The Number File by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

of them and two of us now," Joe reminded his brother.
    "But we have to be careful Alicia doesn't get caught in the middle," Frank said cautiously. Joe nodded in quick agreement.
    The two brothers made their way to the wheelhouse without being seen. Del and Mickey sat in the middle of the room, laughing and joking. Alicia was on a stool directly inside the open doorway.
    Frank and Joe rushed the wheelhouse, Joe's gun drawn. As soon as Del saw them coming, he spun the wheel and the boat turned sharply, throwing Joe slightly off balance. This gave Mickey just enough time to draw his gun. He pointed it straight at Alicia.
    "One more step and she's dead!" he said, grinning sadistically.
    Mickey was watching Frank—not Alicia— and she used this time to drop down behind her stool. The few seconds it took for him to look her way and get her in his sights again was all the time Frank needed.
    He kicked out sharply, his entire body horizontal to the deck. His body had become one long weapon. His foot landed against Mickey's gun hand with such force that the gun flew into one of the wheelhouse windows, cracking it in two. Mickey reeled backward, tripping over the stool. He crashed against the deck, his head hitting the hard wood floor.
    In the meantime Del lashed out at Joe, who was momentarily distracted checking out Alicia. The pilot grabbed Joe's gun hand, and the two wrestled. Joe was as strong as his opponent, but Del was at home on the rocking boat, and that was all the advantage he needed. He jerked back on Joe's hand, sending Joe down. The gun went flying out the door and splashed overboard.
    Mickey's gun had landed behind Del, and Frank had to get by him to retrieve it — he lurched forward. But with Joe down, Del had the seconds he needed to pull his own gun from inside his jacket.
    Before Frank could reach him, Del had drawn a bead on Frank.
    "Say goodbye!" Del cackled as he wrapped his finger tightly around the trigger.
    Joe watched in horror as the would-be killer took deadly aim at Frank.
    "Nooooo!" he yelled. But his cry was drowned out by the roar of an exploding bullet.

Chapter 12
    THE GUN FLEW out of Del's hand. He grabbed his hand in pain as Joe and Frank looked at Alicia, still crouched behind the stool, with the revolver grasped firmly in her hand.
    "Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Joe asked, flabbergasted.
    "You don't think you and Frank were my dad's only students, do you?" she asked, keeping a watchful eye on both Del and Mickey. "I've won the Bermuda women's trap-shooting championship two years in a row."
    "That was as close as I ever want to come—" Frank's face was just beginning to get its color back. "I owe you, Alicia."
    "Me, too," Joe chimed in.
    "Don't mention it," she said to Frank, slightly embarrassed. Then she grinned at Joe and said, "But from you—I might collect."
    Frank picked up Mickey's gun, while Joe managed to shut off the engines. After Joe revived Mickey and bandaged Del's hand, he escorted the two downstairs and tied them up and laid them to rest beside their colleague.
    "I'm sorry it's dark down here." Joe grinned at them. "But there's a cord, a socket, and a bulb around someplace." He locked the door with the key he had taken from Mickey, and they all went topside again.
    Frank stretched his arms and took a deep breath. "It's good to be free and out in the fresh air."
    "Yeah. And there's only one thing on my mind right now," he said as he looked at Alicia with a glint in his eyes.
    "What's that?" she inquired.
    "Food!" We haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday!"
    "That's right. It's ten-thirty already. Why don't you two see if you can scrounge up some breakfast while I figure out how to get us home," Frank said.
    "I'll take care of it," Alicia offered. "I've been on deck all morning while you two were penned up below." She smiled, then turned and went looking for the galley.
    "I've figured out the rendezvous point," Frank said, once he had Joe's attention. "See this point,