Mr. Hicks turned to me. His blue eyes had lost their cloudiness. In fact, they almost sparkled. I gave him a big bear hug.

  "You saved my life!" I said.

  "A lucky thing my meddling instincts returned," Mr. Hicks said. "After you girls left me, I decided I'd better make sure you got on the train OK."

  I slapped my forehead. "Ethel!"

  Mr. Hicks and I rushed down to the street in front of the saloon. We ran smack into Ethel. She was black with coal dust.

  "Are you OK?" I asked.

  "Y-y-yeah," she stuttered. "Just sh-shook up."

  Mr. Hicks pointed into the alley. "Uh, girls, I think we'd better go now. Your speculator friends are waking up."

  Spindler and Ratzman were shaking their heads and struggling to their feet.

  "Hey," yelled Ratzman, "There they are. Let's get 'em!"

  We dashed down the boardwalk. The speculators started after us. When we made it to the train's caboose, I peeked behind me.

  "Hey, where'd they go?" I called. The three of us skidded to a stop. We peered into the crowd.

  There they were! Spindler and Ratzman hadn't lost us _ they had given up on us!

  Instead of chasing us, they hopped onto the train. It was chugging out of the depot. We'd never catch it!

  "Oh no!" I wailed. "We got rid of the speculators. But we also missed the train. They'll beat us to Bearhead Holler for sure now!"

  "Not if I can help it!" said Mr. Hicks.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  "Wh-what do you mean?" I asked.

  "How do you think I got here so fast?" Mr. Hicks asked. He grabbed my hand. He grabbed Ethel's. Then he dragged us to the street in front of train station.

  "Ladies," he announced. "There's more than one way to get to Bearhead Holler!"

  He pointed proudly to a dusty, rusty, old-timey car!

  "Wow," Ethel exclaimed. She scrambled into the convertible's threadbare front seat. "Where'd you get this old thing? This is a 1908 Model T!"

  "I got this automobile from an oil man," Mr. Hicks said, kneeling in front of the car. He started cranking a handle around and around. "He traded it to me for an emerald bracelet. Hop in, Betty!"

  I climbed into the back seat just as the Model T coughed to a start. The car lurched backward. It chugged forward. It puttered slowly down the street.

  "We'll never make it," I groaned to myself. Over the loud sputtering of the engine, Mr. Hicks didn't hear me.

  Instead he shouted, "Yup! Still works like a charm! We'll be there in no time!"

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  We'd been poking along a long, winding road for a good forty-five minutes.

  "Thank you again for rescuing us, Mr. Hicks," I called from the back seat.

  Then I added nervously, "Um, how much further to Bearhead Holler, do you think?"

  "I'd guess about a hundred miles," he yelled cheerfully. "Ah, smell that air.

  I did forget how much I enjoy a drive through the country."

  Ethel looked back at me with alarm in her eyes. I shook my head desperately.

  She turned to Mr. Hicks.

  "I don't want to sound ungrateful," Ethel said. "But at the rate we're going, I don't think we're going to make it on time."

  "Oh, yes we will," Mr. Hicks declared. "You see, girls, there's something you don't know about me. I didn't always live in the big city. I grew up in a holler, too. Camp Creek Holler."

  "That's right next door to Bearhead!" I exclaimed.

  "Uh-huh," Mr. Hicks replied. "And if there's one thing every holler kid knows, it's..."

  "Short-cuts!" Ethel and I shouted.

  "You got it," called our driver. He turned the steering wheel sharply to the right. Suddenly, we were racing down a narrow, rocky road.

  Speeding to Bearhead Holler!

  Chapter Forty

  We were making great time when Mr. Hicks suddenly slammed on the brakes.

  "What happened?" I asked. "Why'd you stop?"

  Ethel pointed in front of the car. "B-b-bear!" she hissed. "It's blocking our way!"

  "Just stay calm, Ethel dear," Mr. Hicks said. "Nobody move. I have just the thing for that grizzly. Works every time."

  Slowly, Mr. Hicks opened the glove box. He rummaged around for a second and then he pulled out _ a diamond! A big one!

  "Bear!" he called out. "Hey bear!"

  The woolly beast wagged its head at us. Mr. Hicks held the jewel up so it glinted in the light of the setting sun. The bear stopped. It cocked its head.

  It growled a little.

  "Here ya go," Mr. Hicks yelled. Then he threw the diamond to the side of the road!

  The bear lumbered after its shiny prize. It was out of our way.

  Mr. Hicks slammed his foot on the gas and we sped off.

  "Mr. Hicks," I exclaimed. "Y-you just gave that bear a diamond! And if my little diamond is worth a thousand dollars, that big one must have been worth five thousand!"

  Mr. Hicks threw back his head and laughed.

  "Glass," he shouted. "Pure rhinestone. You know, bears love pretty, shiny things almost as much as people. It's silly really. That's why I quit the jewelry business. I saw too much silly greed for baubles."

  "Then why are you helping me?" I asked.

  "Because if there's anything uglier than greed, my dear, it is injustice,"

  said Mr. Hicks. "I will see to it that you get your due."

  Chapter Forty-One

  We drove on as night fell.

  We went through Snailback Holler, Hug Betty Narrows and Needmore Township.

  Somewhere along the way, I drifted off to sleep. I awoke with a start when I realized the car had stopped.

  I blinked and squinted. The sun was just coming up over the green mountaintops. It was beautiful. Ethel was just waking up too. She rubbed her eyes and gave a huge yawn.

  "Where are we?" she mumbled.

  Suddenly, she sat straight up. "We're home!" she shouted. "We're at the base of Bearhead Holler. Let's keep going Mr. Hicks. Betty's house is the last one on this dirt road."

  Mr. Hicks' face was gray and drawn. He shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry girls,"

  he said. "We're out of gas!"

  "No!" I shouted, jumping out of the back seat. "We can't fail now! We've come so far!"

  Ethel climbed out of the car after me. "Let's run!"

  We started racing up the holler road. But Mr. Hicks was too old and too tired to get anywhere very fast.

  "You go on," he huffed. "You've got my document. I'll wait down here with the car."

  I didn't want to, but I was about to agree. Then I saw a blond-haired man walking up the road, leading a horse. The animal was weighed down by two canvas sacks stamped "U.S. MAIL."

  "That mailman has a horse," I said. "Maybe he'll let us borrow..."

  "That mailman?" the man shouted. "Is that any way to address your favorite Uncle Jack?"

  I tried to smile as if I recognized him.

  "I'm sorry, Uncle Jack," I babbled, and ran to give him a hug. "I'm so tired, I didn't realize it was you. We've been driving all night, you see. And listen _ we need to borrow your horse. I've got to get home, now! It's almost a matter of life and death!"

  "Oh, now I don't know," Uncle Jack said, scratching his head. "I was just starting my mail route. And you know the saying, 'Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor hail, will keep the mailman from his . . . ' Hey!"

  While Uncle Jack was making excuses to me, Mr. Hicks and Ethel had been sneaking behind his back.

  They lifted first one mail sack off the horse and then the other. Then they both climbed on the horse's back.

  Mr. Hicks yelled, "Hee-yah!" and the horse began trotting up the road.

  I raced after them and hopped onto the horse behind Mr. Hicks.

  "Sorry Uncle Jack," I called over my shoulder. "But I promise _ if we get home in time, you'll never have to deliver the mail again!"

  Chapter Forty-Two

  We crashed into my house _ only to find Great-grandma and Great-granddaddy sitting at the kitchen table with Spindler and Ratzman!

  Great-granddaddy sat hunched over a stack of papers with a pen in his hand.

  "Noooo!" I shouted. I leapt to grab the pen away from him.

  Great-grandma jumped to her feet. Her face was white. "Betty," she cried.

  "Where have you been?"

  "In Lexington," Ethel answered for me.

  I ripped open the hem of my dress. Then I plunked our sparkly, cut diamond and the certificate of authenticity on the table.

  "Mr. Hicks here has something to tell you," I said.

  Mr. Hicks cleared his throat. "Indeed, I do," he said. "Look at that gem, Mr.

  and Mrs. Jones. It's a beauty, isn't it? And very valuable. You see, your coal is impure, as you feared. But only because it is riddled with diamonds!"

  Somberly, Mr. Hicks faced Great-granddaddy.

  "I urge you sir," he said. "Don't sell your mineral rights to these swindlers, no matter what they are offering. You've got a fortune buried in your land."

  My great-grandparents turned on the smarmy speculators.

  "You tried to dupe us," Great-grandma whispered, sounding hurt.

  "You can take yourselves and your phony contract, and get off my land"

  Great-granddaddy growled. "Now!"

  He grabbed the papers and ripped them to pieces!

  Spindler brought two gloved fingers to his waxy mustache and gave it a casual twirl. He laughed _ a slow, evil laugh. Ratzman stood behind him and cracked his knuckles.

  "Oh, you hillbillies," Spindler chuckled. "You're so naive. What you don't understand is those diamonds are ours! Contract or not!"

  He pulled a pistol from his coat pocket, cocked it and pointed it straight at

  me.

  "Ratzman," he barked. "Lock 'em in the root cellar. All of 'em!"

  Chapter Forty-Three

  So there we were _ my great-grandparents, Ethel, Mr. Hicks and me _ trapped in a dank, dark cellar with only turnips and onions for company.

  "We've got to do something!" I wailed, pacing the dirt floor. "They're up there right now, stealing our fortune. Ourfuture"

  Silence filled the cellar like a sour smell. Nobody had any ideas.

  We sat there.

  Helpless.

  I squinched my eyes shut and plopped on the floor to sulk. My mind went hazy.

  All I could see was blackness. Then the blackness turned gray. And then a picture _ faint and shaky _ emerged.

  I leaped to my feet. "The fox tunnels!" I cried. "Ethel, I'm almost sure of it. A tunnel runs right against the root cellar!"

  "Really?" Ethel asked.

  "What are you talking about?" Great-grandma exclaimed. "Tunnels?"

  "Oh, you'd be surprised how many tricks these girls have up their sleeves,"

  Mr. Hicks said with a grin.

  "We'll explain later," I shouted. "For now, everybody choose a wall. Start knocking until you hear a hollow sound."

  We all started tapping the dirt walls with our knuckles.

  After a few minutes, Ethel cried, "I think I found it!" She pointed to a spot near the floor.

  Great-granddaddy and Mr. Hicks picked up a couple wooden stools and started bashing the wall. Soon the dirt crumbled.

  They had broken through!

  I dropped to my knees and stuck my head through the hole. "This is it!" I cried. "This is our fox tunnel."

  Great-granddaddy took off his jacket and began to roll up his sleeves.

  "Thomas, what are you doing?" Great-grandma asked.

  "I'm going out there. I'm going to save our fortune!" Great-granddaddy said through gritted teeth.

  "You can't," I cried. "You're too big to fit. And besides, only me and Ethel know the way."

  Great-granddaddy's face fell. "But this is all our fault," he whispered. "If only your mother and I had trusted you, we wouldn't be in this fix."

  A lump rose in my throat. I threw my arms around Great-granddaddy's waist and squeezed hard. He didn't scare me anymore.

  I motioned to Ethel.

  "Quick," I hissed. "Let's go."

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Ethel and I crawled through the tunnels.

  It was dark. And damp.

  And smelly.

  And scary!

  We made turn after turn. But we weren't hitting the surface.

  "Ethel," I whispered. "Do you think we're lost?"

  "We might be," she quavered. "The only thing we can do is just keep going 'til we're unlost!"

  "What if we never get unlost?" I wailed.

  "Don't think about that," Ethel said. "Just move!"

  We kept going. We made a twist to the left. A turn to the right. We climbed up a little hill. Then we veered left again.

  Just when I was beginning to resign myself to the life of a mole, I saw something up ahead. I squinted.

  "What's that?" I said. "It's glowing!"

  "It's sunlight," Ethel cried. "We're free!" We raced to the light. It was

  shining through a wide hole

  in the ground. We climbed up to find ourselves in a field of some sort. We lay on our backs, gasping with relief.

  "Fresh air!" I cried, sucking in a big breath.

  "Where are we?" Ethel asked.

  I got to my feet to look around. Then I gasped and ducked back down.

  "Oh no!" I hissed. "We're in Daddy's cornfield! And the speculators are a hundred feet away, digging like crazy! How are we going to stop them?"

  "I don't know," Ethel wailed.

  "Hey!" It was Spindler's voice, dripping venom. "Who's out there?"

  The speculators started crashing through the corn stalks.

  "It's those meddling girls!" Ratzman yelled. "Let's get'em!"

  Chapter Forty-Five

  "Noooo!" I cried.

  Before we could get our bearings, I ran off in one direction and Ethel ran off in another. In a few seconds, she was out of sight.

  The speculators turned their attention to me.

  I ran as fast as I'd ever run in my life. I didn't even pay attention to where I was going. My feet had a mind of their own.

  I heard Spindler pant, "She's heading to the mine!"

  Indeed I was. In a minute, I was in my secret hiding place. My cave. For an instant, I even felt comforted.

  But then Spindler and Ratzman invaded my secret place.

  "Grab her!" Spindler shouted.

  Ratzman lunged at me. Just before his meaty paws closed around my neck, I ducked and he flew over me and hit the cave's rocky wall. "Oq/1" he grunted.

  "Rotten kid!"

  Spindler lurched towards me. I dropped to all fours and scrambled between his legs, tripping him. He

  fell to the ground with a thump.

  "Dodge and weave all you like, little girl," he snarled. "But there's two of us and one of you. We'll catch you all right. And then it's into the mine shaft!"

  He pointed at the yawning mouth of the mine. I screamed and darted off again.

  But as they chased me around the cave, I remembered something. That hole! The emergency exit I'd almost fallen into when I first morphed!

  Spindler and Ratzman couldn't know about it.

  I twisted around and started running for the hole as fast as I could.

  "After her!" Spindler called. Ratzman was puffing behind me. Spindler was puffing behind him.

  I spied the hole. I hoped the speculators didn't see it too!

  At the last possible moment before I would have plunged into the emergency exit, I jumped.

  I sailed over the hole and crashed to the ground on the opposite side. I whipped around just in time to see Ratzman tumble down the shaft.

  "Whoooaaaa!" he bellowed.

  Spindler skidded to a stop. His toes were dangling over the shaft. He flapped his arms wildly. Just as I had that first day, he leaned backward.

  And he leaned forward.

  Then he fell in!

  "Arrrrrg!" Plop. He must have landed right on Ratzman.

  Groans and grunts floated up the shaft. "Oh, my arm's broken tor sure!" one of them said.

  "That's nothing. I think I've broken both my legs," said the other.

  I collapsed in relief. "Safe at last!" I breathed.

  "Oh really?" said a growly voice.

  I stared at the mouth of the cave.

  "Clemmmmm!"

  Chapter Forty-Six

  "You're not getting away this time!" Clem snarled.

  As I tried to dash past him, he grabbed me and lifted me over his head. Then he lumbered to the emergency exit. He was going to throw me down there with the speculators!

  "Oh, no you don't," I yelled. I started kicking my legs wildly. I beat on Clem's woolly head with my fists. Clem stumbled and spun around.

  With a roar, he threw me from his arms. Crack! Pain shot through my left leg.

  My eyes flew open. I expected to find myself heaped on top of the speculators.

  But I wasn't.

  When I was kicking at Clem, my legs must have gotten tangled up in the cable ladder! Then when he dropped me, I was left dangling upside-down from the cables.

  "Ooowwww!" I gasped. "My leg! It's broken!"

  "That's not all that's gonna be broken when I get you off that ladder," Clem yelled, lunging at me. I was too weak with pain to fend him off.

  Suddenly, I heard a voice yell, "Freeze! Police!"

  Clem's eyes went buggy. He made one last grab for me. But he was so startled by the shout of the policeman that he lost his footing.

  "H-h-help!" he screeched as he plunged into the hole. I heard a sickening thud and then three sets of groans rose from the shaft.

  I squinted at the mouth of the cave. There was Uncle Jack, wearing a gold badge and holding a gun.

  "Uncle Jack," I said. "You're the holler mailman and the policeman?"

  "Gotta stay busy," Uncle Jack said, winking at me. "Ethel came and got me. We got your folks out of the root cellar. Then, luckily, Ethel thought to come here. She said it was your secret hiding place. Looks like we got here just in time."

  "Wow," I whispered, wincing in pain. "This was Mamaw's secret hiding place, too!"

  Behind Uncle Jack, I could see Ethel jumping up and down in excitement. Mr.

 

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