A few minutes later, she entered the King Farm house, out of breath and with tears streaming down her ivory face. Cecily saw this from the parlor and rushed to her best friend's side. "Izzy? What's wrong?" she asked.
After she caught her breath, Izzy replied, "It's Felix. He's been kidnaped."
"What?!"
"Someone found us in the lighthouse, and he took Felix."
Cecily was stunned. "Oh, heavens. I'm so sorry."
The young women hugged, and they went into the parlor. A few minutes later, supper was served, and Izzy told the rest of the family about what happened to Felix. Janet became panic-stricken, as did Alec. The others were shocked, of course, yet they managed to keep hope. "Felix can find a way out of this," Felicity said. "He made it home from the war; he'll find a way to get out of this predicament."
Izzy sat at the table silently for a moment. Then she announced, "I'm going to go look for him."
"You?!" The others were stunned.
"Yes, I am. Come on; he's my fiancé. I'm not going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while Felix is out there with some animal. I'm going to go out there and find him."
"Someone should go with you, then," Janet told her future daughter-in-law.
"No. I mean, I'm grateful for the offer, but I think it would be best if I went alone."
"Are you sure?" Alec wondered.
"Yes."
"You may borrow Prince, if you like."
"Thank you."
After Izzy finished her supper, she and Cecily went out to the barn to saddle up Prince. Later, they walked to Izzy's house and went up to her bedroom to pack some sweaters and other necessities. "Iz, you don't have to do this," Cecily pointed out.
"He's my fiancé, Cecily," Izzy returned. "I owe him that much, don't you think?"
"True, but there are others out there who are trained to look for victims of kidnaping."
"I know that, Cess. But I need to do this myself."
Cecily gave her friend a worried look. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Alright. I hope you know what you're doing."
She began to leave the room, but she stopped at the door and went back to give Izzy a hug. "Good luck. I hope you find him."
"Thanks. I hope so, too."
Cecily finally left after that. Izzy took out her new, burgundy colored diary that she got as a Christmas present, along with a pencil, and wrote:
January 1, 1915
I never thought my first entry of a New Year would contain such mixed emotions, but it does.Last night's New Year's Eve party at the White Sands was the best. Felix and I talked about all kinds of things--our overall regrets and our resolutions, mostly. The best part of the night was when Felix proposed to me next to the frozen ocean. Of course I said yes!
Earlier today we told his family. Everyone was so happy for us and telling us it was about time we got married. All except Janet, at first. Felix had to convince her that we were doing the right thing. My engagement to Felix is the happy part. Now for the sad part.
I got a telegram from the War Office this afternoon. The ship Morgan was on exploded off the coast of England, and the Germans took him prisoner. To make things worse, a few minutes after I got the telegram, Felix was taken hostage. Tomorrow, I am going to go look for him.
My heart is breaking. I don't know what I'm going to do if I don't find my Felix. I don't want to lose him; it would be too much for me.
Izzy Pettibone (soon to be Izzy King), Age 19
She closed her diary and changed into her nightgown. That night, alone in her big, empty house, Izzy Pettibone cried herself to sleep.
* * * * *
Late that night, Felix and his captor arrived at an abandoned building a few miles outside of Carmody. It was red, four stories high, and had several rooms on each floor (three floors, plus an attic). The other man took Felix into a side door and nearly dragged him up to the third floor and into the first room on the right. He tied Felix's hands up to an old heater pole. "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Felix wanted to know.
"I'm your worst nightmare. I watched you at the White Sands last night, with my girl Izzy."
"You are a liar! She's mine, not yours!"
"No. She's mine."
"You're not getting her," Felix said with an angry tone.
The older man kicked Felix in the stomach, making him grimace in pain. The captor just laughed and remarked, "I don't think my Izzy would want a man who couldn't defend himself, or her."
Under his breath, Felix said, "Go to hell."
"What did you say, King?"
"Go to hell!"
He kicked Felix in the stomach again and knocked his head into the pole, making him unconscious. Then the other man laughed and left the building.
* * * * *
The next morning, Izzy awoke and changed into a couple of casual shirts, a sweater, and a pair of overalls. Later she went down to the kitchen and made some scrambled eggs, along with some biscuits for the road trip. After eating, she wrapped the biscuits in a towel and put them in her knapsack, which she left hanging on the coat rack in the parlor. She returned to her room, put her hair up, and grabbed one of her old hats from the bottom of her closet. Then she went back downstairs, left a note for Arthur, grabbed her things, and went outside.
She went to the barn to get Prince ready, after which she led him outside. She locked up the barn, mounted the horse, and began to ride away. On her way, Cecily stopped her in front of the telegraph office. Izzy dismounted and went to see her friend. "Iz, you should take this with you," Cecily told her, holding out a picture of Felix in uniform, which Izzy took from her.
"Thanks."
"Be careful. I hope you find him soon."
"I do, too."
The young women hugged, and Izzy remounted Prince and rode off toward Carmody. She rode endlessly for about a half an hour before taking a quick break, not knowing Felix's captor was watching her every move, waiting for the chance to strike. After the break, and some more riding, she reached Carmody and began asking people on the street if they had seen her fiancé, showing them the picture. Then she entered the general store and asked the store clerk, a woman in her early thirties, about him. She replied, "On the way home, I saw him with a blonde-haired man in his twenties entering a red, four story building we used to house the sick in during the flu epidemic."
"Do you know the captor's name?" Izzy wanted to know.
"Rupert Gillis."
Izzy got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She remembered Felix mentioning him several years ago. He told her he and Rupert were arch rivals during their old school days. He was well out of school when Izzy and her family moved to Avonlea, though. Since Rupert finished school, nobody knew what happened to him. Izzy thanked the woman for giving her the information and went to find the building.
* * * * *
Rupert rode up to the building and walked up to the room where Felix was. As he entered, he said, "Your girl's here in Carmody looking for you."
Felix, by now, had regained consciousness but still had a headache from when Rupert smashed his head the night before. "Who are you?" he asked with a firm voice. "No nonsense this time."
"Why, King, haven't you figured out who I am by now?" It's me, Rupert Gillis. You know, your rival and worst nightmare."
"Typical Rupert, trying to take everything that I've earned for yourself for free. Is that why you took me?"
"I think you answered your own question fairly well."
"Well, you're still not getting Izzy. She's mine, always and forever, and there's nothing you can do about it, Rupert Gillis. If you want a woman to call your own, you'll have to do the honorable thing and go find one for yourself."
"You mean you'll have to find one of your own. You know why? Because Izzy is mine. She'll always be mine."
"Never! Never! Never!"
Rupert approached Felix and slapped him across the face. Not only that; he kicked him in the stomach again and knocked his head into the pole so hard it created a small bruise on his forehead and made him unconscious for the second time. Rupert let out a sinister laugh and went to find Izzy.
* * * * *
Izzy carefully approached the red, abandoned building. When she saw Rupert walk out and away, she hid behind a large, nearby pine tree so she wouldn't be seen by him. Unfortunately, he saw her first; he ran toward her, grabbed her arms, and held her close to him. "Izzy Pettibone. We meet at last," he said.
"Are you the infamous Rupert Gillis?" she inquired.
"Yes, I am," he replied with a sinister tone. "I am the man of your dreams."
She threw her neck back and spit in his face as she hurled her head forward. He let go of her with one hand to wipe it off, but his grip with the other one on her was so strong that she couldn't break free. "Oh, no. You're not getting away from me that easy, girl."
"Oh, yes, she will," said a voice. Izzy and Rupert turned to see a constable standing beside them. He was lean, tall, and in his late thirties. He pulled Rupert away from Izzy and announced his arrest.
The men went away after that, and Izzy made a mad dash to the former hospital. She opened the side door and exclaimed, "Felix!" No answer. She began checking every room on the ground floor; all were empty. She ascended the stairs to the second floor and checked out all the rooms. Again, all were empty. Damn it, she thought to herself. Then she cried out, "Felix! Where are you?"
Suddenly, a faint cry came from the opposite end of where she was. "I'm...up...here!" the voice called out. A loud thump followed that. She ran to the other end of the corridor and went up the stairs to the third floor and checked the first door on the right. When she entered, she was startled to see Felix lying on the floor, still tied to the heating pole, moaning in pain, half-awake.
Izzy was appalled at the sight. She rushed over to his side and sat down next to him. "Felix! Are you okay? It's me, Izzy. Wake up!" She shook him awake and continued to scream his name.
A few minutes passed, and he finally woke up fully. He looked over at her and said, "I--Izzy?" with a faint voice.
"I'm right here. Not long after I arrived they arrested your captor, Rupert Gillis. We're safe now; we can go home."
In a whisper, Felix told his fiancée, "I don't know if I can."
"You can, and you will, Felix King. I know it."
She untied him, and they got up and left. While they walked to get Prince, Felix felt a throbbing pain inside his head. Izzy reassured him, "We're going to make it, Felix. Once we get home, I'll take you to see Dr. Snow so he can check you out. Meanwhile, I'll ride slow, but you need to stay awake for me. I may not be a doctor, but I know that the best thing to do after someone gets a serious blow to the head is to keep them awake."
"I'll try."
"Don't try, Felix. Just do it!"
A few minutes later, they commenced their journey back to Avonlea. Izzy kept talking to him to keep him awake along the way. It was nearly noon when the reached the Avonlea/Carmody town line, and they decided to take a breather for a few minutes. Izzy took out the biscuits she made earlier and gave a couple to Felix. "I know it's not much, but it's something. You need to eat something to keep your strength up. Oh, and you can eat the snow to keep hydrated," she explained.
He took a bite of one of the biscuits. As he did, a surging pain went through his head. He grabbed his forehead with his free hand and closed his eyes as tight as he could.
"Felix, sweetie, I know it hurts. I'll get you to Dr. Snow as soon as possible. Meanwhile, you should make an effort to stay awake."
"I know, Iz, but it hurts!"
"Maybe we should have seen the doctor in Carmody. Unfortunately we can't go back now; we're almost home as it is."
"You're right; let's go. The sooner, the better."
Felix finished eating his biscuits, and he and Izzy continued toward Avonlea. On the way, Izzy wondered, "What happened while you were missing, Felix? I want to know."
He inhaled deeply and replied, "I was still in shock, of course. I mean, Elbert had just died, and I was injured. Why wouldn't I be in shock?" He brought his left hand to his forehead and closed his eyes tightly in pain. "Iz, I'm going to rest my eyes for a second, alright?"
"No, Felix. Keep talking to me; that way you'll stay awake."
"Alright. I'll keep going. Anyway, the rest of the troops were gone, and Elbert's body was still lying next to mine. I dragged it back to the trenches and left it there for someone to find. Then I hiked to the nearest village--a seven-day hike from where I was. When I got to the village, I had the local doctor take a look at my arm. He bandaged it up and put it in a sling. Afterward, I hiked to Calais, which took another five days. I found some Englishmen there who took care of me until I was shipped out.
"Six days after that, I landed off the coast of Avonlea near the lighthouse. I had someone drive me to Carmody so I could wire the War Office and inform them that I was home. I made them swear not to wire Mother and Father, because I wanted to surprise them. The afternoon of Christmas Eve, before I went in to the house to say hello to Mother, I told Felicity, Cecily, and Daniel hello. I swear, Iz, it took me a while to calm them down; they were so excited to see me. Of course, Mother was the most excited of all when I told her. I was so glad to be home, despite the fact that I still had so many bad memories to overcome."
"I can understand that. When I found out you were listed missing I went into seclusion for about a week. I wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Father and Muriel. I was very distraught."
"How'd you get over it?"
"Usually Father and Muriel had to drag me out of the house to go anywhere with them. One day, Muriel came up to tell me to get ready for church. I kept telling her I didn't want to go, but she insisted that I go. We fought for a couple of minutes, and then I finally let out all my pain, anger, and sorrow. I cried so hard I couldn't stand up. While I let out my sorrow, Muriel sat down by me and comforted me. She kept reassuring me that you would come home soon. I suppose that was all I needed."
"Sounds like it was."
Another few minutes passed and they reached the road that connected Avonlea and Markdale. They were almost home! "Felix! We're almost there!" Izzy cried out.
"Yeah," he remarked in an exhausted tone.
"Do you want to stop for a few minutes?"
"Please. My head is hurting something fierce."
Felix and Izzy dismounted the horse and walked around. It was growing later by the minute. In a few hours it would be dark, and if they weren't home by then, they'd have to camp out somewhere. As they walked around in the snow, someone snuck up behind them. Before either Felix or Izzy could turn around to see who it was, they were knocked unconscious into the snowbank. The anonymous person mounted Prince, tossed Izzy's knapsack towards the limp couple, and rode off toward Markdale. Meanwhile, Felix King and Izzy Pettibone laid in the snowbank unconscious.
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