Disaster for Hire Read Free

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    The boys had the element of surprise on their side. Reaching the closer of the two, Frank grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him around, breaking the guy's grip on Prynne. He stiff-armed the man in the midsection. His breath came out in one loud whoosh before he fell to his hands and knees.
    Chet had taken the other one by the collar and belt and lifted him the way a pro wrestler might. He then bounced him off the bulkhead. The man hit with a metallic clunk and slid to the floor, where a weak side-to-side movement of his head showed that he was still breathing. He was probably trying to figure out what had hit him.
    With both of the mystery men out of action, Frank turned to Prynne. From somewhere just beyond his line of sight a heavy body threw itself at him. Frank, caught completely off guard, was propelled toward the rail by the momentum of the surprise attack.
    He slammed into the wooden railing and stopped, momentarily stunned. He felt himself being lifted then, and had a brief flash of churning water below him and of a distant, barely visible shoreline. There seemed to be no way of stopping whoever it was from sending him for a deadly moonlight swim.
    And then, just as unexpectedly as the surprise attack had begun, Frank's still unknown enemy lost his grip, dropping Frank heavily onto the deck. Frank struck his head sharply against the rail on the way down. Stunned and breathless, he was only vaguely conscious that someone had come to his rescue. After a brief pause to recover his wits and his wind, he struggled to his knees.
    He stayed that way until he was sure that no bones had been broken, and then, gritting his teeth, staggered painfully to his feet.
    He saw Chet, leaning against the bulkhead holding his head, and Prynne, who was now up on one elbow.
    There was no one else around. The unknown men had vanished, leaving the three Americans, bruised but breathing, alone on the rolling deck.
    Frank went to help Prynne get up as Chet slowly joined them.
    "Thank you, boys," said Prynne faintly. "I feel all right now, I ... " He swayed, and clutched at Frank's shoulder for support.
    "Sir," said Frank, "I think you may need medical attention. You could have a concussion or internal injuries. Why don't I stay with you while Chet looks for the authorities."
    Even though he was battered, Prynne hadn't lost his pride. "Don't be ridiculous!" he snapped, straightening his clothes and glaring at Frank. "I'm in no need of anything, except the opportunity to go back to my cabin to lie down."
    Frank looked narrowly at the man's pale face. "Look, Mr. Prynne, someone has to let the ship's captain know what just happened. Even if you won't see a doctor, we can't just — " "I have only one need right now," Prynne said, cutting him off. "And that is to get back to my bunk and rest. If you want to help me, you can help me there." Frank and Chet looked helplessly at each other as their teacher tottered into the passageway.
    Chet stared after him. "What do you think we should do?" he asked.
    Frank didn't speak at first. Then he shook his head. "I think if we follow him, we'll probably get our heads bitten off. Maybe we'd better do what he says. Let's turn in for the night and take care of business in the morning."
    But Chet was still curious. "Do you figure those two guys really wanted to dump the professor over the side?"
    "It looked that way from where I was standing." Frank gave Chet a puzzled look. "Two guys? Didn't you see the third guy?"
    Chet stared. "What third guy? All I saw was the two we went after, the ones with Prynne. There was another?"
    "There had to be," answered Frank. "After I took care of the one I grabbed, someone jumped me from behind and tried to dump me overboard. There didn't seem to be a thing I could do about it. Then someone took the new guy off me. I thought maybe it was you."
    "Don't look at me," protested Chet. "I thought my man was down and out, but he tripped me up somehow, and I think he kicked