chapter 15 well done, george!

it was anne who comforted the boy. she went to him and pulled him down on a stone beside her.

'let me look at your leg,' she said. 'it's pretty bad, isn't it? look, i'll bind it up for you. don't be soupset - we'll help you. i think we know what's happened, don't we julian?'

the boy looked at anne gratefully, and sniffed hard. when she offered him her handkerchief, he tookit and wiped his face. dick gave anne his big hanky to bind up the boy's cut and bruised leg. he musthave fallen right into the trench in his fright at seeing his brother fighting and being taken away.

'how do you know what's happened?' he said to julian. 'can you get guy back? do say you can!

i'll never forgive myself for this. my twin-brother - and i wasn't there to fight by his side when heneeded me!'

'now don't soak my hanky all over again!' said anne. he gave her a forlorn little smile and turned tojulian again.

'my name's harry lawdler, and guy and i are mad on old camps and buildings and things. we spendalmost all our holidays together, digging and finding all kinds of things, like these.' he nodded hishead towards the little shelf of relics that the four had seen before.

'yes - guy told us,' said dick. 'but he never said a word about you. we were often very puzzled -we thought you and he were one boy - not two, you see - and we couldn't understand a lot of thingsyou both said. you're so very, very alike.'

'well - i tell you, we each pretended that the other didn't even exist,' said harry. 'we're like that.

we love each other best in the world, and we hate each other worse - when we quarrel. we're simplyhorrible then!'

'can you tell us a bit about the people that guy was fighting?' asked dick.

'yes. they were some that came before, wanting guy to clear out while they had a look round,'

said harry, wiping his face again. 'guy was pretty rude to them. in fact i heard him say that if theymessed about his camp he would throw stones at them - he's like that, you know, very fierce, whenhe's roused.'

'and you think these were the same people?' said dick. 'which way did they go with guy?'

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'that way,' said harry, pointing. 'i've hunted the whole camp round, but they're gone -disappeared into thin air! it's extraordinary!'

'let's have a hunt round,' said julian. 'we might find something. but i imagine that the searchers havetaken guy off with them because he knew too much - perhaps they found here what they werelooking for, and saw guy watching.'

'oh! then we're too late!' said george, in deep disappointment. 'they've got what they want -and they'll disappear now and never be caught. i expect by now they are speeding away in a fast car -and have taken guy with them to make sure he doesn't talk before they're safely in another country!'

'oh no!' cried harry. 'he's not kidnapped, is he? don't say that!'

'come on - let's have a hunt,' said julian, and they all made their way among the various trenches andpits, looking for they hardly knew what.

they gave it up after a while. there were too many slabs and stones of all sizes! besides, what goodwould it be even if they found the right one? the birds had flown - presumably with what they hadcome for! in fact, if guy hadn't come along and seen the searchers, nobody would even have knownthat they had been in the camp and made a successful search!

'it's no good,' said julian, at last. 'this is too big a place to know where to look for anything thatmight help us. let's go back to the gorse-bush and collect our things, return to kirrin and go to thepolice. it's the only sensible thing left to do!'

'come along, harry,' said anne, to the miserable twin. he was so full of remorse that herhandkerchief was now soaked for the third time! 'you'd better come with us and tell all you know.'

'i'll come,' said harry. 'i'll do anything to get guy back. i'll never quarrel with him again. never.

to think that...'

'now don't go all through that again,' said anne. 'look, you're upsetting timmy so much that his tailis down all the time!'

harry gave another forlorn little smile. they all left the camp and made their way back to the gorse-bush. it was only when they got there, and began pulling out the tins of food, as well as the rug andother things, that they realized how extremely hungry they were!

'we've had no breakfast. we've been up for ages, and it's very late. i'm simply starving!' said george.

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'well, if we finish up all the food, we shan't have to carry the tins!' said dick. 'let's have a meal.

ten minutes more here can't make much difference.'

they were thankful not to have to sit under the gorse-bush again. they sat outside in the sun, anddiscussed everything.

'i believe when timmy began to growl and growl about six o'clock this morning, it was because hecould hear those people coming quietly by to go to search the camp,' said george.

'i think you're right,' said julian. 'i bet they searched the camp well - till guy woke and came on thescene and fought like fury. it's a pity i didn't squeeze out from under the bush and follow them, whentimmy growled.'

'anyone want a drink?' said george. 'i'll go and fetch some water from the spring. where's thepineapple tin?'

anne passed it to her. george got up and took the little rabbit-path that led to the spring. she couldhear it gurgling and bubbling as she came near - a very pleasant noise.

'water always sounds nice,' said george to herself. 'i love the sound of water.'

water! now why did that ring a bell in her mind just then? who had been talking about water?

oh - dick and julian, of course, when they had come back from the old cottage last night. they hadtold anne and herself about the word on the plan - the word that might have been water, notwader.

'i wonder which it was,' said george to herself as she idly held the pineapple tin to the gurgling water.

she gazed at the beautiful little spring, jutting up from the stony slabs - and then another bell rangloudly in her mind.

'stone slabs! water! why - i wonder - i just wonder - if one of these slabs is the one! this one justhere is about the right size!'

she stared at it. it was set firmly in a high little bank at the back of the place where the spring gurgledup and then ran into the clean stony channel. did it hide anything behind it?

george suddenly dropped the tin and ran back to the others at full speed. 'julian! julian! i believe i'vefound the slab! it's been staring us in the face the whole time!'

julian was very startled. so were the others. they stared up at george in astonishment.

'what do you mean, george?' said julian, jumping to his feet. 'show me!'

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followed by everyone, george ran back to the spring. she pointed to the white slab behind the water.

'there!' she said. 'that's the right size, isn't it? and it's beside water - just as it said in the plan youtold us about - only the people thought it was wader.'

'gosh - i wonder if you're right, george,' said julian, excited. 'you might be - you never know.

sometimes springs come from underground passages - secret, hidden ways into the earth.'

'let's try and move it,' said dick, his face red with sudden excitement. 'it looks pretty hefty to me.'

they began to struggle with the stone, getting extremely wet as they splashed about in the spring.

but nobody minded that. this was too exciting for words. harry helped too, heaving and tugging. hewas very strong indeed.

the stone slab moved a little. it slid to one side and stuck. more tugging. more pulling. more pantingand puffing!

'i believe we'll have to get help,' said julian at last. 'it really is too heavy and well-embedded.'

'i'll go and get some of my tools,' said harry. 'i'm used to heaving stones about with them. we caneasily move it if we have the right tools.'

he flew off at top speed. the others sat down and mopped their streaming foreheads.

'phew!' said julian. 'what a job this is for a hot day! i'm glad harry remembered his tools. just whatwe want!'

'how queer that he and guy are twins!' said george. 'i never even thought of such a thing!'

'well, they behaved so idiotically,' said julian. 'always pretending there was just one of them, andneither of them even mentioning the other. i wonder where guy has been taken to. i don't think he'llcome to much harm - but it will be worrying to his people.'

'here comes harry,' said anne, after a pause. 'one of us ought to have gone with him to help him.

he's brought dozens of tools!'

the things he had fetched proved very useful indeed, especially a big jemmy-like tool. the stonesoon began to move when this was applied by julian and harry!

'it's slipping - it's coming away - look out, it will fall right down into the spring!' cried dick.

'look out, you girls!'

the stone was prised right out, and fell into the stony channel where the water ran. the five childrenstared at the opening it left.

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julian leaned forward and looked into it. 'yes - there's a big hole behind,' he said. 'let me shine mytorch in.'

in great excitement he flashed his torch into the opening. he turned round, his face glowing.

'yes! i think we've got it! there's a tunnel behind, going down and down. it widens out behind thishole!'

everyone was too thrilled for words. george gave dick a punch, and anne patted timmy so hard thathe whined. harry beamed round, all his woes forgotten.

'do we go down now?' asked dick. 'we'll have to make the opening a bit wider. earth and roots havenarrowed it very much. let's make it bigger.'

'then we'll explore it!' said george, her eyes shining. 'a secret tunnel only known to us! quick -let's explore it!'