Free Clive Cussler by The Adventures of Vin Fiz Page B

Vin Fiz fly back and tell the sheriff we've found where the bandits are hiding," Casey told Lacey. "I'll scout around and see what I can find."
    "I don't see the green bus," Lacey protested.
    "They must have hidden it."
    "How can you be sure?"
    "Floopy wouldn't have led us here if he hadn't followed the scent of the bandits."
    "You be careful," said Lacey, worried for the safety of her brother.
    "Never fear," Casey said bravely.
    Understanding Casey's plan, Vin Fiz touched down and quickly took off again as Casey leaped to the ground and ran toward the wall before making his way to the big iron gate. It looked to Casey as if the gate had not been opened for a long time because all the bars were very rusty. But then he stared down at the ground and saw the tire tracks of a big truck or bus. He was trying to figure out how to get past the gate, which had a huge lock and chain, when Floopy dropped down on his stomach and wiggled under it. Casey did the same and followed him.
    Once in the courtyard, he crept softly without making a sound to the partly open door of what was once the stable for the owner's horses. Casey peeked inside and saw a long red bus. Oh no, he thought. He had hoped to find a green bus. He stepped up to it and pressed one hand against the front fender. The paint was sticky. He scraped off some with a coin from his pocket and saw that the bus was green under the red. The bandits had repainted it so it wouldn't be identified as the getaway vehicle. There was no doubt that this was the bandits' hideout. Now, if only they would stay put until Lacey could return with Sheriff Mugwump and his deputies.
    Finding a door that led from the stables to the house, Casey sneaked inside. A long hall trailed down to the great main room of the manor. Pressing his back against the wall, he slinked to the archway above the far door and listened to the voices coming from the great room. He was shocked to hear a voice that sounded amazingly similar to that of the Boss, the very same Boss who had tried to steal all the gold. But it couldn't be. He was in jail in Nevada. Casey peeked around the door and saw five men. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that one of them looked just like the evil Boss in the gold mine.
    He was saying, "So here's what we'll do. We take the money from the train robbery and use it to break my brother, the Boss, and his henchmen out of jail in Nevada. Then we join forces on a nationwide crime spree, robbing trains, armored cars and banks. We'll clean up millions of dollars before skipping the country."
    "I like that," said a man with a face like a bloodhound.
    "Me too," said a man with a face like a ferret.
    "Count me in," said a man with a face like a raccoon.
    "I'm with you, Chief," said a man with a face like a coyote.
    Casey was flabbergasted. He couldn't believe his ears. The Chief was the Boss's brother, and he was the leader of another gang of hoodlums. And the scheming brothers, along with their henchmen and gang, were planning a national crime wave! The mere thought raised the yellow hair on Casey's neck. He turned to flee the manor and tell Sheriff Mugwump, but before he could sneak back down the hall to the stable, Floopy trotted past him into the great room.
    Floopy was hungry, and he didn't care who knew it. Humans were humans in his dog mind. Some, like Lacey and Casey and the Nicefolks, were kind to him, and he loved them. But when it came to food, he'd lick any human hand that offered to feed him. He came up to the long table the gang was seated around and sat down on the cold stone floor, his tongue licking his jaws and his tail thumping the ground.
    "Where did this dog come from?" demanded the Chief.
    "I have no idea," said Bloodhound Face.
    "Me either," said Ferret Face.
    "Don't look at me," said Raccoon Face.
    "I'm in the dark," said Coyote Face.
    The Chief picked up Floopy and set him on the table. "I never saw a dog wearing a leather helmet and goggles before. He looks as if he's