26 going into hiding
they filed in silently. the last man shut the door, and wedged in a bit of wood by the lock to keepit from swinging. the courtyard was beginning to get light, because the moon was rising, though itwas behind the clouds most of the time.
‘i’ll just go and see if tassie is under my gorse bush,’ whispered jack. ‘we’ll have to find outthe latest news from her, and she’ll have to escape with the girls too, as soon as possible. she canguide them back to spring cottage.’
the men waited in the shadows with bill whilst jack went over to the crag. he climbed up tothe gorse bush. a loud voice hailed him.
‘put the kettle on! how many times have i . . .’
‘shut up, kiki,’ whispered jack, in a panic. he heard someone stirring in the bush and called ina low voice.
‘is that you, tassie? it’s jack, back again!’
tassie crawled out of the bush, full of joy, for she had been feeling frightened and lonely.
‘oh, jack! did you come up that awful watery tunnel like i did? did you get help?’
‘yes – bill smugs is here – with some of his men,’ whispered jack. ‘you and the other twogirls must go down to spring cottage. philip and i are going to wait and see what happens – if billwill let us!’
‘but how can you get the girls?’ asked tassie. ‘you know they are down in the hidden room,with philip.’
‘easy,’ said jack. ‘we’ll just pull the spike in the wall at the back of the hall, and get them out!
then, tassie, you and they must hurry off as quickly as you can.’
‘i’d like to stay with philip,’ said tassie obstinately. ‘and anyway, there’s going to be adreadful storm. i don’t want to go down the hillside with thunder and lightning all round me.’
‘well – you’ll have to do as bill tells you,’ said jack. ‘maybe you’ll get down before the stormcomes. are the girls all right, tassie?’
‘yes, but rather tired of it,’ said tassie. ‘oh, jack, kiki made a simply awful noise last nightafter you had gone, and the men heard her – and they shot at her! i was really frightened!’
‘golly!’ said jack. ‘i’m glad you weren’t hit, tassie! you might easily have been wounded.’
‘the girls went down into the secret room when the men called out to them this evening,’ saidtassie. ‘but they asked them all kinds of questions, in horrid, rough voices. they couldn’tunderstand kiki talking last night, you see, and thought there must be someone else here that wehadn’t told them about. so, in the end, dinah had to tell them it was kiki the parrot – and after thatthey didn’t worry any more.’
‘come on – we must go over to bill, and tell him all this,’ said jack. ‘the men are waiting overthere, look – bill’s men, i mean, of course!’
the moon struggled out as the two went over to the little group of silent men, so they kept in theshadows, fearful of being seen. it wouldn’t do to give the game away to any watcher just at thiscritical moment.
‘where are the other men?’ whispered jack to tassie. ‘do you know? are they down in thehidden room – or wandering about the castle anywhere?’
‘as far as i know they’re not about the castle anywhere – or in the courtyard,’ said tassie.
‘they may be down in the hidden room though. won’t you have to look out, if you press thatspike and open the entrance?’
‘yes, we shall,’ said jack. ‘now here’s bill smugs, our friend, tassie. this is tassie, bill, thegirl i was telling you about.’
bill put a few questions to tassie, and she answered them shyly. it rather looked as if the menwere down in the secret room. well – they would get a shock when the stone swung back, andthey saw who were at the top of the steps!
‘now listen,’ said bill. ‘you are to work the lever that opens the entrance to the secret room,jack. one of my men will watch you, to see how you do it, in case we want to use it again. assoon as the entrance is open, i and the others will stand at the top and shout down to the menbelow to come up. we shall, i hope, have them covered with our revolvers!’
‘golly!’ said jack, a prickle of excitement running up and down his back. ‘look out for thegirls, bill. they may be scared stiff!’
‘i can yell to them to keep out of the way,’ said bill. ‘you leave things to me. i promise you thegirls won’t get hurt. we’ll have them up the steps in no time – and you, tassie, must take themstraight away down the hill to spring cottage. understand?’
‘i’d like to stay with philip,’ tassie still insisted.
‘well, you can’t,’ said bill. ‘you’ll have philip back with you tomorrow. now – you allunderstand what’s to be done?’
everyone did. quietly they all moved forward towards the great black hulk of the castle, lost inblack shadows. the moon had gone behind thick clouds. a rumble of thunder came on the airagain, still far away.
they stepped silently into the hall. everyone but tassie was wearing rubber shoes – tassie, asusual, was barefoot. she hadn’t even got her shoes tied round her neck or waist this time. she hadhidden them, for her mother had threatened to take them away from her.
jack slipped quietly to the back of the hall with one of the men. tassie showed bill the entranceto the underground room. he and the others waited there whilst jack pulled back the spike in thewall. a grating noise was heard – and once again the stone swung back, and then sideways. ayawning hole appeared, with stone steps leading downwards.
the light from the lamp shone upwards. bill stood at the top of the hole, listening intently.
there was no sound at all from below.
jack tiptoed up to him. ‘maybe there are only the girls and philip there,’ he whispered. ‘perhapsthe men have gone off somewhere, down the secret way behind that tapestry.’
bill nodded. he sent his voice rumbling down the hole. ‘who’s down here? answer!’
a small voice came back. it was dinah’s.
‘only us. who’s that?’
‘dinah! it’s me and bill smugs!’ called jack, before bill could stop him. are you alone?’
‘yes,’ came back dinah’s voice, lifted in excitement. ‘is bill there? oh, good!’
jack ran down the steps, and bill and the others followed, one man being left at the top onguard. the first thing bill did was to find the spike in the wall down below, and close up the hole.
he waited a moment, and then the man at the top, as arranged, opened it again. bill wanted tomake sure he could get in and out as he pleased!
lucy-ann flew to jack and hugged him tightly, tears pouring down her face. dinah grinned atbill, and tried hard to stop herself hugging him. but she couldn’t. she too was so relieved atseeing them both.
‘no time to waste,’ said bill. ‘where’s philip?’
‘oh, bill, he’s gone!’ said lucy-ann, turning to him and clinging to his arm. ‘when we gotdown here tonight he was gone! and we don’t know where or how. we don’t know if the mencaught him, or if philip went off by himself, or what. he didn’t leave a note or anything. but wethink maybe he explored that secret way under the tapestry.’
‘bill, the men are coming back soon,’ said dinah, suddenly remembering. ‘i heard one of themsay to another, in english, that they were to have their last meeting here tonight. so they may beback here any time, because this is where they meet, and where they keep their maps, or whateverit is they look at so carefully.’
‘where are the maps?’ asked bill at once, and dinah nodded towards the locked drawers.
‘in there. but they keep them locked up. bill, what are you going to do? isn’t this a mystery?’
‘i’m beginning to see daylight,’ said bill grimly. ‘now look here, dinah – you and lucy-annare to go with tassie straight away down the hill to spring cottage, and you are to stay there tillwe come. do you understand? you can go out of that side door in the wall, which is now open.
the man i have left upstairs will take you there safely and see you out. then you must go at once.’
‘but – but . . .’ began dinah, not liking to go without philip.
‘no buts,’ said bill. ‘i’m in command here, and you do exactly as you’re told! now – off yougo! we’ll be with you tomorrow!’
dinah, lucy-ann and tassie went obediently up the steps and out of the entrance hole. theman at the top went off to the door in the wall with them, and saw them safely out on the hillside.
‘sure you know your way?’ he murmured, for he was quite sure he wouldn’t know his way downthe dark hillside! but tassie did. she could almost have found her way with her eyes shut, sheknew it so well, and was so sure-footed.
the girls disappeared into the night. the man returned to his post. the entrance to the secretroom was now closed. below, bill, jack and the others were hurriedly getting into the suits ofarmour. bill meant to attend the next meeting of scar-neck with his men! jack was glad to seethat they all had revolvers! the men said very little. they were the least talkative people the boyhad ever known.
jack was made to stand in the suit of armour right at the back of the hidden room. bill didn’twant him too near, in case, as he said, there was a really rough house! the boy was shaking withexcitement.
kiki was not down in the room. tassie had carried her firmly up the stone steps, screeching withannoyance at being parted from jack so soon again. but it would not be possible to have atalkative parrot down there – she would certainly give the game away.
but button the fox cub was there! nobody knew it, of course. the fox cub had curled himselfup under the bed, where philip had hidden, glad to smell the familiar smell of the master he loved.
jack had forgotten all about him.
soon all the suits of armour were standing once more on their pedestals round the curiousmuseum-like room. only three of them were empty. all the others were filled, though one of themen, a great big fellow, complained bitterly that his didn’t fit him at all.
‘now – silence,’ said bill. ‘not a word from anyone. i think i heard something!’
