I pulled it out, which wasn’t easy, it was very heavy. Karin had to help with it and even then we struggled. It had an old lock on it which broke off quite easily and when we opened it…wow, full of gold coins! Who knows what might be at the bottom, I said. And I’m the one who will find out, boomed John right behind us. He and Kathy were there, each with guns, so I had to give up my gun. John picked up the treasure chest by himself and put it outside. I always knew he was a strong man. Then he ordered us inside and said, this should make a good grave for you! And he started laughing. Then 2 shots rang out! He shot both Karin and I in our right legs. Just to make sure you don’t get out, said John, laughing some more as he slammed that heavy wood door shut and locked it. We could hear them walk away, still laughing…

We’re going to bleed to death, cried Karin as she sat on the floor in much pain! No we won’t, I said. Though I had to admit to myself that things were not looking good at the moment with no way out and no way to call for help. It could be a couple of days before anyone gets back here, said Karin through tears. True, I said as I looked all around that little shed…for something…though I didn’t really know what. We were both bleeding a lot right now, and my backpack was outside, I decided to leave it there while we dug for that treasure. Not one of my better ideas. Mr. Cat, come here! He came right over. I forgot that I gave you a new knife before our vacation. Meow!=Yep, it in my backpack, nice and sharp too! I got it out and cut the leg off Karin’s jeans and cut a couple of strips, I used one to tie around her leg. That’s tight, she said. Good, it has to be tight to slow down that blood flow a bit. Then I cut some pieces and tied them over the wound to help soak up the blood. Then I did mine.

Well, there’s no way to break that door down, it must be 3 inches thick, I said. Meow, meow!=Roof look rotten, maybe easy to break. Muffin was right and there’s a good strong shovel here that might do the job. I stood on a bench and pounded at the roof and in no time I had a hole large enough to crawl out. The cats went first. Just stand on the bench, then on that shelf and you should have no problem getting out, I told Karin. She went quickly, then it was my turn. As I stood on the shelf I heard a crack, then down I went! I landed on that stone floor and hit my head on an old anchor. Karin knew she couldn’t come back down to help me so her and the cats jumped onto the ground. I could hear her scream from the pain of landing on that leg.

She got my lock picking tools out of my backpack but couldn’t open the lock. Meow.=Let me try. She put it in Mr. Cat’s mouth and he had the lock open in no time. Karin helped me get up, but I was kind of dizzy from hitting my head. As we went back to the hotel I noticed the red painted rocks lining the front path to the beach. Hey, we can use those rocks to spell SOS on the beach, I said. So for the next little while that’s what we did. We were both very weak after all that work and barely made it back inside to lie down. I told the cats to stay outside and watch, maybe someone would come by to help. It actually wasn’t long and a small boat from a cruise ship came up to the dock. The cats were meowing and jumping and came running to the hotel with two young guys behind them. Karin heard the meowing and took the other gun from my backpack and went out to meet them.

She just got out to the lobby but collapsed onto the floor. The guys came running over. In the room down the hall, she said weakly and one of the guys came to where I was. They called back to their ship. I told the one guy to call a certain number and ask for Rossana. He did so and she did the rest. Soon a helicopter was there to take us to a hospital. Even with a detailed description of John’s boat the police were unable to locate it. He managed to get away, and with that amazing treasure too!

Finally the cats and I were back at home, trying to relax after our “vacation”. We’ll get a real vacation yet, I said to them. Meow, meow!=We already sent for brochures! Lots of places with beaches! Meow!=Not beaches, not want sand in fur! Sent for brochures with castles! Meow, meow!=No castles! That mean ghosts! Not want ghosts! This should be fun, laughed Karin. She decided to take Muffin’s advice and come back with us. And she managed to get an apartment right next door too.

This ends “The Vacation”, but please come back on Monday when we start our new case! Mr. Cat’s pictures are all taken by his human, Nina Zain, and are graciously loaned to me for use in my mystery stories. Thank you so much Nina!

©2020 Steve McLeod.