Escape to Witch Mountain (16 page)

Keeping his face shielded with the telephone book, Tony turned to the open door, called and got Tia's attention, and hurriedly repeated the instructions.

The voice in the receiver said, “O.K., we're ready to move. I'm turning you over to Rael—he's been listening to this on his radio, and he's just stopped beside you.”

Startled, Tony's eyes jerked to the green truck that had pulled up at the curb with the motor running. It was a sporty new truck, and the man driving it had the look of a prosperous young farmer.

Without looking at him, the man said in a silent rush, “Greetings, Toní ! I'm Rael—though locally I'm listed as plain Ralph Jones. You've no idea how excited everyone is about you and Tia!” His
hand flicked swiftly toward the parking lot. “Are those our sharpies in the white car?”

“Yes.”

“We'll give them something to remember! I'm going to swing directly in front of them and block their view—that will give you a chance to get out of the phone booth without being noticed. We don't want them to guess you've been using the phone…Is that Father O'Day's car coming?”

“That's it.”

“Then let's go! Get out of the booth as soon as I swing, and run up the street toward him.”

Something about this maneuver worried Tony, but before he could ask questions Rael had gunned the truck motor and was turning into the parking lot. When the cab of the truck had shut off his view of Mr. Deranian's car, he dashed from the booth and began running up the street. But after a few paces he stopped abruptly. Ahead of him Father O'Day was slowing.

A small black cat had appeared out of nowhere, and had chosen this moment to cross the street. He was in no hurry, and he stepped along daintily, pausing every foot or two to look about and twitch his whiskers. It was Winkie.

Rael called silently, “Toní! What's the matter—are you afraid of a black cat?”

“No—that's Tia's cat! I—”

“Tia's? Then run and pick it up! Hurry!”

“But if I go any farther those men will see me!”

“Good! We
want
them to see you—now that you are away from the phone booth. They've got to recognize you and follow you. Understand?”

“Oh!”

Tony ran forward and snatched up Winkie. As he did so, the green truck backed and turned again, exposing him to the men in the white car. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucas Deranian stare at him, and suddenly speak urgently to the other man.

In the next breath, with Winkie safely in his hands, he was scrambling into the front of Father O'Day's car. As he slammed the door he heard Rael's silent order: “Straight ahead—cross the bridge the way you came into town, but take the left fork. I'll be right behind you.”

Father O'Day said worriedly, “What's happening, Tony? I'm completely confused. Deranian has spotted us—”

“It's all right,” he said. “He's supposed to follow us. It's part of the plan—whatever it is.” He repeated Rael's directions, and glanced back as they crossed the bridge. Rael had cut in front of Mr. Deranian and was now directly behind them. Behind Rael came the white car. Tony glimpsed the second white car farther back, returning and hastening suddenly to catch up with them.

He thrust his head out of the window and warned Rael about the second car. Rael laughed and called back, “That's fine! We want them all in on this.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We're trying to arrange things so they'll never look for you again.”

“But if they get around you they can overtake us easy—”

“On a road like this, I doubt if they'll attempt it. Anyway, they couldn't pass me if they tried. Haven't you learned how to control another car from a distance?”

“I—I didn't realize it could be done!”

“Not all of us can—but after what you did in Fairview I'm sure you could manage it. Toní, when we reach the gap, I'm going to stop both cars. Then you must get out and run for it.”

They were past the fork, and were beginning to climb on a winding road up a forested mountainside. Tia had thrown back the tarpaulin and was sitting up clinging to Winkie as she listened to Rael.

Tony called, “I don't understand! Where are we going, and where are we supposed to run after we get there?”

“You'll see,” Rael told him. “There'll be someone to direct you. Do exactly as you are told. This is Black Gap Road—it takes you on over the mountains to Misty Valley. But you're not going past the gap…”

The road wound tortuously, climbing higher and higher. The three cars behind them dropped farther back. Father O'Day shifted gears; the grade increased as they crept above the trees and the old motor began to labor. Tony got out his harmonica in the hope that he could help it along but it was not necessary for all at once they were over the hump.

The forest was below them and they were rolling across what seemed to be a broad high meadow studded with boulders. It gave Tony the feeling of being on top of the world. Was this the gap?

It was, for suddenly the car stopped without warning, and he heard Rael's silent order. “Get out and run! Follow the path on your right!” Then the green truck swung past them, and dipped downward on the slope beyond the meadow.

They had already spoken their good-byes. Tia gave Father O'Day a final hug and tumbled out behind Tony clutching the star box in one hand and Winkie in the other. In their excitement and uncertainty the bags they had brought so far were forgotten, though it hardly mattered now.

Winding upward over the meadow was a vague path that led to an expanse of rock at the highest point. For an instant Tony
hesitated seeing only the empty path leading to nowhere. To his right, a hundred yards down the road, he glimpsed the two white cars, stalled, and his sharp ears brought him the anger of the impatient drivers. When the men caught sight of him on the path, they began piling out to give chase.

At this moment of sudden doubt, Tony heard the silent instructions he had been listening for. He could not see the hidden speaker, but the voice was reassuring and he raced confidently up the path with Tia.

They reached the expanse of rock and scrambled to the top of it. Here all the world seemed spread before them—a tumbled world of mountains, half veiled in mist.

Far ahead, above one mountain darker than the others, something moved in the mist. It took silvery form, gleamed briefly as the sun touched it, and shot toward them with a speed and silence that brought an involuntary gasp from Tony. The thing coming to meet them looked almost like a flying saucer. With a shock of remembrance, he realized that was exactly what it was.

Down on the road, Father O'Day also gasped and made the sign of the cross. Though he knew he was seeing the second lifeboat, he had not expected it to look like this. The six panting men hurrying up the road to the path suddenly stopped and gaped in disbelief. From their angle of vision the approaching thing seemed to be swooping down from the skies. They saw it grow huge as it came close, to hover for a moment over the expanse of rock where the two small figures had climbed. When it moved and shot skyward, the figures were gone.

For a long minute afterward the six pursuers and the priest stood gazing upward in awed silence. Without a sound the thing had shot
up, up, up, almost with the speed of light it seemed, to vanish in the remoteness of space.

Father O'Day was fingering his rosary, trying to compose his mind for a prayer, when he was interrupted by Lucas Deranian.

Deranian's face was grim. Through tight lips he bit out, “What was
that
thing?”

“You saw it,” the big man told him. “It was nothing from this world. They finally remembered how to contact it.”

“You're a liar! I don't swallow that sort of tale. It's all some devilish trick of yours—”

Father O'Day stiffened. “Don't ever confuse your master with mine!” he thundered. “Do you think the Lord on high is so frail that
this
little planet, with its greedy little people, is
all
that he can do? Bah!” Abruptly his great hand swept out, seized Deranian by the coat collar, shook him, and hurled him into the midst of the other men. “Get out of my sight! Go tell the rest of your kind there are marvels in Creation far beyond their narrow dreaming.”

There were ugly mutterings, and for a moment it looked to Father O'Day as if he might have trouble on his hands. He smiled in sudden anticipation and took a step forward. There were six of them, but the Lord had given him a mighty body, and there was no better spot than a mountaintop for taking on the minions of the devil.

He was almost disappointed when they retreated to their cars. The motors started easily now, and he watched in considerable satisfaction while they turned the cars around at the edge of the meadow, and drove back the way they had come.

After a long while he followed them. He would rather have gone in the opposite direction, but he wanted his first view of Witch Mountain to be in the dusk, when he could catch the homey glow
of lights through the mist, and hear again the magic of music that would never be forgotten. After all that had happened, he knew it would be much wiser to wait a while before he joined the children on Witch Mountain.

Alexander Key started his career as an artist, studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. He then pursued a successful career as an illustrator of children's books, which soon led him to write his own. Key is the author of many popular science fiction stories for children including
The Forgotten Door
,
The Golden Enemy
, and
The Incredible Tide
.