chapter 18 inside old towers

'well! did you see that - she just let go and dropped!' said george, amazed. 'i wonder she didn't breakher legs. julian, shine your torch down.'

julian shone it down.

'it's a pretty good drop,' he said. 'i think we'll take the ropes off our toboggans and let ourselves downon those. i don't particularly want to break a leg or sprain an ankle just at present.'

'if we pull our toboggans over the hole, and let their ropes hang down into it, they will hold us safely,'

said dick, and pulled his toboggan right across the hole.

then julian pulled the other toboggan across as well, and soon the ropes were dangling down, readyto take each of the four children.

'what about timmy?' asked george, anxiously. 'dave has jumped down - though i wonder he didn'tbreak a leg!'

'i'll wrap my coat over him and tie one of the ropes round him,' said julian. 'then we can let himdown easily. come here, tim.'

tim was soon tied up in the coat with the rope. then dick slithered down on another rope, and stoodon the floor of the hole, ready to take timmy when julian let him down. it really wasn't very difficult.

aily looked rather scornful as the four children used the ropes.

julian laughed, and patted her shoulder.

'we're not all goat-like, you know,' he said. 'we don't gambol about the mountains all day long, likeyou, aily. well - that was your big big hole. what next?'

he shone his torch round. 'yes - it's a pot-hole. there's a small underground cave here. look - is thata tunnel leading out of it?'

'yes,' said george, as aily and the lamb skipped off together down into the darkness of the tunnel.

'look at that - no torch, no lamp - and yet she goes off into the darkness without any fear!

i'd be scared stiff!'

78

'she's got eyes like a cat,' said anne. 'well, do we follow her? we'd better or we shall lose her!'

'come on, timmy,' said george, and all five went down the dark, winding little tunnel after aily.

anne glanced up at the rocky roof and thought with wonder of the thick masses of heather growingon its upper surface, all covered with thick snow.

aily was nowhere to be seen! julian grew worried.

'aily! come back!'

but there was no answer.

'never mind,' said dick. 'there's probably only one way to go, and she knows we must take it! if wecome to a fork, we'll shout again.'

but they didn't come to a fork. the tunnel wound on and on, going steadily downhill. its roof was ofrock, and so were the walls, but underfoot was sandy soil alternating with rocky ridges that made thegoing rather rough.

julian looked at his compass.

'we've been going in a north-easterly direction more or less,' he said. 'and that should be in thedirection of old towers. i think i know how aily gets into the house!'

'yes - this tunnel must pass right under the fence- that- bites, and under the grounds, and endsomewhere near the cellars of the house,' said dick. 'or possibly in them. where's that child?'

they caught sight of her just then, in the light of julian's torch. she was waiting for them in a cornerof the passage with dave and fany.

she pointed upwards.

'way to garden!' she said. 'little hole there - big for aily! not for you!'

julian shone his torch upwards. sure enough there was a small hole there, which appeared to beovergrown with weeds or heather - he couldn't tell what. he looked at the rocky sides of the upwardpassage to the hole, and saw how easily aily could have climbed up to squeeze out of it, and roamthe gardens! so that was how it was she had been able to pick up the notes that the poor old womanhad constantly thrown out so hopefully! aily must surely have been the only person who managed toget into the grounds without permission!

'this way,' said aily, and led them past the garden-hole and downwards again.

'we must be under the house now,' said julian. 'i wonder if...'

but before he could finish his sentence he saw that the passage had led them into some old, half-ruined cellars. it went through a half-fallen cellar wall, and aily proudly led them into a dark, 79cluttered-up cellar which, with its many barrels and old bottles, must once have been the wine-cellar.

'what cellars!' exclaimed dick, in amazement, as they went through one after another. 'dozens ofthem. hey - what's this, aily?'

he had come to where one high wall had been broken down completely - but the breakage seemed tohave been done by human hands, for the breaks looked new, and were not covered with grime andmould as were the other fallen-down walls. a vast opening had been made into what seemed at firstglance to be a low-walled cave.

then a curious sound came to their ears. the sound of water - water gurgling and splashing!

julian took a step forward to peer into the cave beyond the broken walls.

but aily tugged at his hand in terror.

'no, no! not go there! bad mans, very bad mans. bad place there!'

'i say, look!' said julian, amazed, taking no notice of aily's tugging hand. 'an underground river- not just a stream - a river! flowing down through the mountain, probably fed by springs on the way- and i bet it goes right down to the sea somewhere! we know the sea isn't far away!'

'bad mans down there,' said aily, in panic, pulling dick and george too. 'bang-bang - big fires -big noise. you come in house, quick!'

'gosh - isn't this extraordinary!' said julian, quite astounded. 'what is going on here? we really shallhave to find out. what in the world does aily mean?'

anne and george were astonished too, but had no desire to go along the river and find out!

'better leave this for now, and go up into the house,' said george. 'after all, the old lady is theimportant thing at the moment. no wonder they imprisoned her in one of the towers, so that shewouldn't know what is going on!'

'well, i'm blowed if i know what's going on,' said dick. 'i'm not quite sure if i'm in some peculiarkind of nightmare or not!'

'you come house,' said aily again, and this time, to her great relief, they followed her, timmytrotting at the back with george, not quite knowing what to make of it all.

aily led them unerringly back through the smashed walls, through the musty cellars, and into somethat looked as if they had recently been used for store-places. tins of food stood about, old furniture,old tins and baths and cans, barrels of all sizes and shapes.

80

'we go soft!' said aily, meaning that they were now to walk quietly. they followed her up a longflight of stone cellar steps to a great door that stood half open. aily stood at the top listening -probably for the tall caretaker, julian thought. he wondered if the fierce dog was anywhere about thehouse. he whispered to aily.

'big dog in house, aily?'

'no. big dog in garden, big dog there all day and night,' whispered back the little girl, and julian feltmost relieved.

'aily find man,' said aily, and shot off by herself, motioning to the others to wait.

'she's gone to find out where the caretaker is,' said julian. 'my word - did you ever know anyone likeher? gosh, she's back again already!'

so she was, smiling mischievously all over her face.

'man sleep,' she said. 'man safe.' she took them through the door from the cellar into a perfectlyenormous kitchen, with a colossal range at one end, black and empty now. a larder door near by wasopen and aily darted into it. she brought out a meat pie and offered it to julian. he shook his head atonce.

'no. you mustn't steal!' he said. but aily either didn't understand, or didn't want to, for she bit intothe pie herself, gobbling great pieces down, and then put it on the floor for the animals to finish,which they were very pleased to do!

'aily - take us to the old woman,' said dick, not wanting to waste time on things like this. 'aily -you are sure there is no one else in the house?'

'aily know!' said the little girl. 'one man to watch - he in there!' and she pointed towards the door ofa nearby room. 'he watch old woman, and dog watch garden. other mans not come in here.'

'oh - well, where do they live then, these strange 'other men'?' asked julian, but aily didn'tunderstand. she led them to a great hall, from which two wide stairways swept up, meeting above atan even wider landing.

the lamb gambolled up, and the little dog dave barked joyfully.

'sh!' said all the four children at once, but aily laughed. she seemed quite at home in the house anddick wondered how many times she had let herself down into the pot-hole and come wandering inhere. no wonder she spent so many nights away from home - she could always come and hide awayin some corner of this big house! they followed her up the wide stairs.

81

but aily would come no farther than the second floor. she had brought them up two flights of stairs -and now before them stretched a great picture gallery, that led to another stairway at the far end. thechild hung back and refused to take julian's hand.

'what's the matter?' he asked.

'aily not come here,' said the child, shrinking back. 'not go here, not ever. those peoples see aily!'

and she pointed at the rows of great pictures, each a portrait of some long-dead owner of the house.

'she's afraid of the portraits!' said anne. 'afraid of all their eyes following her as she runs down thelong gallery! funny little thing. all right - you stay here, aily. we'll go on up to the towers.'

they left aily curled up behind a curtain, with dave and fany. anne glanced at the rows of graveportraits as the four of them, with timmy, walked softly down the long gallery. she shivered a little,for their eyes seemed to follow her as she passed, looking grave and disapproving.

up another flight of stairs, and yet another. and now they were in a long passage that ran from tower-room to tower-room. which was the tower they wanted?

it was very easy to find out! all of them had their doors wide open but one!

'this must be it!' said julian, and knocked at the door.

'who knocks?' said a weak, sorrowful voice. 'surely not you, matthew - you have no manners!

unlock the door and do not mock me with your knocking!'

'the key's in the door,' said dick. 'unlock it, julian - quick!'