30 the other side of the hill

the boys came out of the hole too, and they all stared at the sight below them. they were on avery steep hillside, with an almost sheer drop beneath.

directly below was what looked like a farmhouse, with out-buildings on the slope of the hill.

all around the place was barbed wire, rows upon rows of it. there was plenty just below wherethey stood, too.

there was a copse of trees behind the house, and in the middle was a clear space. a curious-looking machine stood in the centre of this clearing. it was large and shining. to anyone down atthe farm or near by it must have been completely hidden in the trees – but viewed from above itwas very plain to see.

‘what is it?’ asked jack, gazing at it in the clear morning sunlight.

‘not even i know that, jack,’ said bill. ‘it is one of our own country’s secrets – something beingworked on by our greatest military scientists.’

‘and that’s what scar-neck the spy was after?’ asked philip.

‘that’s what he was after,’ said bill. ‘he got wind of it – found out where the tests were beingcarried out in secret – and discovered to his delight that there was an old castle on the other side ofthe hill for sale.’

‘gosh! did he buy the castle then?’ asked jack.

bill nodded. ‘yes. i made it my business to find out who the owner was. scar-neck had notbought it in his own name, of course – he was far too clever for that. he bought it in the name ofan englishman – called brown. a man supposed to be interested in old buildings. but i soonfound out who was behind brown.’

‘aren’t you clever, bill?’ said jack admiringly.

‘no,’ said bill. ‘that kind of thing is easy in my job. i knew scar-neck was probably after thissecret of ours, but i couldn’t for the life of me see how he could find out anything. as you can see,it’s very well hidden up here at the back of the old farm – and well protected by barbed wire,which is quite probably mixed up with other wire that is electrically charged.’

‘well – how did he get the secret then?’ said philip.

‘by wonderful photography, and by making a way right under the wire down to the machineitself, i imagine,’ said bill. ‘look – do you see signs of digging there? well, i imagine scar-neckand his friends did a bit of burrowing, like rabbits, right under the wire, and came up safely insidethe enclosure.’

‘wouldn’t anyone see them?’ said jack.

‘not from this side,’ said bill. ‘nobody would guess anyone would try any tricks from up here.

it would seem impossible to get here, it’s so steep!’

‘and nobody knew about the passage in the castle that led right to this side of the hill!’ saidjack. ‘how did he find it out?’

‘got old plans of the castle, i expect,’ said bill. ‘the old fellow who had this castle last wasquite mad, as you no doubt gathered from the curious things he did. he made all kinds of hiddenrooms with curious contrivances, and lived in a romantic world of his own. scar-neck found thehidden room we know extremely useful, and the secret passage a perfect godsend! it actually cameout above the very secret he had been sent to find out!’

‘he’s a brave man,’ said philip.

‘yes – most spies are brave,’ said bill. ‘but this particular one is a most unpleasant fellow,heartily disliked even in his own country. he will double-cross anyone, not excepting his dearestfriend. well – i’m afraid he’s got away this time. but thank goodness he’s left the plans of oursecret behind him in that hidden room!’

‘so he can’t do any damage, i suppose?’ asked philip.

‘not unless he remembers everything in his head,’ said bill. ‘he has a marvellous memory, ofcourse, so maybe he will do us some damage even now.’

‘i hope he won’t,’ said philip. ‘i do so wish we had caught him, bill – and old shaggy too. ididn’t like either of them at all.’

‘these three we have got are only ordinary toughs, ready to do anything beastly for money,’

said bill. ‘i have let the real culprits slip – and i shall get a rap over the knuckles for that! servesme right – i had a wonderful chance of catching them. i should have guessed that scar-neck mightsmash that lamp.’

everyone had been glad of the rest and fresh air. now bill got up and looked downhill. howcould they get down without being torn to bits by the barbed wire? no one felt inclined to wriggledown the tunnel scar-neck had made below it.

bill saw someone about below. he gave a hail, and the man looked up, evidently overcome withsurprise to see so many people standing high up on the hillside.

‘who are you?’ he yelled.

‘friends!’ shouted back bill. ‘is colonel yarmouth there? i know him, and would like to talk tohim. but i can’t get through this wire.’

‘look!’ said jack suddenly, and pointed to a beautiful camera standing under a thick bramble.

‘that’s how they got their pictures! with that! it’s one of the finest cameras i’ve ever seen. ithasn’t been hurt by the deluge either – it’s got a waterproof protection. i expect that camera yougave me is ruined now, bill. it was in the gorse bush and had no protection at all. i left it there,unfortunately.’

‘what a pity!’ said bill. ‘well – maybe i can arrange for you to have this one instead – as a littlereturn for letting me in on your adventure, jack!’

jack’s eyes gleamed. what pictures he could take if he had a camera like that! it must be one ofthe finest in the world.

another man now came out in the grounds at the back of the farmhouse below. jack hadexpected a colonel to be in uniform, but he wasn’t.

‘hi, yarmouth!’ yelled bill. ‘don’t you know me?’

‘well, i’m blessed!’ floated up the colonel’s astonished voice. ‘i’ll send a couple of men up tomake a way down for you.’

so, in a fairly short time, a way was made for them through the rows of barbed wire, which waspromptly repaired again behind them. they went down to the farmhouse, slithering and almostfalling down the steep descent.

the colonel and bill disappeared into the house, to talk. the others waited patiently outside.

jack and philip lay down on the heather and yawned. they both fell asleep at once!

after a while the colonel and bill came out and snapped out a few orders. three of his mentook away the captives and they were put into a whitewashed room near by, which looked as if ithad once been a dairy. the door was shut and padlocked.

‘that’s got rid of them!’ said bill, pleased. ‘now we’ll get back to spring cottage. i’m afraidwe’ll have to go down to the bottom of the hill, take the road there, and then make our way up theother side to the cottage. there is apparently no other way to get there.’

the boys, awake now, groaned. they really didn’t feel like any more walking. still, it had to bedone.

‘what about the maps, or whatever they were, we left behind in the hidden room?’ asked jack.

‘oh, we can easily get those. one of the colonel’s men will go up through that passage and getthem as soon as the water has stopped,’ said bill. ‘and the three prisoners will be sent downsometime today under guard, to be dealt with later.’

‘i suppose the adventure is over?’ said philip. ‘quite finished?’

‘well – there are a few loose ends to tie up,’ said bill. ‘we must just see if we can find any traceof scar-neck and his friend in any of the districts near at hand. scar-neck will probably cut off hisfine beard – but if he does that he shows his scar, unless he can paint it out. we may get on histrack again and catch him. that would really be a most satisfactory finish, wouldn’t it!’

‘we’ll have to go and get your car too, won’t we?’ said jack, remembering. ‘we left it at thebeginning of the landslide.’

‘so we did,’ said bill. ‘my word, i hope it hasn’t been swept away by that deluge of rain – orburied in another landslide!’

‘i want to know what happened to the girls too,’ said philip. ‘i’m hoping they all got backsafely before the storm really started. it seems ages since i’ve seen them!’

they went on down the hillside, guided by a man from the farmhouse. he was extremelyinterested in their adventures, but wasn’t told much beyond that they had got caught in the castlein the storm, and had had to find their way through an old passage.

button was now running at philip’s heels, happy to be in the open air. even he had played hispart in the adventure, for he had shown tassie how to get in and out of the castle without usingdoors, gates or windows!

they came to the bottom of the hill and took the road there. then they came to the lane that ledup to spring cottage.

‘there it is at last!’ cried jack, and sprinted up to it. ‘hi, girls, here we are! where are you?’