It was only when they were about half a kilometre from the house that Jennifer remembered the map and poem. “Oh! No,” she groaned, “I forgot to show you the map and poem. I’m sure it has something to do with the moulin.”
“No problem,” said Thierry, “I think we may have to return to the moulin more than once, so we should just try to find it today and then return. We may not even be able to find it.”
The thought that they didn’t really need the map today made Jenny feel a lot better and she soon forgot about it and concentrated on the walk through the pine forest in the direction they hoped would take them to the windmill. It was very hot and dry underfoot so that the pine needles crackled as they trod on them. The soil between the trees was almost pure sand and little clouds of dust swirled around their feet as they walked on. There was no bird song, which Jenny thought odd, as they always heard lots of different birds in Islington even though their garden was in the middle of a large city like London. She thought it must be too hot for them and decided they would probably come out later when it was cooler.
As they walked inland the sound of the ocean receded and they all felt as if they were on an adventure fighting their way through the Amazon Jungle or the Australian Bush. Each was in their own dream world as they trudged along through the woods. The only sound was of dry leaves crackling beneath their feet. Thierry eventually broke the silence when he suggested that they should stop for a few minutes and drink some water. They had brought one large bottle and all sipped from it in turn. It had started off being very cold straight from the fridge but now it was warm and not very nice but they were all so thirsty that it seemed very good to them.
“Look,” said Thierry, “the track we have been following seems to stop just ahead.”
“There is another one over there, and another over there!” replied Aliénor.
“I think we are lost or going round in circles,” said Jennifer who was a bit scared that they may not be able to find their way home. Thierry reassured the girls that they couldn’t really get lost if they remembered that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
“As long as we are heading towards the setting sun on the way back we will be going towards the beach, “he said. This cheered the girls who were beginning to have thoughts of sleeping in the pine forest that night.
“Let’s take this track on the right, “said Thierry, “if we don’t find the moulin we can always come back to this point and follow the other one!” But they need not have worried because they were closer to the windmill than they imagined. They walked for another ten minutes and noticed that the ground was rising slightly. Thierry thought that was to be expected as windmills are usually built on high ground. Soon they came out of the forest into a small clearing and there on a manmade mound of earth stood the moulin.
“Wow!” said Jenny, “I didn’t expect it to be so big. They look so tiny from a distance.” The three musketeers, as they were to call each other from now on, slowly rounded the old building. It was circular and made of stone and looked very sturdy from the outside. They could see where the sails would have been because a large triangular panel, looking a bit like a small pyramid, butted up to the conical roof and a few rickety bits of old timber was all that remained of that part of the windmill that actually caught the wind to turn the mill wheels. As they walked around the mound they realised that the building had a basement that was built into the raised mound so it became a sort of underground chamber. They could see what looked like a tiny window into this low level but it was all overgrown with ivy so they couldn’t tell if they could get inside or not. There were two other floors if the small windows at each level were any indication of what was inside. At the top the conical roof was finished with old tiles all different shades of orange. Around the stone structure there were places where old creepers grew and other places where they seemed to have been pulled off as if someone had attempted to enter the building but given up.
This fact intrigued the three friends the most. Who would have cleared away some of the vines and why would anyone want to enter an old derelict moulin? There was no obvious main door into the moulin so the three decided to make a more thorough search. They climbed up the little mound which took them to the base of the building and began walking very slowly round it. As they did they felt the stones, which were warm in the heat of the day, and then their hands carefully felt through the ivy to see if they could find any door handles or wooden frames. Just when they thought their task was hopeless, Jenny said, “I think I have found something. There seems to be something metallic under the ivy here.” Thierry and Aliénor came around to the side Jenny had been inspecting. “Look, there is something shiny in there covered by the ivy,” she said.
“It must be a door but we will never get past all this ivy, “ said Thierry, “ I suggest that we try to get inside using that little window that leads into the basement and then we might be able to open the large oak door from the inside somehow.”