are very high now. I am very close to completing our work. With you we will complete it together. We will rule the world!"

At the bottom of the deep and narrow stairs, Slab entered the room that Sally was in. He went over to her, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder with her feet in front of him. He started out the door and back up the stairs. As they ascended the stairs, Sally managed to loosen the cloth in her mouth. She spit it out and started to scream. Slab did not stop as he climbed the stairs. Since Sally's face was behind him, he could not reach her mouth to shut her up. They reached the top of the stairs and went through the door. Rita just stood there mortified as she watched a large man walking through the door with a woman draped over his back. The woman was screaming as she tried to free herself from the man's grip. Rita realized the girl that was screaming had to be the town records employee that was reported missing just a day earlier. Rita did not know what to do, "Think, Rita, think!" she said to herself.

****

Down in the dark tunnel, Buffalo stopped walking. Raz turned and noticed that Buffalo had stopped.

"Buffalo. What is it?" Raz asked as he and O stopped.

Buffalo closed his eyes and concentrated. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" O asked.

"I just heard a woman scream. You did not hear that?"

Raz seemed concerned. "Are you sure it was a woman's scream?"

Buffalo looked at both Raz and O. "Yes. I am sure. It sounded like it came from somewhere ahead of us, but very far away."

Raz and O looked at each other. Both of them were thinking the same thing.

"It must be Sally!" Raz exclaimed.

"I have that same feeling. But where does this tunnel go?" O asked as he shone his flashlight straight ahead into the dark tunnel.

"I don't know," Raz cried out, "But there is only one way to find out! Let's go, Girth Brothers!"

The three of them picked up the pace as they headed down the dark tunnel. They had one thing on their mind. They had to save Sally!
**Chapter 17**

Raz, O, and Buffalo were now running down the dark tunnel. A noise ahead of them stopped them in their tracks. It was another scream!

"I heard it that time!" Raz exclaimed.

"I told you I heard a scream!" Buffalo replied as he started to jump up and down. "I told you I heard a woman scream!"

O grabbed the other two by their arms. "We must hurry. We have to find out who it is. It sounds like someone is in serious trouble! But first: One, two, three, pants up!"

The three of them all pulled their pants up, adjusted them, and continued down the dark tunnel. Raz and O kept their flashlights pointed ahead as they made their way. Within minutes they came to a dead end. The tunnel had ended. They looked around to see if there was another way. That's when Raz spotted the steps.

"This looks like the way to go," Raz said as he beamed his flashlight up the steps.

O looked at Raz and said with a cautious tone, "We must be very quiet. We don't know for sure if someone is in trouble, but we also don't want to let any bad guys know we are coming."

Buffalo did not hesitate and started up the stairs. When he reached the third step, it gave way and broke, sending Buffalo crashing to the ground. He let out a yell.

"So much for a quiet entrance," Raz said as he and O looked at Buffalo lying on the ground.

Buffalo looked up, "I'm sorry, guys. I stepped on a board that must have been rotten through."

O stared at Buffalo in disgust. "I'm sure your weight had nothing to do with it. Now get up and let's proceed in silence!"

Up in the foyer, Rita had witnessed an incredible set of events. She had just seen Dr. Chickenman and Dr. Stine walk through the far door, and then a few minutes later, a large man walked through the same door carrying a screaming woman. They all walked across the foyer and entered through another door on the other side. As Rita started to move across the foyer to see where they had gone, she heard another scream from behind the far door. Rita changed direction and walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. When Rita opened the door, she could not believe what she was seeing and let out a gasp!

****

Chickenman ordered Slab to tie Sally down to the table. Sally now had the cloth back in her mouth to keep her quiet. Stine turned to Chickenman and said, "Did you hear that yell? It sounded like it came from the tunnel below. Why don't we send Slab to investigate?"

Chickenman looked at Stine and said, "If it came from the tunnel below, my servants should take care of the problem. I still have two of them hiding below the steps."

Chickenman turned and continued to set up the machine. Stine started to feel a little uneasy about the noise from below, but soon turned his attention to the task at hand. The storm outside was getting louder with each passing minute. The power in the castle was still out, but Chickenman had the generators at full speed to keep the machines in the laboratory running.

Stine was getting a little impatient. "How long is this going to take?"

"Not long, my cousin. We are almost ready to begin."

"Let me help you," Stine said as he moved toward the center table on which Sally lay.

Chickenman turned to Stine, "Have a little patience, Ronald. Slab knows the procedures. Remember, Slab and I have done this many times before."

Stine approached the table and looked at Sally lying there. He could see in her eyes that she was frightened. Her body was trembling as she tried to loosen the ropes that tied her hands and feet to the table. Stine got closer to her face and managed a smile as he told her, "Don't worry, my dear. Soon you will not have anything to care about. Soon it will be all over."

Stine let out a loud, hideous laugh as he walked away from the table. Tears were now flowing down Sally's face. She had never imagined this much fear!

****

Chickenman's two servants were now following Raz, O, and Buffalo up the steps. They were about 10 steps behind them when the door above opened. With the lightning from the storm still raging, all Raz, O and Buffalo could see was a silhouette of a person in the doorway. All of a sudden the silhouette yelled, "Watch out behind you!"

The Girth Brothers turned and saw the two servants climbing the stairs after them. In their hands were large, wooden clubs. Raz and O looked at each other and yelled, "Let's give them some Girth Power!"

Raz and O dropped their flashlights, leaped toward the servants and landed on top of them. The four of them tumbled to the bottom of the stairs.

Buffalo turned to the silhouette in the doorway and said, "I know your voice from somewhere. Who are you?"

Buffalo grabbed O's flashlight and pointed it toward the silhouette. Buffalo's eyes then grew wide. "Rita! How in the world did you get here?"

"This is Dr. Stine's castle. How did you get here?" Rita answered.

"Honey, I have no time to explain. I'll be right back!"

Buffalo turned and ran down the steps to help Raz and O. When he reached the bottom, Raz and O had both servants in headlocks. Within seconds, both had passed out. Buffalo grabbed the rope from their supplies and started to tie up the servants. Once he finished, he ran back up the stairs toward Rita. Raz and O followed and were amazed to see Rita waiting at the top of the stairs.

"Thanks for the warning, Rita," O said as they walked through the doorway into the foyer. "Wow, what a nice place you have here."

Rita looked relieved to see them. "This is not my place. This is Dr. Stine's castle! I have been here all afternoon waiting for Dr. Stine to give me an interview. The power is out from the storm and the phone lines are dead." Rita then filled the boys in on what she had witnessed just a few moments earlier. She told them of Dr. Chickenman and Dr. Stine walking through the door on the other side of the massive foyer, with a large man carrying a woman through the same door. Then she recounted the scream that came from behind the door the Girth Brothers just walked through.

Raz pulled down his eyeglasses and looked at Rita. "Well, the scream you heard from behind our door was Buffalo. He fell down three stairs and thought his world was coming to an end. The large man you saw must have been Slab."

"Are you OK, Buffalo?" Rita asked as she went over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course I am all right. I never even knew I screamed. I thought it was just a little yelp," he said.

"Oh, Buffalo. You are still my hero!" Rita said as Buffalo's heart started to beat through his chest.

"I'm going to be sick again!" O blurted as he started to walk across the foyer. "Rita, you said that Chickenman and Stine walked through that door over there?"

"Yes."

Raz followed O across the foyer. The storm seemed to be all around them, and the thunder was deafening. With the lights still out, the foyer seemed almost dark. Raz and O kept their flashlights pointed toward the door. Buffalo held onto Rita as they walked behind Raz and O. When the four of them were halfway across the foyer, the door began to open. They stopped and stared as the door opened. Raz lowered his eyeglasses. O and Buffalo squinted to see. When the door finished opening, Slab walked out. Raz and O looked in disbelief. Buffalo had never seen Slab before and was stunned by the size of him. Rita had just seen him carrying a woman minutes earlier.

Slab stood there, looking at the four of them. He then fixed his eyes on Raz and O. With a menacing stare, Slab started to walk toward them. Buffalo's knees started to shake.

"Hey guys. Do you know this giant?" Buffalo asked as he slid behind Rita for cover.

O was the first to speak. "That is Slab! We saw him and Chickenman disappear when Chickenman's mansion was destroyed the other night." O looked at Raz. "I knew he didn't die in that fire!"

"Well, it looks like he has a little revenge on his mind," Rita exclaimed as she tried to unlock Buffalo from her arms. "We should split up. Buffalo and I will go this way," as she pointed to her right. "You and Raz go the other way. Maybe he will only follow two of us. The other two can sneak around and see what's behind that door."

Raz knew Rita was right. "OK. Let's hope Slab follows us. Let's go!"

Raz and O moved to the left in the gigantic foyer. O turned to Slab and yelled, "Hey, you big lug! Come and try to get us. You were too big and stupid to catch us the other night!"

Slab had no other intentions. He started toward Raz and O. As Slab got closer, Raz and O split up, confusing Slab for a brief second. Slab looked both ways and then took off after Raz. O did not hesitate. Just like he did the other night, O ran toward Slab at full speed and hit Slab from behind with a flying wedge. Slab went down after the severe blow. As Slab tried to get back up on his feet. Raz wasted no time and slid feet first into Slab and leg-whipped him. This time Slab went down hard on his back. O saw an opportunity and tried to pounce on Slab's midsection.

Slab saw O's intent and rolled to his side, avoiding the weight of O's fall. Slab reached out and grabbed O by the throat. Slab got to his feet with O still in his grasp. O's feet were now dangling beneath him.

In desperation, O tried to unhook Slab's giant hands from around his throat, but could not budge them. Raz ran and jumped onto Slab's back, ramming his hands around Slab's face. Raz tried to twist Slab's head so he would let go of O, but Slab's grip was strong. Slab started to squeeze O's throat, and O began to turn blue. Raz was trying with all his might to unlock Slab's grip but was having no luck. O was now at a critical stage, gasping for air.

Just as O was about to succumb to Slab's mighty grip, Buffalo bent over, tucked himself into a ball, and rolled with tremendous speed toward Raz, O, and Slab. Like a bowling ball hitting the pins, Buffalo knocked all three down with one hit. Slab lost his hold on O as all four of them were scattered about. Raz and Buffalo were the first to start pounding on Slab, with O joining them as his senses started to come back. Rita could only watch in amazement as the Girth Brothers, fists and feet flying, beat Slab senseless. After a few minutes, it was over. Raz, O, and Buffalo lay beside Slab, who was unconscious. Rita rushed over.

"My goodness, the three of you can take care of yourselves! Buffalo, that was a very brave thing to do, saving O like that."

Buffalo was by now out of breath. "Aw, that was nothing. I do that all the time."

As the Girth Brothers got themselves up to their feet, another round of thunder and lightning exploded around the outside of the castle. Then another round. And another. The storm now was centered over top of Stine's castle. The wind and rain were blasting against the structure. Bolts of lightning hit the peaks of the castle.

Buffalo grabbed the extra rope and tied up Slab. Then, the four of them heard a scream. They all looked at each other, and then looked at the door that Slab had walked out from just moments earlier. The lightning was hitting the castle with more consistency. Then they heard another scream.

Raz yelled at the top of his lungs, "We're coming to get you, Sally!"

As they ran across the foyer and through the doorway, they saw two men working on two large machines that were connected to a table. Sally was on the table, with Stine trying to put something on her head.

Sally, who had managed to spit out the cloth that was in her mouth, was screaming and thrashing about, making it difficult for Stine to put the apparatus on her. Another man was turning the knobs on a machine, his back facing the Girth Brothers and Rita. He turned to Stine and yelled, "Ronald, please hurry! We must be quick about this!"

As he turned and yelled, Raz and O saw his face. It was Chickenman! Raz moved toward Chickenman and yelled, "Chickenman, let her go! You are through with your experiments!"

Chickenman and Stine looked around and saw Raz and O moving toward them. Without hesitation, Chickenman flipped a switch on one of the machines and watched as the liquid started to vanish from the large container. He gazed back at the Girth Brothers and roared, "You two overweight idiots have ruined my plans again! But don't worry, my plump and round vermin, one day I will triumph over you. And that day will be sooner than you think!" Chickenman turned to Stine and said, "Ronald, it is time to go. Follow me, and be quick!"

Raz, O, Buffalo, and Rita could only watch as Chickenman and Stine vanished behind the machines. The smoke from the machines made it impossible to see where they went. Raz and O rushed over to the table on which Sally lay. Raz pulled the apparatus off her head and untied her.

Raz looked down at her. "Miss Sally, are you OK?"

Sally looked up at Raz and nodded.

"You're safe now, Miss Sally," Raz said, bending down and giving her a kiss on top of her forehead.

"Thank you, Raz," Sally said as Raz helped her off the table. "I was so frightened."

Rita came over to help Raz. "I'll take care of her. You two go and find those maniacs."

O went over to the machines, turned some knobs, and they began to power down. The only noise that now could be heard came from the storm, which seemed to be losing its intensity. Buffalo went back out to the foyer so he could keep an eye on Slab. Raz and O went behind the machines as the smoke started to dissipate. There was no sign of Chickenman and Stine. All of a sudden, Raz and O heard Buffalo hollering in the foyer. Raz and O rushed out and saw Buffalo jumping up and down as he was trying to explain his heroic story to Chief Bailey and his men.

"Chief Bailey!" Raz exclaimed. "Boy, are we glad to see you. How did you get here?"

Chief Bailey looked at Raz and O with a huge sigh of relief. "We had to dig through the pile of rubble that trapped you three in the tunnel. I thought we might be too late. Once we got into the tunnel, we just followed the noise and found the steps. Oh, by the way, the two men tied up at the bottom of the steps are being watched by my men. And it looks like we have another one tied up here. This must be Slab."

"That's right, Chief. Chickenman and Stine were in the other room trying to zap Sally's brain," said O, motioning to the laboratory door. "We got here just in time."

Rita and Sally walked out into the foyer and joined the group. "We don't know what happened to Chickenman and Stine," Rita said. "It looks like they disappeared when they went behind the machines."

They all went into the laboratory. Raz and O walked behind the machines again and looked around.

"They must have vanished into thin air," O said.

They searched the room for any hidden doors, but could not find any.

Chief Bailey looked at them and said, "Well, at least we can dismantle these machines. That should end all these hideous experiments. Chickenman and Stine will have to re-surface someday. That is when we will catch them."

Everyone agreed with Chief Bailey. They would have to wait for another chance to apprehend the notorious Dr. Chickenman and his cousin, Dr. Stine. With his police radio, Chief Bailey called for transportation to take everyone back to Sandal Pointe. When the cars arrived, the Girth Brothers helped Chief Bailey escort Slab and the two servants back to town where they were locked up in the jail.

****

Later that night everyone, including Rita and Sally, met at the Barefoot Lounge and enjoyed a well-deserved round of chocolate malts and iced teas. Zlata was happy they were all safe and sound. Mac was playing his guitar and everyone sang along with each song. Toward the end of the evening, Zlata picked up a spoon and tapped it against a water glass to get everybody's attention.

"I would like to make a toast," she started as everyone quieted down. "I am so relieved that Sally has been returned to us alive and well. And we all owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to the heroes of Sandal Pointe, the Girth Brothers. So if everyone would raise their glass."

With everyone's glass raised, she continued, "To the heroes of Sandal Pointe. Let's hear it for Raz, O, and..."

Before Zlata could get out another word, Buffalo jumped up and yelled, "And Buffalo!" The whole place erupted with cheers and applause. Buffalo's face was beaming from ear to ear. Raz, O, and Buffalo all stood up and waved to everyone as the crowd continued to applaud. It seemed as if everyone on the tiny island of Sandal Pointe was at peace that night thanks to the Girth Brothers.

~ ~ ~ THE END ~ ~ ~
**About the author**

Hello readers. First, I would like to thank you for purchasing my first ever story, "The Girth Brothers and the Sandal Pointe Castle." I hope you found it enjoyable. It is available from Amazon in Paperback and the Kindle edition. The second book in this series, "The Girth Brothers and the Secret of the Marshlands", is also available from Amazon in Paperback and the Kindle edition. Another short story I have written, "Happy Martha! (A Bedtime Story for Children Ages 3-6)", is also available from Amazon in the Kindle edition.

Now about me: I was born and raised in Berwyn Heights, Md. and a 1982 graduate from the University of Maryland. When I'm not on the golf course or in front of my computer typing away, I enjoy my teams, the Washington Redskins and the University of Maryland Terrapins. For the past 20 years I have been owner and operator of Fairway Interiors, a home improvement company in South New Jersey. I have also resided these past 20 years in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey with my beautiful wife, Carol Ann.

Acknowledgement:

I would personally like to thank **Jim Brocker** for assisting me in editing this book. **Thanks Brock!**

Book cover illustration by:

Halona Brooks

me@10confessions.com
