‘It’s a narrow spiral stairway,’ he told the girls. ‘Probably Jack is right. It may lead down to the vaults of the temple – a very secret way to them, possibly known only to the head priest. Come on, boys – help the girls up. I’ll go down first.’
He dropped down deftly to the head of the steps. He shone his torch down. Yes, it was a spiral stairway, as he had thought. It would be very narrow here, but probably got wider lower down. He had almost to crawl down the first twelve steps, and two or three times he nearly slipped because the treads were so narrow and steep.
The girls followed, helped by the boys. Dinah took one lantern, finding it very difficult indeed to manage with it, and at last had to hand it down to Bill because she needed both her hands at the top of the stairway. Lucy-Ann went down by the light of the second lantern, held by Jack.
The food was dropped in behind them. ‘Might as well leave it there,’ called back Bill. ‘We can fetch it if we need it – and it’s as good a hiding place as anywhere else.’
So they left the food at the top of the stairway on a stone ledge, and pretty soon all five were a good way down. As Bill had thought, the stone steps grew very much wider and easier a little further on.
Micky was now on Philip’s shoulder again. Kiki had followed Jack into the column, very quiet and subdued. Down they went and down.
They came to the end of the stairway. It finished in a vast cave or vault that stretched out endlessly in the rock of the hill. The lanterns only lit up a small part of it.
‘Yes – here are the vaults all right,’ said Jack. ‘The way we’ve come to them must have been a very secret one, I should think. Look – there’s another way up, Bill – over there – more stone steps – straight ones this time, not spiral – going quite steeply upward.’
‘Yes. I should think that was the ordinary way used up and down to the vaults,’ said Bill. ‘The way we came is very well hidden. See, from here you can’t even see it, hidden behind that enormous rock.’
He swung his torch up the wide sweep of steps to which they had now walked over. ‘I’ll go up and see where they lead to,’ said Bill, and up he went. They heard his steps going up and up, and then they stopped. They heard them coming down again.
‘Came up against a stone ceiling!’ he reported. ‘Probably there’s an exit there, closed up by a great stone trapdoor overgrown now with weeds and grass. That was obviously the ordinary way in and out. Well, where do we go from here?’
‘Bill, let’s look at the map again,’ said Jack. ‘I’m sure we must now be at the place marked “Bell”. “Bell” for temple, you know.’
By the light of Bill’s torch they all pored over the map again. Bill traced the ‘Treasure path’ with his finger. ‘“Two-Finger Rock”,’ he said. ‘We were there, and were stopped by the walled-in place.’
‘Yes – then the next thing marked is “Goddess”,’ said Philip. ‘Can’t think what that means!’
‘Something on the way from “Two-Finger Rock” to here, perhaps,’ said Jack. ‘We could go and see. Then look – there comes “Tomb”. I suppose that’s where someone was buried.’
‘Yes – in a stone cell, I should think,’ said Bill. ‘And then we come to “Bird”, which seems rather strange.’
‘Then to “Bell”,’ said Jack triumphantly. ‘And that’s where we are, I bet!’
‘Yes – but not where the treasure is,’ said Bill. ‘Look – you go on to here – marked “Labyrinth”. Not so good, that.’
‘What’s a labyrinth, exactly?’ asked Lucy-Ann.
‘A maze – a place where it’s so winding and muddling that you can easily get lost,’ said Dinah. Lucy-Ann did not like the sound of that at all!
‘Labyrinth,’ she said. ‘Well, what’s next?’
‘“Catacomb”,’ said Bill. ‘And that, apparently, is where the treasure was put! What a way to bring it!’
‘Let’s go and find it!’ said Jack cheerfully. He folded up the map and put it into his pocket. ‘Come on – we’ve got nothing else to do. I must say it’s nice and cool down here after the heat up above in the sun!’
‘The thing is – which way do we go?’ said Bill. ‘One way goes to the “Labyrinth,” the other to the “Tomb”. But although the points of the compass are marked on the map to make things easy, we’re not able to see the sun, so we have no idea of direction. Anyone got a compass?’
Nobody had. ‘Well – we’ll have to guess,’ said Bill. ‘There’s only two ways to go apparently – to the right or to the left. Let’s go right.’
So they set off to the right of the vault – Bill with his torch, the two girls holding hands and each boy carrying a lantern. The shadows were weird, and the hollow echo of their feet strange and rather alarming. Kiki and Micky did not like it at all, and they sat silent on the boys’ shoulders.
They went for some way and then came to a wide passage that led downward in a smooth slope. It went for a good way, and then stopped short at what appeared to be a door. It was a wooden door and had once been immensely stout and strong. Even now it was still good, but one of the hinges had given way and, as the children first pushed and then pulled it, the other hinges gave way too and the door fell inward, almost on top of Bill. He just leapt away in time.
He shone his torch on it. Carved right across the door was an enormous bird. ‘There you are – “Bird”,’ said Jack, pleased. ‘That was one of the clues, wasn’t it, Bill? It’s an eagle – beautifully carved too.’
‘Now we know which way we’re going – the wrong way!’ said Bill. ‘Still, we’ll go on now – this is amazing!’
Leaving the fallen Bird-door behind, they went through the opening. Looking back, they saw that the passage they were now following forked into two by the door – evidently there were two ways to go there – and the right one was the Bird-door – hence the clue called “Bird”.
They went down a very narrow passage indeed. It ran downward, as the other had done, until it opened out into a narrow chamber. There was a smooth stone ledge at one side. At each end were wooden slabs carved with intricate symbols. The little company stopped to look at them.
‘This must have been a tomb,’ said Bill. ‘Possibly where a priest was buried. There are many old burial places like this.’
‘The sailors who carried the treasure must have had to carry it through this tomb,’ said Philip. ‘Perhaps they knew this way because they robbed tombs.’
There was no door to the tomb, but the doorway was cut out smooth and level. Possibly there had once been a door. Beyond it the passage began again, sloping downward more steeply still.
‘Now for “Goddess”,’ said Jack. ‘I say – it’s a pretty good guide, this map, isn’t it, Bill? If we had been able to make our way through “Two-Finger Rock” – where the hole was, you know – we could have used the map as an absolutely accurate guide.’
‘Look out – there are steps,’ said Bill. ‘Cut into the rock. It gets pretty steep here.’
They went carefully down the steps. At the bottom was a beautiful archway. It was made of some kind of marble, set into the natural archway of the rock. Beyond the arch was a marble floor, still smooth and shining, for there was no dust underground.
The walls were carved too, the solid rock itself chipped out into figures and symbols. Eagles, doves, foxes, wolves – curious designs and patterns decorated the whole of the strange little cave.
‘This must be “Goddess”,’ said Bill. ‘A place to worship some little-known goddess, I imagine – hidden under the ground, only to be visited in secret.’
‘Yes – that must be it,’ said Philip. ‘Isn’t it strange? I suppose those carvings are hundreds of years old!’
‘And now for the last clue – or first, whichever you like to call it,’ said Bill. ‘“Two-Fingers”! We know what that is, anyway. But we shall come up against the other side of the stone door, I’ve no doubt. Here we go. My word, it’s steep now, isn’t it? No steps either. Be careful, you girls!
’
They made their way, stumbling, down a very steep passage – and, just as Bill had said, they came up against the other side of the walled-up doorway they had seen when they had gone into ‘Two-Fingers’ hole. They stopped and considered.
‘Yes – we’ve found the treasure route all right,’ said Bill. ‘Now – we’ll start from here again – “Two-Fingers” – and we’ll work our way back – past “Goddess” and “Tomb” and “Bird”, till we come to “Bell” – the temple vault.’
‘And then we’ll go on!’ said Jack, almost trembling with excitement. ‘On to “Labyrinth” and “Catacomb” – and “TREASURE”!’
21
Kiki is very tiresome
Back they all went, through the curious little cell that must once have been a marble temple underground dedicated to some strange goddess – through the old tomb, and over the fallen door carved with the bird – and soon they were back in the temple vault.
‘Now we start off the other way – to the left,’ said Bill, who was now almost as excited as the four children. ‘Come along – down this passage here. Hold up your lantern, Philip. My torch isn’t very strong.’
‘Does this passage lead into the labyrinth – the maze where people get lost?’ asked Lucy-Ann a little fearfully. ‘Shall we get lost?’
‘No. We’ll find some way of keeping safe,’ said Bill. He and Jack looked closely at the map. ‘Although this part is marked “Labyrinth”, it shows only one route or passage – but every now and again the letter “R” turns up – for “Right”, I suppose. We seem to have to turn to the right six times. Well, if we come to a fork, we shall know what to do – right every time! Come along! Put the map back in your pocket, Jack.’
They went down the low-roofed winding passage for a little way, and then Jack called out to the others. ‘I say – anyone got Kiki?’
They all stopped. ‘I haven’t,’ yelled back Lucy-Ann. ‘Nor has Dinah.’ Bill said he certainly hadn’t, and as for Philip, he only had Micky on his shoulder.
‘She flew off my shoulder when we got into the vault,’ said Jack, remembering. ‘Kiki! KIKI! Where are you?’
There was no squawk or screech in reply. ‘Blow!’ said Jack. ‘I’ll have to go back and get her. I’ll catch you up.’
He ran back. The others went on. Jack had a lantern and could easily catch them up.
They soon came to a fork. ‘We take the right-hand one,’ said Bill. ‘This way!’ The passage twisted and turned extraordinarily often, and it was impossible to know if they were going forward, or if by so much turning and twisting were going in the opposite direction.
‘One right turn – two – and this is the third,’ said Philip. ‘Three more right turns and we’ll be at the catacomb!’
‘Ooooh,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘I hope it won’t be long! I’m tired of these dark passages. This one is stony – I keep hitting my toes against some stone or other.’
‘I wish Jack would catch us up,’ said Philip, who was last. ‘I keep thinking I hear him behind me – and when I turn he isn’t there. Ought we to wait for him, Bill?’
‘Yes – perhaps we ought,’ said Bill, and they stopped. But no Jack came. Gracious, what could he be doing? Lucy-Ann began to feel worried.
‘Jack!’ she called. ‘JACK! Are you coming?’
‘Better go back for him,’ said Bill, puzzled. ‘I hope to goodness he hasn’t missed the way. He knew we had to turn right each time.’
They went back for some way – and then Bill stopped. ‘I suppose we’re right?’ he said. ‘I don’t somehow remember this passage – it’s got such a very, very low roof. I’ve just bumped my head against it, and I certainly didn’t do that coming along!’
‘Oh, dear – surely we haven’t missed our way – it seemed so easy – turn to the left each time going back,’ groaned Dinah. ‘It must be right, Bill.’
Bill was uneasy. He certainly did not remember this low-roofed passage. He made up his mind. ‘We’ll go back,’ he said. ‘I think we missed the last left turn, somehow.’
So they went back – but soon they came to a dead stop! The passage grew narrower and narrower, and at last nobody could squeeze through. That couldn’t be right, either!
‘Wrong again,’ said Bill much more cheerfully than he felt. Secretly he was scared and horrified. How big was this labyrinth? How far did it go into the hill? On the map it looked a short route – but the labyrinth itself might spread for miles, intersected by mazes of passages, criss-crossing, wandering round and round.
‘It’s a real maze,’ thought Bill. ‘And probably there are only one or two direct routes across it – and we’ve missed the one we ought to have taken. Goodness knows how long we’ll be wandering about here!’
‘I wonder where Jack is,’ said Lucy-Ann anxiously as they wound in and out of the curious passages of the labyrinth. ‘I do hope he’s all right.’
Where was Jack? He had gone back to get Kiki, and had heard her talking mournfully to herself in the temple vault, perched on the spiral stone stairway that led up to the broken column. He called her.
‘Kiki! What are you doing there? Why didn’t you come with us, idiot? Now I’ve had to come all the way back for you!’
Kiki was tired of being underground. She wanted to go up into the sunshine. Also she wanted a drink and there seemed to be no water below the ground.
‘Kiki! Come along! I want to get back to the others,’ called Jack.
‘Send for the doctor,’ said Kiki, preening her wings. ‘Polly’s got a cold, send for the doctor.’
‘Don’t be so tiresome,’ said Jack, exasperated, and he went over to where Kiki sat. She flew up a few steps and cocked her head at Jack. He could see her plainly in the light of his lantern, and he was cross.
‘You’re behaving very badly,’ he scolded her. ‘Come down and sit on my shoulder, bad bird.’
‘Naughty Polly, send for the doctor,’ said Kiki, who seemed to have got the doctor on her brain. She flew up a few more steps. Jack had to follow. Blow Kiki! She would behave like this just when he wanted to catch up the others.
He reached the parrot and she flew higher again. Finally she disappeared.
Jack yelled up the stone steps angrily. ‘You wait till I get you, you bad bird! Playing me up like this! For the last time, come down!’
A mocking voice floated down to him. ‘Wipe your feet, don’t sniff, pop goes the doctor!’
That was really too much for poor Jack! He climbed the spiral stone stairs as fast as he could, finding it very difficult indeed at the top, where they came up at the bottom of the broken column. At last he stood inside the column. He could see very well now, for the sun shone in through the hole in the stone. Kiki was sitting on the broken edge of the hole, preening herself in the sun. She kept a lookout for Jack, knowing he was very cross.
‘Oh, I say!’ she said loudly. ‘Oh, I say!’ She flew off the edge of the hole and disappeared from Jack’s view. He could still hear her calling out, though. ‘Oh, I say! Oh, I say!’
Saying all kinds of rude things about Kiki under his breath, Jack found a rough foothold in the inside of the column and heaved himself up to the hole. He swung himself through the hole and jumped down into the sunshine, looking round for Kiki.
There she sat, not far off, in a tree of some kind, peering down the hill. ‘Oh, I say!’ she cried in a shrill voice, and then went off into a cackle of laughter.
Jack ran to the tree angrily – and then he stopped. Someone was coming up the hill – someone quite familiar – astonishingly familiar! Someone with teeth that stuck out in front, and with a chin that was hardly there at all!
‘Lucian! ’ said Jack, too astonished to move. And Lucian it was. No wonder Kiki had suddenly gone off into a stream of ‘Oh, I says!’ Lucian stopped and stared at Jack as if he really could not believe his eyes.
‘Oh, I say!’ he said. ‘Oh, I SAY.’
‘Hello,’ said Jack feebly, and grinned. ‘Er – what in the world are
you doing here?’
‘Well, I might say the same to you,’ said Lucian. ‘Of all the extraordinary things! Well, I never! I can’t believe it!’
‘How long have you been here?’ asked Jack. ‘Why are you here?’
‘I only came today,’ said Lucian. ‘My uncle’s here, you see – goodness knows why! I don’t know when he came exactly. Anyway, he got here and then sent for another motor boat to come to him here on Thamis, bringing some men he wanted, and some goods – and I thought I’d come along too. The Viking Star is held up, as you know, and I was bored stiff. I suppose my uncle’s going to get some antiques here or something.’
Jack digested all this in silence. Oho! So Mr Eppy was there too, was he? He was hot on the track after all. Jack thought quickly. What a pity he had met Lucian! Now the boy would tell Mr Eppy.
‘Jack, what are you doing here? You really must tell me!’ said Lucian insistently. ‘It’s too extraordinary. And Kiki too! Where are the others?’
‘Why should they be here?’ said Jack. He did not want to tell Lucian about them – or where they were – or how to get to them. That would never do. He thought hard, but he could not come up with a plan – except that if he could get rid of Lucian he would pop down the broken column, get down the spiral stairway to the vault, and warn Bill. Bill would know what to do.
How could he get rid of Lucian? Lucian wasn’t likely to let him out of his sight at all. And blow, blow, blow! – there was Mr Eppy coming up the hillside now with three other men!
Mr Eppy was too surprised to speak when he suddenly caught sight of Jack and Kiki. He stopped dead and stared through his dark glasses. He took them off, rubbed them, and was about to put them on again when Lucian went off into one of his silly fits of giggling.
‘Oh dear! Oh, I say! You can’t believe your eyes, can you, Uncle? Nor could I. But it really is Jack – and Kiki the parrot too.’
For one wild moment Jack wondered if he should run for it – run from the surprised men and hide somewhere till he could manage to get back to Bill and warn him.