The Three Tecs

by Brian Taylor.

Chapter 5.

When Fancy first slipped into the water she gasped as the cold took her breath away. She turned towards the lights of the town, took a deep breath and, shoving off from the boat set off underwater. She hoped that none of the men would notice that she'd gone, but when, after a couple of minutes, the noise of the boat began to get louder she guessed that her disappearance had been discovered. She immediately gave up doing the crawl and started using the breast stroke. She reasoned it would be quieter and less noticeable. A couple of times the torch beam came uncomfortably close, but it never actually lighted on her. After a short while, the sound of the boat began receding into the distance. The men hadn't seen her. Fancy could now concentrate on making the shore.

In Clifftown, three sets of parents were getting anxious. Their offspring were over thirty minutes late home from choir practice. Nick's parents rang the vicar to enquire what time choir practice had finished. Their anxiety levels rocketed when they discovered that none of the three friends had been to choir practice. They didn't delay in alerting the police.

Back on the boat the men had stopped arguing and had agreed a plan. If the girl reached the shore, it wouldn't be long before the police were in pursuit. The plan was to sail the boat onto Mudeford beach and make their getaway on foot.
The first indication Nick and Choo had that the men's plan had changed, was the sound of the boat scraping on sand and the boat shuddering to a halt. The boys sprawled forward onto the floor and into the sick! There was one good outcome of the grounding of the boat, a mobile phone slid out from between some boxes and across the cabin floor. Choo grabbed it and put it into his pocket. "That might come in useful," he said.
"I think we've run aground," said Nick, "Where are we?"
"You noticed anything?" asked Choo. Then answering his own question said, "It;s gone quiet. There are no voices."
Nick tried the cabin door: it was still locked. He went to the porthole and listened but all he could hear was the sound of the waves rolling sand up and down the beach. "I'm getting out of here," he said to Choo and began the struggle to get his bulky frame through the porthole. After a bit of straining and huffing and puffing he made it and plopped into six inches of water. Before Nick could stand up, Choo fell on top of him. His escape through the porthole had been much easier. The pair of them scrambled up onto the beach and took stock.
"Where've they gone?" asked Choo looking around.
"There they are," said Nick. He could just make out figures hurrying along the beach. And then he remembered the mobile. He fished it out of his pocket. "Drat! It's wet," he said, "but it might still work." He rang 999 and when it rang Nick cried, "Result!"
"Which Service?"
"Police, please." There was a pause. "Nick Scott ... don't know, I found it on the boat ... Me and my friend Choo are on a beach somewhere ... We're following three men who kidnapped us ... Our friend got away and swam for help as we were passing Bournemouth ... about twenty minutes ago ..." Nick was puffing now as he and Choo hurried after the three men. "I told you before, we have no idea where we are. We have cliffs on our left and we're just coming up to like a pier made of stones. There's a board with a number zero on it and we're leaving sand and are on a path."
"Okay," came the reply, "we think we know where you are: Highcliffe. We're coming. Keep following the men but don't get too close."

Since Nick and Choo had reached the path, the men had been more difficult to see so they moved a little slower and more cautiously listening very carefully for any sounds. After a while they heard someone swear above them and to their left. "They must be climbing up the side of the cliff," observed Choo, "We need to find a path up."
Just then, there was a lot of shouting at the top of the cliff and lights were flashing everywhere.
When Choo and Nick finally reached the top of the cliff themselves, they saw policemen leading three men away in handcuffs.
Another policeman approached Nick and Choo, "You must be our heroes. Well done. By the way, Clifftown Station tells us there were three of you. Where is other one?"
"Oh dear," said Choo, "we forgot about Fancy."
Together, they told their story to the police.
The policeman called Bournemouth police and a search of the beach was undertaken. Fancy was found about forty minutes later. She was lying unconscious at the water's edge. An ambulance was called and she was taken to Bournemouth General hospital.

The next afternoon, the Three Tecs were reunited around Fancy's hospital bed. All six parents were there too. Fancy was none the worse for her ordeal, but the doctors advised her that she should stay in hospital one more night just for observation.
She said that she'd been doing quite well in her swim for freedom, but that there had been quite a strong current along the coast. As she neared the beach a little breaker just pushed her into a wooden groyne so that she banged her head. The next thing she knew she was in hospital. So, her plan hadn't worked, but she was so grateful that her guardian angel had been looking after her.
"You know," said Nick, "I've been trying to think of a verse to sum up our adventure but I can't."
"How about this," said Choo's dad, "Proverbs 11:21 'Be sure of this, the wicked will not go unpunished but those who are righteous will go free'."
The parent and children prayed together and thanked God that the children's adventure had ended happily.
When Fancy was well, the Mayor of Clifftown held a special lunch in honour of the Three Tecs. The headmistress presented each of the three with a laptop as a reward. The local Travel Agent, who had also been robbed, rewarded them with a Mediterranean cruise for them and their parents.
"Sounds like a sick joke to me," said Choo!

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