 
The Girth Brothers and the Secret of the Marshlands

Published by Rick Berry at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Rick Berry

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal 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

Prologue

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

Epilogue

About the Author

# 
Prologue

### October, 1955

Far beneath Stine's castle, Chickenman and Stine walked down the long, dark tunnel. Over an hour had passed since their narrow escape from Stine's laboratory. As they reached the tunnel's end, Chickenman turned to his cousin and said, "My dear Ronald. You once asked me about the other passageway. We are now at the end of it. This passageway is so secret that only the two of us know how to find it. Of course, Slab also knows, but he would never divulge that information. He can't even speak."

"Are you going to try and save Slab from the police and the Girth Brothers?" Stine asked.

"No, Ronald. It was his fault that he got caught. Slab served his purpose, and now he has to pay the price."

Chickenman walked over to the passageway's granite wall, reached out, and tapped his hand on a flat rock that protruded from the wall. A door made of stone started to open. "So many secret doors and passageways," Stine thought to himself as he watched the door open. Once the door was all the way open, the two of them walked through. Chickenman reached along the inside wall and found a light switch. He flipped it and lights came on throughout the room. Stine was stunned. It was as if he were back in his own foyer. It was identical! Marble statues of gods and goddesses lined the perimeter of the circular room. Exquisite paintings filled the walls.

"I can't believe what I am seeing!" Stine exclaimed as he surveyed the room.

Chickenman looked at Stine and said, "Ronald, when I was building your castle, I had Slab and my men start the tunnel that we just took. I always knew that we would need an alternative escape route, and after a few miles of digging, they came upon this wondrous cavern. Unexplored for centuries, this was the perfect spot to build a duplicate of your foyer."

Stine looked confused. "But where are we, Wilhelm?"

Chickenman let out a small, sinister laugh. "We are far underneath the marshlands. No one would ever think to look for us here. The marshlands above us are too treacherous to walk through. We now can continue our experiments. Before all my servants were captured, I made sure they stocked this area with a year's worth of food and supplies. That should be more than enough time to finish what we started."

Stine followed Chickenman across the huge foyer to a door on the other side. They walked through the door and stood in a vast, cold cave. Three times the size of the foyer, the cave was illuminated by natural, glowing lights. The ceiling and walls were made of the same granite rock that lined the passageway.

"Look over there, Ronald," Chickenman said as he pointed to the center of the enormous cave.

Stine saw construction beginning on two large machines. Between the machines was a tank full of liquid. Stine could tell that they were going to be replicas of the machines that had been in his castle. He knew that these machines would be used to extract the brain matter out of either animals or humans. The brain matter would then be filtered into the tank.

"Before those overweight Girth Brothers interfered with our work, I transferred the brain matter from your castle to here," Chickenman said as he looked at the tank full of liquid. "It looks like the transfer of brain matter was successful."

Stine acknowledged his cousin's comments as he looked to the left of the machines. He saw something else near the granite wall.

"What is that hole in the ground, Wilhelm?" Stine asked as he walked over to it.

"That is a bottomless pit," Chickenman answered as he went over and grabbed a wooden club next to the pit. The club had a piece of cloth wrapped around one end. He dipped the cloth into a bowl of liquid next to the club, grabbed a match from his pocket, lit the match and put it against the cloth. The cloth caught fire.

"Observe," Chickenman said as he tossed the club into the pit.

Stine leaned over and watched the club fall farther and farther into the deep, dark hole until the burning light from the club's end disappeared.

Stine looked back over at his cousin and asked, "Wilhelm, what are your plans with this bottomless pit?"

"I am going to throw the Girth Brothers into it!" Chickenman exclaimed as he looked at Stine. "No longer will they interfere with our work!"

Chickenman then looked back over at the machines. "It will take time to get these machines up and running. When they are complete, we will wreak havoc on the island of Sandal Pointe. And my dear Ronald, we will put an end to the Girth Brothers. I can promise you that!"

Chickenman let out another sinister laugh, this one much louder and longer. Stine just glanced around the room. He had a growing feeling inside him that this time his cousin was right. They would succeed with their work, and more importantly, they would destroy the Girth Brothers!

### ****

All alone in his cell, Slab listened as the storm outside subsided. He looked out the jail cell window and saw the clouds giving way to the brightness of the stars and moon above. He wondered if Chickenman would someday save him from his jail cell. All of a sudden, a calm feeling came over him. He went over to a small bed in the corner of the room and sat down. He looked back toward the window and for the first time in over a year spoke out loud: "I know where you are, Chickenman. I know where you are!"
Chapter 1

### 10 Months Later

Police Chief Bailey examined the official government letter lying on his desk and then looked at his watch. "They should be here any minute now," he thought to himself as he rose from his chair and walked over to the office window. With the paned-glass window open, the warm summertime air filtered into the room. He looked down toward the Sandal Pointe Harbor and saw a passenger ship entering the East Coast seaport. "Another ship from Europe," he again thought to himself. To the left of the harbor, he gazed at the beaches that stretched all the way from the harbor up to the marshlands. "The beaches look full today. That is good for business," he found himself saying out loud.

As he stood there, he fixed his eyes north, toward the mysterious marshlands. Just before the marshlands, he could still see the remains of Dr. Chickenman's mansion and the vacant home of Dr. Stine. Chief Bailey started to think about that night back in October when Dr. Chickenman's place burned to the ground. Raz and O, The Girth Brothers, were with him that night when Chickenman's place caught fire. Chickenman and his servant, Slab, were thought to have perished in the fire.

While searching Chickenman's ruins, Raz and O, along with their newfound buddy Buffalo, stumbled upon a secret passageway that connected Chickenman's ruins to Stine's "castle," as the locals called it. It was then that everyone found out that Chickenman and Slab survived the horrible fire. All the rest happened quickly: the Girth Brothers stopped Chickenman and Stine from performing an evil experiment on Sally, and Slab was captured and sent to prison. Chickenman and Stine escaped and had not been seen or heard of since. The case was still open and had been sitting on Chief Bailey's desk for the last 10 months.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and one of the chief's deputies walked in.

"Yes, Finnegan, what is it?" Chief Bailey asked.

"The government people are here, chief," Finnegan answered.

"OK, let them..."

Finnegan rushed out of the room.

"...in." The chief finished.

Chief Bailey went over and stood behind his desk as Finnegan rushed back in and waited by the door. A young woman and an older man walked in. Finnegan grabbed two chairs from the corner of the room and placed them in front of the chief's desk.

"Hello. I am Police Chief Bailey," the chief said as he walked around his desk and extended his hand.

The man and the woman shook the chief's hand. The man spoke first: "Thank you, Chief Bailey. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Chief Bailey turned to Finnegan and said, "You may go..."

Finnegan rushed out the door again and closed it behind him.

"...now, Finnegan." The chief finished.

Chief Bailey turned his attention back to his two guests. "Please have a seat, will you." He looked back at the door and continued, "Just once I would like to finish a sentence before he leaves."

The man looked at Chief Bailey and said, "I would say your officer is a little fidgety."

Chief Bailey started to laugh. "That, my fine sir, is an understatement."

Chief Bailey picked up the piece of paper lying on his desk in front of him. "Well, by the looks of this official government letter I received yesterday, I would say you are Chip Parker and you, my young lady, must be Lori Hastings."

"Correct on both counts, Chief Bailey," Lori responded.

"You are correct, chief, and we are here on official government business," Chip added.

"I see," the chief said as he looked at the letter. "The paper I have here states that the U.S. government owns the area that we call the marshlands. And it looks like you are here to map out the area and start the process of clearing portions of the marshlands for the marine and wildlife habitat."

Chip leaned forward in his chair. "That is right, Chief Bailey. You see, that area of Sandal Pointe has been owned and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior for many years. We work at the Department of the Interior, and a bill has just been passed that gives us the authority to map any areas in this country that have not been surveyed and been recorded. There are only a few of these areas left in the United States and your marshlands is one of them."

"And what do you need from me and this department?" the chief asked.

Lori also moved forward in her seat and said, "We need a couple of your people to assist us when we go into that area. We will have a group of three government surveyors, but we also need some outside assistance, people that have first-hand knowledge of this island and can help us when we go in there and start our survey."

Chief Bailey paused for a second before he spoke. "You know that it is August and we are in the middle of a very busy summer season. Each year I have to add extra officers to handle the crowds we get here in Sandal Pointe. Right now I don't have anyone I can spare."

As the chief finished his sentence, there was another knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Finnegan walked in.

"The Girth Brothers are here to see you, sir."

Chief Bailey looked at his deputy. "Finnegan, tell them to wait. I will see..."

Finnegan rushed out the door again and closed it behind him.

"...them in a minute." Chief Bailey finished after the door was already closed.

Chief Bailey sat there and thought for a second. He then looked at Chip and Lori and said, "You know what? I think I do have someone that can assist you. If you can wait here for a minute, I will go out and talk to them. Then I will bring them in to meet you."

"Thank you, chief," Chip said as he and Lori watched Chief Bailey walk out of the room.

Chief Bailey made his way through the outer office of the police station and walked down the hallway. He turned the corner and saw Raz, O, and Buffalo sitting on one of the hallway benches. The three of them took up the entire bench.

Raz was the first one to see the chief and he nudged the other two to stand up. As they stood up, Raz noticed that O and Buffalo's pants were drooping down past their large bellies.

"One, two, three, pants up!" Raz exclaimed as Raz, O, and Buffalo all pulled their pants up at the same time and adjusted them to their normal positions. Raz lowered his eyeglasses and looked at O and Buffalo, "Now we look presentable."

Chief Bailey walked up and stopped right in front of them. "Gentlemen, thanks for coming down here," the chief said. "I have two things I need to tell you about. First, my original plan was to give you a case that involved staking out the large passenger ships that have been coming in and out of the harbor."

"What's the deal with the ships?" Raz asked.

"We have been getting complaints from the ship's passengers that some of their personal belongings have been disappearing. It is not a major deal, but I told the harbor master that I would have a few of my men keep an eye out for any unusual activity," the chief said as he looked at Raz and O. "What I need is for you two guys to hang out down by the docks while the ships are anchored. Matter of fact, a ship pulled into the harbor just a little while ago, so I want you to head down there today and start. Be discreet about your presence and just act like you are blending in with the day-to-day activities down there."

Buffalo looked at Chief Bailey and asked, "What about me?"

Chief Bailey shot a glance at Buffalo and answered, "Buffalo, I have a special job for you. This job will require the three of you, but I think that you can get started with it until Raz and O finish their case."

"Oh boy! Thank you very much, Chief Bailey!" Buffalo exclaimed as he jumped up and down.

"OK. I want to take the three of you into my office and meet a couple of people. They work for the Department of the Interior, and they are here on official business. The U.S. government has passed a bill to map out all remaining areas of this country that have not been surveyed and recorded."

"What area around here has not been surveyed and recorded?" O asked.

Chief Bailey looked at the Girth Brothers and answered, "The marshlands."

"The marshlands?" Raz, O, and Buffalo all responded at the same time.

"Yes, the marshlands. They need someone from Sandal Pointe that has knowledge of this island and can lead them into the marshlands and guide them through it. Now I know that none of us has much experience with the marshlands, but we have to suck it up and do the job. They will bring machinery up to the area and start clearing out portions of the marshlands, so the brush won't be as thick as it is now. This will allow more species of birds and animals to make that area their home."

Buffalo felt a lump in his throat as he asked, "What about all the warning signs that are posted all along the marshlands border? You know, the ones that say "KEEP OUT, OR ELSE!"

Chief Bailey looked at Buffalo with a stern look and said, "That is your first job, Buffalo. I want you to go up there this afternoon and remove all those signs before the government people see them. I had my men take them down last fall after the Chickenman and Stine incident, but the other day I saw that they were back up again. Now let's go and meet these people."

Chief Bailey turned and started to walk back to his office. Raz, O, and Buffalo followed the chief as he led them through his office door. Chip and Lori stood up when they saw the chief walk in.

"Miss Hastings, Mr. Parker, I would like to introduce you to Raz, O, and Buffalo. They call themselves the Girth Brothers. Raz and O have their own private investigative business here in Sandal Pointe. Buffalo has been helping them out. These are the individuals that will lead you into the marshlands. Gentlemen, this is Miss Lori Hastings and this is Mr. Chip Parker."

Everyone exchanged handshakes as the chief continued, "Right now, I have Raz and O on another case, and that should take them maybe a few days to complete. Meanwhile, I have asked Buffalo to start out and be your guide. He will assist you in every way possible."

"Thank you, Chief Bailey," Chip said. "We would like to start first thing in the morning. We have much of our preparation completed with paperwork and so forth. We also have all our camping supplies packed."

"Camping supplies?" Buffalo groaned. "You mean we will be sleeping in the marshlands?"

"We will not be sleeping in the marshlands," Lori answered. "We will camp just outside the marshlands at night, and during the day we will travel into the marshlands and do our job."

Buffalo looked over at Raz and O. "Hey guys, does anyone want to switch jobs with me?"

Raz lowered his spectacles and said, "No, Buffalo. We have a job to do and so do you. We should be finished in a few days, and then we will be up there to help you."

"All right, then it is settled," the chief said.

Chip turned to Buffalo and asked, "Are you sure you are up to the task?"

"Of course," Buffalo said meekly.

"Then we will see you at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning up by the marshlands. Here is the exact spot where we will meet," Lori said as she handed Buffalo a map of the north end of Sandal Pointe. On the map she pointed to a red star. "Do you know where that is?"

Buffalo looked at the map and said, "Yes, ma'am. That is just past Dr. Stine's castle."

"Good. We will see you at 8 a.m. sharp!" Chip said as he turned to Chief Bailey. "Thank you for your cooperation, chief. We have to go now." Chip and Lori shook hands with everyone and walked out of the office.

Chief Bailey went to his office door and yelled, "Finn..."

Finnegan rushed into the office.

"...egan!" the chief finished as Finnegan stood before him.

"Yes, chief?" Finnegan asked.

"Finnegan, I need for you to pull all the information that we have on the marshlands and..."

Finnegan rushed out of the office again.

"...bring it to me." The chief ended his sentence.

O looked at the office door. "In again, out again, Finnegan."

The chief ended the conversation with, "OK, you guys have your jobs to do. Buffalo, make sure those signs are down this afternoon. After that, come back here and I will brief you on the information we have on the marshlands. That is all."

Before they left the office, Buffalo turned to the chief and asked, "Chief Bailey, when do I go to investigative school? It has been almost a year since I helped with the Chickenman and Stine case."

Chief Bailey gave Buffalo another stern look. "You will go when I think you are ready to go. Now I expect you to get those signs down today and then report up to the marshlands at 8 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Buffalo answered quietly.

Raz, O, and Buffalo walked out of Chief Bailey's office. As they were leaving, they saw Chip and Lori talking to another man.

"Buffalo, this is a big job that you have. Don't let us down," O said as he waved to Chip and Lori. "This could be your big chance to impress Chief Bailey."

Buffalo just stared straight ahead as he thought of the hideous, evil-looking marshlands.

As the Girth Brothers passed Chip and Lori, Chip turned to Lori and their companion and said, "I hope this Buffalo has what it takes to lead us tomorrow."

Lori stared at Raz, O, and Buffalo walking down the street and said, "I sure hope you are right, Chip. I sure hope you are right!"
Chapter 2

On their way home, Raz, O, and Buffalo stopped by the Barefoot Lounge to order lunch, an important event in the Girth Brothers' daily lives.

"Oh, boy. I just love this time of day!" O exclaimed as he, Raz, and Buffalo barged through the front door.

"Food, food, food!" Buffalo gleefully yelled.

Raz chimed in, "I wish we could eat every minute of the day!"

Located down by the Sandal Pointe Harbor, the Barefoot Lounge was a place to relax and grab a quick bite to eat. Raz and O had worked at the Barefoot for the last six years, doing general cleaning and maintenance. Now that they were full-time licensed private investigators, they still found time to work a few days a week at the Barefoot, and for the last 10 months, Buffalo had been helping them.

The Barefoot was busy that day. The lunchtime crowd filled the main room. Knowing they did not have much time, Raz, O, and Buffalo made their way to the kitchen side. They were almost at the kitchen door when Zlata, the owner of the Barefoot, walked out with a tray full of food and drinks and whisked right by them. The Girth Brothers watched as Zlata served her table and then took an order from another. As she turned around and headed toward the kitchen, she saw the guys standing there and smiled.

"Hello, my favorite Girth Brothers!" she said as she stopped next to them.

"Hello, Zlata. It looks like you're busy today," O said as he inspected the room.

"Yes, yes. I am also short on help today. Any of you care to put on an apron?"

"I would love to!" Buffalo offered.

Raz and O looked at Buffalo with disgust.

"We can't today, Miss Zlata," Raz said. "Chief Bailey has us on another case that we have to start this afternoon. We just stopped by to grab a quick bite to eat and take it with us."

"No problem. Go on back and have the cook make you something real quick. I was just kidding. I can handle this crowd," Zlata said as she started to write up another lunch order. As she was writing, she asked, "So what is your new case?"

"Raz and I have some work down by the docks, and Buffalo has a job up at the marshlands," O said.

Zlata stopped writing and looked at the three of them. "What do you mean the marshlands?"

Raz grabbed Buffalo and went back into the kitchen so they could give the cook their order. O stayed and filled Zlata in with the job they had helping the government workers.

Zlata looked at O in disbelief. "Wow. That sounds like a big job. Are you sure Buffalo can handle this, even though it is just for a few days?"

O said, "You know what? You are the second person that has asked that today. Yes, Raz and I believe that he can handle the job for a day or so."

Raz and Buffalo came back out of the kitchen with three bags of food. O looked at Zlata and said, "Don't worry, Zlata, we will be back here in a few days to cover our shift. See you then!"

"Bye guys! And good luck!" Zlata exclaimed.

Raz, O, and Buffalo made their way out of the Barefoot Lounge and headed down the street toward their apartment. They were halfway home when they saw a police car racing down the street, screeching to a stop beside them. They looked inside the car and saw Finnegan behind the wheel. Finnegan stared out the window and said, "Hey Buffalo. I was sent here to take you up to the marshlands. Chief Bailey wants to make sure that you take down those signs."

"Of course I am going to take them down, Finnegan!" Buffalo grumbled as he got in the front passenger side.

Raz walked closer to the car and said, "Here, Buffalo. Don't forget your lunch. It looks like you are going to need all your energy this afternoon."

Raz handed the lunch bag to Finnegan, who in turn handed it over to Buffalo.

Buffalo, now agitated, said, "Well, Finnegan? What are we waiting for? Let's move this heap of metal!"

Finnegan looked over at Raz and O and smiled. He hit the gas pedal and the police car took off up the street toward the outskirts of town. Within seconds, the car was out of sight.

O looked over at Raz and said, "That Finnegan is one quick dude."

Raz just laughed and responded, "Yeah, Finnegan and Buffalo should get along just fine. Come on, my well-nourished friend. Let's get started with our job."

As Raz and O continued down the street, they saw a familiar face walking toward them.

"Hey Raz, there's Sally. She must be on her lunch break," O said as he pointed straight ahead.

Raz stopped and did a little pirouette as Sally approached them.

"O!" Sally exclaimed as she stopped in front of them. She then looked at Raz. "Hi, Raz. How are you?"

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and looked straight into Sally's eyes. "Miss Sally, it is so good to see you on this wonderful summer day," Raz said as he leaned forward and gave Sally a kiss on her forehead.

"My, my," Sally said as she started to blush. "What are you two rascals up to today?"

O could tell that Raz was mesmerized by Sally's presence. "Chief Bailey gave us two cases to start this afternoon. Raz and I are getting ready to begin the first one, while Buffalo is going to handle the second one."

Sally looked concerned as she asked, "Chief Bailey is letting Buffalo do a case by himself?"

"Miss Sally. It will only take us a few days to handle our case. After that, we will take over for Buffalo," Raz said.

"Well, that sounds a little bit better," Sally said as she changed the subject. "I am meeting Rita, that reporter for the Sandal Pointe Journal, later tonight at the Barefoot Lounge. Is it possible for you guys to meet us? And of course, please bring Buffalo."

"We would be delighted to!" O said as he grabbed Raz by the arm. "We have to go now. The faster we get our work done, the quicker we can meet you ladies later tonight. Come on Raz, let's hop to it!"

"Goodbye, Miss Sally!" Raz yelled as O dragged him down the street by the arm.

"Goodbye Raz!" Sally exclaimed as she watched them until they were out of sight.

Sally waited until they were gone before she continued her walk back to her office. While she was walking, she began to think about that awful day last October when Raz, O, and Buffalo saved her from Dr. Chickenman's evil experiment. She remembered being kidnapped from her office and taken to Dr. Stine's castle. The Girth Brothers, along with Rita, arrived just in time before the two sinister doctors extracted her brain. Sally would be forever grateful to the Girth Brothers and Rita for saving her.

As Sally approached the Sandal Pointe records office where she worked, another thought entered her mind. She thought about what Raz and O said about Buffalo. She hoped they were right about him being able to handle the job up at the marshlands for a few days. "The marshlands are an eerie and awful place," she thought to herself. Sally knew one thing for sure: she was not going to bring up the subject to Rita!

****

Rita Whittaker sat at her desk and put the finishing touches on her new story. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 2 p.m. "Still three hours to go," she thought to herself. Rita stretched her arms and looked back at the story she had just written. She stared at the title of the story, "Chickenman and Stine – 10 Months Later."

Being a reporter for the Sandal Pointe Journal, Rita thrived on getting a good story. When she heard last October that Dr. Chickenman's mansion burned to the ground, she had to find out why. That is when Rita met the Girth Brothers. "Meeting them for the first time was a funny experience," Rita thought as she started to chuckle. Raz, O, and Buffalo were the largest, most rotund individuals she had ever seen. She knew Raz and O were the original Girth Brothers, the private investigators, and Buffalo was a buddy they had just met. Rita liked the Girth Brothers, but she had some special feelings for Buffalo.

Rita pulled the sheet of paper out of her typewriter and scanned it one more time. "OK, it's time to take this story to the editor!" she exclaimed as she started to walk out of her office. While walking down the hall, she glanced at the title of her story. She thought about the two evil doctors, Chickenman and Stine. "It's always good to remind people that these two maniacs are still on the loose!"
Chapter 3

Chickenman stood in front of the two large machines and stared at them for a moment. He then began to inspect the improvements he and Stine had made in the last 10 months. "They are almost complete," he thought as he heard a door open behind him. Chickenman turned around and saw his cousin, Dr. Stine.

"We have made much progress, Wilhelm," Stine said as he walked over and stood next to his cousin. "In my estimation, we are almost ready to test them out."

Chickenman nodded. "I agree, Ronald."

"We need to go up and check on the weapon one more time. Pretty soon we will be ready to achieve the goals that we have set," Stine said.

Chickenman watched his cousin walk across the vast, cold cavern that was now their laboratory. He soon followed. They both went toward the far end of the large cave, away from the foyer. They made their way to an opening where Stine turned and waited for Chickenman to catch up.

"Wilhelm, tell me again about how you came upon the mysterious ship," Stine said.

"Let's get up there, and then I will explain it," Chickenman answered.

Chickenman and Stine walked through the opening and found themselves in a small, dark area. Chickenman grabbed a wooden club and lit a piece of cloth attached to the end. Once it was lit, they walked to the other side of the room and found another entranceway, where they continued up a path that was two feet wide, and turned sideways to make their way along the cramped passage. When they reached the end, they ducked through another opening, into a more open space.

Chickenman and Stine walked straight ahead without stopping and found a ladder on the far wall. Chickenman blew the flame out on the club and laid it down next to the ladder. He went up the ladder first. Stine waited a moment and then followed his cousin up into the darkness. Chickenman reached the top rung of the ladder and pressed against the ceiling, causing a door to move. Chickenman pushed the door until it was all the way open, and sunlight beamed down from above. Chickenman climbed up and through the opening. Stine followed and soon they were both standing on the flooring above.

"This view always amazes me," Stine said as he looked around.

Chickenman smiled as he, too, looked around. "Who would have thought that this would be here in the marshlands?"

Stine nodded in agreement. They were now in the middle of the marshlands and standing on the deck of an old sailing vessel. The years of decay were evident. Rotted boards and rusted iron were visible throughout the ancient ship.

"Ronald, when we stumbled upon the cavern below, we followed the small path and found the ladder we just climbed up. When Slab and I got up here, we realized that this old pirate ship must have shipwrecked here over 200 years ago. A massive storm must have tossed this ship to this spot. Those that survived the shipwreck must have discovered the caverns below and constructed the ladder to reach them."

"What happened to those that survived?" Stine asked.

"I have never figured that out," Chickenman said. "We did find the skeleton remains of a few bodies near the bottomless pit. The only thing I could think of was that maybe the native Indians of the time did them in."

Chickenman walked around the pirate ship's deck, and made his way over to the side where a worn blanket was draped over a huge object.

"This ship has to be over 100 feet long and 40 foot wide!" Chickenman exclaimed as he stood before the bulky object. "Look at the overgrowth. The vines have made it impossible to see this vessel from above. And we are over two miles inland, so no one will ever find this ship."

Stine knew that his cousin was right. The years of growth had made the ship almost impossible to see. The marshlands were so thick and dense that they covered and devoured the entire ship.

Stine followed his cousin over to the side of the ship's deck. He watched as Chickenman pulled the ragged cover off the huge item. Ten months of sweat and labor sat before them. Chickenman and Stine gazed at the weapon that they would use on the island of Sandal Pointe.

"Look at this, Ronald. Our dreams are almost a reality. Building the machines and the liquid tank was our first step. Collecting the brain matter was our second step. This weapon is the third and final step. This weapon will complete the process!" Chickenman said, his voice rising. "When this weapon is activated, the power that is generated from it will destroy anything and everything that it hits. And my dear cousin, our first target will be the Sandal Pointe Harbor!"

"The weapon looks like it almost belongs here," Stine said as he pointed at four old cannons that were once part of the pirate ship. Rusted and covered with vines and weeds, the cannons sat near the side of the ship and were still pointing out the openings that were designed for them.

Chickenman walked around in front of the weapon and looked back at Stine. "We still need to extract the brain matter from at least one more person," Chickenman began. "And once we have enough brain matter stored in the liquid tank, we will be ready to unleash this weapon on Sandal Pointe and the Girth Brothers!"

Chickenman let out a long, sinister laugh as Stine stood next to him. They stared at the beauty of the weapon that sat there in front of them. Stine reached out and ran his hand across the metal casing. It had been a long 10 months living under the marshlands. Stine now looked forward to conquering the world!
Chapter 4

Buffalo gripped the overhead door handle as Finnegan sped out of Sandal Pointe toward the marshlands.

"What is the rush, Finnegan?!" Buffalo yelled as they approached the ruins of Dr. Chickenman's mansion.

"No time to waste!" Finnegan hollered back.

The police car cruised past Chickenman's home and was now nearing Dr. Stine's castle. Buffalo glanced at the structure as they raced past. Less than a mile beyond Stine's castle were the mysterious marshlands. Finnegan finally slowed the police car until they came to a stop next to the marshlands. Buffalo looked over at Finnegan and sneered.

Reaching into his lunch bag, Buffalo pulled out his sandwich and started to eat.

"How long is that going to take?" Finnegan asked as he started to get out of the car.

Buffalo was now furious. "As long as I want! What is wrong with you, Finnegan? You are always going a million miles a minute! Why on earth are you like that?"

Finnegan walked around to the passenger side of the police car and said, "Like I said, there is no time to waste. Hurry up and eat. I don't have all afternoon."

Buffalo could not believe what he just heard as Finnegan walked away from the car and toward the marshlands. Buffalo finished his sandwich and got out of the car.

"I feel like I have whiplash!" Buffalo yelled. Finnegan pretended he did not hear him.

Finnegan walked along the marshlands' border toward the ocean. When he got to the water's edge, he looked north along the shoreline. Buffalo caught up to him and also looked north.

"What do you see?" Buffalo asked as he squinted.

Finnegan turned and looked at Buffalo. "Not a darn thing. This place looks like death, and it smells. It looks like you are going to have a wonderful time up here tomorrow."

"I thought we were up here to do a job!" Buffalo exclaimed.

Finnegan looked at Buffalo and smiled. "You're right. Let's get started."

The two walked back to the police car and Finnegan opened the trunk to reveal a wheelbarrow.

"You will use this to throw the signs in," Finnegan said as he finished tightening the wheel.

Finnegan then opened the back door and pulled out a claw hammer from the back seat. He held the hammer in the air.

"You will use this to yank the signs off the trees."

Buffalo looked at Finnegan and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Finnegan walked toward Buffalo and gave him the hammer. "Take the signs off the trees and put them in the wheelbarrow. I will be back in two hours to pick you up."

Buffalo's mouth dropped wide open. "I thought you were going to help me?"

"I just did," Finnegan responded. "I brought you here, and I gave you the necessary equipment to do the job. Chief Bailey has some work for me back at the station. Like I said, I will return in two hours to pick you up and bring you and the signs back to town."

Finnegan got back into the police car and took off toward town. Within seconds, he was out of sight.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!" Buffalo exclaimed as he looked down at the hammer in his hand and then over at the signs that were attached to the trees. "I guess I will start at the water's edge and make my way down the line." Buffalo said to himself as he looked at all the trees with signs on them. "There must be 100 signs! I don't know if two hours is going to be enough time!"

Buffalo went over to the first tree by the water's edge and took the sign off. He threw it into the wheelbarrow and continued down the tree line. After about an hour, he was more than halfway finished. He continued at a modest pace until he had every sign down and in the wheelbarrow. He pushed the wheelbarrow back toward the water and noticed Dr. Stine's castle looking desolate.

"What a waste of time building that piece of junk," he found himself saying out loud. He continued looking at it and soon became drowsy from all the work he had just done. He sat down against a tree, and after a few minutes, Buffalo was fast asleep...

The sound of screeching brakes jolted Buffalo out of his slumber. He jumped to his feet as a cloud of dust formed around him. Finnegan hopped out of the police car as the dust began to settle.

"Finnegan! Who in the world gave you your driver's license?" Buffalo yelled.

Finnegan looked at the wheelbarrow and then looked at the trees that lined the marshlands. "I guess two hours wasn't enough time," Finnegan said as he walked past Buffalo.

Buffalo was livid, and pointed to the wheelbarrow. "What do you mean two hours wasn't enough time? All the signs were taken down, and they are right here!"

"What about those signs?" Finnegan asked as he pointed toward the marshlands.

Buffalo turned around. Every other tree from the water's edge on down the line had a sign on it.

"But I took them down, Finnegan!" Buffalo yelled as he started to jump up and down. "I swear I took every one of those signs down! How did they get back up there?"

Finnegan shook his head and said, "I knew I should have stayed with you. Come on."

Finnegan grabbed the hammer and started to walk over to the first tree. Buffalo pushed the wheelbarrow as Finnegan pulled the signs down. Within a half hour, all the signs were in the wheelbarrow. Finnegan and Buffalo walked back to the police car and put all the signs in the trunk. They packed up the wheelbarrow, closed the trunk, and in a few seconds they were speeding back toward town.

Buffalo sat there in silence as he tried to figure out what happened. He knew he had taken all the signs down. At least, he thought he had. Buffalo was now dreading the job he was going to start tomorrow. The government team was counting on him, and now Buffalo was having serious doubts about himself!
Chapter 5

Raz and O walked into the Barefoot Lounge that night and found an empty table near the front door. O pulled out one of the chairs.

"Have a seat, my round, chubby buddy," O said as he motioned for Raz to sit down.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and looked straight at O: "Much obliged, you overweight detective."

Both Raz and O sat down and looked around the room. As usual, the Barefoot was packed. They saw Zlata and her waitresses rush from table to table. It seemed like the ladies were keeping up with the brisk business.

Raz and O sat there in silence for a moment before O spoke: "Hey Raz, do you think there is anything wrong with Buffalo?"

Raz glanced over at O and responded, "You know what? He did act a little strange when he came home a little while ago. He didn't say a word or even acknowledge us."

"I wonder how his day went up at the marshlands. We'll ask him if he shows up here tonight," O said, as Rita and Sally walked through the front door. O stood up and got their attention. The girls saw him and walked over to the table.

"Raz and O! How are you guys doing?" Rita asked as she and Sally sat at the table.

Sally looked over at Raz and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Raz." Raz felt lightheaded as Sally spoke.

"It was a pleasure to see you on the street today, Miss Sally. It's even more of a pleasure to see you again tonight," Raz said.

"OK, you lovebirds. Enough of that already," O said as he turned to Rita. "Can we get you ladies something to drink?"

"Thank you O. I will have my usual, a sweetened iced tea," Rita answered as she looked over at Sally.

"I will have the same, thank you," Sally said.

O gave Zlata their drink orders as Rita tried to change the subject. "So where is my hunk of a man, Buffalo?"

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and answered, "We're not sure if he is coming down here tonight. He had a big day today, and tomorrow he has an even bigger one."

O continued the conversation and filled in Rita with the details of their assignments Chief Bailey gave them earlier in the day. When O finished, Rita looked at Raz and O and asked, "Are you sure that Buffalo will be OK without you two for a few days?"

O answered, "I don't know how many times I have heard that question today. Raz and I believe that he will be fine. All he has to do is lead the government team into the marshlands and make sure that they have access to map out and survey the area. It's pretty simple."

When O finished his sentence, the front door opened and they saw Buffalo standing there. O stood up and waved him over to the table. Buffalo walked over and sat down next to Rita. He sighed and stared straight ahead, not saying a word.

Sally was the first to speak: "What is the sad look for?"

Buffalo didn't seem to hear Sally's question.

"Buffalo!" Rita said with a strong voice. "What is the matter with you?"

Buffalo looked at Rita. "I'm just feeling a little perplexed. That's all."

"What happened to you today that turned you into a sourpuss?" O asked as Zlata brought their drinks to the table. Zlata saw that Buffalo had arrived and went back to the kitchen to get him a chocolate malt.

Buffalo opened up and told everyone what had happened up at the marshlands, and the problem with the signs seemingly reappearing on the trees. When he finished, he just sighed again and sat in silence.

"Maybe you were more tired than you thought. Everyone makes a mistake. With so many signs on those trees, it's always possible to miss one or two," O said as he took a sip from his chocolate malt.

Buffalo looked over at O and said, "But I didn't miss any signs! I took every one of them down. Like I said, after I took every sign down, I fell asleep. When I woke up, half of the signs were back up!"

Buffalo was getting agitated as he looked over at Rita. "Rita, tell me I'm not going crazy. Please tell me it isn't so."

Rita reached over and put the back of her hand on Buffalo's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Buffalo asked as Rita kept her hand on him.

"I'm just seeing if you have a temperature," she said as she took her hand off Buffalo's forehead. "You seem fine to me. Maybe you just need a good night's sleep. You have a big day tomorrow, and you don't want to be drowsy when you lead the government workers into the marshlands."

"The marshlands..." Buffalo groaned. "Why do I have to lead them into the marshlands? Hey Raz, have you and O ever been in the marshlands?"

"We've never been in the marshlands, not even as kids. Our parents told us not to go in there, so we never did," Raz said.

"Don't worry, Buffalo," O said. "Raz and I should be done in a couple of days. We started our assignment this afternoon, and we seem to have an idea who is stealing the personal belongings."

"Who?" Buffalo asked.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses again and said, "We never reveal our sources, Buffalo. That is Private Eye 101. Never reveal your sources."

As Raz finished his sentence, the table started to shake. The drinks on their table began to tilt. Silverware started to fall off the tables as the main room of the Barefoot Lounge began to move. And as soon as it started, it stopped. The room was now still.

"What was that?!" Buffalo asked in a frightened voice.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and slowly stood up. O also stood up next to his buddy and looked around the room. Zlata came over to their table with Buffalo's chocolate malt and looked at Raz and O.

"I believe we just experienced a minor earthquake," she said.

"Wow! This will make for a good story in tomorrow's paper," Rita said as Raz and O sat back down. She raised her iced tea to make a toast. "Here's to the earthquake, and here's to Buffalo. May his job tomorrow be a success!"

Everyone raised their glass except Buffalo. Buffalo just stared straight ahead. First he thought about the earthquake, and then about the signs that mysteriously reappeared on the trees. And to top it off, he thought about the sinister-looking marshlands and what could be lurking inside of them. Many a story had been told of people venturing into the marshlands and never returning. But those stories had never been confirmed.

Buffalo looked over at Raz and O, and he, too, finally raised his chocolate malt. He groaned as he held his drink. He wished Raz and O was going with him tomorrow. He would feel a lot more confident if they were!

****

Stine stood in the guest room of his castle and gazed out the window. The sky was clear that night as he looked out toward the marshlands. He and Chickenman had spent the rest of the afternoon walking back through the secret tunnel. They had gone back to Stine's castle to get needed parts for the machines.

Stine took a deep breath of the fresh nighttime air as he continued to look out the window. His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a knock on the bedroom door. Stine turned around and saw Chickenman enter the room, walking toward him.

"This could be our last trip to this place," Stine said as he looked around the room.

Chickenman answered, "Yes, and by tomorrow evening the machines will be complete. After that, we will need the brain matter of one or two more people. Then we can activate the weapon!"

Stine smiled and once again turned his attention back toward the window. They watched the trees of the marshlands sway back and forth with the evening breeze.

"We should start heading back, Wilhelm," Stine said. "It is getting late, and tomorrow will be a big day."

Chickenman nodded. As they turned around to leave, the bedside table started to shake. After a brief moment, it stopped. Then it started to shake again. The chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling clanged as it swung back and forth like a pendulum. Chickenman and Stine watched the entire room move around them. After a few more seconds, the room stopped, but the chandelier continued to swing back and forth. Chickenman and Stine looked at each other. They both knew what had happened.

"That was an earthquake!" Stine exclaimed.

"Yes, Ronald. That is very unusual for this area," Chickenman said as he again headed for the bedroom door. "We need to get back to the marshlands. If another quake happens, I want to make sure the machines and the weapon are secure!"

Stine followed his cousin out of the room and down the hallway. They made their way down the stairs to the foyer and walked straight into the laboratory. Chickenman tapped two areas of the far wall at the same time, causing a section of the wall to move, revealing a secret doorway. They walked through and Chickenman closed the door behind them. The two evil doctors began their long journey down the dim passageway that would lead them back to the marshlands.
Chapter 6

Chip Parker parked the government station wagon near the water. He and Lori Hastings gazed at the foreboding marshlands that lay ahead. The marsh's thick, distorted look seemed haunting.

"What a mess!" Lori said as she looked over at Chip. "Do you think our machinery can handle cutting through this?"

Chip looked at the task before them. "I guess we are going to find out." He then glanced at his watch. "It's almost 8 o'clock. Let's get our supplies out of the car and get ready."

As they got out of their car, a van pulled up. Chip and Lori looked inside and saw a familiar face.

"Hey, Chip and Lori. This place looks like something out of a horror movie!" the man said as he got out of the van.

Chip looked back over at Grady Hamilton and smiled. "You're right, Grady. We have our work cut out for us," Chip answered as he and Lori started to unload their supplies. "Let's get everything organized here, near the water. This looks like a good place to set up camp."

Grady nodded and started to unload his gear. Grady had worked for the Department of the Interior for 25 years, earning the reputation as a hard-working and dedicated employee. He demanded the best out of everyone and usually got it. Chip and Grady started working for the federal government around the same time, and over the years they worked together on numerous mappings. Chip had come to depend on Grady for his experience and leadership, and was relieved to hear that Grady was going to be helping with this job.

"Hey, Chip. What do you make of that earthquake last night?" Grady yelled as he continued to unload his van.

"I called down to Washington this morning, and they seem to think it was a freak occurrence. They also said don't be surprised if we get an aftershock," Chip answered.

Grady looked back over at Chip. "OK, second question. When are our guides getting here?"

"It looks like they are coming now," Chip said as he looked back past Dr. Stine's castle.

Grady and Lori looked back toward Sandal Pointe and saw a police car racing toward them. As the car got closer, it swerved to the left and came to an abrupt stop next to the van, kicking up dust.

Grady looked at Chip and Lori and said, "Great! It looks like we have a couple of hot shots!"

Both front doors of the police car opened and Buffalo and Finnegan got out, making their way through the wall of dust.

"For crying out loud, Finnegan! Why do you have to drive like that?" Buffalo yelled at Finnegan as they stood there in the swirling dust.

"We had to get here on time," Finnegan answered as he started to walk toward Chip and Lori.

"Good morning, Finnegan. Thank you for being punctual," Chip said.

"Hello, Mr. Parker. Good morning, Miss Hastings," Finnegan responded as Buffalo caught up to him.

"Hi Mr. Hastings, Miss Parker," Buffalo said, trying to catch his breath.

"Uh, Buffalo," Finnegan said. "You got their names backward."

Buffalo looked at Finnegan and then at Chip and Lori. "I'm sorry, Mr. Parker, Miss Hastings. I'm not used to getting up this early."

"Don't worry, Buffalo. That happens all the time. Right, Chip?" Lori said as she rolled her eyes so that only Chip could see.

"Buffalo, please just call us Chip and Lori," Chip said as he gave Buffalo a pat on the back.

"OK, Chip," Buffalo said.

Grady walked over to the group and looked at Buffalo and Finnegan. "So these are our guides," Grady said. "So what kind of qualifications do you two have?"

Finnegan looked over at Buffalo and said, "Show them."

Buffalo looked back at Finnegan, "Show them what?"

"You know, that fancy move you have."

"Yes, Buffalo. Let's see that fancy move you have," Grady said as if he were egging Buffalo on.

"All right," Buffalo sighed as he bent over, tucked himself into a ball, and rolled with tremendous speed back toward Dr. Stine's castle. He stopped after about 100 yards, unrolled himself, and stood upright.

"I'm impressed!" Grady said as he turned to Finnegan. "Finnegan, what can..."

Finnegan rushed over to where Buffalo was standing. He made it there in less than two seconds.

"...you do?" Grady finished his sentence as he, Chip, and Lori watched Finnegan race over to Buffalo.

"Wow!" was all that Lori could say.

Grady, Chip, and Lori watched Buffalo lean over and say something to Finnegan. Finnegan raced back toward the police car and got inside. Buffalo made his way back over to the group and stood next to them.

"What did you just say to Finnegan that made him race back to his car?" Chip asked as saw Finnegan in his police car talking on the radio.

"I just told him that his radio was ringing. He had a call coming in," Buffalo answered.

"Do you mean to tell me that you heard his police radio from all the way over there?" Grady asked as he pointed to the spot on which he and Finnegan had been standing.

"Yes. I can hear a pin drop from a mile away."

"Again, I will just say wow!" Lori responded.

Finnegan got out of the police car and walked over to the group. "Chief Bailey needs me back at headquarters. He said Buffalo will stay and be your guide today."

Chip looked at the rest of the group. "OK, then. We will get started with just Buffalo as our guide. I assume that will be acceptable with you," Chip finished as he looked over at Buffalo.

"I guess so," Buffalo said as he swallowed hard and stared at the dreaded marshlands.

"Hopefully, by tomorrow we will have two of Buffalo's colleagues with us. Until then, Buffalo will do," Chip said as they watched Finnegan get into the police car and take off toward Sandal Pointe.

Sweat was pouring down Buffalo's face as he looked over at the government workers and then back at the marshlands. Oh, how he wished Raz and O were with him today!

****

O popped his head just above the large steamer trunk. It had been two hours since he and Raz boarded the huge passenger ship and set up their stakeout at the bottom of the ship, in the room that housed the oversized luggage. Their job was to find out who had been stealing the belongings of the ship's passengers, and this ship was due to depart the Sandal Pointe Harbor in another three hours.

Raz sat crouched beside O. His legs were starting to cramp.

"Hey O," Raz said in a hushed voice. "Do you see anything?"

O bent back down and sat next to Raz. "Not yet. It looks like the canvas bag is still there."

The canvas bag was full of jewelry that the Girth Brothers brought with them as bait. Chief Bailey gave them permission to take the jewelry from police headquarters. The bag had been sitting in the Sandal Pointe police lost and found for over six months. No one had come forward to claim it.

As Raz and O remained hidden, they heard the door to the luggage room open. O once again popped his head above the steamer trunk and saw two of the ship's workers enter the room. They did not have any luggage.

O watched them walk around the room until they came to the canvas bag. He motioned for Raz, who got up out of his crouch, to watch the workers. Raz and O saw one of the men reach down and open the bag. His eyes lit up when he saw what was inside it. He showed the other worker and a smile came over his face. The workers grabbed the bag and started to leave. Raz and O waited until they left the luggage room, then they hopped over the steamer trunk and went after the workers. Raz and O saw them heading toward the engine room.

"All right you two, put down the bag!" O yelled. The workers turned around, saw Raz and O, and started to run.

Raz and O looked at each other and yelled at the same time: "Let's give them some Girth Power!"

Raz and O ran at full speed toward the workers. When they caught up to them, Raz slid feet first and leg-whipped one of the workers. O catapulted himself into mid-air and hit the other worker with a flying wedge. Both workers went down hard on the cement floor. Raz and O pounced on top of the two workers and grabbed them in a headlock. Within seconds, the workers had passed out.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses, looked over at O, and smiled. "Never underestimate a Girth!" he said.

O told Raz to keep an eye on the two workers while he went to get help. Raz nodded as he watched O climb the nearest staircase. Raz had a grin on his face as he looked down at the two workers. The case of the missing belongings was now solved!
Chapter 7

Zlata was just about finished cleaning the main room of the Barefoot Lounge when she heard the kitchen door open. She turned and saw two familiar faces walk through it.

"Well, look who's here!" Zlata said as a smile came over her face.

"Miss Zlata, we are here to finish the morning cleanup!" Raz exclaimed as he and O walked toward her.

When they reached Zlata, O grabbed the rag out of her hand.

"Mission accomplished!" O bellowed.

Zlata leaned over and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. O's face turned bright red. As usual, the kiss did not seem to bother Raz.

"I thought you two were on a case down by the docks?" Zlata asked as she sat down.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and looked at Zlata. "Miss Zlata, we cracked that case early this morning. Chief Bailey gave us the rest of the day off, and tomorrow we go up and help Buffalo."

"How did you crack the case?" Zlata asked.

"We had a hunch about a couple of the dock workers," O said. "So we got up super early and went down to the harbor and laid a trap." O explained the events that led to the arrest of the two dock workers. When he finished, Zlata threw her arms up in the air.

"My, my. You two are something else. Congratulations!"

"Do you mind if we finish the cleaning this morning, Miss Zlata?" Raz asked as he started to clean the table in front of them.

"By all means, please do!" Zlata exclaimed. "This will give me a chance to catch up on the bookkeeping before I open for lunch. Thank you!"

"Did you say lunch?" O asked as his mouth started to salivate.

Zlata just laughed. "You guys know the drill. Just go back and ask the cook to make you anything you want. I'll be in my office."

Raz and O watched Zlata turn around and walk back toward her office.

"Well, my heavy friend. What shall we have today?" O asked.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses once again and answered, "When we finish our job, my round buddy, I am going to have my usual."

O's eyes lit up. "Cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate malt! I think I will have the same," O exclaimed as he looked up at the clock. "If we hurry, we can be eating in 20 minutes."

Raz pushed back up his eyeglasses and responded, "I'm thinking 10 minutes."

Raz and O started to clean table after table until they were finished. They inspected the room to make sure they did not miss anything. Once they were satisfied, they went into the kitchen and ordered lunch.

After they gave the cook their order, they walked back into the main room and sat at one of the tables. "I wonder how Buffalo is doing up at the marshlands?" Raz asked.

O looked at Raz and answered, "I guess we will find out tomorrow."

They sat a few more minutes before they heard the cook yell that their food was ready. Raz and O jumped out of their chairs and barged through the kitchen door. They grabbed their plates, thanked the cook, and went back out to the table. As soon as they started to eat, Chief Bailey walked through the front door. He came over and pulled up a chair at their table.

"That was a great job you did today. I just wanted to thank you again. Those two dock workers have confessed to every case that we had in regards to the missing items from the passenger ships," the chief said.

"We're glad you let us have that bag of jewelry to use as bait," O answered as he took another bite from his cheeseburger.

Chief Bailey gave Raz and O a nod. "Pretty good idea you had there." He paused for a second and then got serious. "I have some disturbing news to tell you."

Raz and O stopped eating and listened.

Chief Bailey continued, "I just got word from the state prison that there was a jailbreak last night. Four prisoners escaped. Three of them were captured this morning."

"What does that have to do with us, chief?" O asked.

"The one prisoner that is still on the loose is Slab."

Both Raz and O's jaws dropped.

"Do you think that he will come back here?" O asked.

Chief Bailey looked glum. "Yes, I have a gut feeling that he will try to contact Chickenman and Stine, wherever they are."

"We inspected every inch of that tunnel connecting Chickenman's place to Stine's castle. We did not find any other passageways," Raz said as he started to nibble at his lunch again.

"Wait a minute," O said. "Chickenman and Stine disappeared from the laboratory in Stine's castle. What if Slab knew how they got away and is coming back to find them?"

Chief Bailey looked at O and then at Raz. "OK. Tomorrow you are scheduled to help out up at the marshlands. Why don't you plan on spending the next few nights in Dr. Stine's castle? You can help the government team during the day, and at night the two of you can keep an eye out for any suspicious activities."

"Sounds like a plan to me," O said.

"It always seemed odd that Chickenman and Stine got away," Raz said thoughtfully. "There has to be a secret door in that laboratory. It just makes no sense that they disappeared without a single trace."

Chief Bailey got up from the table and said, "Do not let the government team know about this situation. They have no idea what happened here last October. We need to make sure that they get everything done as soon as possible. Is that understood?"

Raz and O responded at the same time, "Yes, Chief!"

"Oh, one more thing, do not let Buffalo know about this, either. I don't want him running his mouth to anyone about this."

"Yes, Chief!"

Chief Bailey turned and walked out of the Barefoot Lounge. Raz and O looked at the front door and then at each other. Both wanted to say something, but neither could get the words out until...

"Well, my plump and flabby pal, it looks like we have our hands full. Not only do we have to help the government team, but now we have to keep an eye out for Slab," Raz muttered as he finished his chocolate malt.

"Yes, these next few days should be very eventful," O said as the thought of the mysterious marshlands, Chickenman, Stine, and Slab all entered his mind at the same time. That thought proceeded to send a shiver down O's spine!
Chapter 8

As the government team prepared for the work ahead, Chip walked over to Buffalo and put his hand on Buffalo's shoulder. Chip pointed toward the back of the government van. "Buffalo, have you ever operated one of these before?" Buffalo walked over to the back of the van and looked inside. He saw what looked like an odd version of a lawnmower.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's a new contraption that came out a few years ago. It's called a brush hog," Chip answered.

"A what?" Buffalo asked as he stared at the machine.

Grady walked over to the two and said, "It's a fancy lawnmower. It will chew right through these marshlands."

Chip acknowledged Grady as they stood there. "Buffalo, meet Grady Hamilton. Grady, this is Buffalo, our guide for the day."

Buffalo and Grady shook hands and then Grady reached into the back of the van. "Here, Buffalo, grab one side of this baby, and let's get it out so we can start it up."

Buffalo helped Grady pull the brush hog out of the van and they placed it on the ground. Chip motioned for Lori to join them as he began to talk. "OK, as we all know, there are only a few areas in this country that have never been officially mapped and surveyed. These marshlands are one of them." Chip pointed toward the overgrowth and then looked back at the group. "Our mission is to start clearing out sections of these marshlands and map them out. Lori and I figure we should be able to clear a path that will measure about two to three miles a day. Our time is limited to one full week, so the sooner we start, the better."

Lori stepped in front of Chip and said, "Chip and I have decided that we will start here by the water's edge and move inland, or west. The operator of the brush hog will cut a path into the marshlands until we have gone about a mile. The rest of us will follow behind and continue to clear the path and make it accessible for anyone that wants to walk into these areas."

Lori pointed to the tools that were lying on the ground next to their station wagon. "These machetes and rakes will help us clear the path."

Grady reached behind the machine and pulled the cord that was attached to it. The engine started and the brush hog began to warm up.

"I will take the first shift," Grady said as he looked over at Buffalo. "After lunch, you will take over for me."

Buffalo nodded as he watched Grady grab the lever on the handle. The machine jolted forward and Grady guided it down toward the water. Chip, Lori, and Buffalo grabbed the machetes and rakes and followed Grady.

Buffalo was amazed at how effortless Grady made it look to run the brush hog through the dense vines and weeds. For 45 minutes, Grady maneuvered the machine farther and farther west. Chip and Buffalo whacked away at the hanging vines that the brush hog could not get. Lori used the rake to sweep the excess debris from the path.

Finally, Chip tapped Grady on the shoulder and told him to turn the machine off.

"We'll take a 15-minute break and then we'll keep going," Chip said as the group members took out their water bottles and took a few sips. Buffalo walked over to a tree and sat down next to it. He immediately dozed off...

"Let's get back to work!" Grady barked while standing over top of Buffalo.

Buffalo looked up at him and rubbed his eyes, "You don't have to scream, Grady. I am right here!"

"I don't need or want anyone on my shift falling asleep on me," Grady said as he walked away.

Lori came over and spoke to Grady before he started the machine again. Grady nodded and pointed the brush hog north. For another 45 minutes, Grady continued to cut through the thick underbrush. The area north was much thicker, and it was taking longer to get through the jumbled mess. The hot August sun was now beating down on them, forcing Buffalo to pull out a handkerchief from his pocket and wipe his brow. "Only a few more hours of this," he thought to himself.

Grady continued to head north with the brush hog until he came to a swampy area. He stopped the machine and waited for the others. Chip and Buffalo were having a much harder time clearing the extra vines that Grady and the machine could not chew up. When they reached the area where Grady had stopped, Chip and Lori looked straight ahead and inspected the swampy sight in front of them.

"Well, I guess this is as far as we go," Chip said as he took another drink from his water canister.

Lori looked around and said, "We will head west again. It looks like it is dry that way. When we find the end of this swamp, we will then head north." She glanced over at Buffalo and the other two and said, "This day just got a little bit longer."

Buffalo groaned as he heard Lori speak. Grady walked over to Buffalo and said, "It's your turn, mate."

Buffalo understood and went over to the brush hog and turned it west. He pulled the cord on the machine and grabbed the lever. He slowly walked behind the brush hog as it made its way through the eerie marshlands. He was now getting hungry. "Don't these people know it's time to eat?" he thought to himself as the brush hog vibrated in his hands. He kept plodding along as the sound of the machine's grinding teeth kept his mind off the hunger that he was now feeling in his stomach.

****

Unnoticed and a safe distance away, a pair of eyes peered out from behind the brush. The eyes stared as the government team and Buffalo worked their way through the marshlands. "They are getting close," the man said under his breath as he continued to watch the people work. "They are getting too close!"
Chapter 9

Stine went back down the ladder inside the wrecked ship. He moved quickly as he made his way along the narrow path and down to the vast granite cave that was now the laboratory. By the time he made it over to the bottomless pit, he was out of breath. He looked around for Chickenman, but did not see him.

Stine glanced at the flashing lights on the machines that he and his cousin had been working on for the last 10 months. He walked into the foyer and found his cousin sitting in one of the high winged-back chairs in the middle of the room. Chickenman had a smile on his face.

"Welcome back, dear Ronald," he said as he lit a cigar. "I suspect that you saw the machines are now ready to be tested."

"Yes, I did, Wilhelm," Stine said, still trying to catch his breath. "But it seems that we have a small problem topside, not too far from the ship."

Chickenman laid down his cigar in the ashtray next to his chair. His face now showed a concerned look. "What is the problem, Ronald?"

"That same fat Girth Brother we saw yesterday is out there with three other people. They seem to be clearing the marshlands with some type of machine. They are getting close to the ship!"

Chickenman knew who his cousin was talking about. When they arrived at the castle yesterday to get supplies, they saw Buffalo outside taking down the signs that they had posted. The two evil doctors waited until Buffalo fell asleep against a tree, and then went out to put back up as many signs as possible. They had to stop and rush back to the castle when they noticed a Sandal Pointe police car heading their way.

Chickenman stood up and walked over to Stine. "Maybe we should go up and wait for them. We still need at least one more subject. This could be our chance to get someone. Follow me!"

Chickenman walked through the door into the vast, cold granite cave. Stine followed, and they walked to the other side of the cave, disappearing into the darkness of the other opening.

****

Buffalo continued to operate the brush hog deeper into the marshlands. The swampy area that was on his right had now ended, so Lori instructed him to head north again. The eerie and sinister-looking marshlands were getting creepier by the minute.

Lunchtime had come and gone for the group with only the usual 15-minute breaks. Buffalo consumed his lunch in two bites, as his stomach was crying for food. Chip and Lori had said that Buffalo was doing an excellent job running the brush hog and asked him if he could continue for the rest of the afternoon. Buffalo agreed. By 4 o'clock, the four of them had covered over two miles of cutting and clearing. When the next break came around, it was close to 5 o'clock. They all took their usual break as the sun was now on its downward slide.

"OK, we still have three hours of daylight left," Lori said as she spoke to the group. "I say we start working our way back toward the water. We should make it there by dusk. Then we will set up camp and have dinner."

Buffalo's eyes lit up when Lori mentioned the word dinner. He did not think that they would be working this long today. He could not wait until they got back to the campsite.

Shadows were now forming around them as the sun continued to set. The marshlands were even scarier now that the shadows were more prominent.

Buffalo started the brush hog again and turned it east, back toward the water. After five minutes of pushing the machine, he stopped. His hands started to shake as he looked straight ahead. Chip was the first one to reach him and asked what was wrong. Buffalo, without saying a word, slowly lifted his shaking arm and pointed straight ahead. Chip looked in the direction that Buffalo was pointing, and his machete dropped out of his hand and onto the ground. Grady and Lori caught up to the two and also saw what they were looking at.

"Well, would you look at that," Grady said.

"I can't believe it!" Lori exclaimed as Chip bent down and picked up his machete.

"It looks like the remains of a sailing vessel!" Grady said.

"But, but we are over a mile inland!" Buffalo stuttered as he moved behind Chip and Lori.

"It is strange," Lori said. "Let's call back to police headquarters and let them know about this."

Chip turned on the radio that Chief Bailey had given him. He adjusted the dial, but all he got was static. He tried again and again but still could not get through.

"We must be too deep in these marshlands to get a signal. We need to get out of here and try from the vehicles," Chip said as he turned to Grady. "Grady, why don't you go back and radio Chief Bailey. Lori, Buffalo, and I will stay and investigate this site. We will wait here until you return with help."

"OK. I will return as soon as possible. Please be careful!" Grady said as he turned and started back down the path that they had cleared.

They watched Grady until he was out of sight and then turned around and looked at the ship. There was still a lot of underbrush between them and the old ship. Chip instructed Buffalo to start the brush hog again and make a path toward the ship. Buffalo's knees were shaking as he operated the machine through the thick underbrush. It seemed that the growth was much higher as he pushed the machine ahead. It took him about a half-hour before he cleared a path to the vessel.

The size of the ship amazed everyone. It was over 100 feet long and around 30 feet high. Chip looked to either end of the ship and then turned to Buffalo, "Buffalo, start clearing the sides and the back of the ship. We need to inspect the perimeter."

Buffalo acknowledged Chip's orders and started to clear the brush away on the left side of the ship. Chip and Lori watched him as he struggled with the machine. The growth was twice as thick around the ship.

Lori and Chip looked at each other before Lori spoke, "From the looks of it, this ship has been here a very, long time. Just look at the vines and weeds that have grown all over this thing. They cover the entire ship!"

Chip walked closer to the middle of the ship and looked at the growth in front of him. He stared at the section for a moment and then gasped. He reached through the vines that covered the ship and grabbed onto something. It was a ladder, and it wasn't an old ladder—it looked like it was manufactured well after the ship had been built.

Lori had taken her camera out of her backpack and had started to take pictures of the vessel when she heard Chip call her name. She went over to where Chip was standing, and looked at the ladder.

"I don't believe it!" Lori exclaimed. "Why would a ladder be attached to the side of the ship?"

Chip reached over and grabbed the first rung of the ladder. "So we can climb up onto it!"

Chip proceeded to climb the ladder as Lori waited below. Halfway up, Chip got his shirt sleeve caught on one of the vines. He tugged at the sleeve and it ripped. Part of his shirt sleeve was now attached to the vine as he continued up the ladder until he reached the top.

Chip climbed over onto the ship's deck. The flooring seemed sturdy enough, so he leaned over the ship's edge and motioned Lori to follow him up. Lori climbed up with ease and soon was standing next to Chip on the deck of the ship.

"This is pretty weird," Lori said as she pulled her camera back out of her backpack. "This ship looks like it must be over 100 years old. Look at the layout."

All the masts were broken and scattered about on the flooring. Both sides of the deck had rusted cannons that jutted out of holes that were carved out of each side of the ship. Chip started to walk around the deck as Lori took pictures.

"I'm going to walk over to this side and see how Buffalo is doing," Lori said as she pointed to the left side of the ship.

Chip nodded and told her to be careful. He watched Lori walk away and then looked back to the right side of the ship. He noticed a blanket draped over something large and walked toward it. When he got about five feet away from the object, he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and did not see anything. He then noticed that part of the flooring was pushed away. "That's odd. I didn't notice that before," Chip thought. He walked back toward the opening in the floor and stood over it. All he could see was darkness below. He bent down to get a better look.

Lori made it over to the left side of the ship and heard the humming sound of the brush hog below. She looked over the side of the ship and saw Buffalo pushing the machine through the thick growth. It looked like it was going to take him forever.

All of a sudden Lori heard a scream behind her. She turned around and looked for Chip, but did not see him. She rushed back over to where she left him and saw his machete and backpack on the deck of the ship. She looked around and called out his name. There was no answer.

Lori was starting to feel a little frightened as she walked around the area. She called out Chip's name again. There was still no answer. She looked at the backpack lying on the floor and noticed the hole in the deck. Lori slowly walked over to the opening and stared down into it. It was pitch black. She grabbed her flashlight out of her backpack and knelt down. She turned the flashlight on and pointed it into the darkness below. There was a ladder attached to the side of the opening, heading straight down.

Again Lori yelled, "Chip, can you hear me?" She waited for a response. There was nothing. She bent down to get closer to the opening. Just as she got near the opening, a pair of hands reached up and grabbed her. Lori let out a scream as she was dragged down into the darkness below!
Chapter 10

Chief Bailey put down the receiver of his telephone and stared straight ahead. He had just gotten a phone call from Grady Hamilton, one of the government workers. "Such a strange call," the chief thought. At that point, Finnegan walked into his office with a stack of papers in his hand, and placed them into the "To Be Filed" tray. Chief Bailey looked at Finnegan and said, "Finnegan, go find Raz and O and..."

Finnegan rushed out of the office before the chief could finish his sentence.

"...bring them back here, on the double!" the chief screamed as Finnegan was already heading outside and getting into his patrol car.

Within 15 minutes, Finnegan was back in the chief's office with Raz and O. The chief thanked Finnegan for bringing them back so quickly.

"Gentlemen, I just got a weird phone call from Grady Hamilton, one of the government workers. He said they were cutting and clearing all day, and about an hour ago, they came upon a large ship just sitting there right in the middle of the marshlands."

"A what?" Raz and O asked in unison.

"That's what I said to Grady. Evidently there is an old vessel up there that no one knew about."

"How did it get there, chief?" O asked.

"I'm not sure, but I would like for you two to come with me and check it out. Grady radioed me from their campsite. The radio signal was too weak to call from the ship's location. According to Grady, Chip, Miss Hastings, and Buffalo all stayed at the ship. Grady is going to wait for us, and he will lead us into the marshlands to the ship's location."

"We're ready when you are, chief," Raz said as Chief Bailey got up from his chair.

"OK, let's go." The chief looked at Finnegan. "Finnegan, I want you to come with us."

Finnegan nodded and the four of them walked outside and got into the chief's police car. Raz and O got into the back of the car and both of them stared toward the marshlands. The sun was starting to sink. As they got closer to the north end of the island, they passed the remains of Dr. Chickenman's place. Burned to the ground 10 months ago, the mansion was now condemned. Next they saw Dr. Stine's majestic castle, unlived in for the last 10 months. The unusual structure was unlike any other on the north end of Sandal Pointe. Then, they approached the dark and sinister marshlands. Lifeless and desolate, the marshlands looked even scarier at dusk.

As they pulled up to the government campsite, they saw Grady Hamilton standing there with a worried look on his face. Chief Bailey parked the car and the four of them got out.

"You won't believe what we just found," Grady said.

****

It was now almost 6 o'clock and Buffalo was getting tired. He had been pushing the brush hog for over an hour through the thick weeds and vines that were around the ship. He let go of the lever and bent down to turn off the machine. Buffalo looked back at what he had cut through and just shook his head. He had gone only about 10 feet in the last hour and still had over 100 feet to go.

Buffalo walked back around to the front of the ship and looked for Chip and Lori. He did not see them anywhere. He went to the other end of the ship and looked. They were nowhere in sight. Buffalo yelled their names and got nothing but silence. That was odd, he thought.

Buffalo walked back toward the middle of the ship and found a tree to lean against. He was very tired from all the work that he had done. Buffalo sat down and fell asleep against the tree...

"Wake up, Buffalo!" was the next thing Buffalo heard. He looked up and saw Chief Bailey staring down at him.

"Where are Chip and Lori?" Buffalo heard as he looked at Grady standing next to Chief Bailey.

"I leave you here to do work and you fall asleep on me!" Grady yelled.

Buffalo scampered to his feet. "I'm sorry, Grady."

"Buffalo, where are Miss Hastings and Mr. Parker?" Raz asked as Buffalo started to realize the dilemma he was in.

"Raz, O, when did you get here?" Buffalo asked as he started to wipe the sleep out of his eyes.

O took a step toward Buffalo, "Buffalo, where are the government workers?"

"I don't know. I was pushing that oversized lawnmower for the last hour. They must have disappeared."

For the moment Chief Bailey forgot about Buffalo and looked over at the gigantic ship. "How in the world did this get here?"

Raz and O also looked in the direction of the chief.

"Now that is one huge ship!" O said as he and Raz stood by the chief.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses and his jaw dropped wide open. "The captain of the ship must have made a wrong turn!"

Grady walked over to the massive ship and saw the ladder. He looked up and saw a piece of clothing hanging from a vine that was wrapped around one of the rungs. "That looks like a part of someone's shirt sleeve," Grady said as he climbed up, grabbed the piece of cloth and brought it back down.

Chief Bailey inspected the piece of cloth and looked at Buffalo. "Buffalo, did you see Chip and Lori climb up this ladder onto the ship?"

"No," Buffalo said.

"Chip! Lori!" Grady yelled as he looked up the side of the immense ship. There was no answer.

Chief Bailey looked up at the sky. The sun was falling. Shadows were forming around the ship.

"It looks like we only have a few more minutes of daylight. I, for one, do not want to be out here in the dark," Chief Bailey said. He looked over at Buffalo. "Buffalo, I want you to come back to town with me and Finnegan. Raz and O will stay up at Dr. Stine's castle tonight. Grady, I have no command over you. You can do what you want. But please be careful."

Grady nodded and responded back to Chief Bailey. "I think I will stay here just a little bit longer. I want to see what is up on that ship."

"OK. We will be back in the morning to help out if you haven't found your colleagues. Raz and O will be nearby at Dr. Stine's." Chief Bailey turned to Raz, O, and Buffalo, and said, "OK, let's get out of here. Finnegan is probably getting a little jumpy back at the car."

Chief Bailey and the Girth Brothers started the long walk down the cleared path that would take them out of the marshlands. No one spoke. When they got back to the car, Finnegan was waiting for them.

"Well, what did you find?" he asked as Chief Bailey instructed Buffalo to get into the police car.

"Finnegan, get in. We're heading back to town," Chief Bailey said as he motioned for Raz and O to follow him. After making sure Buffalo was in the car, Chief Bailey turned to Raz and O and said, "I think it would be a good idea for Buffalo to go back to your place tonight. I am not happy that he fell asleep back there."

"We understand, chief," Raz said as he looked back at Buffalo sitting in the police car.

"Just keep an eye out tonight and help out Grady as much as you can. Hopefully Chip and Lori will wander back to their campsite."

"OK, Chief!" Raz and O said in unison as they watched Chief Bailey get into the car.

Buffalo sat in the back seat and looked at Raz and O with a sullen, sad look. He knew that he had let his buddies down. He watched them as the car took off and headed back to town. Soon Raz and O were out of sight.

****

Grady grabbed the ladder rung above his head and climbed up the side of the ship. Once on board, he looked around and was startled to see two backpacks lying in the middle of the deck. He walked over, knelt down and picked them up. He recognized both backpacks as Chip's and Lori's.

Grady called out their names, but got no response. He walked around the ship's decking until he came to the large canvas sheet that seemed to be covering something. He reached over to pull the sheet off.

As Grady reached, he heard something slide across the floor behind him. He turned around and saw a piece of the flooring had been pushed away, leaving an exposed hole in the floor. Grady slowly walked over to the opening and looked down into the darkness below.

Grady fumbled for his flashlight that was attached to his belt, unhooked the light, and turned it on. He pointed the flashlight down into the opening, and saw a ladder that led down into the darkness. Grady stood there and wondered if he should climb down that ladder. He was apprehensive, but he was also worried about what had happened to Chip and Lori. Grady decided that he had to go and see what was down there. He laid the flashlight on the deck and started to reach around to unhook his backpack.

Before he could reach around a pair of hands lunged up through the opening and grabbed Grady by the shirt. The strength of the hands was too much for Grady to fight off. Grady screamed as he was pulled down through the opening!
Chapter 11

Raz put the key in Dr. Stine's front door lock and turned it. As he pushed the door open, it made a dreadful noise, since the hinges were rusted.

"I guess this door has not been opened in a while," O said as he walked into the mammoth structure. He stopped when he got to the middle of the foyer. He turned around to Raz and exclaimed, "This is still one gigantic place!"

Raz walked over to his buddy, lowered his eyeglasses, and looked at O: "This place is not as large as you, my round-bellied friend."

O pretended he didn't hear Raz's comment and walked toward the side wall. He found a light switch, turned it on and the foyer was filled with light.

"Look at all the statues!" O yelled as he watched Raz walk toward the lifeless marble figures.

Raz stopped in front of one of the statues and again lowered his eyeglasses. The sight before him made him cringe. "Hey, O. Come here."

O walked over and saw what Raz was staring at. O's eyeballs almost popped out of his head.

"Do you mean to tell me that Stine has a statue of Slab in his foyer?"

"It almost looks real, doesn't it?" Raz said as they started to walk around to the backside of the colossal resemblance of Slab.

"Is this statue wearing a prison uniform?" O asked.

"O, I think you are right," Raz answered as he stared at the black and white striped apparel that Slab was wearing.

Just then they heard a voice: "I have come back for you, Girth Brothers."

Raz and O looked at each other and then walked around to the front of Slab. They looked around the foyer and did not see anyone. Then, realizing that the voice came from the statue, Raz and O started to turn around. As they were turning, a pair of massive hands came crashing down on their heads. Raz and O fell to the floor unconscious!

Slab stepped off the marble pedestal and looked at the Girth Brothers lying on the floor. Satisfied that he had knocked them out, Slab reached down and lifted them up. He carried them under each arm as he walked toward the laboratory.

"These two are heavy," he mumbled to himself as he carried Raz and O into the laboratory and over to the far granite wall.

Slab set Raz and O on the floor and, reaching out toward the wall, he tapped two granite blocks at the same time. The wall before him started to open as he reached back down and picked Raz and O back up.

Slab grunted as he struggled with the Girth Brothers' weight, but soon had each of them securely back under his arms. He carried them through the opening and started to walk down the dimly lit passageway, forgetting to close the wall behind him.

Slab knew that Chickenman and Stine escaped down this passageway, and was determined to find his former masters. Slab also knew that Chickenman would be pleased to see that the Girth Brothers had been captured!

****

Rita and Sally were having dinner when they saw Buffalo walk through the front door of the Barefoot Lounge. Rita reached up and waved to get Buffalo's attention. He saw her and walked over to their table and sat down. The girls could tell that something was wrong.

"Hi, handsome," Rita said as she watched Buffalo's reaction. "I thought you were helping the government team out?"

Buffalo just let out a sigh. "I was taken off the case."

Buffalo proceeded to tell Rita and Sally the events that transpired that day. When he finished, Rita looked at him and asked, "Do you really think it was your fault Chip and Lori are missing?"

Buffalo was tired of thinking about it, but said, "No, I don't think it is my fault, but tell that to Chief Bailey. I will probably never be a private investigator now."

Rita looked over at Sally and then back at Buffalo, "Buffalo, do you remember last fall when you saved O from Slab's crushing grip? If it wasn't for you, O and perhaps Sally might not be with us today. In my eyes and I am sure Sally's, you saved them both. Don't ever forget that!"

Buffalo started to squirm in his seat. "Then why did Chief Bailey think it was my fault that those government workers are missing?"

Sally interjected, "It sounds like he believed what Grady said. He found you sleeping against the tree and just assumed that you were not doing your job."

"But I was doing my job!" Buffalo said loudly, as he was now getting agitated. "I pushed that oversized lawnmower for over an hour. I can't operate that machine and keep my eye on everyone!"

The three of them sat there in silence for a moment. Rita then got an idea, "Buffalo, why don't we take a ride up to the marshlands and see if your government workers have come back. If they haven't, I think we should go and try to find them. Besides, I would like to take a look at that ship you found. It sounds like it will make a great story."

Buffalo looked up and over at Rita. "What about Raz and O? And what about Chief Bailey?"

Rita just smiled and said, "What they don't know will not hurt them. If we go up to the government site and find that Chip and Lori have not come back, we will go into the marshlands and look for them. It sounds like they should be somewhere near that ship. And when we do find them, you will be the talk of the town again! Chief Bailey will have to let you go to the police academy. He will have no choice!"

Buffalo's eyes grew wide as Rita finished her sentence. He knew she was right.

"OK, I will do it!" Buffalo exclaimed. He looked over at Sally. "Sally, do you want to come with us?"

Sally looked at the two of them and answered, "No, thank you. I have had enough of that end of the island. You two are on your own!"

"OK, it is settled," Rita said. "Buffalo and I will leave immediately. We just need to find a ride up there."

As the three of them sat there and wondered how Rita and Buffalo could get a ride to the marshlands, the front door of the Barefoot Lounge opened and Finnegan walked into the main room. Rita turned to Buffalo and said, "Wait here. I think we just found our ride!"
Chapter 12

Down in the vast, cold granite cave, Chickenman stood before the two large machines and began to adjust the dials. Each machine vibrated and the noise increased. Between the machines, the tank filled with the liquid brain matter agitated in sync with the machines.

Chickenman turned around and fixed his eyes on the dark opening on the far side of the granite area. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw rats scurrying along the edge of the wall. He continued to watch the opening until he saw his cousin emerge through the hole.

Stine walked across the granite floor towards Chickenman, observing that the machines were once again turned on. His eyes grew wide as he spoke: "Wilhelm, the weapon above is almost ready. By my estimation, it will be fully charged when we extract the brain matter out of one more person."

Chickenman let out a small, sinister laugh as he looked back at the machines.

"Yes, Ronald, I know. But what do you say if we suck the brain matter out of all three of our subjects?" Chickenman asked. "What harm could come of that?"

Stine also chuckled and said, "The only harm will come to our three subjects, and the weapon will be even more powerful!"

Chickenman nodded as he put his hand on Stine's shoulder. "Our three subjects are still unconscious and tied up in the foyer. Why don't you bring one of them in here, and we will start the procedure."

Stine turned, walked past the bottomless pit and headed toward the foyer door. Halfway there, he heard a noise coming from behind the door. Stine stopped and watched as the door began to open. Chickenman hurried over to Stine's side and they both kept their eyes to the door.

When the door was fully open, a large man stood in the doorway. Both Chickenman and Stine gasped.

"Slab!" Chickenman exclaimed.

"We thought you were in jail," Stine said.

"Chickenman, I have come back to be your loyal servant again," Slab began. "And I have brought you two gifts that I think you will enjoy."

Slab reached around, picked up Raz and O, and flung them toward Chickenman and Stine.

Chickenman looked at the two Girth Brothers lying on the ground, and then looked back at Slab.

"Well done, my old friend," Chickenman said as he knelt down to make sure both Raz and O were still unconscious.

Stine looked at Slab and said, "We did not think you could speak."

"I speak when I want," Slab said.

Chickenman stood up and walked over to his longtime servant. He studied Slab for a long moment before he spoke. "Slab, do you see that iron bar that is attached to the granite wall?" Chickenman pointed toward the bottomless pit where a bar with two hooks was hanging.

"Yes, Chickenman. I see it."

"That iron bar will swing from side to side. Swing the bar to one side and tie the Girth Brothers to the two hooks. Once you have them securely tied to the hooks, swing the bar back to the middle of the bottomless pit. I want them hanging directly above the pit."

Slab nodded and picked the Girth Brothers back up, an impressive show of strength since the Girth Brothers were not small men. Slab carried them over to the wall and set them down on the cold granite floor. Slab then reached up and swung the iron bar toward him until he had it in his grasp. He bent down, picked up O, and tied him securely to one of the metal hooks. He did the same with Raz and swung the iron bar back so Raz and O were now above the bottomless pit.

Chickenman walked over to the bottomless pit and looked at Raz and O hanging from the hooks. As they hung there, Raz and O started to wake up. They both adjusted their eyes as Chickenman let out a long, sinister laugh.

"Behold, my fat, adventurous friends. I told you that some day we would meet again, and that day has come!"

Chickenman then looked back at Stine and Slab, "Ronald, Slab and I will stay here and perform the procedures. I need you to go back up to the weapon and be prepared when it has enough power. When the weapon is ready, I want you to fire off the first shot. I want Sandal Pointe to feel the power that we have achieved!"

As Stine turned to leave the room, he heard his cousin give Slab another command: "Slab, go get me one of our subjects! We will now begin the brain extractions!"

****

Chief Bailey got in his patrol car and sat for a moment. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. It was now 10 o'clock and he had only an apple for his dinner. He thought about going over to the Barefoot Lounge to eat, but soon realized that he didn't have the strength to even do that. He then thought about Raz and O. They had not reported in since they went to Dr. Stine's place, and that was almost three hours ago.

The chief started his patrol car and began the drive to the north end of the island. He had to make sure that Raz and O were OK, or else he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Within 10 minutes, Chief Bailey was pulling up in front of the majestic castle of Dr. Stine. As he got out of his car, a minor tremor shook the ground. "Not again," he thought to himself.

He walked to the front door and noticed it was partially open. The chief then glanced up toward the marshlands and could barely make out the government campsite. He grabbed the large spotlight that was attached to the driver's side of the patrol car, pointed it toward the campsite, and saw three vehicles parked next to the marshlands. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized that one of the vehicles was a police car.

"What the heck!?" the chief said out loud.

The chief forgot about Raz and O for a moment and got back into his car and drove the quarter of a mile to the marshlands. He parked next to the police car and saw that it was Finnegan's vehicle. He yelled Finnegan's name, but there was no answer. Chief Bailey walked around the campsite and noticed that everything looked the same as it did three hours ago. He decided that he had to find Raz and O.

Chief Bailey drove back to Dr. Stine's place and again parked in front. He got out of his car and walked into the foyer of Stine's mammoth structure. Chief Bailey called for Raz and O. Again he got no answer.

The chief saw that the laboratory door was ajar and went over to it. He walked in the room, glanced around and noticed the far, granite wall was open. He made his way over to the wall and looked at the opening.

"Well, well. So this is how Chickenman and Stine escaped."

Chief Bailey went through the opening and started the journey down the dimly lit passageway.
Chapter 13

Raz and O were now conscious and hanging 10 feet above the bottomless pit. Neither could wiggle free from the ropes that held them captive. Raz looked over at O and could see sweat pouring down O's face.

"Hey O! How are we going to get out of this jam?"

O swung a little to his right and answered, "I think we are in big trouble!"

They both tried again to loosen the ropes that were tied tight around their wrists. Then they heard that familiar voice right in front of them.

"Welcome to your nightmare, Girth Brothers!"

"Chickenman, when we get out of this mess, we are going to send you up the river without a paddle!" O yelled as he and Raz continued to hang above the pit.

"Hahaha! You two make me laugh. It's obvious you don't realize what is going to happen to you. Look below you and see your fate!"

Raz and O looked down, but the only thing they could see was their large stomachs.

"I don't see a thing. What about you, O?"

"I see that we might want to lose a little weight when we get out of here."

"You idiots! You are hanging above a bottomless pit," Chickenman said as he stepped closer to them. "And soon I will cut your ropes and you will perish in this dark hole!"

Raz and O's eyes grew wide as Chickenman finished his sentence. The thought of falling into a bottomless pit was not sitting well with them.

As they continued to hang there, they saw a door open in the far corner of the vast cave. Raz and O could see a large man emerge through the door, carrying another over his shoulder. When the large man got close, they realized who it was.

"Slab!" O yelled as Slab dropped Chip Parker on the table between the two large machines.

Slab looked over at the Girth Brothers hanging from the iron bar, and said, "I will get my revenge, Girth Brothers!"

Raz and O looked over at each other and then back at Slab.

"So, the big, bad Slab can talk!" Raz exclaimed as he tried to look over the top of his glasses.

"Yeah, but he is still dumber than an ox!" O responded.

Slab got a sour look on his face as he tied Chip's body to the table. Chickenman went over to Slab and put his hand on Slab's shoulder.

"Don't worry, my friend. As soon as the brains are extracted from these government people, we will dispose of the Girth Brothers, once and for all!"

"I know, Chickenman," Slab said as he looked over at the Girth Brothers with a smile on his face. "May I be the one that cuts their ropes?"

Chickenman patted Slab on the back and answered, "I will give you the honors, but first we have business to take care of. Ronald should be up top ready to activate the weapon. Let's start the procedure so we can give him some more power!"

Slab nodded, went over, and started to put the helmet apparatus on Chip.

Raz glanced at O, who had a nervous expression on his face. Then they both looked back at the horror that was unfolding in front of them. Chickenman was working on the machines while Slab finished strapping on the helmet that would suck the brain matter out of Chip.

"Hey O, I sure do wish Buffalo was here right now. We could use his help!"

O gave Raz an anxious look and answered, "I agree, Raz. Chief Bailey might have been a little too hard on our round friend, and now it seems we will never see him again!"

****

Buffalo, Rita, and Finnegan stood before the gigantic ship. They shone their flashlights on the old, decrepit vessel.

"Wow! This is a huge ship!" Rita exclaimed as she started to walk closer.

Just then the three of them felt the ground move beneath them. The movement lasted five seconds.

Finnegan's knees were shaking as he stood there, "Buffalo, let's hurry up and find your friends. I want to get out of here!"

"Hold your horses, Finnegan. We might have to go up on the ship and find them."

Finnegan pointed to the top of the vessel and exclaimed, "You mean up there?"

Rita walked back toward Buffalo and Finnegan. "Holy cow, another minor earthquake!" she exclaimed as she looked directly at Buffalo. "Buffalo, where were you working when you last saw Chip and Lori?"

Buffalo shone his flashlight at the left side of the ship: "Over there."

Rita walked toward the left side of the ship with Buffalo in tow. Finnegan watched them disappear around the side of the ship and rushed over to them in two seconds flat.

"Don't leave me alone like that!" Finnegan exclaimed as sweat poured down his face.

While the three of them were looking around the left side of the ship, they heard a noise coming from above. Rita, Buffalo, and Finnegan ran back to the front and looked up. They heard a humming sound coming from above and now could make out a light shining on top of the ship.

"Do you guys see what I see?" Rita asked as they continued to look up the side of the colossal ship.

Buffalo walked over to the middle of the ship and found the ladder that was attached to the side.

"This is the way up," he said.

Rita looked at Buffalo and Finnegan, "OK, we have to go up there, find out what is making that noise and where that light is coming from."

This time, Finnegan stuttered, "You, you mean up, up there?" he rambled as he again pointed up.

"Yes, Finnegan!" Buffalo exclaimed. "For crying out loud. You are the police officer, so start acting like one!"

Rita grabbed the ladder rung above her head and looked back at the other two, "Ladies first!"

Rita climbed up the side of the ship with Buffalo and Finnegan right behind her. When the three of them reached the top, they stood on the flooring of the vessel. The lights and noise were coming from the other side of the ship's decking. Rita motioned for Buffalo and Finnegan to turn off their flashlights as they watched a man working on a very large machine, unaware that the three were behind him. Rita and Buffalo realized who the person was and at the same time, they exclaimed: "Stine!"
Chapter 14

Chief Bailey was now at the end of the secret passageway. It had taken him over a half-hour to walk the dimly lit route. The chief looked around and noticed that the granite wall in front of him was ajar, revealing a light on the other side. He went over to the wall, put his hands on its edge and pulled. The granite started to move.

When the chief had the wall open far enough, he walked through and found himself in a large, magnificent room that appeared to be a duplicate of Dr. Stine's foyer. Massive columns lined the perimeter of the room, with statues of gods and goddesses between each column. Exquisite paintings filled the walls.

"Well, I'll be!" he said as he continued to look around the large, bright room.

The chief started to walk toward the middle of the room when he heard a noise coming from behind one of the statues. He drew his gun and slowly made his way toward the marble goddess.

When he reached the statue, he realized that a person was behind it. Lori Hastings was lying on the floor, her hands tied behind her back and a piece of cloth in her mouth.

"My God!" Chief Bailey exclaimed as he bent down to help Lori.

The chief took the cloth out of her mouth and with a weak voice, Lori began to talk. "Thank you, Chief Bailey. Two madmen captured us when we were on top of the old ship and have brought us here!"

The chief untied Lori's hands and helped her to her feet.

"Where are Chip Parker and Grady?" the chief asked as he surveyed the room.

"I don't know. I must have been knocked out when they dragged me down into the ship," Lori answered. "Chip was the first one captured and then they got me. Chip has to be here somewhere."

Chief Bailey started to walk around the large room with Lori right behind him. They had gone about 20 steps when they heard a moan coming from behind one of the massive columns. There behind the column was Grady, tied up and gagged. The chief untied Grady and took the cloth out of his mouth.

"Chief Bailey! What a sight for sore eyes, and I mean really sore eyes. My skull is pounding from this massive headache!"

Chief Bailey was now concerned. "OK, Chip Parker has to be here somewhere. I have a suspicious feeling about the two men that captured you."

Chief Bailey proceeded to tell Grady and Lori the events that took place 10 months ago. Both Grady and Lori looked amazed.

"Are you telling me that there are two evil doctors still on the loose and you did not tell us?" Grady said.

"That's right, Grady. We did not know what happened to them when they escaped," the chief said. "And we might have another problem with an escaped prisoner."

After the chief finished telling them about Slab, Lori shook her head. "That is just great. Two evil doctors and their henchman are hiding from the law, performing hideous experiments on innocent people. That is just great!"

Grady got to his feet and said, "We have to find Chip!"

The three of them looked around the room but did not find Chip Parker. Chief Bailey walked back to the opening in the granite wall, inspected it, and then looked back toward the opposite side of the large room. He saw another door on the far wall, this one closed.

"Let's find out what is on the other side of that door," he said.

Grady and Lori followed Chief Bailey to the other side of the room. When they reached the closed door, they could hear a humming sound.

Chief Bailey looked at Grady and Lori and said, "Follow me." He reached down, turned the knob and slowly opened the door. Chief Bailey, Grady, and Lori all walked through.

****

Stine heard the commotion behind him, turned around, and saw Buffalo, Rita, and Finnegan standing on the other side of the ship. Now desperate, Stine reached back and grabbed the lever to the weapon. He knew it was not fully charged, but he realized he didn't have time for that.

He looked back at the three still standing there and exclaimed to Buffalo, "It's too late, you fat moron! This weapon is ready, and now I am going to use it on Sandal Pointe!"

Buffalo, Rita, and Finnegan watched in horror as Stine pulled the lever. A beam of light came from the sleek, metal machine, shooting into the sky and disappearing over the tall trees of the marshlands.

"Stine, this time you are through with your evil experiments!" Rita yelled as she started toward him.

Stine saw Rita advancing and pulled the lever again. Another beam of light came out of the weapon, this one not as powerful as the first.

Rita backed up a step when she saw the weapon discharge. "Oh my goodness!"

Buffalo could feel his blood pressure rising as he watched Stine stand next to the weapon.

Stine let out a long, hideous laugh. "Say goodbye to your precious town, Girth Brother! Say goodbye to all you know!"

Buffalo had heard enough. He bent over, tucked himself into a ball and rolled with tremendous force toward Stine and the weapon. Rita and Finnegan watched as Buffalo, at full speed, slammed into Stine and knocked him hard to the ground.

Finnegan rushed over in a split-second and jumped on top of Stine, holding him down on the ship's decking while Buffalo unwound himself. Buffalo grabbed Stine's arms while Finnegan slapped a pair of handcuffs on the evil doctor.

Rita ran over and stood beside them. "Great job, guys!"

As soon as Rita finished her sentence, another tremor shook the ship, this one with more intensity.

"We must hurry down into the ship and find the government workers before this ship falls apart! Can we leave Stine here by himself?" Rita asked as she went over to the hole in the ship's decking.

Buffalo looked over at Finnegan and said, "Finnegan, turn your head."

"Don't worry Buffalo, I won't tell."

Buffalo smiled back at Finnegan and then slammed his fist into Stine's head, knocking him unconscious.

Buffalo got up and went over to Rita. "Now we can leave him by himself!"

Before Rita went down the ladder, she reached up and gave Buffalo a kiss on the cheek. "You are still my hero."

Buffalo's heart started to pound out of his chest when Rita said that.

"What about me?" Finnegan asked.

"You too, Finnegan!" Rita exclaimed. "Now let's go find these people!"

Rita went down the ladder that led her into the darkness below. Buffalo and Finnegan followed as the tremor continued to shake the earth around them.
Chapter 15

Chickenman watched the liquid brain matter flow from the tank. A shocked look crossed his face.

"Ronald!" Chickenman shouted. "What are you doing? We are not ready!"

Slab knew something had gone wrong. He looked over at Chickenman and asked, "Do you want me to go up and find out what happened?"

"No!" Chickenman exclaimed. "Let's finish all three of our subjects and be done with it. Then we will have the proper amount of brain matter in the tank. Go get the other two subjects. We will terminate them one by one!"

Slab started toward the foyer door and stopped. Chief Bailey was standing there with Lori and Grady.

Slab looked back at Chickenman. "Chickenman, we have trouble."

Chickenman looked, shook his fist in the air and exclaimed, "Never mind, Slab! Go cut the Girth Brothers' ropes and let them fall into the bottomless pit!"

Slab grinned as he turned back around and walked toward the pit. Raz and O were helpless as they hung above the deep, dark hole.

"Hey O! I think this might be the end for us!" Raz exclaimed.

Just then, the ground and walls started to shake. Pieces of rock started to break away from the ceiling and walls, falling all around them.

As the rocks continued to fall, Raz and O heard a familiar voice: "Hey Raz! Hey O! We are here to save you!"

Raz and O swung around far enough to see that Buffalo, Rita, and Finnegan had emerged from the dark opening on the far side of the cave. Chickenman also heard Buffalo's voice and knew that the procedure had to start at once.

Chief Bailey, Lori, and Grady watched from the foyer doorway as Buffalo, Rita, and Finnegan started toward the bottomless pit. Buffalo stopped for a second, pointed to the iron bar that Raz and O were hanging from, and said something to Finnegan. Finnegan rushed over to the wall, reached up and swung the iron bar toward him, bringing Raz and O safely to the edge of the pit.

Meanwhile, Chickenman flipped the switches on the two large machines, and the table where Chip was being held started to vibrate. The tremor continued through the vast cave as the walls and ceiling crumbled.

Slab reached the bottomless pit and made his way around its perimeter to confront Finnegan. Rita yelled, "Buffalo, do something!"

Just like on top of the ship, Buffalo bent over, tucked himself into a ball, and rolled toward Slab. He hit Slab with such force that he knocked Slab backward and into the bottomless pit. But Buffalo's momentum also carried him over the edge of the pit! Both men screamed as they disappeared into the deep, dark hole.

"Buffalo!" Raz and O screamed at the same time.

"Finnegan! Get us off these meat hooks!" O yelled.

Finnegan reached up and freed Raz and O from the iron bar as the earth continued to shake. Visibly shaken from watching Buffalo disappear into the bottomless pit, both Raz and O knelt down and looked into the deep, dark hole. All they could see was darkness.

"You're done!" Raz yelled at Chickenman as Raz and O got off their knees and ran toward him. Raz slid feet first and leg-whipped the evil doctor, sending Chickenman to the cave floor with a hard thud. O untied Chip and lifted him off the table while Raz grabbed Chickenman off the ground. Chickenman managed to break free from Raz's grip and stumbled backward toward the bottomless pit.

Chickenman regained his poise at the edge of the pit as the vast cavern started to fill with the fallen granite. "I am still not done with you, my fat, audacious friends! Hahaha!"

As Chickenman finished his sentence, a large chunk of rock broke loose from above, landing next to him and causing Chickenman to again lose his balance. He fell backward into the bottomless pit, screaming as he vanished into the darkness below.

The earthquake was still raging as Chief Bailey yelled, "Let's get out of here before this whole place collapses!"

"What about Buffalo?" O screamed as he and Raz looked over at the bottomless pit. They rushed back over and looked into the gloom of the pit below. They did not see a soul.

The chief looked sad as he responded, "I'm afraid he is gone. I'm sorry, but if we don't leave now, we might not make it out of here alive!"

Chief Bailey looked back at the foyer door and saw it blocked by the fallen rock. He then turned to Rita, "How do we get out of here?"

Rita stood there with a shocked look on her face, still not believing that Buffalo was gone. Raz went over to Rita and grabbed her shoulders. "Rita, what Buffalo did was a very brave thing, but there is nothing we can do. We must get out of here!"

Rita, distraught but understanding, pointed back toward the dark opening and said, "Follow me!"

Chief Bailey and Grady put Chip under their arms, and everyone ran toward the dark opening on the far side of the vast cave. They went through the opening and made their way to the ladder that led them up and out of the cave, onto the ship above. Raz and O grabbed the unconscious Stine, and everyone climbed down the ladder attached to the side of the ship. As they started down the cleared path through the marshlands, they turned around and watched in awe as the mysterious ship started to sink slowly into the earth. Just then, the tremor stopped. The earthquake had lasted almost five minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

Chief Bailey ordered everyone to continue out of the marshlands. It took over a half-hour to reach the government campsite, and everyone sat down to rest while Chief Bailey contacted headquarters. The chief was relieved to hear that the earthquake did not affect the town of Sandal Pointe. He also found out that the two blasts from the weapon fell well short of town, landing in an open field just outside of Sandal Pointe.

But everyone was still in shock over the loss of Buffalo.

"I am so sorry I acted the way I did with Buffalo earlier today," Chief Bailey said as he stood in front of the group, remembering how he scolded him. "I will never forgive myself."

Rita started to cry as O came over and put his arms around her. Rita broke down in O's arms as he held her.

"What am I going to do?" Rita sobbed. Tears were running down the side of O's face.

"How about we go get a cheeseburger and a chocolate malt?" a voice from behind the group said.

Everyone turned around. There before them stood Buffalo!

"Buffalo!" Rita screamed as she ran over to Buffalo and gave him a great, big hug.

Raz lowered his eyeglasses as he also went over to Buffalo. "Buffalo, we looked for you but did not see you. How did you get out of the bottomless pit?"

Buffalo responded, "Ah, that bottomless pit was no problem at all. I landed on a ledge 10 feet down. You couldn't see me because it was so dark down there. I must have been knocked unconscious for a moment, and when I woke up, I just climbed up the side of the pit and got out. It's a good thing I got out when I did, because the whole cave started to fill up with the fallen rock. The openings down there are all sealed up."

Chip, Lori, and Grady all walked over to Buffalo and stood before him. "Buffalo, we want to thank you for saving our lives," Grady began. "What you did down there in that cave was the bravest thing I have ever seen."

"Grady is right, Buffalo. Thank you very much," Chip added.

"You are a brave human being. Thank you." Lori said as she leaned over and gave Buffalo a kiss on the cheek. Buffalo's heart started to beat out of his chest again.

Chief Bailey then walked over to Buffalo, "Buffalo, I was very wrong about you. Tonight you showed me and everyone here you have what it takes to be a private investigator. Son, the next private investigative class begins next week, and I want you to be in it!"

Buffalo jumped up and down as everyone applauded. Raz lowered his eyeglasses one more time and said, "Hey Buffalo, what do you say about that?"

Buffalo just smiled at everyone and responded, "This Girth Brother is starving. How about we go get that cheeseburger and chocolate malt?"

The whole group laughed as Buffalo's face had a smile that stretched from ear to ear. One by one they came over to Buffalo, shook his hand and gave him a big hug. Raz and O then reached underneath their buddy and hoisted him up on their shoulders, which was a considerable feat of strength, considering Buffalo's ample girth.

And as Buffalo sat there laughing and smiling, all the worry and self-doubt began to erase itself from his mind. He was now beginning to feel like he belonged, and was beginning to feel like an official Girth Brother!
Epilogue

The vast, cold cave that was once the laboratory of Chickenman and Stine was now filled with tons of fallen rock. The two large machines, the tank that contained the liquid brain matter, and the table were buried. The rats that made this large, frigid area their home no longer scurried along its walls.

But somehow, the fallen granite missed the bottomless pit. Not one piece of rock fell into the deep, dark hole. And if you were able to get into the cave, you would have been able to hear laughter coming from the darkness below...

**~~~** _THE END_ **~~~**
About the Author

Hello, everyone. I would like to thank you for purchasing my second kids' story **"The Girth Brothers and** **the Secret of the Marshlands."** I hope you found it enjoyable, and it is also available as an eBook on Amazon. My first book in the series, **"The Girth Brothers and the Sandal Pointe Castle"** will soon be available on Amazon as an eBook and in paperback. Please visit my website, www.thegirthbrothers.com, and you will learn more about where and how you can purchase these books.

Now about me: I was born and raised in Berwyn Heights, Md., and I'm a 1982 graduate of the University of Maryland. When I'm not hacking it up on the golf course or in front of my computer typing away, I enjoy my teams, the Washington Redskins and the Maryland Terrapins. For the last 20years, 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

Again, I would like to thank **Jim Brocker** for his time and assisting me in editing this book.

Thanks, Brock!

Front cover illustration by

Katrina Joyner

Back cover photo illustration by

Halona Brooks

me@10confessions.com

