Free The End of the Trail by Franklin W. Dixon

hope,” Joe said.
    The brothers walked to the door of the barn and peered out. Neither Quentin nor Bill was in sight. The brothers slipped through the wooden doors andheaded for the fence that surrounded the farm. It wasn’t hard to get over the fence, but on the other side was thick underbrush. It took them fifteen minutes to fight their way through it and get back to town.
    As they skulked onto Main Street, hoping that nobody from McSavage’s farm would notice them, they were surprised to see Phil Cohen running toward them, a frightened look on his face.
    â€œCome quick!” he cried. “You’ve got to see what happened!”
    â€œWait till we tell you what happened,” Joe said, but it was clear that Phil was very upset over something. He and Frank followed Phil to Rhonda’s house.
    The front door was wide open. Mrs. Hibley was standing outside, looking as if she was about to faint.
    â€œMaybe Biff will tell us what happened,” Frank said, stepping inside. “Hey, Biff! Where are you?”
    â€œThat’s the problem,” Phil said. “He isn’t here. Not in the house, anyway.”
    â€œWhat?” Joe said. “Then where’s Rhonda.”
    â€œShe’s not here, either,” Phil said. “According to Mrs. Hibley, who saw part of it, these two big guys—I think they were the ones we saw carrying that money yesterday—came here and left with Rhonda and Biff. At gunpoint!”
    â€œIt was terrible!” Mrs. Hibley cried, standing in the doorway. “I’ve never seen anything like it!”
    â€œThe Brookburn brothers,” Frank said. “They’ve kidnapped Rhonda and Biff!”
    â€œHow did they get Biff out of here?” Joe asked. “He couldn’t walk.”
    â€œHe was on crutches,” Mrs. Hibley said.
    â€œDo you know where they took them?” Frank asked.
    â€œOh, no,” Mrs. Hibley said. “I didn’t see where they went. I had to go sit down.” She still looked as though she was going to faint.
    â€œThere’s only one thing to do,” Frank said.
    â€œYeah,” Joe said. “Ask Loraleigh. I think she knows some things she hasn’t told us.”
    Frank, Joe, and Phil crossed the street to Loraleigh’s store, but the door was locked. Frank knocked five times, then peered in the window.
    â€œShe must have gone home,” he said. “She said she lived right up the block, didn’t she?”
    â€œYeah,” Joe said. “I think that’s her house there.”
    They walked a couple of houses up the street to an old house with a dilapidated front porch. The name Mason was on the mailbox. Frank knocked on the door.
    After a moment Loraleigh opened the door. She was obviously scared of something.
    â€œI don’t want to speak to you,” she said, starting to close the door in their faces.
    â€œYou’d better speak with us,” Frank said. “Bill McSavageand his farmhands just tried to kill us. And they’ve kidnapped Biff and Rhonda.”
    Loraleigh closed her eyes in anguish. “Oh, no! I wanted to protect all of you from this.”
    â€œWell, it’s too late now,” Joe said. “We’re in this up to our eyeballs.”
    â€œWho’s that, Loraleigh?” asked a man’s voice from the living room.
    A middle-aged man with a muscular physique and gray hair appeared behind Loraleigh.
    â€œIt’s nothing, Dad,” Loraleigh said. “You can go back and watch TV.”
    â€œActually, Mr. Mason,” Frank said, “we’d like to talk with you, too.”
    Loraleigh’s father eyed them suspiciously. “Who are you young men, anyway?”
    â€œWe’re hikers, Mr. Mason,” Joe explained, telling him about Biff’s accident and how he had been staying at Rhonda’s house.
    â€œRhonda Harrison’s a good person,” Mr. Mason said. “If she’s taken you