12) Something  of Value

A stranger turns up at the house, named Robert Lawson. They  invite him to dinner and to stay the night. Overnight there is  a heavy storm.

Next morning, Lawson leaves very early, before the others  are up. On his way out, he does a scout around the grounds, and  discovers the petrol tanker Donny and Anne had arrived in. He  realises there is a lot of fuel inside.

The storm has flooded the garden - all of the seeds and plants  are ruined. Even worse, the cellar in which all of the non-perishable  supplies are stored, has been flooded out, ruining much of the  stock.

They decide that the only chance of surviving the winter is  to attempt to trade with another settlement. They know of one  about 30 miles away at Little Barton, who have a large stockpile  of supplies, but who are known to drive a hard bargain. The only  commodity they have left to trade is the petrol in the tanker  - there is about 1000 gallons in there.

An expedition sets out for Little Barton with a list of their  requirements - Jenny leads in the Land Rover, pulling a trailer  for the supplies, and Greg follows in the tanker.

Lawson meanwhile has not been missed. He makes his way back  to a camp, where two associates await him. They are scavenging  the area, but looking especially for petrol as it is becoming  very scarce. They decide they will relieve the community of their  petrol, by stealing the tanker and its contents. Although reluctant  to use violence, they are prepared to go to whatever lengths  are necessary to get their prize.

The gang return to the house, and find the tanker gone. They  threaten the children to force Abby to tell them where it is  - she tells them it's on its way to Little Barton, confident  that the convoy has enough of a head start not to be caught.

Jen and Greg are well on the way, but come to a very steep  1 in 8 hill. On the way down the brakes on the tanker fail, and  Greg only narrowly averts pushing Jen off the road. He manages  to stop safely at the bottom. They drive on to a nearby farm  where they hide the tanker in a barn. Greg sends Jen back to  the house to get some parts while he makes a start dismantling  the braking system.

Jenny meets the following gang on the way back. They take  her prisoner, and make her take them back to the farm. Back at  the barn, Greg spots the strange jeep approaching with Jenny  in the back, so lays in wait. The men are cautious. The leader,  Jim Buckmaster, wanders into the barn, assuming Greg suspects  nothing. Greg clobbers him with very little ceremony and demands  Jenny in exchange. He tells Buckmaster that the future of the  community depends on that petrol, and that he'll torch the lot  rather than let him have any of it.

The men are determined to get it though. After the exchange  there is a stand off. There are doors at either end of the barn,  making it tricky to defend. Greg decides their only hope is to  get word to the community to send help. He persuades Jen to slip  out of the back and steal the gang's jeep, while he creates a  diversion at the front. The plan works, and Jen gets away. The  gang see her go however, and realise that now a two pronged attack  at both ends of the barn will succeed. They overpower Greg and  joyfully drive away with their prize.

Greg recovers and runs after the tanker as he realizes that  the brakes still are in bits on the barn floor. The tanker reaches  another 1:8 hill very soon, and the driver finds out about the  brakes the hard way. The tanker crashes into a ditch at the foot  of the hill. Two of the men are killed. Buckmaster is badly injured  - as Greg catches up to the accident, he accuses him of deliberately  sabotaging the brakes, and in a fit of spite turns the valve  on the tanker to empty it onto the road. Greg retrieves a gun  from the cab, and when Buckminster refuses to turn off the valve,  shoots him dead, then stops the petrol spill.

Abby and the others turn up soon after, in time only to help  clean up. Greg is quite cut up about having to kill 3 men for  the sake of some petrol - about 150 gallons have been lost, as  he observes, things have come to a point where a life is only  worth 50 gallons of petrol.