“Then what are we waiting for?” Agent Sims said. “Let’s cross over.”

  Agents Martin and Sims started walking toward the edge of the ravine.

  “Uh, there’s just a slight problem,” Joe said without moving. “You see, by now the Wilkersons are probably in the hands of those two phony FBI agents. We saw them headed in that direction right before you reached us. In fact we had just started to shout a warning to them.”

  “It may be too late for them now,” Frank said. He took his binoculars and scanned the top of the opposite side of the ravine. “Those two phony FBI agents may have decided to do away with them.”

  “Not a chance,” Agent Martin said. “They need the Wilkersons.”

  “You’re right. They’re all talking to each other,” Frank said, surprise in his voice. “In fact the Wilkersons look almost glad to see them.” He lowered the binoculars. “Well, I have to admit that their IDs fooled me, too. They must have also convinced the Wilkersons that they’re FBI agents.” Frank handed the binoculars to Joe. “We thought those two guys must be looking for the Wilkersons so they could hurt them—but now they’re all acting like they’re the best of friends. What’s going on here?”

  “They’re after bigger fish,” Agent Sims said.

  “Bigger Fish?” Joe said.

  Agent Martin nodded. “Oh, I have no doubt that they eventually plan to do away with all three of the Wilkersons,” he said, “but that’s only after they get to Hidden Mountain so they can also get rid of some of the other people who live there.”

  “Hidden Mountain,” Frank said. “That’s the name of this secret Witness Protection Program?”

  Agent Sims nodded. “But we can’t let that happen,” he said. “We have to make sure the Wilkersons get there safely—but we can’t allow those two thugs to get anywhere near it.”

  “May I?” Agent Martin asked, indicating that he’d like to borrow the binoculars.

  Joe handed them to him. “Sure,” he said.

  Agent Martin adjusted the binoculars and scanned the top of the ravine. “Mr. Wilkerson is pointing north,” he said. “I think they’re ready to be on their way again.”

  Detective Kitimat had been quiet until that moment. “So what’s the plan?” he asked. “Do I hold back and shadow the four of you, or what?”

  “I think we need to stay together until we can figure out a way to separate the Wilkersons from those two guys without spooking the Wilkersons,” Agent Martin said. “Unfortunately for us, they were probably so willing to believe those guys were who they said they were that it would be difficult for us to gain their trust right now.”

  Agent Sims looked at Frank and Joe. “Detective Kitimat told us what your original plan was,” he said, “and I think it still has some merit.”

  “I agree,” Agent Martin said. “We have to somehow let the Wilkersons see you two so they’ll know right away they can trust us—but make sure that the two phony agents aren’t aware of what’s happening.”

  “I understand,” Frank said. “If the two phony FBI agents know we’re with real FBI agents, they’ll cut their losses by doing away with the Wilkersons and trying to escape.”

  “Exactly,” Agent Sims said.

  “We should get started, then,” Detective Kitimat said. “We still have to cross that ravine before we can start trailing them, and that’s going to take a while.”

  “Agreed,” Agents Martin and Sims said.

  The five of them started the descent on their side of the ravine. Joe was surprised at how adept the two real FBI men were at this. He should have caught on right away that there was something wrong with the phony agents, instead of trying to make excuses for them. The FBI wouldn’t send agents into such a rugged area as this without giving them some kind of wilderness training.

  When they reached the bottom of the ravine, Agent Martin started walking alongside Frank and Joe.

  “We know your father,” he told them. “Because of that we have no problem letting you know what we’re up against.”

  “We appreciate that,” Joe said. “We’ve been taught how to keep secrets.”

  Agent Martin nodded. “I’m sure you have. Well, from what you said, those two phony agents didn’t mention the words Hidden Mountain exactly, right?”

  “No, they didn’t,” Frank said.

  “That’s very important to know,” Agent Martin continued. “We’ve been aware for some time that certain criminal elements suspected that a secret Witness Protection Program existed, but we hoped that none of them knew the name.”

  “Well, I can’t speak for what the other criminal elements you’re talking about know,” Joe said, “but I can guarantee you that those two phony agents never once mentioned the words ‘Hidden Mountain.’”

  “Do the Wilkersons know the name?” Frank asked. “Because if they do, and if they think these two agents are the real thing, then they’ll probably tell them.”

  “That won’t really matter,” Agent Martin said, “because our job is to make sure that these two phony agents never make it back to civilization.”

  10 Bear Attack

  At Frank’s suggestion, the boys took the lead in the climb up the opposite side of the ravine.

  “The Wilkersons were expecting a couple of FBI agents, so they weren’t spooked by those two guys,” Frank said, “but they’re not expecting anybody else. If for some reason they happened to see all of us together, they might panic—and then there’s no telling what those two guys would do … to them and to us.”

  Agents Martin and Sims agreed that made sense.

  Even on the outside, Joe could tell the difference between the two real FBI men and the two phony FBI men. The real agents were in great physical shape and could easily keep up with them. He remembered how out of shape the other two guys were.

  As they neared the top of the ravine, Frank and Joe motioned for the agents and Detective Kitimat to stop.

  Slowly Joe raised his head to eye level with the ground, saw that nobody was around, and stood up. He motioned everyone else on to the top.

  “This is about where the Wilkersons met up with the two phony agents,” Frank said, “so now what we need to do is find where they restarted their trip toward Hidden Mountain.”

  With the five of them searching, it wasn’t long before they found the tracks of the Wilkersons and the two phony FBI agents.

  “Let’s go!” Frank said.

  As stealthily as possible, he and Joe led the way through the forest, both of them remembering a summer several years ago when George Long Bow, a Kiowa lawyer from Lawton, Oklahoma, and a very good friend of their father’s, had taught them how his ancestors had silently tracked wild game in the nearby Wichita Mountains.

  Once, when they came to a small meadow, Joe looked up and saw a golden eagle soaring high above them, effortlessly riding the air currents—perhaps setting its sights on a small animal huddled between two boulders.

  Detective Kitimat hurried up to them, impressing both the Hardy boys with his easy breathing. “How far ahead of us do you think they are?” he asked.

  “A mile, maybe two,” Frank said. “That’s just an estimate, of course.”

  “You can see where the grass has been trampled,” Joe added, “but it’s beginning to right itself, so that means some time has passed.”

  Detective Kitimat nodded. “Good work, boys,” he said, and dropped back with Agents Martin and Sims.

  Another hour passed before the Hardy boys slowed their pace.

  “We’re getting close enough to them now that I think we need to talk about our next step,” Frank said.

  “Okay,” Joe said. He pointed up ahead. “That looks like a good place to stop. I think I hear water, too.”

  Frank and Joe stopped and waited for Agents Martin and Sims and Detective Kitimat to reach them.

  “We’ve kept up a pretty good pace,” Frank said. “We were probably going twice as fast as the Wilkersons and the two phony agents.”

  “The bent grass here is closer to the ground,” Joe said. “They’re not too far ahead of us.”

  “We need to stop and go over some final details,” Frank said. “We have to be sure that our plan of attack is foolproof.”

  “I agree,” Agent Martin said.

  The place Joe had suggested they stop turned out to be almost like a manicured park in the middle of the wilderness.

  Agent Sims sat down and leaned up against a tree trunk. “Man! I have to tell you something, guys,” he said, addressing Frank and Joe. “You two are in really good shape.”

  “That’s for sure,” Agent Martin said, sitting next to Agent Sims. “You’re making us look bad.”

  “Whatever training you receive at Bayport High School, they should institute at Quantico,” Agent Sims said. “You guys don’t even seem to be out of breath.”

  Frank and Joe grinned.

  “Well, we do put in a lot of hours training,” Joe said, “and we’re a few years younger than you guys.”

  “Touché,” Agent Sims said.

  “Hey, guys, look over here!” Detective Kitimat said. He was standing at the opposite edge of the clearing.

  The Hardy boys and the two FBI agents walked over to him.

  “What’s wrong?” Joe said.

  Detective Kitimat pointed. “The branches of that berry bush were just recently pulled down by bears,” he said, “and they dug up those anthills over there, too.”

  “Are you telling me that we’ve got bears nearby?” Agent Sims said.

  Detective Kitimat nodded. “We met a mother and her cubs on the way in,” he said.

  “Actually, we wouldn’t even be here now,” Joe said, “if a chipmunk hadn’t saved our lives.”

  The two FBI agents gave him a peculiar look, but they didn’t ask him to explain.

  “I think this means that we need to hurry up, make our plans, and get back on the trail,” Detective Kitimat said.

  Joe thought he seemed nervous about it.

  “What I’m thinking is this,” Frank said. “By now those two phony agents may be dragging far enough behind the Wilkersons that Joe and I can intercept the Wilkersons and cut them off long enough from the two guys so that the three of you can capture them.”

  Agent Martin and Sims nodded.

  “I think that might work,” Agent Martin said, “but you need to make sure that they take cover right away, because those two guys wouldn’t hesitate to start shooting as soon as they realized what was happening.”

  “Maybe Frank and I can confront Darren on the trail, then use him to get his mom and dad off the trail and into the heavy underbrush before the two phony agents realize what happened,” Joe said. “I don’t think they’re expecting anything like this.” As he finished, he took a swipe at a cloud of mosquitoes that had begun swarming around his head.

  “Well, it’s the only plan we have—but it’s a good plan,” Agent Sims said, “so let’s go with it.”

  With Frank and Joe once again in the lead, they started back through the forest. Within a mile, though, it opened up into a narrow meadow laced with streams trickling through it.

  “Let me see the binoculars, Joe,” Frank said.

  Joe handed them to him and Frank adjusted the lenses to his eyes. “Bingo!” he said. “There they are. On the other side of the meadow.”

  “What is it?” Detective Kitimat asked as he and the two agents came up behind Frank and Joe.

  Frank handed Agent Martin the binoculars. “Those two guys don’t seem to be having any trouble keeping up,” he said.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Frank told them.

  “What now?” Agent Sims said. “It’ll be hard to separate them if they stay that close.”

  “I know,” Frank said, disappointment in his voice.

  “Well, we need to keep walking,” Agent Martin said, “because they’re not stopping.”

  “We should skirt the meadow just inside the tree line,” Joe said. “They won’t see us that way.”

  They all agreed that Joe was right.

  The Hardy boys led them three trees deep into the woods that bordered the meadow and started after the Wilkersons. Once again they paced themselves at twice the speed they thought the Wilkersons and the two phony agents would be walking—so it wasn’t long until they had covered the length of the meadow and started looking once again for the Wilkersons’ tracks.

  For the next two hours, no one spoke, afraid that the sound might carry. Finally Frank lifted a hand and motioned everyone toward him and Joe.

  “They’re staying together,” he whispered. “It has to be the adrenaline from knowing they’re so near to Hidden Mountain and to finding all the people they want to get rid of.”

  “That would be in character with members of the crime syndicate,” Agent Martin said. “We may have to rethink our plans and rush them.”

  “It’ll be dark soon, so they’ll be stopping for the night,” Joe said. “Let’s see what kind of new plan we can come up with over the next few hours.”

  “Okay,” Agent Sims said. “You know the Wilkersons better than we do.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Frank admitted. “We thought we did. We weren’t prepared for this.”

  “I really don’t think Darren knew about any of this,” Joe said. “I think he’s our hope. We just have to figure out how to involve him in solving this problem.”

  In another hour it had gotten too dark for them to see. “We have to stop here,” Frank said. “We may come upon them without warning if we don’t and then there’s no telling what’ll happen.”

  “Hey, do you see that?” Joe whispered.

  “What?” Frank said.

  Joe was moving his head around in the direction of the trail they had been following. “I’m sure it was a pinpoint of light.”

  “Fireflies,” Detective Kitimat said.

  “No, I don’t think it was,” Joe said. “It was a little larger than a … there! Look!”

  Everyone strained to see what Joe was pointing at.

  “It’s a campfire,” Detective Kitimat said. “I’m sure it is.”

  “That makes sense,” Frank said. “They don’t have any reason to suspect that we’re here, so why not have a small fire?”

  “That’s good news,” Agent Martin said. “You don’t make fires if you’re suspicious of anything.”

  “Well, I say we set up camp too, minus the fire, of course,” Agent Sims said. “We know where they are, and I’m sure they’re not going to go anywhere until morning.”

  Frank, Joe, and Detective Kitimat dropped their gear onto the ground where they were.

  “I want to keep an eye on that fire,” Frank said.

  “We’ll set up camp back down the trail,” Agent Martin said. “There’s a nice patch of grass that I think has my name on it.”

  Frank and Joe found some soft ferns, broke off as many fronds as they could, and made soft beds for themselves and Detective Kitimat.

  “Wow!” Joe said as he stretched out on the ferns. “Is this really as comfortable as I think it is, or have I just been away from my soft bed too long?”

  “Probably a little of both,” Detective Kitimat said. “But there’s nothing like a bed of ferns when you’re really tired.”

  Frank let out a big yawn. “You’re telling me,” he said. “Joe, why don’t you take first watch, okay?”

  “Thanks a lot, Frank,” Joe said. “Why did you wait until I was all comfortable to ask me?”

  “Why don’t you two let me take first watch?” Detective Kitimat said. “I’m actually too keyed-up to sleep.”

  “You sure you don’t mind?” Frank said.

  “Really, I was just kidding Frank,” Joe told Detective Kitimat. “I don’t mind.”

  “No, I really want to,” Detective Kitimat said. “Get some sleep. I think a lot is going to happen tomorrow.”

  The boys both yawned. “Okay,” they said sleepily.

  Frank opened his eyes. Someone was shaking his shoulder.

  “Frank! Frank! Wake up!” a voice whispered in his ear. It was Detective Kitimat. “There’s something wrong.”

  Frank woke immediately, and his movement awakened Joe.

  “What’s wrong?” Joe asked.

  “Don’t say anything,” Detective Kitimat said. “I think we’ve got trouble.”

  At that moment, down the trail—from the direction where the two FBI agents were sleeping—there was low growl, then a human groan.

  Suddenly a voice said, “No! No!” It was followed by something that sounded like a whacking noise.

  Immediately the Hardy boys and Detective Kitimat were on their feet.

  Frank shone a penlight in the direction of the noise. A huge brown bear was reared up on its hind legs. Suddenly there was a popping sound, and the bear fell to the ground.

  The boys and Detective Kitimat rushed to where the bear was—and what they discovered was something out of a nightmare.

  Agent Martin was leaning up against a tree, a dart gun in one hand. He was covered with blood. Beyond him Agent Sims was lying on the ground. He wasn’t moving.

  “You check out Agent Martin,” Detective Kitimat said. “I’ll check on Agent Sims.”

  “What happened?” Joe said when they reached Agent Martin. It was a dumb question, he knew, because it was obvious that the bear had attacked them both.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Agent Martin said. “It’s Agent Sims who’s in bad shape.”

  “Detective Kitimat is taking care of him,” Frank said. “We’re here to take care of you.”

  “I’m sure I look worse than I am,” Agent Martin said. “The bear managed to slap at me a couple of time before I was able to get the tranquilizer gun out of my gear and shoot him.”

  “Tranquilizer gun?” Joe said.

  “Yeah. We have strict instructions regarding the wildlife up here,” Agent Martin said. “We can’t kill any of it.” He pointed to the bear. “You guys are safe. She’ll be out for almost twenty-four hours, but she’ll be all right when she finally wakes up.”

  “Really?” Frank said.

  Agent Martin winced and nodded. “The FBI developed a special tranquilizer just for situations like this,” he said. “It puts bears into a twenty-four-hour hibernation.”