After making arrangements to pay for the Edsel, Skylar and Reed said goodbye to Jasper and left the plantation. They found a motel nearby. Reed called Jessie again and told him of his need to get another $15,000.00. Jessie just laughed at the guys extravagance but said he would wire it to them in the morning. All told, when he saw the photos of the Edsel, he had to admit that it looked like they had made an excellent buy. Early the next morning, they picked up the money Jessie had wired them. Then found a rental place and rented a climate controlled room for the crates, barrels and steamer trunks, and a moving van and a single stall garage which they temporarily parked Eleanor in. She didn't seem to like being left behind, but they reassured her they would be back shortly. They got out to the plantation shortly before noon. Reed found the lady in charge of the auction. There were going to be more items auctioned off today as well. He counted out the cash for the Edsel and she found the keys and title for him. Jasper showed up, still wearing his trademark white suit and hat. He was all smiles and told the guys he had found another secret opening in the floorboards of the attic big enough for the larger items so it wasn't going to be too difficult to lower them to where they could hand truck them down to their van. The guys had rented a chain hoist to assist with lowering the items out of the attic. They worked hard at moving all the attic's contents for a couple hours and finally got down to the last crate. 'Boy, I'm bushed!' exclaimed Reed, as he stood by the van talking to Jasper. 'I better go and help Skylar. He looks like he is about to lose that last crate!' Jasper had a big grin on his face and said, 'Yeah, you boys did a good stretch of work today. I knowd I made the right decision letting you guys have this stuff. I'm proud of your efforts in this enterprise. It is a pleasure to know there are still some respectful, honest people in this world.' After the last crate is loaded, Reed and Skylar say goodbye to Jasper. They promise to keep in touch, but he only smiles at that. His final words are that he doesn't want to know what was in the contents, no matter how good or bad it is. They shake hands and part company. Reed lets Skylar drive the van while he saunters over to the Edsel, gets behind the wheel and fires up the V-8. The Edsel surges forward with reassuring power as the guys leave the plantation grounds. Back at the rental site, the guys got the van unloaded in record time. By then, they were both sweating profusely and totally exhausted. 'We need to hit the gym again on a more regular basis!' exclaims Skylar to Reed. 'I couldn't agree more!' he replies. After a short rest, Reed's curiosity is itching. Skylar is just as curious. 'Lets just open that crate that we can still get at easy. We'll take a look at what is in it. That should be enough to satisfy us for awhile.' says Reed. With crowbar & hammer, it doesn't take long to pry the top off the crate. Inside they see it is full of old paintings in fancy frames. They pull a few of them out and are amazed at how well preserved they are. Reed took pictures of them and tried to capture the signatures of the artists and sent them to Gordon in Tucson. They the guys locked up their storage units, retrieving Eleanor and replacing her with the Edsel. They find a nice restaurant recommended by the rental guy and are just sitting down to order when Reed's phone interrupts. It is Gordon. He is nearly screaming when he tries talking. He is clearly excited out of his mind. He asks if they were trying to pull a funny on him or something cause if they aren't, the paintings they showed him are probably worth millions. ----------- M4 and M3 characters. Rendered in Poser 9. Post work in Photoshop 7. Thank you for taking a peek! Your support is greatly appreciated!