"I gotta start by saying that if there had been a chance to push Joseph Bines right off the deck of the steamer into the deep depths of the ocean I'd have done it in a second." James said bluntly.

Gilbert and Diana were listening raptly as James began to speak, eager not to miss a word. As soon as Joseph had been mentioned, James' bright smile faded and his eyes were haunted. His voice had lowered and he sighed, taking a sip of his drink before spilling his knowledge of the highly disliked boy.

"Unfortunately neither of our tickets ranked high enough to tread the top deck. I doubt Bines even had a ticket. Nearly everything I know is gathered from some lads I knew from New York that spent time him. I only met Joseph several times but that was enough to see what kind of a person he is. If I hadn't known what I had when I first met him I'd have thought different of him - he can turn on the charm when he needs to and that's for sure." James' soft Irish accent was thicker when he spoke low.

"I heard he'd snuck on board." Gilbert nodded. "I heard a lot about him."

"He does a lot of sneaking, that boy. I'm telling you, he's rotten to the core. It's a wonder he snuck off the steamer and into Avonlea without anyone noticing..." James paused, a small smile tugging his lips. "I remember we stepped off the boat and we could barely walk. Bash was alright, he was used to sea legs."

Gilbert smiled too, thinking back. He was full of so much hope and nervousness to be home again at last and to see Anne. He had no idea at the time all of the trouble that was headed his way. He felt a rush of sad nostalgia of the time before Joseph took over their lives. His smiled slipped away. He looked at James and his friend's smile had gone too. Joseph had a way of sucking out all the happiness from somebody's life.

"I heard that he was with a man named Redmond Bines the whole journey here. Mr Bines had taken Joseph under his wing in New York and raised him to be a criminal just as himself." James explained. "I guess most good Christian folks would say it wasn't Joseph's fault he turned out the way he did. I suppose I'd be inclined to believe that too if I didn't know some of the things he did."

James gazed slowly around the churning, noisy inn and sighed heavily before turning his starry eyes back to his companions.

"Some things you don't learn, some things come straight from the heart." James said quietly, a serious expression laid on his face. "Good and bad."

"What did Joseph do? Before he came to Avonlea, I mean." Diana couldn't help but ask, although she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

James hesitated. There was one thing he couldn't bring himself to say out loud. It sat burning him at the pit of his stomach for many years. It was too terrible and it hurt too much to talk about it, not after it being buried deep down for so long. He bit his tongue and told them instead of the other numerous terrible things he knew about Joseph.

"The boys from New York heard that Joseph pushed a kid in front of a cart. It was his friend, though what kinda friends criminals have I don't know..."

"He pushed a child beneath a cart?" Diana was shocked.

"Doll, it wasn't recent. This was when he was a kid too. Not that it excuses his actions." James said. "They were only ten and his friend saw him steal from a rich gentleman. I'd say this was just after Joseph had fallen in with Bines, so he still had friends but he'd started to be influenced by criminals."

"That's so sad." Diana said quietly. "That poor child..."

"His friend was going to tell somebody. Word is a fight broke out between them, you know how kids get when they're mad - like wild animals--" James was speaking quickly up to that point before he stopped and met Diana's eyes. "In the blink of an eye, perhaps one badly timed push and the other boy ended up under the wheels of a speeding cart."

"My God." Gilbert hissed. "That's awful. Did the boy survive?"

"Have you seen speeding carts before? Gil, nobody would survive." James said, not without feeling.

"That sounds like an accident." Diana said slowly, almost as though she hated that she even thought it.

"Miss, you would say that. Not to generalise but I'd say you come from rich folk who kept you safe your whole life which is grand but it does lead to a slightly rosey idealistic view of the world." James said gently. "Not everyone is as good as you."

Diana flushed slightly. She knew she had a sheltered life, she had started to realise this not long ago. It was a strange shock to realise this, when all her childhood she had believed she had a very cultured and worldly upbringing. She found herself unprepared for most of the bad things that were abruptly apparent in the world.

"Most people say it was an accident but I'm not too sure." James said slowly.

"Why not?" Asked Diana. She knew Joseph was sadistic and dangerous but she didn't believe people were born bad.

"I just know what he's like." James told them. "He also put a man in hospital, Miss. This was when he was older - perhaps fifteen - and he was working with a girl named Scarlett Jane. Mr Bines did a deal with some opium dealers in town and the deal went South -- oh that's slang for gone bad, Miss. One of the dealers ended up bruised and bloody on the streets and this was all while Mr Bines was out of town. Who else would have done it?"

"My God." Gilbert's face was even more troubled.

"His partner Scarlet wasn't any better of a person than he was. They did jobs together when Joseph for a while. Mr Bines had given him more freedom to work jobs independently but the pair tried to hit a bank and Scarlett messed it up and next thing is Joseph has her set up and behind bars for a job which he did. That was the last time Mr Bines let Joseph work a job independently from him, he's had him on a tight leash ever since. I'm surprised the boy's been allowed to do all this."

"I doubt he asked for Mr Bines' permission." Gilbert scoffed.

"There was a bunch of unresolved cases hanging on the heels of the Bines before they left New York and a lot of heat was garnered for a reward to catch them. That's why they left. Avonlea happened to be the quietest town nearest to the docks which the steamer was headed to. Pure chance and bad luck." James tapped his shiny badge pinned to his coat which bore an imprint of a four-leaf clover. "You need luck in this life."

"What we did to deserve them coming to our town, I don't know." Diana groaned. "I'm sure he sounds even more despicable after all your stories. We already knew he was perfectly horrid."

"Oh darlin, these are only a few of the terrible deeds that boy has done to get here." James spoke in hushed tones. "He's got countless other monsters in his past, dragging him down. The biggest monster is Mr Bines and the things he does to him. Redmond Bines has a reputation even worse than Joseph. He has a wicked temper and takes everything out on Joseph, that's what they say. Boy's black and blue, day in day out."

James sighed heavily and took a swig of his drink. Diana didn't like that James drunk alcohol but she knew that her father did sometimes and she still liked him so she tried to look past it and not judge James. Diana had to work against her preconceptions often those days, since meeting Anne her perspective had changed a lot.

"Not that you'd feel sorry for somebody with a heart so cold. He's not right here," James pointed at his head and then his heart. "Or here."

"Do you know about the cases? Why did Joseph and Mr Bines have to come to Avonlea?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, people said they were running from something..." James looked up and the gas lamps lit his eyes. "Or someone."

"I knew it." Diana hissed. "I said they'd have to be running from something if they'd come all this way."

"You've got good instincts, then." James observed, looking at Diana. Then he turned to Gilbert. "You need somebody smart to have your back if you're asking about Bines. Did he cause you trouble, Gil?"

"Yes, he's threatened to hurt all of us. Diana, Anne and her family... he already attacked me." Gilbert showed James his bruises and James winced.

"No wonder your voice is so rough," James looked angry. "I hope you gave him hell straight back."

"I didn't get the chance." Gilbert admitted regretfully. "I'm more worried about the hell he's bringing to Avonlea. He's going to frame Anne for a robbery that he committed and he's built up such a case on her. He's got a detective beat and the whole town's talking like she's guilty."

"That's a classic Bines move, to be sure." James bit his lip and shook his head. "Save the fallout for somebody else. He'd lie his way out of the grave, that one. You know, I heard Joseph isn't even his name. Before Mr Bines picked him up from the streets he was called Scott - but that sounds more like the type of name a fine gentleman would have, not a thieving urchin."

"He lied about his named once, he told somebody his name was Joe. To throw off the scent for a while, I guess. He's a good liar." Gilbert told James.

"That's all the good he is." Diana said firmly.

"The longer he's free, the more danger everyone is in." Gilbert voiced what everyone was thinking. "I spoke with the detective in town, Detective Ellwyn and he said he'd pull Joseph in for questioning but I don't know what good it's gonna do..."

"Anything at all I can do?" James sat up.

"If you could talk to the detective too, tell him everything you know..." Diana said eagerly. "It would really help Anne, I'm sure."

"Of course, my friends. I'll come down first thing tomorrow morning."

"It would make such a huge difference. We're worried that Anne might be taken away if Joseph gets away with this and the blame lands on her." Gilbert said sincerely.

"The sooner Joseph Bines is locked up the better for all of us." James said firmly. "Don't worry, Blythe. Nobody's going to hurt your girl."

...

Anne was pulled backwards abruptly.

Billy snaked his arm around her neck and got her in a headlock before she had chance to react. Billy had a gun, she saw it flash as he moved. Anne struggled against him furiously. She had bested him once she could do it again. The bigger boy held his gun to her head and she froze like the Barry Lake in January.

"That's right," Billy sneered. "You don't fight me this time."

"Let me go!" Anne hissed. "Billy, you need to let me go. You don't know what this is about, you don't understand--"

"Shut it, Shirley. I know what's going on here, I understand more than you think." Billy said angrily. "You're coming with me."

He quickly pulled one of the Frailles handcloths from the parlour out of his pocket and tied it around her mouth like a gag. Anne tried to bite his fingers or turn her head away but he clicked his gun and she had to stop. The cloth tasted like soap and she coughed and choked.

"That should stop you screaming." Billy said. "Not that there's anyone to hear you."

Anne felt Billy's gun pressing hard against her skull as he dragged her roughly across the neat garden. Anne's boots dug into the soft ground and scraped the grass up in streaks as she was tugged along. Billy pulled her over the picket fence and into the woods, her skirt catching on the point and tearing. Anne stumbled as they went deeper and deeper into the gloomy forest, leaving the fateful Frailles house far behind.

Anne was scared of what would happen and what Billy had planned for her and the gun. Surely he wouldn't shoot her? Would he? Anne didn't know where they were going but Billy moved with a direction in his pace. He had a plan, which was worrisome. Billy with a plan was a fearful thing.

"Everyone will be so relieved that the criminal has finally been caught." Billy said. "Though if I didn't know any better I'd have said you couldn't have it in you to do all this."

Anne was trying to recognise the trees or the way they had come at least but it was an unfamiliar part of Avonlea and the woods weren't her own. She rarely ever came this way and couldn't think of anywhere nearby that Billy could be taking her to. She wasn't sure of her destination but she was sure she needed to escape. If he told somebody about what he'd seen while he had her caught red-handed it would seal her fate. If she found herself far away from any of their houses with an alibi she could have plausible deniability.

Anne dug her fingernails into Billy's arms and tried to break free, pushing away his grasp. She stumbled on a root as she plunged forward through the trees, branches whipping her face as she fled. Billy burst after her instantly, catching up with the fast girl due to the gasping pain in Anne's side. He reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back into his headlock. Anne panted and writhed in his grip but Billy pressed the barrel of his rifle against Anne's messy red hair.

Anne suddenly felt a pinch at her waist where her injury was healing, a tug and a sharp stab of pain. Anne gasped at the sensation. What had happened?

"There's no use fighting me Anne, there's no one to save you." Billy sniggered. "You're all alone now."

The hateful boy dragged Anne on through the woods. Every movement pained Anne and she clasped her side, praying the pain would ease. They walked on for a long while, Anne beginning to tire, feel weakened and slightly dizzy. She needed to rest.

Up ahead appeared a barn in a large clearing. The barn was small and the clearing looked like it had once been occupied but had long since been left to grow wild. There was a mostly broken-down fence surrounding the perimeter. Anne thought it could have once been a woodcutter's yard with a barn to pile the wood in to season it. Now it was unused and derelict.

Anne stared around the clearing and tried to catch her breath as they walked. The trees danced in the wind and the sun had lost all of its comforting warmth. She didn't know where she was. Anne was lost here. Nobody knew where she was.

Billy dragged the struggling Anne across the clearing and up to the barn double doors. The hinges were rusted and the bolt was large and thick, the walls were brick and wood and the ceiling was boards.

"Nobody comes here anymore, you'll not be found until I come back." Billy smirked.

He bashed the bolt lock open with the butt of his gun before pushing the double doors apart and shoving Anne inside the dark, dusty building. Anne staggered and fell onto her knees, grazing them on the rough stone floor. Her scratched legs felt tired sore and she winced as her knees hit the hard ground, heaving to catch her breath. Her injury burned with pain with throbbed through her body.

The dull evening sun trickled in through the open door and lit the room. Anne knew it would soon get dark so she hastily took in her surroundings. There were piles of wood, long since forgotten. A hay bale which likely housed mice and a broken board high up in the ceiling where the rain had gotten in and made puddles and filled up empty buckets and wheelbarrows. There was a scurry of squirrels in the rafters and a small bird flew out at the disturbance.

"You'll be right at home here with the wild animals while I go and fetch the detective." Billy laughed. "I'm sure he'll be very interested to hear what I've witnessed."

Anne, now free from his grasp tugged at the cloth around her mouth to speak. "Billy, you truly don't understand any of this. Just let me go, please." She pleaded emotionally. "I can explain everything--"

"It's you who doesn't understand. Stealing is wrong. Didn't they teach you that at the orphanage?" Billy snarled, pushing Anne back onto the floor. "I'll teach you the lesson."

"You can't leave me here--" Anne exclaimed.

"I can and I will." Billy snapped. "I'll be back. See you later, dog."

Then he slammed the large barn doors shut and Anne heard him slide the lock back in place. Anne cried out in anger and lurched forward. She kicked the doors repeatedly and brought her fists down so hard on the door her knuckles grazed and burned. She eventually ran out of strength and ceased the onslaught of the unmoving door. Billy would be far gone and her actions were pointless. She fell gasping to her knees, heaving ragged breaths and clutching her throbbing side.

Anne felt a lump in her throat and her injury was giving her a great deal of pain but she was determined not to give in. She wouldn't give up and let herself sit trapped in the barn while Billy fixed her sentence with the detective. She would escape.

Anne looked around the barn while there was still some semblance of light. Anne saw the large log piles and the buckets and wheelbarrows of water. She saw the hay bales and a broken rake in the corner and a fraying rope hanging on a hook. Anne looked up at the roof and the broken board showing the darkening sky.

She had an idea. Her imagination flurried with excitement and determination as the idea came into play.

Anne set to work. She began carrying small armfuls of the logs to the wall beneath the missing roof board until she had a tall pile. It took a while as Anne felt strained. Anne tipped out a bucket of water and instead filled it with large stones and broken bricks she gathered from the barn floor. She fetched the rake and broke it in two so it was a couple of feet long, with half a curled metal prong. Then she wrapped the rope around it and tied it into a strong knot and the other end she fastened to the bucket handle. Anne set the heavy bucket in front of the log pile that she had moved.

Anne stood looking up at the sky through the roof, makeshift grapple in her hand and she prayed this would work. She was tired and emotionally exhausted but her determination burned in her heart. Anne imagined she was the hero in a thrilling story of espionage. She was Agatha Riley again, strong willed, creative and brave. Agatha could escape this barn, so Anne could too.

Anne swung her rope and grapple around and around until it gathered speed and then she tossed it up. It hit the ceiling a foot away from the missing board.

Anne groaned. "Come on." She muttered to herself. "You can do this, Anne. Come on."

Anne threw it again and this time it flew straight through the missing board and she heard it hit the outside of the roof. Anne beamed with pride. She had done it. At least, she had if this worked.

Anne tugged the rope slightly and heard the hook scraping the roof. There was nothing for it to grip on. She levered the rope to move the metal hook. It scratched around the roof before she felt it bump on something. Anne tugged the rope and the hook slid under a roof board and gripped. She pulled again and it didn't budge.

Anne looked down at the heavy bucket of rocks. It should keep the rope taut and ensure that it didn't swing when she climbed. Anne gathered the hay bales and moved them under the rope in case she fell. Billy couldn't keep her locked in a barn, not if she had anything to say about it.

Anne took a deep breath and gripped tightly onto the rope. She began to climb. It burned her hands and her arms and legs ached as she lifted herself further up. It took every ounce of her strength to climb just halfway up before the pain in her side became too much for her and her arms began to tremble. Anne was gasping for air, panting as she clung to the rope. She looked down. It felt further now she was dangling in the air and she didn't want to drop after all this effort. She heard a horrible slow rip and looked up to see the fraying rope slowly coming apart as it was rubbed against the broken board in the roof. She was so close, she only had to find the strength to read the roof before the rope ripped.

But before she could, Anne lost her grip and she fell.

...

Detective Ellwyn was rather busy that evening.

He had a very important interview to conclude his investigations. Speaking with Joseph Bines would prove very enlightening, he felt certain. After Gilbert Blythe's passionate declaration of Anne's doubtless innocence he felt it was required of him to confront the accused Joseph Bines. He'd researched the boy and had found connections to a boy named Scott in New York who got into a lot of trouble after running with a man named Redmond.

Joseph was due to arrive at 6pm and arrived at 6.35pm. Detective Ellwyn despised tardiness so Joseph had not started out well. The detective had already begun the interview as soon as he sent a letter requesting his presence. A letter from Mr Redmond Bines had returned saying of course they would do anything to help the case, as good citizens of Avonlea.

Detective Ellwyn found this reply suspicious in a variety of ways, although he also found an enormous list of other things highly suspicious. Detective Ellwyn had done his research though and had been digging so he had a lot of reasons to doubt the Bines' good intentions.

Joseph Bines was not worried about the interview. Everything was falling into place for him and his plan and it was only a matter of time before Anne was convicted in his stead. Joseph took the interview as a chance to add a few more things to the towering case against her. He was almost looking forward to it.

Detective Ellwyn was waiting for the boy outside his office, growing more doubtful every moment of Joseph's innocence. Joseph arrived bright eyed and smiling, his golden curls blowing in the wind. He had pasted on a happy face but it didn't conceal the bruises scattered on his skin.

"Good afternoon," He said confidently. "I'm Joseph Bines, I'm here for the interview."

"Come in." Detective Ellwyn lead the boy to his office. "Sit."

Joseph did as he was asked and assumed the most ameanable and open expression he could manage. He had heard Detective Ellwyn was good at his job and had come from the city. Joseph had experienced scrapes with big city detectives before and they weren't like the small town enforcers who kept the peace. They messed with the big time criminals who meant business.

"So, as you no doubt know there was an incident involving a great deal of valuable property being taken from Mr William Barry. Secondly there has also been many reports of missing items from a number of houses all over Avonlea." Detective Ellwyn's face was stony. "I assure you I'm going to get to the bottom of this case one way or another, so lying is entirely hopeless."

"Alright, I'm glad we're on the same page. I never lie." Joseph nodded. "I want to help you in any way that I can to rid the streets of the monster responsible for these terrible crimes."

"Indeed." The detective raised his eyebrow. "Are you aware that certain persons have come into the idea that you are the 'monster' responsible?"

"Well, rumours abound about a great deal of people." Joseph leaned in conspirationally. "The most likely one is Anne Shirley, you know. She's got a history of lying and other undesirable things, on top of being an orphan from an orphanage asylum. She can't be right in the head, you see."

"The state of Anne Shirley's head is no concern of yours." Detective Ellwyn said curtly. "Now, I know that both of you were in the woods the night of the incident. I believe it is impossible for this to be a coincidence."

"We were just going for a walk, I wasn't aware at the time of Anne's mental state." Joseph said. "I was only looking for a friend, as I'm new to town. Anne doesn't fit in so I thought she could empathise with being a newcomer."

"I take it you didn't find her to be of any comfort or companionship?"

"Not at all. She showed herself to be hysterically emotional and unreasonable, impulsive and reckless." Joseph said mournfully. "There was a storm that night and I lost her in the woods. She was supposedly attacked but I'd say it was a ruse to cover up the truth."

"The truth which is?"

"Anne did the robbery. She snuck away from me because she knew I'd stop her. She caused the crash and attacked the riders and took the valuable things from the wagon. The chest and all of the gold and hid it in the woods. I know she did."

"How do you know all this?"

"Well, I confronted her and asked her where she had gone that night and how she had sustained her injury." Joseph was rather animated now. "She told me she'd found a crashed wagon and there had been things missing from it but I knew she was lying. I saw her hiding the chest deep in the woods later."

"Why didn't you tell anybody?"

"Well, I didn't want Anne to get in trouble at first." Joseph's face was earnest. "I thought she could still be a good person who was only lead astray - But-- but then I saw her sneaking into people's houses. I was so concerned about it, especially when I heard these families report things missing... I confided in my friend Billy Andrews about the matter and he told me he would handle it."

"He said he would handle it?" Detective Ellwyn raised his eyebrows doubtfully. He had heard of Billy Andrews and did not see the boy as somebody who could sensibly handle anything. "Why didn't you come straight to me or the police?"

"Well you see, I'm new and I'm not sure of the way of things." Joseph said hastily.

"How do you know Anne caused the crash?"

"She confessed she had during a hysterical breakdown a few days ago. She is prone to this type of madness... It is well known to the likes of her school friends who have to tolerate her outbursts and she's been known to violent actions and even fighting. Billy is a victim of hers, as is one boy named Gilbert Blythe who was once smashed over the head by Anne using her slate. Unprovoked, of course. I heard that she went over to his house not long ago and attacked him upon finding out he was meeting with her best-friend Diana Barry. I don't doubt her jealousy of the two was the cause of this whole ordeal and the injuries Gilbert endured from their encounter..."

"I see." Detective Ellwyn nodded. "Do you understand that it has also been said that you have been known to threaten people and experience such violent outbursts of which you spoke?"

"Who told you these lies?" Joseph exclaimed, looking upset.

"That is confidential."

"Surely you don't believe that nonsense? Everyone could tell you - I am a good-natured person, I work hard at school and have acquired many friends and I even help out with my neighbours and the locals where I can. I mean to do my piece in Avonlea, sir - I don't want to be a scrounger or so you say, like some relative newcomers to the town."

It was clear to the detective that Joseph meant Anne by this.

"I want to contribute." Joseph told him sincerely.

"What about the things a town could contribute to you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Joseph was appalled.

"Vast riches and a ticket out of the abusive clutches of the man named Redmond Bines." Detective Ellwyn leant forward over the desk, his stare piercing.

"I--I--" Joseph stammered, his reactions for the first time real and uncultivated. His hand unconsciously reached up to where he had tried to conceal a bruise on his cheek.

"He's not your real father, is he?" The Detective said. "You're adopted in a way, like Miss Shirley. You have more in common than you'd like to admit, in some areas."

"How do y-you know that?" Joseph felt cold suddenly. What else did he know?

"I do my research. I've heard you're originally from New York." Detective Ellwyn leant back, his fingers weaving together. His tone was easy and calm. "There was a case of a boy and man matching your description who were never caught and went missing a few months before you arrived in Avonlea."

Joseph fell silent. This had not gone to plan.

"A few months is the average time for a steamer to reach Avonlea after leaving New York and deviating it's path through the route."

"What's your point?" Joseph eventually asked, keeping his tone even.

"I don't think you're as innocent as you like to say you are. There's a lot of stories about you, some of which aren't hard to believe." Detective Ellwyn's words came fast now. "All you gotta do is step one toe out of line and I'll come down on you. You'll wish it was only Mr Bines on your case."

Joseph stared at the detective, resentment, some panic and a lot of anger bubbling up beneath the calm surface. Everything had gone so well, but now this man had ruined his plan. It wasn't so simple now, the detective was going to be watching and waiting for anything suspicious. He couldn't act so confidently now, he had to be even more careful. What if he found out the truth?

"Anne Shirley may be under a lot of scrutiny at the moment and have heavy blame piled on her," The Detective said in a low voice. "But you're only a few steps off from looking just as guilty as her."

...

James Riley had accommodations in the docks, which he offered to share to Gilbert and Diana for the night but they gratefully declined.

Diana had to be getting home before her parents worried about her and Gilbert wanted to check on Anne before he went to bed. He was concerned about her and how her plans to search the houses had gone. Whatever evidence Joseph had planted could be discovered at any moment, so Anne finding it all was of paramount importance.

The pair bade James goodnight and promised to see him the next morning after he spoke with Detective Ellwyn. James watched them leave the inn, a lot weighing his mind. He took a sip of his drink, thinking deeply.

Seeing Gilbert had made him happy, as had meeting such a bright young woman. Talking about Joseph Bines however had dragged up a lot of bad feelings he had long since quelled. Joseph had done something else in New York, something unspeakable. James hadn't told Gilbert or Diana for fear of them thinking differently of him. Even though none of what had happened was James' fault he blamed himself for it and could never forgive Joseph for either. It fuelled his dedication to put the Bines boy behind bars.

Gilbert and Diana rode back to Avonlea with many thoughts swirling through their minds. All of what James had said was shocking and horrifying yet neither of them were very surprised by any of it. Joseph had a long history of being a dreadful person and after all the pain and worry he had caused them Diana and Gilbert were even more set to bringing him down.

Diana rode back to her house and told Gilbert to keep the horse to go home as it was dark and he shouldn't be walking the roads this time of night especially with Joseph on the loose. She dismounted and looked up at her friend, her mind turning to Anne.

"Oh Gil, be a dear and check on Anne on your way home, will you? I do worry about her." Diana asked.

"Of course I will." Gilbert nodded. "Thank you for coming, Di. I know the inn wasn't exactly your ideal place to go."

"Well, it had to be done. Anne would have done it too, if had been for me." Diana said. "I'm hopeful that James Riley could help us with his information."

"As am I. He's a good man." Gilbert said. "What did you think of him, anyway?"

"Well, he's something alright." Diana said softly, a small smile turning up the corners of her lips.

Gilbert knew that he couldn't possibly ride home before checking on Anne so he took the path to Green Gables. It was just around the meadow from Diana's house. Gilbert arrived and saw through the windows Marilla and Matthew standing in their parlour talking anmimatedly. Gilbert tied Diana's horse on a post and knocked on the door.

When Marilla answered, she looked concerned.

"Oh, it's you -- I was hoping it would be Anne." Marilla said. "It's been hours since she was due home, she used to stop off to see Diana after school regularly but she's missed dinner so we're beginning to worry... Matthew was just about to ride to the Barrys house."

"She's not here?" Gilbert's heart sank.

"You haven't seen her?" Marilla demanded, paling.

"Not since school-- she was going for a walk through Orchard Way up by the big houses." Gilbert told her. "I was just checking that she made it home alright."

"Well she hasn't and if you haven't seen her then this is very worrisome." Marilla fretted. "I know her imagination leads her on highly elaborate walks sometimes but this is late even for Anne."

"I can go and look for her. I have an idea where she could be." Gilbert suggested.

"Oh, it's far too dark. You'll only get lost too!" Marilla dithered. "We'll get a search party--"

"I know my way, Marilla. I'll be alright." Gilbert reassured her quickly. "I have to find her, I won't be able to sleep knowing she's out there. Not after..."

Gilbert stopped, both he and Marilla knew what was hanging on the tip of his tongue. That night had not left their minds easily and would haunt their dreams for a long time yet.

Marilla hesitated, staring at Gilbert for a moment. She was afraid that Anne had gotten into trouble again and might be dying somewhere in the wilderness like before and she was even more afraid that Anne wouldn't recover a second time, especially after she hadn't been taking it easy as recommended. This fear overrided her fear of Gilbert also getting lost in the search for Anne. Gilbert certainly had more sense of mind than Anne and wouldn't let whims distract him.

"Well, alright then. Bring her straight back here when you find her, mind. I'll have no galavanting in the night, she's not well and should be in bed at this hour."

"Yes Ma'am." Gilbert nodded, touching his cap.

Then he climbed onto Diana's horse and off he went into the night, making haste for the road where all of the houses Anne was going to search were. He was determined to find Anne, even if it took him all night. The idea that Joseph had found Anne and was going to follow through with his threat of hurting her was driving him on despite the cold wind whipping against him.

...

Anne luckily fell onto the hay bales, but her head hit the bucket and she saw stars.

She tried to sit up but she felt dizzy and her head pounded. A sickness rose up in Anne and she lay down again, body trembling with exhaustion. Tears of frustration burned her grey eyes and she squeezed them shut, listening to her heart hammering inside her chest. She had been so close.

After a few minutes Anne tried to sit up again but the rush of nausea hit her and she fell back against the hay, blinking up at the deep blue sky. It was almost dark now. She felt the throbbing pain in her wound and knew something terrible had happened to it. It felt like it did when the blade had first plunged deep inside her.

For a while Anne could see around by the dim sunlight coming in before it set but this didn't last and soon enough she was plunged into darkness. Anne tried not to lose herself in flashbacks of the older children at the orphanage locking her in dark cupboards for hours on end and nobody coming to find her until roll call.

Eventually Anne settled with the idea that perhaps somebody would be able to track her, like in stories. This was drawn from her strong imagination as it was highly unlikely in the dark. Her bright eyes blinked into the blackness as she lay helpless to do anything but listen to the sounds of the woods around her.

At first the birds were only singing goodnight to one another, animals scurried and moved to their homes before the sun dipped low in the sky. Before long there was no sun, only an inky sky and a bright moon peering through the hole of the missing roof board. Owls hooted a cacophony, joined by foxes patting around the barn and in the far off distance a dog howling.

By midnight Anne's imagination had overpowered her determined bravery.

Her resolve to stay alert crumbled as the howls echoed and appeared the encircle the locked barn. Anne imagined a pack of ravenous wolves catching and tracking her scent and hunting out the barn, circling it to find a way in. There was a crunch of leaves underfoot a small night creature but in Anne's mind it was the ghost of a crazed axeman who had fallen on his own blade fifty years ago but still stalked the dreadful scene of his death, looking for a crack in the walls to slip inside. The tree branches blowing against the roof became giant skeleton hands scraping along the beams and wood, pleading to come inside to consume Anne's soul.

By the middle of the night Anne was in a chasm of in unsurmountable hysteria. What she didn't know was that during her struggle with Billy, her stitches had split, her wound had gotten infected and she was working up a fever. Her fever was aiding her imagination, coaxing her into a mad spell, alongside sapping her body of its energy to stay awake, to heal and to fight off the infection.

Anne didn't have much time left.

...

James Riley was up all night, thinking about Joseph being loose in Avonlea and all of the awful things he could do.

The thought of Joseph repeating the terrible thing he had done to James was what tortured him from sleep. James was thinking of the way Gilbert spoke about Anne and how the thought of seeing her again had kept him going through the seasickness and the endless coal dust clogging up his throat and the painfully exhausting manual labour every day aboard the steamer. Gilbert was completely gone for that girl.

James could tell this because he recognised the feeling. He had felt it too. That was a long time ago but the ache of love still hung in his heart and he couldn't get the dream of them out of his mind. He missed them so much it hurt. He couldn't let Joseph repeat history and do the same terrible thing to Gilbert as he had done to James.

James climbed out of bed, dressed quickly and packed a small pack. He was on his horse before midnight and galloping down the long red road to Avonlea. He was going to stop Joseph, to avenge his lost love and hopefully get some peace of mind and heart knowing he helped Gilbert be with the one he loved.