AUTHOR'S NOTE
To those of a sensitive disposition, I should warn you that this part of the story contains a description of the punishment of two 12 year old girls. I am conscious that MMSA Stories does not approve of that sort of thing and I know that many of you find it deeply disagreeable. But justice did require that the girl twins should also be dealt with and, if it is any consolation, the boys will be in trouble again in the next instalment.
All seven of them froze. Adam and the two sets of twins, who were right at the back of the cave behind the stone slab, had not heard the sound. But Jo, who was being held up by Timmy and Charlie so that she could keep the others briefed on what was happening in the main part of the cave, saw the shape of the man pulling something into the cave. She turned and looked down at the others with a warning finger over her lips. Behind the rock, nearer to the entrance, Robbie and Sammy held each other's hands. Robbie tightened his grip on the pistol. He inched his head round the rock to try to see what was happening.
The man was dragging something large along the ground. From where he was, Robbie thought it was some sort of long sack. It was clearly quite heavy. The man was bent down a s he dragged it. Slowly, inch by inch, he pulled it up beyond the high water level. Then he eased the end he had been pulling down onto the ground and stood erect, wiping his brow with a sleeve. Once he had recovered his breath he turned and looked around him. It was far too dark for Robbie to make out the man's features. But he got an impression of longish hair.
The only noise was that of the crashing waves outside, getting nearer to the entrance by the second. The man walked towards the oncoming water and gazed about. Robbie tried to make out what could be in the sack. But the darkness was all pervading. All he could see was a slightly darker shape on the ground. Then, just as he was about to turn his attention back to the man, he saw the shape on the ground move. He drew in his breath sharply. There was something alive in the sack. The man must have seen the movement too, because he turned back and returned to his burden. He leant down, carefully examining whatever it was. Then he spoke. The words were indistinct, but Robbie caught some of them.
".... drugs are wearing off then. .... safe here. You can't get away. ..... Be back as soon as the tide is low enough. .... don't want to use it ..... gun then"
The water was lapping into the cave. The man quickly busied himself with the shape on the ground. He seemed to be undoing something. Then he went back to the entrance. He seemed to be trying to satisfy himself of something. He waited for several minutes as the water got closer. Then, at last, he turned back to look at the shape and shouted his parting words.
"Even if you get out of the sack you can't get away. Your shut in now until the tide goes down again."
With that, he bolted for the exit. He had obviously timed his departure carefully. A moment after he was gone the water came so far into the cave that no one else would be able to get out. At least not that way.
Behind the stone slab Jo signalled to the boys to ease her down. Charlie, who had positioned himself so that he could make his hands into a seat for the girl, sighed as he realised that he would have to release her wonderfully firm young bottom from his grasp. But, like the others, he was desperate to know what had been happening.
"It was him", whispered Jo, "the man who hid the gun. He's brought someone else with him. But whoever it is is tied up in something. He's gone now."
They were sorely tempted to vault back over the slab to look for themselves, but Robbie had made it very clear that they were to stay where they were until he told them they could leave.
Within the cave proper, Robbie and Sammy waited for five minutes. They had to be sure the man had gone. Finally, when they were satisfied that there would be no possibility of his returning, they crept out from their hiding place and inched towards the sack. It was now wriggling a fair amount. It clearly contained a person. And, almost certainly, not a friend of the man. But they were not taking any risks. When they were a few feet away, Robbie gestured to Sammy to keep back and slowly bent down towards what was clearly the person's head. He inched forward again. He saw strands of long dark hair coming out of the top of the sack. Then, when he was only inches from it, he gradually made out the features of a girl's face, almost hidden in the sacking. He could see that the top of the sack had obviously been tied up. The man had untied it, presumably to let the girl breathe. But the rest of the sack was still tightly bound by rope in several places. The man had not wanted her to get out.
Robbie slowly stepped forward so that he was facing the girl's face. At that moment she saw him. She let out a gasp of shock. He quickly whispered to her.
"Don't worry. We're friends. We'll get you out of there in a second."
He remembered that Charlie and Timmy had a Swiss army knife. He turned and quietly instructed Sammy to tell the others to come out and bring the knife with them. Then he leant down and began gently easing down the top of the sack to give the girl more air. All the while he talked softly and reassuringly to her.
"My name's Robbie. What's yours?"
She coughed a bit to release some of the coarse fabric that had got into her mouth. Then, in a faltering voice, she replied.
"Sarah".
"OK Sarah, well I've got some friends here. There's Sammy. She's 16 like me. Then there's Adam, he's 14. Then there are two sets of twins. Charlie and Timmy and Jo and Sandy. They are all 12. We thought there was something funny going on here so we've been keeping a watch."
When he mentioned the twins, she gasped again. Then, collecting herself, she spoke again, her voice sounding urgent and perturbed.
"Are Jo and Sandy girls?"
"Yes, why?".
"Are they identical twins?"
"Yes".
"Oh no", she was almost crying, "they're next."
Just then the others arrived and Robbie got to work with the knife to release Sarah. It only took minutes. When it was done, he gently eased her out of the sack and helped her to stand. Her legs were a bit shaky, but otherwise she seemed OK. Adam shone a torch on her so they could all see her more clearly. She looked about 14, which is what she was. She was tall, not much shorter than Adam, and slim. Her dark hair was fairly long, going down to her shoulders. Not surprisingly, her face was still registering shock and distress but it was, Adam considered, a remarkably pretty face. She was wearing a thin T shirt and very brief tight shorts. She wore no socks or shoes. Her legs were long and slim. She was, Adam thought, the perfect damsel in distress. Having taken it all in, Adam then turned the torch to shine it on the others, so that Sarah could see her rescuers. The sight of the seven youngsters clearly reassured her. The look of terror on her face gradually subsided. But she was obviously still distressed about something.
Robbie then asked her to explain what she had meant by saying that Jo and Sandy would be next.
She drew her breath and tried to compose herself to tell her story clearly. After a moment, in what Adam thought to be the most beautiful voice he had ever heard, she began.
"The men who kidnapped me. I heard them talking when I was in the back of the van. I think they assumed I was drugged and wouldn't hear. Anyway, they were saying something about how, when they'd hidden me, they would get the identical twins. I heard them say they were pretty girls and there father was rich and he would pay anything to get them back. That's all I heard, but there can't be that many identical twin girls around here. It must be you two", she looked at Jo and Sandy. "What are we going to do? I know this cave. It's impossible to get out until the tide is low, but then he'll be back. He said he'd have a gun."
Robbie quickly reassured her.
"It's OK. He hid the gun earlier. Jo and Sandy saw him doing it. We've got it". He pointed to the gun which was sticking out of one of his jeans pockets. "And there is a way out. No one else knows about it. We've got Timmy and Charlie to thank for it. They found it. Look, we are going to have to get out now, and then we'll try to work out what to do. Do you know whether he's holed up on the island somewhere, or is he going back to the mainland?"
"No, he's got a boat. I'm sure he's going back, probably so he and his friend can try and find Jo and Sandy."
"Which end of the island is the boat, do you know?".
"Yes, he thought I wouldn't cos of being in the sack, but I've been coming here since I was about eight. I could tell from the sounds and things. He's moored the boat at the East end of the island."
"Thank God for that", said Robbie, "that means he won't see our boats. They're at the other end. OK, this is what we'll do. The way out is up a ladder at the back of the cave. It goes right up to the top of the hill above us. I'm afraid it's quite a climb, but we'll help you. I'll go first, so I can check the coast is clear. You follow me, but none of you must come out until I've told you it's safe. Is that clear?"
The others nodded. There was no doubt who was in charge. Charlie and Timmy, eager to show off their discovery to their new friend, headed for the stone slab and vaulted over it. Adam stayed close to Sarah and, when they got to the slab, he was quick to offer her a helping hand. He cupped his hands to provide a foothold for her and she gratefully placed her bare right foot in them. She was safely over in one bound. Once they were all behind the stone slab, Charlie proudly shone the torch up the ladder before handing it to Robbie, who started his climb. It had been agreed that Sammy would go last, with the younger children sandwiched between her and Robbie. Jo was second to begin the climb. Timmy bounded forward to follow her, in the slight hope that she might need a helping hand. Sandy was next, followed by Charlie who had had the same thought as his brother. Then Adam gestured to Sarah to go too. He let her get up the first few rungs and then started his own climb, gazing admiringly at the long legs and delightful bottom ahead of him. Finally, Sammy joined them on the ladder.
When he got to the top, Robbie carefully pushed the trap door up. Once it was fully open, he paused and listened. There was no sound but the crashing waves below and the wind in the trees. He could see that the moon was now shining brightly. There was no doubt, if anyone was watching, that he would be quickly spotted emerging onto the top of the hill, but there was nothing for it. He made his move. He pulled himself up and, snake like, writhed out of the hole and onto the ground. Again, he waited. Then, satisfied that there had been no movement nearby, he slowly rose to his feet. He turned immediately to the east end of the island and, in the bright moonlight, he saw the man climbing into a boat and setting off for the mainland. Again he waited a few minutes before finally signalling to the others to join him.
They stood together silently, waiting for the boat to disappear from sight. Then they busied themselves with closing and disguising the trap door before finally making their way down the hill. Once they were all at the bottom, Robbie called another council of war.
"Unfortunately, he's not headed for the jetty where PC Plod is waiting. So, wherever he's going, he'll probably be undetected. However quick we row back, we aren't going to be able to intercept him. So we've got a few minutes to work out what all this is about. Sarah, I think you'd better start by telling us all you know."
Sarah them told as much of the story as she had been able to grasp. It seemed that she lived just outside the village. Her father was something big in the City. She was an only child. Her parents were spending a few days in London and she had been left in the house with her old nanny, now in semi-retirement. A few hours earlier she had been walking in the garden when she had heard something in a bush. She had gone to investigate. As she was bending down to look, she suddenly felt someone grab her from behind. Before she had a chance to shout out, a cloth with some foul smelling liquid on it was pushed over her face. After that, she remembered nothing until she came to in the back of a van. She didn't know how long she had been out. She was tied up in the sack. She had kicked a bit, and worked out that her shoes and socks had been removed. There was a gag round her mouth, so she couldn't call for help. After the initial panic, she had listened to the voices in the front of the vehicle. There were two men. She didn't recognise them. It soon became clear from their conversation that they were intending to hold her hostage, demanding ransom for her return. Then she had heard the discussion about the twins. But that was it. She thought she had slipped into unconsciousness again. She had woken again when she was in the boat. There were no voices this time and she had worked out that she was alone with only one of the men. When they had got to the island, he had half carried and half dragged her to the cave. The rest, her listeners knew.
When Sarah had finished her tale, they all looked at Robbie, in the hope that he would come up with a good plan. He thought for a minute or two before pronouncing.
"The first thing we've got to do is row back to the jetty and fill in PC Plod. From what Sammy says about him, we're going to have to get him to get someone more reliable onto the case straight away. Leave that part to me. Clearly there is a real risk that Jo and Sandy are the next targets. I don't think they ought to go home straight away because the crooks may be lying in wait. Adam, I don't like asking you to do this, but time is going to be important. Would you mind going to your home and alerting your parents to what's going on? You'll have to take enormous care, but I reckon you can stand up for yourself. I seem to remember you putting on a pretty good show in the inter-house boxing tournament last term."
Adam immediately agreed to undertake the mission.
"OK, well reassure your parents that your sisters are safe with us and the police. If they would be happy about it, I would suggest that they should let the girls come home with us for tonight. It's ten miles away and I can't see how the kidnappers would ever track them down there. They are welcome to come with you as well. That would be OK wouldn't it Sammy?"
"Of course. There's plenty of room."
"OK, well let's get going. We've got about six hours before the tide will be low enough for them to come back here."
They were grateful for the moonlight as they half ran and half walked to the beach where they had left the boats. Robbie had had a secret fear that the boats would have been found by the crooks and destroyed. Fortunately, however, all three were exactly as they had been left earlier. Robbie and Sammy, with Jo as a passenger, rowed one. Timmy and Charlie rowed the second and Adam and Sandy, with Sarah as passenger, rowed the third.
Robbie's strength ensured that his boat was just ahead of the others. Jo, who was facing forwards, was searching the shore line for PC Baker. They got closer and closer, but she could not see him anywhere. They got to the jetty. There was still no sign of him. They quickly tied up the boat and jumped ashore. Then they saw his shape in his police car. He was slumped over the steering wheel. At first they feared the worst, that the crooks had knocked him out, or even killed him. But as soon as they got to the car they saw that he was just asleep. They hammered on the window. Robbie pulled open the door and shook him. At last he woke and looked, bleary eyed, around him.
"Come on, what's all this about?", he muttered as he tried to remember where he was and why he was there. Then he saw Sammy and Jo and recalled the ludicrous story that had brought him out of the warm police station and forced him to nap in the car.
"Right, have you come to give yourselves up for wasting police time?", he barked at them, as he climbed out of the car.
Robbie waved his hand to stop the girls from replying. He was going to handle this on his own. As he started to give a brief account of the night's events, the other children arrived. PC Baker gazed incredulously at them all as he struggled to understand what he was being told. His immediate reaction was to assume that this other youth, Robbie, had decided to join in the silly practical joke being played on him. He was about to say something sharp, in order to impress his authority on the boy, when something in Robbie's demeanour stopped him. He stared around, desperately trying to work out what he should do. In the pause, Robbie told Adam to go on his mission. Then he turned back to PC Baker.
"Right Officer, I take it you are going to call for back up?"
The officer made one last attempt to take control.
"We will do this in the correct way. First, you must all come down to the station to make statements. Then I will submit them to the desk sergeant. Then we will decide what other steps need to be taken."
Robbie could not believe what he was hearing, but he knew it was important to keep his temper. He spoke in the low, cold voice which had earlier that evening struck terror into Charlie's and Timmy's hearts as they had waited for their punishment.
"Far be it form me to tell you how to do your job, officer. But I am not sure whether you have had time to take in the gravity of the situation. One girl has been kidnapped already. Fortunately, we have managed to rescue her. Two more girls are probably at this very moment being hunted down by the kidnappers. We strongly suspect that those girls are Jo and Sandy here, but we do not know for certain. What we do know is that at least one of the crooks will have come ashore not far from here within the last half hour. I suspect, on reflection, that you will agree that the sensible course would be to get onto your radio and summon immediate assistance."
PC Baker knew he had met his match. He didn't bother arguing. He got back in the car and grabbed the radio. His attempts to summarise all he had heard were hopeless. His humiliation was complete when Robbie gently removed the radio from his hands and told the story himself. Fortunately, the radio operator back at the police station was rather more intelligent that PC Baker. Within five minutes, she was assuring Robbie that three cars were being immediately dispatched.
While the others were waiting for the police, Adam was making his way, as quietly as possible, to his parents' house. He was not particularly worried about most of the journey, because the street lighting was good and the moon still shone brightly. But he was concerned about the last hundred yards. He knew that, as soon as he turned into the drive, he would lose the street lighting and the trees on either side would mask the moon. He decided that the safest bet would be to run from the gate to the front door, down the middle of the drive. When he got to the gate he stopped and listened. There were the usual night noises, but nothing untoward. Rather than open the squeaking gate, he decided to climb it. He dropped down silently on the other side. Then, taking a deep breath, he ran the last hundred yards at a pace which would have done him credit on sports day. As he got to the front door he thought he heard a sound behind him, nearer the gate. He turned and looked, but it was too dark to make anything out. He quickly turned back and pushed open the door, which was, as usual, unlocked. Once inside, he drew the bolt across and hurried across the hall to the drawing room.
His father was sitting in his usual armchair by the fire, reading a newspaper. He looked up and immediately started barking at his son.
"What time do you call this? Go straight to your room and wait for me there".
Adam had guessed he would get a reception like this, but he was not really scared of his father. On the odd occasion when the slipper was still wielded at home, he went through a little act of pretending to be distressed by it, but the school canings, which he now suffered at fairly regular intervals, were vastly more painful and his father's slipper was no real ordeal for him. He held up his hand in a commanding manner and spoke.
"Sorry, father, but there isn't time for that now. There are kidnappers trying to snatch the girls."
Mr Clayton was, as his son intended, silenced by this extraordinary remark and Adam pressed home his advantage. Quickly, but clearly and intelligibly, he told his father the bare facts of all that had been going on. As the account was coming to an end they both heard the distant sound of police sirens.
"So you see father, the girls are quite safe with the police and Robbie Taylor. We've just got to decide what to do next. I imagine that a police car will be sent here, since this is the most obvious place for the crooks to be hiding out. If they find them straight away that'll be fine, but my guess is that they'll head off as soon as they hear the siren. So you need to decide about where the girls are going to spend the night. They could come here of course. I expect the police would be pretty good at guarding the house, but I'd have thought it would be better if they went back to the Hardmans' house. They'd be in safe hands with Taylor. He's a prefect you know."
The last bit, of course, was not entirely true. Robbie would not be a prefect for another term. But Adam knew his father well. Mr Clayton had a simple but absolute faith in almost all authority figures, and Upton prefects were, he knew, invested with very great authority.
Mr Clayton took a few minutes to absorb all the information he had been given. Then, with the resolve of a former captain in the infantry, he pronounced his decision.
"Right Adam. I've decided. I will stay here to defend the house and your mother. You will go back to the girls and convey to Taylor my deepest gratitude for all he has done so far. You will tell him that we have decided that the girls and you should return with him to the Hardmans. I've heard of them, by the way, an excellent family. We will then give further thought to our plans in the morning. I want you to promise, also, to ask Taylor to speak very firmly indeed to the girls about their stupid behaviour earlier in the day. I imagine he will be doing something similar with the Hardman twins."
"Actually, father, he's already dealt with them. He slippered them in the cave before the girls got back."
"He's clearly an excellent man. I'm only sorry that I shan't get the opportunity to thrash your sisters tonight, and I suppose tomorrow will be too late. Well, anyway, I'm sure that Taylor can be relied on to make the girls realise their stupidity. I daresay you will be not be foolish yourself while you are staying with the Hardmans, but you must promise me also to make it clear to Taylor that he should feel free to exercise over you the authority which a prefect has over junior boys at Upton."
Adam duly promised to convey his father's wishes to Robbie. His mother was then called and the whole story had to be explained again. She was a sensible woman. Many in her position would have been overcome with distress and quite unable to think of practical things. But she could see immediately that things needed to be done. She went upstairs without further ado and quickly packed a bag with a change of clothes for each child, pyjamas, toothbrushes and towels.
Adam decided to make his return journey by going through the back garden and across neighbours' gardens before rejoining the road several hundred yards from the main gate. Once again, as he crossed the garden on tiptoes, he thought he heard something, but he pressed on and was soon back in the safety of the well-lit road.
An inspector, two sergeants and three more PCs had gathered around the jetty. Inspector Mullins was clearly a high flyer. He could not have been more than thirty years old. He was quick on the uptake and sensible in his decisions. He arranged for an officer to call on Sarah's nanny and reassure her. He thought it sensible that Sarah should not immediately return home in case the crooks should find out she was free. It was agreed that she would return to the Hardmans' house. He was delighted with the plan for Jo and Sandy to go there as well. He called for a police van to come to take all seven youngsters (and four bicycles) back to the house. Then he confided in Robbie what his plan was to be. He said that he now regretted the use of sirens earlier. He feared that the crooks would have taken fright and flown. But, in case they hadn't, the police presence would now be as near to invisible as possible. He would place four officers on the island. Others would be put in houses along the shore looking over towards the island in the hope of spotting the crooks when they embarked again. The Claytons' house would be given a full, but again invisible, guard. With any luck, he said, the kidnappers would be smoked out by morning.
Robbie, who had earlier feared, when talking to PC Baker, that his little band of child detectives would have to continue the fight against crime, was relieved to see a true professional taking over. He was happy to hand over responsibility and resume his more domestic duties, even if he now had four extra charges.
By the time the large police van delivered its juvenile contents to the Hardmans' house it was nearly 11 o'clock. No one had eaten anything since lunch time. They were all starving, and far too excited to contemplate bed. As it happened, Sammy had taken a brace of pheasant out of the freezer before setting out for the island. The birds had thawed and, with the other one which had been intended for Robbie and her, she now had three to roast. She went straight to the kitchen to pluck and draw them, having instructed her brothers to prepare a room for Jo and Sandy. Sarah, she decided, could share her room. She suggested that Adam slept in the spare bed in Timmy and Charlie's room. Quickly adopting her maternal role, she told both sets of twins to change into their pyjamas before supper.
Adam and Robbie retired to the small sitting room where Adam told the older boy of his father's requests.
"My pater made me promise to ask you to give Jo and Sandy a good telling off. I reckon he'd really like you to spank them, but I don't think he felt able to ask that of you."
"I should think not", said Robbie, even though the idea of spanking those delightful little bottoms was not an unpleasant one, "I don't mind walloping boys, but I'd have to draw the line at girls."
"Oh, that reminds me", said Adam, "he also wanted me to tell you that you can whack me if I need it while I'm here. I'd have expected that even if he hadn't said it, but I spose it's better to have these things official. Not that I'm intending to risk anything after seeing your performance in the cave with those boys."
Robbie smiled, "well, I don't imagine you'll be needing anything like that, but it's probably just as well that we understand the rules from the outset." He looked at his watch. "Well, if I've got to bollock your sisters I suppose I'd better get it over and done with. You wouldn't go and ask them to join me in the study would you? It's the door opposite this one."
Adam went in search of his sisters and Robbie went to the study to wait for them. He wasn't at all sure that he was going to be very good at telling them off, but he did agree with their father that it was the least they deserved.
Jo and Sandy had already changed into their pyjamas (in keeping with their tom boy approach to life they absolutely refused to wear nightdresses). They were about to go in search of Timmy and Charlie when they were intercepted by Adam.
"Sorry sisters dear, but your sins have caught up with you. Father made me promise to get Robbie to take you in hand. He wants to see you in the study".
They were not really surprised by this news. They had already worked out that punishment of some sort was inevitable and they were actually quite relieved that it would not be hanging over their heads much longer. Having got directions from Adam, they went downstairs to take whatever was coming to them.
Jo knocked on the door. Robbie called out for them to come in. He was standing staring out of the window. He waited until he had heard the door shutting before turning to face them. They were wearing boys' pyjamas. Their still undeveloped, slim and athletic bodies and their short hair cuts made them look for all the world like two prep school boys. And naughty ones at that. They were, in time honoured fashion, looking guiltily at the floor. Robbie felt an instant sympathy for them. He had been in their position too often himself. In his case, of course, this had usually been the prelude to a painful punishment. In theirs, all they were going to get was a telling off, but he knew that even that, for a 12 year old, was a deeply unpleasant experience. Still, they deserved it and he was grimly determined to do his duty.
"You two, with Charlie and Timmy, behaved in the stupidest and most dangerous manner today. Look at me when I speak to you."
They raised their gaze to meet his.
"Adam has told me that your father is furious with you. I am not in the least surprised. I have little doubt that if you were at home now you would be facing severe and well earned punishment". Jo instinctively placed a hand on her small bottom. "If you were boys I would have not the slightest hesitation in bending you over and thrashing you within an inch of your lives. You are immensely fortunate to have got through your little escapade uninjured. If Sammy and I had not followed the boys to the island I daren't think what might have happened to you and them. I have dealt with them, and I hope they have learnt their lesson. As for you, I can only pray that you have at least some understanding of how stupid you have been. Well, do you?"
Sandy looked him in the eyes. Her own were watering, though she was determined not to cry.
"Yes", she mumbled, "I know now. And I'm really sorry."
Jo echoed her sister's apology.
"Very well, we will say no more about it. But just remember, if you do anything like this again while you are under my care I will come down on you like a ton of bricks. Now off you go and let's all be cheerful by supper time."
The girls, thoroughly relieved that the ordeal was over, left the room and bounded back up the stairs to find their new friends Timmy and Charlie.
The boys, also changed into pyjamas, were in their room. Jo called through the door to ask if it was all right for them to come in. Charlie rushed to open it for them.
"Hey, why are you looking so glum?", he asked.
"We just got a mega telling off from Robbie about today. He said he'd already given you and Timmy yours. Was it bad?"
"Wow, how come you can tell us apart?", Timmy asked incredulously, "no one else, other than Sammy and our parents can".
"It's easy", Sandy replied, "you look different. What about us? Who am I?".
"Sandy of course", said Timmy without hesitation. And all four suddenly realised that, for some reason, they were able to detect the most subtle differences in appearance that no one else seemed able to master.
"Don't worry about Robbie", Timmy reassured the girls, "he's terrifying when he's cross, but it's all over so quickly. And he's one of the decentest blokes you could meet."
"I know", said Jo, "that's what makes it so bad. I mean I can take tellings off from our headmistress cos she's so boring and old. But when you get told off by someone like Robbie it's really awful."
"Yeah, I know exactly how you feel", said Charlie, "he's never been really cross with us before. But when he found us in the cave he was incredibly angry. The telling off was almost worse than the slippering."
"Wow, did he slipper you?" asked Jo.
"Course", said Timmy, "he was bound to really wasn't he? And he put all his strength into it too."
"How many did you get?", this was Sandy.
"Only four, but that was because we'd had three for being late home earlier. But it felt like at least six" and Charlie rubbed his bottom as he spoke.
"Can we see the marks?" Jo asked in a rather forward way.
The boys looked at each other. They were quite used, of course, to showing off their walloped bottoms to school friends, but neither had ever shown a girl before. Jo noticed the hesitation.
"Come on, we've all got bums. We won't look at the front. Anyway, we've seen Adam's after the slipper before."
The boys could see the sense of this. They nodded to each other and both turned their backs on the girls. They untied their pyjama cords and simultaneously lowered the trousers. Both girls gasped when they saw the small bottoms. They were covered in purple blue bruising which looked as though it wouldn't fade for some days.
"Wow", said Jo, "that is awful. It must have hurt like anything. Did you cry?"
"Of course not", said Timmy indignantly, "we're boys. Boys don't cry when they get the slipper."
Now there was nothing more likely to get these two girls annoyed than the suggestion that they were not as tough as boys. Both now thought back to Robbie's assertion that if they had not been girls he would have thrashed them. A curious sense of injustice overcame them both.
"Why is everyone so silly about girls and boys like that?", said Sandy speaking for them both, "I bet we can take whackings just as well as you. Anyway, I don't see why Robbie should think it's ok to whack you but not ok to whack us. We were just as naughty as you."
"Quite", said Jo, "he should have whacked us as well. At least that way we'd have been punished and he wouldn't need to go on being cross with us."
As she spoke, Adam came into the room.
"What's all this? My poor little sisters complaining they haven't been properly punished? That's a first."
"Course we don't want to be punished", said Jo crossly, "we were just saying it's so unfair on boys that they get whacked really hard and we get let off. You should see Charlie and Timmy's bums. They got the slipper from Robbie for what we did."
"I know, I watched. In fact I held the torch so he could see to do it. It was absolutely awesome. I don't think you could take a whacking from him. He's miles harder than father."
Yet another insult to their _s_e_x_. Jo and Sandy were now becoming incensed at the condescension of boys.
"Gosh you're so stupid", said Sandy, "of course we could take a whacking from him. If Charlie and Timmy can then we can. We're just as tough as them. I vote we ask Robbie to punish us and get the whole thing over and done with."
By now, both girls had completely lost touch with reason. They were determined to prove they were just as strong as the boys. Insanely you may think, Jo immediately agreed with her sister's proposal.
"Are you serious?", Adam asked in shock, "you two actually intend to ask to be whacked?"
"Yes", said Sandy with determination, "we're just as good as any boys. Come on Jo, lets go and ask him".
"Hang on", said Adam, "if you go and ask him he's never going to do it. If you really mean it, I'll see if I can talk him into it."
The girls exchanged glances and then Jo spoke.
"Ok, but you'd better persuade him otherwise we'll ask him ourselves."
Adam looked at Charlie and Timmy and raised his eyebrows as if to say "have you ever heard anything so batty", and then went off in search of Robbie.
"You're stark staring bonkers", said Timmy, "Robbie's just the most ace whacker ever. No one in his right mind would choose to get a whacking off him if he didn't have to."
"I don't think they're mad", said Charlie, "after all we didn't have to get whacked for being late did we? We could have got home ten minutes earlier and just done the extra time at the end of revision, but we decided not to so that we could get back to the island in time to take over from the girls."
"That's different", said Timmy, "we're boys ..."
Before he could finish his sentence Sandy butted in in exasperation.
"There you go again. They ought to invent a word for it".
"Yes", said Jo, "_s_e_x_ist or something like that".
"Good word Jo", said Sandy, "you two are _s_e_x_ists."
While the English language was being developed upstairs, Adam was in the sitting room with Robbie explaining his sisters' strange request.
"They actually want to be whacked?", Robbie was asking in amazement, "are they completely mad?"
"Probably, but they seem to be dead serious. They keep going on about how unfair it is to treat boys differently from girls."
"But boys can't spank girls, that would be awful".
"I don't know", said Adam with a grin, "I wouldn't mind putting Sarah over my knee. Could be quite fun."
"Well that's the point isn't it?", said Robbie, "a boy could get quite the wrong feelings if he had to spank a girl. I'm not saying I would with your sisters, they're too young for that, but it just wouldn't be right."
"I don't see why not. Father whacks them often enough."
"Yes, but he's their father. No, there's no way I'd do it."
Adam was now almost as determined as his mad sisters to see this thing through. He had an idea.
"Why not get Sammy to do it? It's not as if they don't deserve it. And no one could complain about a girl spanking them."
Robbie thought for a moment. He was nothing if not conservative. He certainly thought that the girls needed a good spanking. Maybe Adam was right.
"I suppose we could ask her. I doubt she'd agree though".
Sammy walked in just as Robbie spoke.
"Ask whom what?" She said.
Robbie then explained the purpose of Adam's mission.
When Sammy had been younger she had been quite used to being spanked for being naughty. Indeed, her last spanking had only been a few months earlier. She had never thought there was anything wrong with the punishments, at least not at the age of twelve (she had rather resented the last spanking on the grounds that she considered herself too old). Like Robbie, she considered that there could be no doubt but that the girls needed a sound walloping. But she did not particularly relish the idea of administering it herself.
"I'm not saying they don't deserve it, but it's not really for us to decide is it? I mean, her parents would probably be furious."
"Course they wouldn't", said Adam, "father even told me that they deserved a thrashing. Come on, it'll be good experience for when you're a mother."
"I really don't think I'd be up to it. I've never done anything like it before."
"It's not exactly difficult", said Adam, "you just pull their P. J.s down and smack their bums as hard as you can. No reason why a girl shouldn't do it just as well as a bloke. Blimey, when I was younger Mum used to spank me just as hard as father. Hey, why not have a practice on me? Just one smack, but prove to yourself you can do it."
Robbie smiled as he guessed how much Adam would enjoy being across those wonderful slim thighs having his bottom smacked by such a goddess as Sammy.
Now Sammy was not immune to the attractions of boys' bottoms. She was not particularly excited by the thought of spanking them, but she did rather like the feel of firm young male buttocks (when embracing Robbie she nearly always allowed her hands to slip down to his bottom). She had, I am afraid, noticed that Adam's bottom seemed to be perfectly proportioned and she guessed that it would be far from flabby. He was now dressed only in pyjamas and the thought of having an excuse to feel his bottom through the thin material was beginning to excite her. Much to Robbie's amazement, she strode over to a chair, sat down and patted her knees.
"Ok, let's see what I can do".
Adam grinned at her and happily walked over.
"Right", he said, "this is how you do it. First, are you right handed?"
"Yes", she said.
"Ok, well put your legs apart a bit and then get the naughty child to stand between them facing to your left". He took up the position as he spoke. "Now you push the child's back to bend him over your left knee." She dutifully raised her right hand and gently pushed Adam's back. "When the child's in that position you squeeze your legs together to stop him getting away. Then you hold his hands with your left hand at about the small of the back so he can't use them to protect his bum." Sammy was quite well aware of the classic spanking position and she did as Adam said without the need for any further prompting.
Robbie was watching in amusement, but also with some trepidation. If he had been in Adam's position now, he was thinking, his enjoyment might well become apparent to Sammy. Adam was also a little concerned that a certain part of his anatomy might begin to harden, but this was too good to miss and he was just hoping for the best.
Sammy rested her right hand on the stretched pyjama trousers and felt the firmness and warmth of the flesh beneath.
"With the girls, of course", Adam continued his lecture, "you will pull down their pyjama trousers before smacking them. I don't mind if you do that to me".
Sammy laughed. In fact, she would have loved to do it, but her sense of propriety was too strong.
"I think we might miss out that bit", she chuckled.
"Ok then, we're ready. Give my bum a really hard smack with your right hand."
She slowly raised her hand and brought it down on the slim bottom with a slight crack.
"That's hopeless", said Adam, "I hardly felt it."
Robbie stood up.
"Here, let me show you", he said and walked towards the waiting bottom.
Adam was not quite so pleased about this development, but he knew he couldn't chicken out now.
Sammy noticed that, as Robbie raised his hand, Adam's buttocks tensed in anticipation of the blow. Robbie waited a couple of seconds and then, using all his not inconsiderable strength, he slammed the flat of his hand down on Adam's bottom. The crack echoed round the room far more loudly than that produced by Sammy's slap. Adam winced as he felt the stinging pain and remembered once again that this youth would soon be allowed to cane him at school. Sammy released her hold on his hands. Both shot to his bottom and rubbed furiously.
"Yes, well that's how you do it", he said, "do you want another go?"
"It's no good", she replied, "I'll never be able to do it like that, "I'm just going to have to marry someone who'll take sole responsibility for disciplining the children."
Adam quickly got up. He didn't think his pleasure had yet become noticeable to Sammy, but if he stayed much longer it certainly would. He grabbed his dressing gown and put it on to hide the evidence.
It was Sammy who came up with the solution.
"Look, Robbie is obviously the expert at all this spanking stuff. The only reason he's not prepared to do it is that they are girls. I can understand that, but I really can't see that there could be any objection if I'm there to witness it, so I can say that nothing improper happened."
"Brilliant idea", said Adam, "and I can watch too so I can tell father how well it was done. They won't mind. I've seen them getting spanked tons of times before."
Robbie did not immediately capitulate, but after a lot more persuasion from Adam and Sammy he eventually agreed to chastise the girls. Adam was sent to get them.
"You lucky girls", he announced as he walked into the boys' room, "Robbie's agreed to give you what you deserve. Come with me."
Jo and Sandy had actually been secretly hoping that Adam would fail in his mission. But neither was going to show weakness.
"Oh, jolly good", said Jo in a rather strained voice, "ok, we'll come". And they both stood.
Charlie and Timmy made faces at each other and then wished the girls good luck.
"You'll need it", said Timmy, "and we won't think any the less of you if you cry".
That was just what they needed, a reminder of the importance, in their little battle of the _s_e_x_es, of taking their punishment "like a man". They strode out after Adam with looks of grim determination on their faces.
As soon as they had gone, the boys jumped up to follow. They knew they wouldn't be able to see the performance, but they could certainly listen outside the door. They looked down the stairs and saw the girls and Adam disappear into the sitting room. They rushed down the steps two at a time, determined not to miss a thing.
Robbie had placed a hard backed chair in the middle of the room. He was standing beside it.
"Well girls", he said in a gentle voice, "is Adam right, have you decided that you deserve to be spanked?"
He looked so tall and strong. At one stage they had been planning to insist on precisely the same treatment as the boys, but they were secretly relieved to see no slipper in sight and neither was going to make a fuss about it.
"Yes we have" said Jo.
"Very well", he sat on the chair as he spoke, "who's going to be first?"
"I will", said Sandy stepping forward before her sister got the chance.
The slight, but very fit, child knew exactly what to do. She placed herself in the position Adam had been demonstrating earlier and felt Robbie's large hand gently pushing her across his knee. She had already loosened the pyjama cords and she felt the trousers being slowly pulled down. Then she felt the warmth of his hand as he rested it on her slim round bottom. A shiver of fear ran down her spine and she steeled herself for the worst.
Robbie gazed down at the girl's milky white flesh. The marks of the morning's spanking had completely gone. He felt a slight tremor of excitement as he looked at the perfect young buttocks. This, he thought to himself, is a girl who will never be short of boyfriends. As his hand patted the small mounds, he felt their firmness. He was surprised how much they resembled the boys'. He had feared that he would not be able to do it properly, because of his natural distaste for the thought of hurting a girl. But he was gratified to find that the experience, at least so far, was no different from punishing a boy.
All eyes were fixed on poor Sandy's bottom. Even Adam, who was not always known for his sympathy for his sisters, felt for her now. He could still feel the tingling from his one smack. A full spanking was not going to be pleasant at all.
Jo was doing her utmost to control the shaking in her legs as she thought of what would soon be happening to her. She was breathing heavily and felt her stomach churning in fear.
Sammy knew that the punishment was deserved, but she, too, was feeling desperately sorry for the child. She was quite well aware, from her own experience, that the pain would only last for a short time, but she knew how awful it felt to be in that position waiting for the smacks to begin.
Slowly and deliberately, Robbie raised his right hand above his head. The bottom tensed. He waited a few seconds. Then, with what seemed to the observers to be terrifying force, he swung his hand down and slammed it into the flesh. Sandy bit her lip as she felt the blow. Jo shut her eyes as it connected.
Slowly the hand went up again, revealing its shape, in bright pink, across both buttocks. The pause was the same and then the second smack crashed down.
The stinging was now intense. If she had not realised it before, Sandy now knew for certain that Robbie was in a wholly different league from her father. The pain, she was certain, was already far greater than she had felt before, even when the hairbrush had been used. But she did not cry out or try to cover her bottom with her hands. "I am just as tough as a boy" she said to herself over and over again.
When the third and fourth smacks echoed round the room Sandy had to use all her will power not to scream out in agony. But she succeeded. She guessed there were more to come, and she was quite right. The fifth felt her feeling as though her bottom was on fire. But the sixth was even worse. The onlookers could see that the buttocks were now uniformly scarlet. Robbie gently patted the hot flesh. He waited a few moments, in order to give Sandy time to compose herself and blink back any tears that may have been forming, then he carefully pulled up her pyjama trousers and lifted her off his knee. Just like a boy, she immediately grabbed her bottom and felt for herself the heat created by the thrashing.
Jo did not hesitate. She stepped smartly forward and lay across the waiting knee. Robbie slipped her pyjama trousers down and, once again, revealed an unmarked white bottom which was quite indistinguishable from Sandy's, as it had been a few moments earlier. In another few minutes it was just as scarlet as Sandy's had become, and it was being rubbed with as much fury.
Both girls had succeeded. Charlie and Timmy, listening outside the door, had heard each loud smack. They had winced with every one. And they had noticed that not a sound had been heard from the victims. They were mightily impressed. Eager not to appear to have been gloating, they ran back upstairs, hoping that their new friends would join them soon.
Inside the sitting room Robbie was congratulating the girls on the manner in which they had taken their punishments.
"Well girls, you took that as well as any boy I've ever known. You can be proud of yourselves. And now we can all forget about why you needed it. The slate, as they say, is clean. If I were you, I'd go upstairs and tell those cheeky boys that you are just as tough as them."
The girls smiled through their pain. The ordeal had been dreadful, but they had come through it and they had proved their point. They gratefully ran from the room and rushed up the stairs to boast to the boys.
"Crikey, we could hear that from up here", lied Charlie, "that was one hell of a spanking."
Jo grinned. "I bet you were listening at the door."
Timmy sheepishly smiled back. "Well at least that meant we could hear that you didn't cry. I take everything back I said earlier. You are definitely just as strong as boys. Well done."
"Don't you want to see?", said Sandy, and she turned and lowered her pyjama trousers.
Jo did the same and the boys saw the best evidence there could be of exceptionally well executed spankings. The bottoms were as scarlet as many they had seen after slipperings at school.
"What was that word you made up to describe us earlier?", asked Timmy.
"_s_e_x_ist", said Jo.
"Well I'm never going to be _s_e_x_ist again, at least not about you two."
The gong sounded from the hall. Supper was ready. The four twins eagerly ran downstairs again. They were all absolutely famished, as were Robbie, Sammy, Sarah and Adam.
Sarah had been resting from her earlier ordeal in Sammy's room. She had heard the smacks emanating from the sitting room and had guessed that someone had been in trouble. She whispered to Sandy as she sat down.
"Was someone getting spanked earlier?"
"Yes, Jo and I were. Robbie did it. He's really hard."
"Gosh, what had you done?"
"It was for not telling the police straight away."
"That's so unfair, you rescued me".
"No, he was quite right. You'd still have been rescued if we'd told the police. We know we were stupid. We deserved it. Anyway, it's all done with now."
"Well", said Sarah, "I think you are wonderful. I really hate getting spanked and it didn't sound to me as though you even cried. I'd assumed it was the boys getting it."
"That's _s_e_x_ist of you" said Jo.
"What does _s_e_x_ist mean?", asked Sarah. And the twins all laughed as they explained their new word.
By the end of the meal there was not a scrap of meat left on the three birds and every roast potato had been devoured. After large helpings of ice cream, Sammy told the twins to go to bed. They still didn't feel tired, but no one was in the mood for disobedience while Robbie was around and they dutifully said their goodnights and retired to their rooms.
As they undressed, Charlie whispered to Timmy.
"Are you going to do it tonight?"
"You bet, I wouldn't be able to stop myself after seeing those bums."
"Me too. And I think it'll be the best ever."
The girls did not speak quite so crudely, but they, too, felt a curious thrill of excitement as they recalled seeing the boys' bruised bottoms.
"Do you think Charlie and Tim's bums are the _s_e_x_iest in the world?" Jo asked her sister.
"Without a doubt sis."
Adam was still thinking of the spanking Sammy had attempted earlier, and of Sarah's confession at the supper table that she, too, was spanked for bad behaviour. If the truth be told, he was also picturing the scene in the cave when Charlie and Timmy had been so soundly slippered. He quite liked being treated as nearly a grown up and not being sent off to bed like the twins. But he had an urgent need to get between the sheets. He waited for a few minutes after the twins retired and then he slipped upstairs himself. As he opened the bedroom door he grinned as he heard the twins' bed springs squeaking. Within moments his own bed was joining the orchestra.
Sarah's day had been the most dramatic. She was utterly exhausted. She went to bed at the same time as Adam. She was asleep within moments, but not before reflecting on how attractive Adam and Robbie were. She knew Robbie was too old for her, though she wondered what it would be like being spanked by him. But Adam was quite a different proposition. There was a beautiful smile on her face as she thought of what she and Adam might get up to in the future.
Finally left alone, Robbie and Sammy sat side by side on the sofa. Sammy made the first move. She leant over and pressed her lips against his.
"My hero", she whispered.
Soon they were kissing passionately. They re-arranged themselves and lay side by side on the sofa. Their hands explored each other's bodies. They were on their sides, facing each other. Their lips were locked together. Their hands were drifting ever lower. Robbie felt her wonderful buttocks. She found his. They both pressed hard. Then he felt her hand moving round. It began gently stroking his hardness. Then the zip on his jeans started easing down. Suddenly he felt her hand holding it. He found her zip. There was no protestation. Within moments both pairs of jeans were down. He slipped his hands between the cotton of the knickers and the warmth of her bottom. He eased them down too.
"You know we can't go all the way, don't you?", she whispered into his ear.
"Yes, but this is almost as good", he panted back.
And all the while she was gently pumping him. When the climax came, both fell back in ecstasy. Within moments they were fast asleep in each other's arms.
Meanwhile the police had got nowhere. Not a sign of the crooks had been seen. But all was not to be lost. Once again, our heros would save the day. But that must wait for the next instalment.
AUTHOR'S SECOND NOTE
During MMSA Stories well deserved holiday I have missed your emails. I suspect that many of you will have been so distressed by this story, and the emphasis on girls, that you will not want to email me again. But, if there are any of you out there who still quite like my stories, I would dearly love to hear from you again.