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So late one Friday night the Tucker twins once again packed their backpacks and left a place that they had called home. Ben took with him a small wooden box.

They had left a letter on the kitchen table for the Weatherbee's and it stated that they were going out for a morning walk at the edge of town. The twins figured that when the Weatherbee's woke up in the morning they would find the note and think that the children had got up before them and gone for a walk before breakfast.

The twins packed hardly anything in the hope that it would be thought that they had an accident or went missing instead of leaving town and running away. They hoped that the Weatherbee's would not notice the small amount of food that they had taken and that the backpacks were missing.

At the edge of town there was an old gold mine that hadn't been used for many years, the twins remembered Dr Jones mentioning it.

"Lets see if we can find one of the old entrances to the shafts" said Ben. And he and Mary searched carefully for about an hour until they walked on some boards which had a sign painted on them stating "Danger - Old Mine Shaft! Keep Out!", "Yes said Mary this is what we want".

They found a big firm branch and tried to pry a plank away but it snapped in half, they pried a few more planks away until the hole was big enough to fit a child of ten and then Ben ripped a piece of Mary's dress and "snagged" it on a piece of the half plank that was over the hole.

The scene now looked as if the twins had fallen into the hole. May and Ben picked up a large rock and dropped it into the hole and then waited for the thud of the rock hitting the bottom of the shaft, the seconds went by and they heard nothing, then finally they heard a splash as the rock hit water, it was perfect.

The twins snuck away into the night, sorry that they had to leave this way but hoping it would solve their problems just the same and get Bill Rawling off their trail.

The next morning the Weatherbee's discovered that the children were missing and a big search was put in place by lunchtime, the Weatherbee's had decided to wait in the hope that the children would arrive home, but when lunchtime came they both new something was wrong and they called the town together for a search.

About one in the afternoon the mine shaft was found and the piece of ripped shirt was fond with it, people cried and sobbed, the men called down the shaft each knowing that the children would not survive the fall and then threw a rock down and when they heard the splash the search was called off and yes the Weatherbee's didn't notice at this time that the backpacks were missing, they were so upset at the loss of the twins.

The Tucker twins were well on their way by this time and keen to get away as far as possible.

The twins came across a small, wide mountain that was covered in rocks and boulders that had fallen down from the top of the mountain over a couple of thousand years. They decided to go over it as it would have taken many weeks to go the long way around it. After hours of climbing Ben found a flat area and said "Lets set up camp here Mary, it looks as good a place as any and there is a flat patch here".

"Okay Ben, I sure miss the Weatherbee's they were such a nice couple and so kind as well, we learnt a lot staying with them, I hope they are all right".

"Yes Mary I do too!, "Have a look around for some wood Mary while I set some traps for food and look for plants we can eat".

Mary walked around the rocks but never going too far away from the camp that they had made and Ben set a trap for a rabbit or some other small animal. He used the small wooden box that he had taken from the Weatherbee's and a stick with some string tied to it. Ben put some bait under the box and waited behind a rock to see if an animal was going to investigate the food. After Mary had got enough wood for the camp fire she smoothed away some of the ground with branches as a broom and then made their beds for the night. Then she sat down and read a book waiting for Ben.

About an hour later Ben walked into camp with a dead rabbit. "Here is dinner Mary, it was curious about the bait I left and silly enough to enter the box to investigate".

Mary lit the fire while Ben skinned and prepared the rabbit for cooking.

After a dinner the children talked for a short while and then went to bed. A soft breeze was drifting down the mountain and the stars shone brightly.

During the night Ben was woken by a noise, he waited for a while and then he realised that it was people talking in the distance, sound travelled over long distances in the night, Ben was aware of this so he wasn't to worried but he was a bit surprised to hear voices this far away from town. He hoped that it wasn't the townspeople looking for them.

"Mary are you awake"? said Ben.

"Yes Ben, I can hear them as well", "What do you make of it"? she said.

"Its just some people many miles away, sound travels far at night you know".

"Yes that's true, oh well good night".

"Good night Mary" said Ben as he dozed off to sleep.

Ben woke with a start, he thought that he had heard a rifle shot and he got up and looked at Mary who was still fast asleep. The sun was just starting to rise and it was still dark. Ben sat down and waited but heard nothing else but the noise of the animals of the night and the wind.

By the time Mary woke up Ben had cleaned up the camp site and all Mary had to do was wash up and they were on their way again.

Up the mountain they walked, hour after hour. Lunchtime came and they stopped for a well earned rest, both twins were tired and had sore feet and sore legs. They sat down and had sandwiches for lunch and then slept for an hour in the shade of an old tree.

"Time to get going" said Ben to Mary, he touched her shoulder to wake her up and she smiled at him and forced herself out of her sleep. "Gee Ben, I was in the middle of a nice dream", Ben laughed "If you want to eat tomorrow then you had better get up and get going today young lady", Mary took a playful swing at Ben's arm and he dodged and pretended to try to strike her back and she dodged his fist and they both laughed and picked up their backpacks and started up the mountain again.

They walked and talked until nightfall and then they set up camp again on another flat area between boulders this time. Ben went off to try and get some food.

While Ben was away Mary went looking for wood again and with a hefty amount of wood and her arms full she headed back to camp. As she entered camp a surprise awaited her.

"Oh" she gasped for right in front of her were 5 men outlined against the sky, she couldn't see their faces but she could see that they were not woman.

"Drop the wood and keep your mouth shut" said one of the men. Mary started to suck in a large amount of air to scream when she felt a hand cover her mouth and an arm surround her midsection - she was trapped.

Finally Ben arrived back at the campsite, Ben proudly stepped into the clearing ready to announce the food he had got when he was pounced on by several people, down they all when in a bundle, Ben was young fit and fast he wiggled and squirmed his fist flying out in every direction and all the time his mind was in a mad panic as he wondered what had happened to Mary.

Finally they subdued him and Ben laid on the ground panting furiously bruised and tired.           

Ben stared at the scene laid out before him, Mary was tied up and leaning against a rock, she had tears running down her pretty face. "Oh Ben are you all right"? she gasped.

Ben sighed "Yes Mary I am just a bit bruised" then he turned to the men or should we say teenagers and said "Who are you and what do you want"?

The gang leader who Ben recognised immediately as the boy who was nearly run over by Jessy, said "The names Red, boy and we was wondering what goodies you may have for us" with that he and the others laughed. "You were headed straight for our hideout so we thought we would find you before you found us".

The twins were led away and they walked for a half an hour until they came to a ledge and below they saw what looked to be a small town, at least a few small buildings were visible and a large fire was burning in the middle of the canyon.

Down the hill the twins were led on an old goats track, guns pointed at them all the way.

At the bottom they were led off to an area that had large thick wooden poles sticking out of the ground. The twins were tied to a pole each - the twins were sitting down with their hands tied behind their backs and their hands were behind the poles. The ground was hard and firm and was covered in small rocks and dust, a few small tufts of dry grass grew in a few patches here and there. The ground was hard and firm.

The gang of hoods then left them alone and went off to sit around the big fire and eat dinner. They were laughing and drinking while they ate. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and they reminded Ben of a band of pirates.

"Ben what do you think is going to happen to us"? said Mary wishing that she had her back pack with her, but one of the gang members called George had taken the backpack away.          

"Its hard to say but I am not waiting to find out" said Ben who's mind was already working on a plan of escape. While Ben was thinking a young man came over with some plates of food.

To be continued…