James rushed to his side. He carried a sword. He tried to help Sir Andrew up. But the weight was too much for him.
Patrick watched the Red Knight. The knight grabbed a new lance from one of his servants. Patrick now knew what the Red Knight was going to do. He would race toward Sir Andrew. He would kill him with the lance. Or he would trample him with the horse.
Patrick called to Beth, “Help me!”
Patrick grabbed Sir Andrew’s shield and tried to lift it. Beth ran to Patrick’s side and helped.
The White Knight groaned. He struggled to rise. James was trying to push Sir Andrew upright.
The Red Knight came galloping on his horse. The lance was pointed straight for Sir Andrew.
Beth and Patrick were carrying the shield. They raced past Sir Andrew and James.
They put the shield on the ground. The cousins crouched behind the shield. They were now standing between Sir Andrew and the Red Knight.
The Red Knight came at them full speed. He couldn’t have stopped the horse if he had wanted to.
Beth and Patrick braced themselves behind the shield. The loud thumping of the horse’s hooves came closer. Then the lance smashed against the shield.
The blow jolted the cousins like a bolt of lightning. They fell backward. The shield landed on top of them.
The sound of the hooves stopped.
Beth peeked out from behind the shield.
The Red Knight had fallen. His helmet had been knocked off his head.
“This is trickery!” James called to the cousins. His voice was hot with anger. “The Red Knight is not Master Hugh!”
The Red Knight was stunned. He sat up. Everyone could see that the knight was Roderick.
The crowd roared angrily.
Roderick groaned and fell back again.
“Then where is Master Hugh?” Beth asked.
“He must be hiding in his tent,” James said.
He turned to Beth and Patrick. “Go back to the cave,” he said. “Keep safe. Master Hugh will not give up easily. He may try to harm you. Hurry!”
“What about you?” Patrick asked.
“I will help Sir Andrew,” James said. “A squire never leaves his knight.”
Beth looked up. The crowd of people was rushing toward Hugh’s tent.
Hugh’s servants fought to keep them out.
“Capture the traitor!” some men shouted. “Get Hugh!”
Suddenly a cry rose up, “Those for Lancaster—fight now! It’s our chance to take Lord Darkthorn’s castle!”
“This is dangerous,” James said to the cousins. He looked worried.
The crowd attacked each other with fists and sticks. Some grabbed the Red Knight’s lances, battle-axes, and swords.
The children looked at Sir Andrew. He moaned and tried to sit up.
“You are not safe here! The fighting will not stop until there is death,” Sir Andrew said to the cousins. “Run to the cave!”
Victory?
Beth and Patrick ran for the cave.
Beth worried about Sir Andrew. “Will the good side win?” Beth asked.
“I hope so,” Patrick said.
“I think Hugh will go to the stone cottage,” Beth said.
“They’ll find him,” Patrick said. “Roderick will lead them to it.”
Beth sighed and said, “And Albert won’t go into the tower.”
They sat at the mouth of the cave and waited. Dark clouds rolled in.
“It’s going to rain,” Beth said.
Sir Andrew and James arrived an hour later. Albert was with them. They explained that Roderick confessed to everything.
Roderick told them that Hugh had been stealing treasures from Lord Darkthorn. The steward wanted to raise money for the House of Lancaster. Hugh then let Albert take the blame for the missing treasures.
Roderick led the local sheriff and several villagers to the cottage to claim the rest of the stolen treasures.
Hugh was still missing. But Sir Andrew was sure he would be caught. He would face justice when Lord Darkthorn returned.
“He will be locked in the tower,” said the knight.
Albert laughed with joy.
Sir Andrew and James went inside the secret room. Sir Andrew came out again, and he was wearing “normal” clothes.
Beth and Patrick turned to each other. Their mission was finally finished.
The Ring
It was time for the cousins to take the ring back to Mr. Whittaker.
“Can I have the ring?” Patrick asked. “If I put it on, it will summon the Imagination Station.”
“I will give it to you now,” Sir Andrew said.
“Wait!” Beth said. “We haven’t said goodbye.”
Beth hugged James, who blushed. Then she hugged Sir Andrew. Then Albert. He chuckled warmly. His laugh also reminded the cousins of Mr. Whittaker.
Patrick didn’t give any hugs. But he shook their hands. He found it hard to say anything.
“We are forever grateful to you,” Sir Andrew said.
“Maybe we’ll see you again sometime,” Beth said.
“Let’s go,” Patrick said to Beth.
Sir Andrew took the ring off his leather strap. He held it out to Patrick.
The ring was within an inch of Patrick’s finger. Then something surprising happened.
Master Hugh rushed forward out of the shadows. He snatched the ring from Sir Andrew’s hand.
“Fools!” Hugh shouted. He put the ring on his own finger.
The Imagination Station appeared. Hugh laughed and leaped into the machine.
“Oh no!” Beth said.
“The knave!” James said.
“After him!” Patrick shouted.
The cousins scrambled toward the Imagination Station.
They jumped in. They searched the machine. They were afraid Hugh was hiding inside.
But he wasn’t there.
The door closed shut.
“Where is he?” Beth asked.
“Remember? This happened before with Sir Andrew,” Patrick said. “He got into the Imagination Station. But he disappeared when we followed him.”
“So where did Hugh go? Will he be back at Whit’s End?” asked Beth.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Patrick said. He reached forward and pushed the red button.
The Workshop
Mr. Whittaker was waiting at Whit’s End. Beth and Patrick stepped out of the Imagination Station.
“Something went wrong,” Mr. Whittaker said. There was a deep worry line between his eyebrows.
“Master Hugh took your ring,” Patrick said. “He got into the Imagination Station. Is he here?”
Mr. Whittaker shook his head. “No. But who is Master Hugh?” he asked.
“He’s the bad guy,” Beth said.
The cousins took turns telling Mr. Whittaker all that had happened.
“So, my ring made it possible to travel,” Mr. Whittaker said softly. “That explains a lot.”
“It does?” Beth said. “How?”
Mr. Whittaker paced around the machine. “The Imagination Station must have been confused about the ring,” he said. “It thinks that whoever is wearing it is me. That’s why it wouldn’t work for me. It thinks I’m in there somewhere.”
“But Hugh has it now. And we don’t know where he is!” Patrick said.
Mr. Whittaker nodded. “Now that I know the ring is the problem, I can try to track where it is.”
“You’d better hurry,” Patrick said.
“Hugh is a mean and selfish man,” Beth added. “He could cause all kinds of trouble in history.”
“I’ll create a program to find him,” Mr. Whittaker said. “We have to get him back to his right time.”
“But how? You can’t do it,” Patrick said.
“I’ll figure it out,” Mr. Whittaker said.
Patrick and Beth looked at each other knowingly.
Mr. Whittaker went to work on the Imagination Station computer.
There was nothing else to say. The cousins gathered their things to go home.
Mr. Whittaker looked at them from the computer keyboard. “Patrick, Beth, thank you for everything you’ve done,” he said warmly. “I’m truly grateful.”
“You’re welcome,” the cousins said. “We had some wonderful adventures.”
Patrick leaned toward Beth. He whispered, “And I think we’re going to have a few more.”
Revenge of the Red Knight Page 4