25 at midnight

jack slept peacefully again for some hours. he did not wake till bill returned in the car. with himwere four ‘friends’. jack thought they looked pretty tough. it was plain that bill was in authorityover them.

bill came into the kitchen, leaving the men outside. ‘hallo!’ he said. ‘awake at last? do youwant a meal? it’s gone one o’clock.’

‘gracious, is it!’ said jack. ‘yes, i feel jolly hungry.’

‘you get up now and put some clothes on,’ said bill, ‘and i’ll call one of my men in to fix us upa meal. i don’t expect mrs mannering will mind if we make free with her kitchen today.’

‘are we going up to the castle soon?’ said jack, gathering the dressing-gown round him, andpreparing to go upstairs to his bedroom.

‘not till tonight,’ said bill. ‘the moon won’t be up till late, and we plan to go just beforemidnight, whilst it is still dark. i’ve no doubt one or other of those men keeps a lookout during thedaytime.’

‘oh – the girls will be awfully tired of waiting for us, all day long,’ said jack.

‘can’t very well help it,’ said bill. ‘it is most important that we get in without being seen.’

jack went up and dressed. it was terribly hot, though the sun was behind sulky-looking clouds.

he felt out of breath, though he had done nothing at all.

‘feels like a storm,’ he thought. ‘i hope it won’t come today. it might frighten the girls up thereall alone.’

there was a scampering of clawed feet on the stairs, and into his bedroom came button, hisbrush waving behind him, his sharp eyes fixed on jack as if to say ‘well, well, how you do getabout, to be sure! i never know whether to find you up at the castle or down here – but i wish icould find old philip!’

‘looking for tufty, are you?’ said jack, patting the fox cub, who immediately rolled over like adog. ‘hey, bill – did you see our fox cub?’

‘well, a small tornado swept into the kitchen and up the stairs,’ called back bill, ‘but i didn’tsee what it was! come on down with him.’

jack went down, carrying button, who licked his nose rapturously all the time. bill thought hewas fine.

they had a meal together, and bill asked a good many questions about the castle and the men,and the hidden room, which jack answered as clearly as he could. he was certain that bill meantto enter the castle somehow, and capture the men – but he couldn’t see how it was to be done.

‘they looked pretty dangerous fellows,’ he said to bill. ‘i mean – they’re probably well armed.’

‘don’t worry – they won’t be the only ones,’ said bill grimly. ‘i know scar-neck of old – hedoesn’t usually leave anything to chance. he must have been pretty fed up when he found the girlsin his precious hidden room! i guess their being there has made him hurry up his plans a bit,whatever they are.’

jack began to feel excited. ‘this adventure is boiling up,’ he said, in a pleased tone.

‘yes. and somebody is going to get badly scalded,’ said bill.

jack developed his other films. the snaps came out marvellously! the eagles stood out well,almost every feather showing clearly. the baby eagle was the star turn. its poses were perfect.

‘look at these, bill,’ said jack, thrilled.

‘my word – they’re really striking!’ said bill admiringly. ‘you ought to get those taken by anyfirst-class magazine, jack. they would pay well for them too! you’ll soon make a name foryourself, at this rate.’

jack felt proud. if he could make a name for himself through the birds he loved, he would behappy. he wondered how kiki was getting on without him. how disgusted she would be when shefound that he was gone! never mind – tassie was there, and she was very fond of her.

the day dragged a little. after tea jack felt sleepy, and bill told him to have a nap.

‘you had an awful night – and as we shall want your help tonight, you’d better sleep for a fewhours. then you will be wide awake.’

so jack curled up on a rug in the garden outside and slept. it was hot and sultry there. bill’smen, who had sat playing cards with one another all day long, and had hardly spoken a word,removed their coats, and then their shirts. it was almost too hot to breathe.

jack awoke again before it was dark. he went to find bill. ‘oughtn’t we to start now?’ he said.

‘it takes a bit of time to get up the hill.’

‘we’re going as far as we can by car,’ said bill. ‘these fellows are tough, but they don’t likemountain climbing! we’ll follow the road till we get to the landslide, and then climb the rest of theway.’

just as it got dark they all piled into bill’s big car and set off up the hill. the car seemed tomake rather a noise, jack thought, but bill assured him it wouldn’t be heard at the castle.

‘the only thing that worries me a bit is having philip down in that hidden room,’ said bill. ‘ifthere’s a rough house down there – and i rather think there may be – i don’t want kids mixed up init.’

‘well, really – bill – it was us kids who got you mixed up in this adventure!’ said jack, mostindignantly.

‘yes, i know,’ said bill, with a laugh. ‘but it rather cramps our style to have you around justnow!’

‘bill, what are you going to do?’ asked jack, with curiosity. ‘do tell me. you might as well!’

‘i’m not quite sure,’ said bill. ‘it depends on how things turn out. but roughly the plan is this –to get down into that hidden room tonight, when the girls are there, we hope, and the men are not .

. .’

‘set the girls free!’ said jack. ‘and philip too, can’t you?’

‘yes – if philip will condescend to scoot off with the girls!’ said bill. ‘but we want him to showus the secret way under the tapestry first, and i have an idea that he will want to come with usthen!’

‘i bet he will,’ said jack. ‘so shall i, i don’t mind telling you! i’m not going to be left out of thisnow, if i can help it.’

‘i want to find out where that secret door leads to,’ said bill. ‘i think i know, but i want to makesure. and i want to learn a few things without those men at the castle knowing it. it was a pitythey spoke in a language philip couldn’t understand or he might have learnt what we want toknow!’

‘well, how are you going to learn it, then?’ asked jack.

‘same way as philip might have!’ said bill, with a laugh. ‘put myself and the men into thosesuits of armour, and listen in to the conversation!’

‘gosh!’ said jack, thrilled. ‘i never thought of that. oh, bill – do you really think you can dothat? can philip and i hide too?’

‘we’ll see,’ said bill. ‘i thought it was a mighty good idea of philip’s to hide in that armour, imust say, even though it was only for a joke at first. now – here we are at the landslide, surely?’

they were. they all had to get out, and jack now had to lead the way. he found the narrowrabbit-path they had so often used, and led the men along it, using his torch as he did so, because itwas not easy in the darkness to pick out the right path.

they all walked in dead silence, in obedience to an order from bill. button the fox cub ran atjack’s heels, suddenly hopeful of seeing philip. an owl called near by and made them all jump.

it was so hot that everyone panted, and rubbed wet foreheads. jack’s shirt stuck to him. therewas a rumble of thunder far away in the distance.

‘i thought there was a storm coming,’ said jack to himself, wiping his forehead for the twentiethtime, to stop the perspiration dripping into his eyes. ‘i hope the girls are safely down in thatunderground room. then they won’t hear the storm. but i suppose they’ll have to leave poor littletassie up in the courtyard, because they won’t dare to let the men see her. or kiki. i hope they’reboth all right.’

they went on upwards, and at last came to the great castle wall. jack stopped.

‘here’s the castle wall,’ he whispered. ‘how are you going to get into the castle, bill?’

‘where’s that other door you told me of- not the big front door that overlooks the landslide, andwhich the men came in by – the other, smaller door, somewhere in the wall of the castle?’ askedbill.

‘i’ll take you to it – but i told you it was locked,’ said jack. he led bill and the others round thewall, turned a corner, and came to the door.

it was very stout and strong, made of solid oak, set flush with the wall. the wall arched aboveit, and the door arched too. bill took out his torch and flashed it quickly up and down the door,coming to a stop at the lock.

he beckoned to one of the men. the fellow came up, and brought out an amazing collection ofkeys from his pocket. deftly and silently he fitted first one and then another into the keyhole. notone of them turned the lock.

‘no good, sir,’ he whispered to bill. ‘this isn’t an old lock – it’s a special one, fitted quiterecently. i shan’t be able to open it with any of my keys.’

jack listened in disappointment. surely this did not mean that they would have to batter the doorin? that would certainly give warning to the men.

bill sent for one of the other men. he came up with a curious thing in his hand, rather like asmall can with a thick spout. jack stared at it, wondering what it was.

‘you’ll have to get to work on it, jim,’ said bill. ‘go ahead. make as little noise as possible.

stop if i nudge you.’

a sizzling noise came from the can, and a jet of strong blue flame shot out from the spout,making jack jump. the man pointed the spout of flame at the door, just above the lock.

jack watched, fascinated. the curious blue flame ate away the wood completely! what kind offire they were using jack didn’t know, but it was very powerful. quietly the man worked with hiscan of flame, holding it steadily over the wood that surrounded the lock. the flame ate away a gapat the top of the lock. it ate away the side of it. and then it ate away the wood below the lock.

now jack saw what was happening to the door! the man had managed to isolate the lockcompletely, so that the door would swing open easily, leaving the lock behind! the boy thought itwas a very clever idea.

‘now to go in,’ said bill, as he swung the door slowly open. ‘everyone ready?’