The Treasure Hunters Read Online Free Page B

rafters and she pointed. “What’s up there?”
    “The really old junk,” Mike emphasized. Ruby blinked. Older than the stuff down
here? “Don’t worry about recording it right now, just focus on this
‘ere mess down ‘ere.”
    Yes, a mess indeed.
    And thus life began in merry old
England. Days of traveling back and forth to work through the cold and snow,
and making sure the heater stayed lit without burning the building down. Merridie
had been put to work in the townhouse and Ruby saw her grow more and more frustrated
every day at the situation. Eden had been attached to work in the kitchen,
which meant she was able to steal extra food. Still, the days blended together
almost painfully.
    One evening, several weeks after
she’d begun working in the warehouse, moving boxes and crates, she’d sat back
to rest a moment behind some crates when she heard voices reverberating through
the cavernous space. Deciding to investigate, she moved closer to the office
door and recognized one voice as Mike.
    “I told ya ,
tonight…”
    It was hard to make out exactly
what he was saying.
    “My collection…rewards,” snarled
another voice, this one a bit deeper with an ugly rasp to it. Ruby tried to
peek through the cracked door, but she only caught a glimpse of a tall,
muscular man, dressed finely as any gentleman. His head was bald, smooth and
tanned from the sun. He was facing off in front of Mike and the next instant he
stormed out of the office. Ruby watched as he left the warehouse before heading
back to work.
    Later that evening, she was in the
office finishing up a report, working by candlelight when she heard a clanging
at the front of the warehouse door. Ruby sat still for a moment longer, until
the noise came again followed by a low murmur of voices. She quickly blew out
her candle before walking quietly over to the window. She peeked around the
curtain and saw two figures making their way up the ladder to the second floor,
a lantern held by the first man. Eyes widening, she backed away from the
window. Thieves. Why? What could this building full of
old junk have that was worth stealing?
    Jewelry perhaps?
    Well, she couldn’t let them
succeed. Her eyes landed on an iron pry bar leaning in the corner, so she
quickly walked over to it and grabbed it.
    Quietly opening the office door, she
eased into the shadows of the warehouse. She saw a coiled rope hanging on a
hook and cinder block around the stove and an idea formed. She hurried to set a
trap, knowing she would have to take out two men, and then hurried into her
hiding spot nearby.
    The two thieves descended the
ladder. The second man gripped a bag in his hand. As the first one took a step
off the ladder, his feet got tangled up in the rope that Ruby had set up,
causing him to fall on his face.
    “Hey!” the second thief called out.
“You okay?”
    The first thief raised his head and
nodded. He sat up and grabbed the rope around his ankle.
    “Wait a minute,” he muttered. “This
rope––”
    Before he had a chance to finish
that statement, he pulled the rope again and this time it became taut. He
looked up and saw it was looped over a low beam. He pulled it again and
suddenly a large cinder block was flying through the air, attached to the rope
and coming right for his face. All Ruby heard was a
dull thud on impact, as it knocked
the thief out.
    The second man started to look
around so she held herself very still and silent. He cautiously made his way
over to his fallen buddy and bent down and that’s when Ruby raised the pry bar
and struck him sharply across his back and head. He fell, out cold, a trickle
of blood rising in his hair. The bag flopped on the ground beside him at her
feet.
    She might have killed them and she
probably should feel more remorse, but they were thieves. She had no tolerance
for their profession, even in these difficult times. Ruby bent down to grab the
bag and looked inside, wondering what on earth could be so important