chapter sixteen the sticks get a fright
but the sticks didn't go! the children peeped out of the spy-hole at the top of the cave-roof everynow and again, and saw one or other of the sticks. the evening went on and it began to be dark. stillthe sticks didn't go. julian ran down to the nearby shore and discovered a small boat there. so thesticks had managed to find their way round the island, rowed near the wreck, maybe landed on it too,and then come to the shore, cleverly avoiding the rocks they might strike against.
"it looks as if the sticks have come to stay for the night," said julian, gloomily. "this is going tospoil our stay here, isn't it? we rush away here to escape from the sticks - and lo and behold! thesticks are on top of us again. it's too bad.""let's frighten them," said george, her eyes shining by the light of the one candle in the cave.
"what do you mean?" said dick, cheering up. he always liked george's ideas, mad as theysometimes were.
"well, i suppose they must be living down in one of the dungeon rooms, mustn't they?" said george.
"there is no place in the ruins to live in proper shelter, or we'd be there ourselves - and the only otherplace is down in the dungeons. i wouldn't care to sleep there myself, but i don't suppose the stickswould mind."
"well, what about it?" said dick. "what's your idea?""couldn't we creep down, and do a bit of shouting, so that the echoes start up all round?" saidgeorge. "you know how frightening we found the echoes when we first went down into the 73dungeons. we only had to say one or two words, and the echoes began saying them over and overagain shouting them back at us."
"oh yes, i remember," said anne. "and wasn't timmy frightened when he barked! the echoesbarked back at him, and he thought there were thousands of dogs hiding down there! he was awfullyfrightened."
"it's a good idea," said julian. "serve the sticks right for coming to our island like this! if we canfrighten them away, that would be one up to us! let's do it.""what about timothy?" said anne. "hadn't we better leave him behind?""no. he can come and stand at the dungeon entrance to guard it for us," said george. "then if any ofthe real smugglers happened to come, timmy could give us warning. i'm not going to leave himbehind."
"come on, then, let's go now!" said julian. "it would be a fine trick to play. it's quite dark, but i've gotmy torch, and as soon as we are certain that the sticks are down in the dungeons, we can start to playour joke."
there was no sign or sound of the sticks anywhere about. no light of fire or candle was to be seen,no sound of voices to be heard. either they had gone, or they were below in the dungeons.
the stones had been taken from the entrance, so the children felt sure they were down there.
"now timmy, you stay quite still and quiet here," whispered george to timmy. "bark if anyonecomes, but not unless. we're going down into the dungeons.""i think perhaps i'll stay up here with timothy," said anne, suddenly. she didn't like the dark look ofthe dungeon entrance. "you see, george - timmy might be frightened or lonely up here by himself."the others chuckled. they knew anne was frightened. julian squeezed her arm. "you stay here,then," he said, kindly. "you keep old timmy company."then julian, george and dick went down the long flight of steps that led into the deep old dungeonsof kirrin castle. they had been there the summer before, when they had been seeking for losttreasure; now here they were again!
they crept down the steps and came to the many cellars or dungeons cut out of the rock below thecastle. there were scores of those, some big and some small, queer, damp underground rooms inwhich, maybe, unhappy prisoners had been kept in the olden days.
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the children crept down the dark passages. julian had a piece of white chalk with him, and drew achalk-line here and there on the rocky walls as he went, so that he might easily find the way back.
suddenly they heard voices and saw a light. they stopped and whispered softly together in eachother's ears.
"they're in that room where we found the treasure last year! that's where they're camping out!
what noises shall we make?"
"i'll be a cow," said dick. "i can moo awfully like a cow. i'll be a cow.""i'll be a sheep," said julian. "george, you be a horse. you can whinny and hrrrumph just like ahorse. dick, you begin!"
so dick began. hidden behind a rocky pillar, he opened his mouth and mooed dolefully, like a cowin pain. at once the echoes took up the mooing, magnified it, sent it along all the undergroundpassages, till it seemed as if a thousand cows had wandered there and were mooing together.
"moo - oo - oo - oooooooo, ooo - oo - mooooooo!"the sticks listened in amazement and fright at the sudden awful noise.
"what is it, ma?" said edgar, almost in tears. stinker crouched at the back of the cave, terrified.
"it's cows," said mr. stick, amazed. "them there's cows. can't you hear the moos? but how did cowsget to be here?"
"nonsense!" said mrs. stick, recovering herself a little. "cows down these caves! you're mad!
you'll be telling me there're sheep next!"it was funny that she should have said that, for julian chose that moment to begin baa-ing like a flockof sheep. his one long, bleating "baa-baa-aa-aa" was taken up by the echoes at once, and it seemedsuddenly as if hundreds of poor lost sheep were baa-ing their way down the dungeons!
mr. stick jumped to his feet, as white as a sheet.
"well, if it isn't sheep now!" he said. "what's up? what's in these 'ere dungeons? i never did likethem."
"baa-baa-baa-aa-aaaaaaaaaa!' went the mournful bleats all round and about. and then georgestarted her whinnying and neighing, just like an impatient horse. the little girl tossed her head in thedarkness and hrrrumphed exactly like a horse and then she stamped with her foot, and 75at once the echoes stamped too, sending the whinnying and neighing and stamping into sticks'
cave twenty times louder than george had made them.
poor stinker began to whine pitifully. he was frightened almost out of his life. he pressed himselfagainst the floor as if he would like to disappear into it. edgar clutched his mother's arm.
"let's go up," he said. "i can't stay here. there's hundreds of sheep and horses and cows roamingthese dungeons, you can hear them. they're not real, but they've got voices and hoofs, and i'm scaredof them."
mr. stick went to the door of the room they were in, and shouted loudly.
"get out, you! clear out! whoever you are!"george giggled. then she shouted out in a very deep, hoarse voice.
"be-ware!" and the echoes thundered out all round.
"ware! 'ware! "ware-are-are!"
mr. stick went back quickly into the cave-room, and lit another candle. he shut the big wooden doorthat led into the room. his hands were shaking.
"queer goings-on," he said. "shan't stay here much longer if we get this kind of thing happeningevery night."
julian, dick and george were now in such a state of giggles that they could not imitate any morecows, horses or sheep. george did begin to be a pig, and gave such a realistic snort and grunt thatdick nearly died of laughing. the snorts and grunts were echoed everywhere.
"come out" gasped julian, at last. "i shall burst with trying not to laugh. come out!""come out!" whispered the echoes. "come out, out, out!"they stumbled out, stuffing hankies into their mouths as they went, following julian's chalk-markseasily by the light of his torch. it was impossible to take the wrong passage if they followed hisguiding-lines.
they sat on the dungeon steps with anne and timmy, and choked with laughter as they related allthey had done. "we heard old stick yelling to us to clear out," said george, "and he sounded scaredstiff. as for stinker, we never heard even the smallest growl from him. i bet the sticks will clear offtomorrow after this! it must have given them a most terrible fright.""oh, that was grand!" said julian. "it was a pity i began to laugh. i was just feeling i might trumpetlike an elephant next. the echoes would like that!"76
"funny the sticks all staying on the island like this," said dick, thoughtfully. "they've left kirrincottage - but they're not looking for us. they must be in league with the smugglers all right.
perhaps that's why mrs. stick took the job with your mother, george - to be near the island when thetime came - when the smugglers wanted their help.""we could really go back to kirrin cottage, couldn't we?" said anne, who, much as she loved theisland, was not nearly so keen on it now that the sticks were there.
"go back! leave an adventure just when it's beginning!" said george, scornfully. "how silly you are,anne. go back if you want to - but i'm sure nobody will go with you.""oh, anne will stay with us all right," said julian, knowing that anne would feel hurt at thesuggestion she should leave them. "it will be the sticks who have to go, don't worry!""let's go back to the cave," said anne, thinking longingly of its safety and bright little candle.
they got up and made their way across the courtyard to the little wall that ran round the castle.
they climbed over it and turned their steps to the cliff. julian switched on his torch when he thoughtit was safe, for it was impossible to see clearly in the dark, and he did not want any of them to falldown the hole, instead of climbing down properly by the rope.
julian stood by the hole at last, shining his torch so that the others might climb down the rope insafety, one by one. he glanced up, looking over the dark sea, as he stood there, and then staredintently.
there was a light out to sea, and it was signalling. it must have seen his torchlight! julian watched,wondering if it was a ship that was signalling, and how far out it was, and why it was signalling.
"perhaps they're going to put more stuff into the old wreck for the sticks to find," he thought. "iwonder if they are. how i'd like to find out - but it would be dangerous to go there in daylight in casethe sticks see us."
the signalling went on for a long time, as if a message was being flashed. julian could not for the lifeof him make out what it was. it simply looked like the flash-flash-flash of a lantern to him. but itmust mean a signal or message of some sort to the sticks.
"well, they won't get it tonight!" thought julian, with a chuckle, when at last the signalling stopped.
"i rather think the stick family will stay where they are tonight, too scared of sheep and cows andhorses rushing about in those dungeons!"
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julian was quite right - the sticks did stay where they were! nothing would get them out of theirunderground room till morning.
