Five on a Hike Together (12 page)

„What"s up?" said Julian. „Are they down there, Tim?"

Timmy ran straight down the steps into the cellar room. He growled again, but it was not the fierce growl he always gave when he wanted to warn that enemies or strangers were near. It was an angry, annoyed growl as if something was wrong.

„I expect dear Maggie and Dirty Dick have been down here and found out where our headquarters are!" said Julian, following Timmy down the steps, He switched on his torch.

The beds of heather and bracken were there as they had left them, and their macs and rugs and rucksacks. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed. Julian lighted the candles on the mantelpiece and the dark little underground room came to life at once.

„What"s the matter with Timmy?" asked George, coming down into the room. „He"s stil growling, Timmy, what"s up?"

„I expect he can smel that the others have been down here," said Dick, „Look at him sniffing all round. It"s quite clear that someone has been here."

„Anyone hungry?" asked Anne, „I could do with some cake and biscuits."

„Right," said Julian, and opened the cupboard where they had put the food they had bought.

There was none there! Except for the crockery and one or two odds and ends that had been in the cupboard before, there was nothing. The bread had gone, the biscuits, the chocolate - everything!

„Blow!" said Julian, angrily. „Look at that! The beasts! They"ve taken all our food - every bit.

Not even a biscuit left. We were mad not to think they might do that!"

„Clever of them," said Dick. „They know we can"t stay here long without food. It"s a good way of chasing us out. It"s too late to go and get any tonight, anyway - and if we go tomorrow for some, they"l do what they have come to do in their own good time... when we"re not here."

Everyone felt distinctly down in the dumps. They were hungry and tired, and a good meal would have made al the difference. Anne sank down on her bed of heather and sighed.

„I wish I"d left some chocolate in my rucksack," she said. „But I didn"t leave any there at al .

And poor Tim - he"s hungry too! Look at him sniffing in the cupboard and looking round at George. Tim, there"s nothing for you. The cupboard is bare!"

'Where are those two wretches gone?" suddenly said Julian, fiercely. „I"l tick them off! I"l tell them what I think of people who come and rifle cupboards and take away all the food."

'Woof," said Timmy, in full agreement.

Julian went angrily up the stairs. He wondered again where Maggie and Dirty Dick were.

He went to the empty doorway and looked out. Then he saw where they were.

Two small tents had been put up under some thickly growing trees! So that"s where the two were going to sleep. He debated whether or not to go and tell them what he thought of people who stole food. He decided that he would.

But when he got over to the tents with Timmy, there was no one there! Rugs were laid inside, and there was a primus stove and a kettle and other odds and ends. At the back of one tent was a pile of something, covered by a cloth.

Julian had a good look into each tent, and then went to see if he could find out where Maggie and Dirty Dick had gone. He saw them at last, walking through the trees. They must have gone for an evening strol , he thought.

They didn"t come back to the tents, but sat down by the lake. Julian gave up the thought of tackling them and went back to the others. Timmy was left behind, snufiling about happily.

„They"ve got tents," Julian informed the others when he was back in the cel ar room again. „They"re obviously staying put til they"ve got what they came for. They aren"t in the tents - they"re out by the lake."

„Where"s Timmy?" asked George. „You shouldn"t have left him behind, Ju. They might do something to him."

„Here he is!" said Julian, as a familiar noise of claws clattering on the ground came to their ears. Timmy came down the stone steps and ran to George.

„He"s got something in his mouth!" said George, in surprise, Timmy dropped it into her lap, She gave a yell.

„It"s a tin of shortbread! Where did he get it from?"

Julian began to laugh. „He must have taken it from one of the tents!" he said. „I saw something covered up with a cloth in one tent - their food, I imagine! Well, well - tit for tat -

they took our food and now Timmy is taking theirs!"

„Fair exchange is no robbery," grinned Dick. „Serves them right! I say - Tim"s gone again!"

He was back in a minute with something large and paper-covered. It was a big cake! The four roared with laughter. „Timmy! You"re a wonder! You really are!"

Timmy was pleased at this praise. Off he went again and brought back a cardboard box in which was a fine pork-pie. The children could hardly believe their eyes.

„It"s a miracle!" said Anne. „Just as I had made up my mind to starve for hours! A pork-pie of all things! Let"s have some."

„Well, I have no second thoughts about it," said Julian, firmly. „They took our food and we deserve some of theirs. Good gracious - don"t say Tim"s gone again."

He had! He was enjoying himself thoroughly. He arrived this time with a packet of ham, and the children couldn"t imagine how he had stopped himself from eating some on the way.

„Fancy carrying it in his mouth and not even tasting a bit!" said Dick. „Tim"s a better person than I am. I"d just have to have had a lick."

„I say - we ought to stop him now," said Julian, as Timmy ran up the steps again, his tail wagging nineteen to the dozen. „We"re getting a bit too much in exchange!"

„Oh, do see what he brings back this time," begged Anne. „Then stop him."

He came back carrying an old flour bag in which something had been packed. Timmy carried it cleverly by the neck so that nothing had fal en out. George undid the bag.

„Home-made scones - and buns," she said. „Timmy, you are very very clever, and you shal have a wonderful supper. But you are not to go and take any more things, because we"ve got enough. See? No more. Lie down and be a good dog and eat your supper."

Timmy was quite wil ing. He wolfed ham and scones and a slice of cake, and then he went up into the kitchen, jumped into the sink and lapped the water lying there. He then jumped down and went to the doorway to look out. He barked. Then he growled loudly.

The children rushed up the stone steps at once. Outside, at a safe distance, was Dirty Dick.

„Have you been taking anything of ours?" he shouted.

„No more than you have been taking of ours!" shouted back Julian. „Fair exchange, you know, and all that."

„How dare you go into our tents?" raged the man, his shock of hair making him look very peculiar in the twilight.

„We didn"t. The dog fetched and carried for us," said Julian. „And don"t you come any nearer. He"s just longing to fly at you! And I warn you, he"ll be on guard tonight, so don"t try any funny tricks. He"s as strong and savage as a lion."

„Grrrr," said Timmy, so fiercely that the man started back in fright. He went off without another word, shaking with anger.

Julian and the others went back to finish a very delicious supper. Timmy went with them -

but he planted himself at the top of the cel ar steps.

„Not a bad place for him to be in tonight," said Julian. „I don"t trust that couple an inch.

We can give him one of our blazers to lie on. I say - this has boiled up into quite an adventure, hasn"t it? It seems frightful to think we"ll be back at school on Tuesday!"

„We must find the loot first!" said Anne. „We real y must. Let"s get out that plan again, Ju.

Let"s make sure that Tal Stone is marked on it."

They got it out and put it on the table. They bent over it once more.

„Yes - Tall Stone is marked at the end of one of the lines," said Julian. „Tock Hill is at the end of the opposite line. Let"s get the map and see if there is a Tock Hill,"

They got the map, and studied it. Anne suddenly put her finger down on it. „There it is. On the opposite side of the lake from where we saw the Tall Stone, Tock Hil on one side. Tall Stone on the other. Surely that means something."

„It does, of course," said Julian. „It is bearings given to show the whereabouts of the hidden goods. There are four bearings given - Tall Stone. Tock Hill. Chimney. And Steeple."

„Listen!" said Dick, suddenly. „LISTEN! I know how to read that map. It"s easy."

The others looked at him in surprise and doubt.

„Read it, then," said Julian. „Tell us what it al means. I don"t believe you can!"

„Let"s take al the clues we know," said Dick, looking excited. „Two Trees. That"s here.

Gloomy Water. That"s where the hidden stuff must be. Saucy Jane. It"s a boat that contains the stuff, hidden somewhere on Gloomy Water."

„Go on," said Julian, as Dick paused to think.

„Maggie is the next clue - well she"s here, probably an old friend of Nailer"s," said Dick.

„She knows all the clues too,"

He jabbed his finger at the piece of paper. „Now for these clues. Listen! We saw Tall Stone when we were out on the lake, didn"t we? Very well. There must be SOME spot on the lake from where we can see not only Tal Stone, but also Tock Hill, Chimney and Steeple, whatever they are! There must be only one spot from which we can see al those four things at the same time - and that"s the spot to hunt in for the treasure!" .

There was an astonished silence after this. Julian drew a long breath and clapped Dick on the back.

„Of course! What idiots we were not to see it before. The Saucy Jane must be somewhere on - or in - the lake at the spot where all four clues are seen at the same time. We"ve only got to explore and find out!"

„Yes - but don"t forget that Maggie and Dirty Dick know what these clues mean too!

They"l be there first if they possibly can!" said Dick. „And what"s more if they get the goods we can"t do anything about it. We"re not the police! They"l be off and away with their find and disappear completely."

Everyone began to feel intensely excited. „I think we"d better set off early tomorrow morning," said Julian, „As soon as it"s light. Otherwise Maggie and Dick wil get in first. I wish to goodness we had an alarm clock."

„We"ll go on the raft, and we"ll paddle about til we see Tal Stone again - then we"ll keep that in sight til we see Tock Hill, whatever that is," said Dick. „And once we"ve spotted that we"ll keep both Tal Stone and Tock Hil in sight and paddle round to fmd out where we can see a steeple - and then a chimney. I should think that would be the one chimney left on Two Trees-house! Did you notice there is just one left, sticking up high?"

„Yes, I noticed," said Anne. „What a clever way to hide anything, Dick. Nobody could possibly know what the clues meant unless they knew something of the secret. This is awfully exciting!"

They talked about it for some time and then Julian said they real y must try and go to sleep or they would never wake up early enough in the morning.

They settled down in their beds of heather and bracken. Timmy lay on Julian"s blazer on the top step of the stairs leading down to the cel ar room. He seemed to think it was quite a good idea to sleep there that night.

They were al tired and they fel asleep very quickly. Nothing disturbed them in the night.

The fox came again and looked into the old house, but Timmy didn"t stir. He merely gave a small growl and the fox fled, his bushy tail spread behind him.

The morning came and daylight crept in at the burnt-out doorway and windows. Timmy stirred and went to the door. He looked towards the two tents. No one was about there.

He went to the cel ar steps and clattered down waking Dick and Julian at once.

„What"s the time?" said Julian, remembering immediately that he was to wake early. „Half-past seven. Wake up, everyone! It"s daylight. We"ve heaps to do!"

They washed hurriedly, combed out their hair, cleaned their teeth, and tried to brush down their clothes. Anne got ready some snacks for them - ham, scones and a piece of shortbread each. They all had a drink of water and then they were ready to go.

There was no sign of anyone near the two tents. „Good," said Julian. „We"ll be there first!"

They dragged the raft out and got on to it, taking up the paddles. Then off they went, Timmy too, all feeling tremendously excited.

„We"ll paddle out to where we think we were last night when Anne caught sight of Tall Stone," said Julian. So they paddled valiantly, though their arms were stiff with yesterday"s paddling and it was really very painful to use the tired muscles al over again!

They paddled out to the middle of the lake and looked for Tal Stone. It didn"t seem anywhere to be seen! They strained their eyes for it, but for a long time it was not to be spotted at al . Then Dick gave a cry. „It"s just come into sight. Look, when we passed those tall trees on the bank yonder, Tall Stone came into view. It was behind them before that."

„Good," said Julian. „Now I"m going to stop paddling and keep Tall Stone in sight. If it goes out of sight I"l tel you and you must back-paddle. Dick, can you possibly paddle and look out for something that could be Tock Hill on the opposite side? I daren"t take my eyes off Tall Stone in case it disappears."

„Right," said Dick, and paddled while he looked earnestly for Tock Hil .

„Got it!" he said suddenly. „It must be it! Look, over there - a funny little hil with a pointed top. Julian, can you stil see Tall Stone?"

„Yes," said Julian. „Keep your eyes on Tock Hil . Now it"s up to the girls. George, paddle away and see if you can spot Steeple."

„I can see it now, already!" said George, and for one moment the boys took their eyes off Tal Stone and Tock Hill and looked where George pointed. They saw the steeple of a faraway church glinting in the morning sun.

„Good, good, good," said Julian. „Now Anne - look for Chimney - look down towards the end of the lake - where the house is. Can you see its one chimney?"

„Not quite," said Anne. „Paddle just a bit to the left - the left, I said, George! Yes - yes, I can see the one chimney. Stop paddling everyone. We"re here!"