Five Have a Wonderful Time (13 page)

It was difficult to walk there, because the slope of the hill was so steep. Timmy went with them, excited at this unexpected walk.

"Now, Timmy listen — we want you to show us how you got in," said George. "Are you listening, Timmy?

Go in, Timmy, go in where you went this morning."

Timmy waved his long tail, panted, and let his tongue hang out in the way he did when he wanted to show he was being as helpful as he could. He ran in front, sniffing.

Then he suddenly stopped and looked back. He gave a little whine. The others hurried to him.

The moon most annoyingly went behind a cloud. Julian took out his torch and shone it where Timmy stood.

The dog stood there, looking very pleased.

"Well, what is there to be pleased about, Timmy?" said Julian, puzzled. "There's no hole there — nowhere you could possibly have got in. What are you trying to show us?"

Timmy gave a little bark. Then suddenly leapt about four feet up the uneven stones of the wall, and disappeared!

"Hie — where's he gone?" said Julian, startled, and flashed his torch up. "I say, look! There's a stone missing up there, quite a big block — and Timmy's gone in at the hole."

"There's the block — fallen down the hillside," said Dick, pointing to a big white stone, roughly square in shape. "But how has Timmy gone in, Ju? This wall is frightfully thick, and even if one stone falls out, there must be plenty more behind!"

Julian climbed up. He came to the space where the great fallen stone had been and flashed his torch there. "I say — this is interesting!" he called. "The wall is hollow just here. Timmy's gone into the hollow!"

At once a surge of excitement went through the whole lot. "Can we get in and follow Timmy?" called George. "Shout to him, Julian, and see where he is."

Julian called into the hollow. "Timmy! Timmy, where are you?"

A distant, rather muffled bark answered him, and then Timmy's eyes suddenly gleamed up at Julian. The dog was standing down in the small hollow behind the fallen stone. "He's here," called back Julian. "I tell you what I think we've hit on. When this enormous wall was built, a space was left inside — either to save stones, or to make a hidden passage, I don't know which. And that fallen stone has exposed a bit of the hollow. Shall we explore?"

"Oh,
yes
," came the answer at once. Julian climbed down into the middle of the wall. He flashed his torch into the space he was standing in. "Yes," he called, "it's a kind of passage. It's small, though. We'll have to bend almost double to get along it. Anne, you come next, then I can help you."

"Will the air be all right?" called Dick into the passage.

"It smells a bit musty," said Julian. "But if it really
is
a passage, there must be secret air-holes somewhere to keep the air fresh in here. That's right, Anne — you hang on to me. Jo, you come next, then George, then Dick."

Soon they were all in the curious passage, which ran along in the centre of the wall. It certainly was very small. They all got tired of going along bent double. It was pitch dark too, and although they all had torches, except Jo, it was very difficult to see.

Anne hung on to Julian's coat for dear life. She wasn't enjoying this very much, but she wouldn't have been left out of it for anything.

Julian suddenly stopped, and everyone bumped into the one in front. "What's up?" called Dick, from the back.

"Steps here!" shouted back Julian. "Steps going down, very very steeply — almost like a stone ladder. Be careful, everybody!"

The steps were certainly steep. "Better go down backwards," decided Julian. "Then we can have hand-holds as well as foot-holds. Anne, wait till I'm down and I'll help you."

The steps went down for about ten feet. Julian got down safely, then Anne turned herself round and went down backwards too, as if she were on a ladder instead of on stairs. It was much easier that way.

At the bottom was another passage, wider and higher, for which everyone was devoutly thankful. "Where does
this
lead to?" said Julian, stopping to think. "This passage is at right angles to the wall — we've left the wall now — we're going underneath part of the courtyard, I should think."

"I bet we're not far from that tower," called Dick. "
I
say -1 do hope this leads to the tower."

Nobody could possibly tell where it was going to lead to! Anyway, it seemed to run quite straight, and after about eighty feet of it, Julian stopped again.

"Steps up again!" he called. "Just as steep as the others. I think we may be going up into the inside of the castle walls. This is possibly a secret way into one of the old rooms of the castle."

They went carefully up the steep stone steps and found themselves, not in a passage, but in a very small room that appeared to be hollowed out of the wall of the castle itself. Julian stopped in surprise, and everyone crowded into the tiny room. It really wasn't much larger than a big cupboard. A narrow bench stood at one side, with a shelf above it. An old pitcher stood on the shelf, with a broken lip, and on the bench was a small dagger, rusty and broken.

"I
say
! Look here! This is a secret room — like they used to have in old places, so that someone might hide if necessary," said Julian. "We're inside one of the walls of the castle itself — perhaps the wall of an old bedroom!"

"And there's the old pitcher that had water in," said George. "And a dagger. Who hid here — and how long ago?"

Dick flashed his torch round to see if he could spot anything else. He gave a sudden exclamation, and kept his torch fixed on a corner of the room.

"What is it?" said Julian.

"Paper — red and blue silver paper," said Dick. "Chocolate wrapping! How many times have we bought this kind of chocolate,

wrapped in silver paper patterned with red and blue!"

He picked it up and straightened it out. Yes — there was the

name of the chocolate firm on it!

Everyone was silent. This could only mean one thing.
Someone

had been in this room lately — someone who ate chocolate —

someone who had thrown down the wrapping never expecting it to

be found!

"Well," said Julian, breaking the silence. "This
is
surprising.

Someone else knows this way in. Where does it lead to? Up to that tower, I imagine!"

"Hadn't we better be careful?" said Dick, lowering his voice. "I mean — whoever was here might quite well be wandering about somewhere near."

"Yes. Perhaps we'd better go back," said Julian, thinking of the girls.

"No," said George, in a fierce whisper. "Let's go on. We can be very cautious."

A passage led from the strange hidden room. It went along on the level for a little way, and then they arrived at a spiral stairway that ran straight upwards like a corkscrew.

At the top they came to a small, very narrow door. It had a great, old-fashioned iron ring for a handle.

Julian stood hesitating. Should he open it or not? He stood for half a minute, trying to make up his mind. He whispered back to the others. "I've come to a little door. Shall I open it?"

"Yes," came back the answering whispers. Julian cautiously took hold of the iron ring. He turned it, and it made no noise. He wondered if the door was locked on the other side. But it wasn't. It opened silently.

Julian looked through it, expecting to see a room, but there wasn't one. Instead he found himself on a small gallery that seemed to run all the way round the inside of the tower. The moon shone in through a slit-window, and Julian could just make out that he must be looking down from a gallery into the darkness of a tower-room on the second or third floor of the tower — the third, probably.

He pulled Anne out and the other three followed. There was no sound to be heard. Julian whispered to the others. "We've come out on to a gallery, which overlooks one of the rooms inside the tower. It may be a second-floor room, because we know that the ceiling of the first floor has fallen in. Or perhaps it's even the third floor."

"Must be the third," said Dick. "We're pretty high." His whisper went all round the gallery and came back to them. He had spoken more loudly than Julian. It made them jump.

"How do we get higher still?" whispered George.

"Is there any way up from this gallery?"

"We'll walk round it and see," said Julian. "Be as quiet as you can. I don't
think
there's anyone here, but you never know. And watch your step, in case the stone isn't sound — it's very crumbly here and there."

Julian led the way round the curious little gallery. Had this tower-room been used for old plays or mimes?

Was the gallery for spectators? He wished he could turn back the years and lean over the gallery to see what had been going on in the room below, when the castle was full of people.

About three-quarters of the way round the gallery a little flight of steps led downwards into the room below.

But just beyond where the steps began there was another door set in the wall, very like the one they had just come through.

It too had an iron ring for a handle. Julian turned it slowly. It didn't open. Was it locked? There was a great key standing in the iron lock, and Julian turned it. But still the door didn't open. Then he saw that it was bolted.

The bolt was securely pushed home. So somebody was a prisoner the other side! Was it the man who owned the Face? Julian turned and whispered very softly in Anne's ear.

"There's a door here bolted my side. Looks as if we're coming to the Face. Tell George to send Timmy right up to me."

Anne whispered to George, and George pushed Timmy forward. He squeezed past Anne's legs and stood by Julian, sensing the sudden excitement.

"We're probably coming to stairs that lead up to the top tower-room, where that window is with the Face,"

thought Julian, as he slid back the bolt very cautiously. He pushed the door, and it opened. He stood listening, his torch switched off. Then he switched it on.

Just as he had thought, another stone stairway led up steeply. At the top must be the prisoner, whoever he was.

"We'll go up," said Julian softly. "Quiet, everybody!"

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TIMMY strained forward, but Julian had his hand on the dog's collar. He went up the stone stairway, very steep and narrow. The others followed with hardly a sound. All of them but Jo had on their rubber shoes; she had bare feet. Timmy made the most noise, because his claws clicked on the stone.

At the top was another door. From behind it came a curious noise—guttural and growling. Timmy growled in his throat. At first Julian couldn't think what the noise was. Then he suddenly knew.

"Somebody snoring! Well, that's lucky. I can take a peep in and see who it is. We must be at the top of the tower now."

The door in front of him was not locked. He pushed it open and looked inside, his hand still on Timmy's collar.

The moonlight struck through a narrow window and fell on the

face of a sleeping man. Julian stared at it in rising excitement.

Those eyebrows! Yes — this was the man whose face had appeared

at the window!

"And I know who he is too — it
is
Terry-Kane!" thought Julian, moving like a shadow into the room. "He's exactly like the picture we saw in the papers. Perhaps the other man is here too."

He looked cautiously round the room but could see no one else,

although it was possible there might be someone in the darkest

shadows. He listened.

There was only the snoring of the man lying in the moonlight.

He could not hear the breathing of anyone else. With his hand still on Timmy's collar he switched on his torch and swept it round the tower-room, its beam piercing the black corners.

No one was there except the one man — and, with a sudden

shock, Julian saw that he was tied with ropes! His arms were bound behind him and his legs were tied together too. If this was Terry-Kane then his uncle must be right. The man was no traitor — he had been kidnapped and was a prisoner.