‘I should really enjoy this, if only I knew that Mother wasn’t worrying about us,’ said Philip, pulling the rug over him. ‘I haven’t any idea at all where we are, but it’s a very beautiful place. Doesn’t that waterfall sound lovely, singing in the night?’
‘It’s singing jolly loudly,’ said Jack, yawning. ‘But I don’t think it will keep me awake. Oh, Kiki, do move off my middle. I can’t imagine why you will keep perching there at night. Go on one of my feet.’
‘Wipe your feet,’ ordered Kiki, and flew to Jack’s right foot. She put her head under her wing.
‘Tomorrow Philip and I must go to that cave of echoes you told us about and stand behind the waterfall,’ said Jack. ‘Fancy you girls having a little adventure like that all on your own!’
‘Little adventure!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Why, it was a jolly big one – especially when we suddenly saw that we were just behind the waterfall!’
Dinah was very much afraid that Lizzie would run over her during the night, and lay awake some time expecting the feel of her tiny feet. But Lizzie was curled up in Philip’s armpit, tickling him dreadfully when she moved.
Lucy-Ann was asleep almost at once, and soon the others were too. The waterfall roared all through the night without ceasing. The wind sprang up and moved the big fronds of the fern. A fox or some other creature came sniffing up to the cave entrance, was alarmed at the smell of humans there and fled away silently.
Nobody stirred, except Philip when the lizard woke up, felt cramped, and made her way to another nice warm spot, this time behind his ear. He awoke for a second, felt Lizzie moving, and then shut his eyes immediately again, pleased with the feel of the tiny feet.
Towards morning a throbbing sound awoke all four children. It penetrated into the cave, sounding even louder than the waterfall. Jack sat up at once, surprised. What could that be?
The noise grew louder and louder; it seemed as if it was coming right down on their heads. Whatever could it be?
Rr-rr-rr-rr-rr-rrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
‘It’s a plane!’ cried Jack. ‘A plane! Come to rescue us. Out of the cave, quick!’
They all tumbled out of the cave and looked for the plane. One was climbing into the air, a large shape against the sky. It had evidently come very near the side of the mountain, and had awakened them by its noise.
‘A plane to rescue us?’ said Philip scornfully. ‘Not likely! That’s the plane we came here in – the men’s plane, idiot!’
14
The poor prisoner
Sure enough, it was the men’s plane. The children all recognised it quite well as they watched it vanishing into the distance. It flew towards the west.
‘Wonder if it’s going back to Bill’s aerodrome?’ said Jack. ‘Wonder if Bill knows what those men are up to?’
‘We don’t know very much ourselves, except that they are after some sort of treasure,’ said Philip. ‘But, honestly, what treasure they think they can find here in this place beats me.’
‘Beats me too,’ said Jack. ‘Well – there they go! Do you suppose they’ll come back?’
‘Sure to,’ said Philip. ‘They won’t give up as easily as that. Maybe they’ve gone to report that there are other people here now – for all they know, after the treasure too! And they might bring back more men to smell us out.’
‘Oh,’ said Lucy-Ann in alarm. ‘I don’t want to be smelt out.’
‘Do you think both men have gone?’ asked Philip.
‘I should think so,’ said Jack. ‘But we can go and have a jolly good look round and see. If one man is left, he’ll be somewhere near that shed of theirs. He won’t know how many of us there are here – he may think there are men with us, you know, and not dare to move about too much by himself.’
But when the children left the cave later in the morning and went to ‘have a squint,’ as Jack said, they could find no sign of either Juan or Pepi. There was no fire. It had been stamped out. And this time the shed was well and truly locked, and the key taken. No amount of shaking or kicking would open the door.
‘Well, if we’d known the men were going to fly off, we might have asked them for a lift,’ said Jack with a grin. ‘I wonder when they’ll come back – if they do come back, that is.’
‘Not till it’s daylight tomorrow, I should think,’ said Philip. ‘I expect they’ll take off at night again. Let’s go and have another squint at those crates.’
But there was really nothing to see. They were empty as before, and the tarpaulin was over them. The children played about for some hours, and had a meal under a tree. They went to get a tin or two from the rest of the store still hidden in the bush. Jack opened them.
After the meal Philip suggested that they should go back to the waterfall and the girls should take them to the cave of echoes, and down the passage that led behind the water. So off they went, first hiding all trace of having been near the men’s shed.
But when they got back to their cave, Jack gave a most annoyed exclamation and began to feel in all his pockets.
‘What’s the matter?’ said Lucy-Ann.
‘Well, do you know what I’ve done? I’ve gone and left the tin-opener behind,’ said Jack. ‘Think of that! What an idiotic thing to do! I thought we might want another tin opened, so I put it down at the roots of that tree we had our picnic under – and I must have left it there. I haven’t got it, anyway.’
‘Oh, Jack! But we can’t have a meal without opening a tin,’ said Philip, seeing awful visions of a hungry night. ‘Gosh – you are an ass!’
‘Yes, I know,’ said Jack gloomily. ‘Well, there’s only one thing to be done. I must go back and get it. You explore the cave of echoes with the girls, Philip, and I’ll take Kiki and go back for the opener. Serves me right.’
‘I’ll come with you, Jack,’ said Lucy-Ann, sorry for her brother.
‘No, you’ve had a jolly long walk already,’ said Jack. ‘You go with the others. Anyway, I’ll be quicker by myself. I’ll just have a sitdown before I start back. I can always explore the cave another time.’
He sat down on the moss. The others sat with him, sorry for him, knowing how annoyed he must feel with himself. But it would be still more annoying to have to go without meals. The opener must certainly be fetched.
After about half an hour Jack felt able to start back again. He said a cheery goodbye to the others, and left, scrambling quickly down the rocks. They knew he would not lose his way. They all felt they knew it quite well by this time.
Jack had Kiki on his shoulder, and they talked together all the way. Kiki was simply delighted to have Jack all to herself. He was nearly always with the others. They talked complete nonsense and both of them thoroughly enjoyed it.
Jack arrived at last at the tree under which they had had their lunch. He looked for the opener, half fearful in case it had been removed by somebody. But it was still there, lying where he had left it. He picked it up and put it into his pocket.
‘Three cheers,’ he said.
‘Three blind mice,’ said Kiki. ‘Handy spandy, humpy dumpy.’
‘I agree with you,’ said Jack. ‘Well, we’ll get back, I think. Twilight will soon be coming and I don’t fancy going back in the dark. Off we go, Kiki, up the hill.’
‘Jack and Jill,’ agreed Kiki.
‘Jack and Kiki, you mean,’ grinned Jack, turning to go. Then he stood still suddenly and listened. Away in the distance he could hear a sound he knew – a familiar, throbbing sound. Rr-rr-rr-rr-rr!
‘Gosh, Kiki! – are those fellows coming back so soon?’ said Jack, staring into the western sky, which was still faintly gold. ‘Yes – that’s a plane all right. But is it theirs?’
The plane came nearer, growing larger and larger. An idea came into Jack’s mind. He ran to where the men’s shed was, and climbed quickly up into a tree not far from where they had their camp-fire. He spoke sternly to Kiki.
‘Now, quiet, Kiki. Not a word. Do you understand? Shhhhhhh!’
‘Wh
at a pity, what a pity!’ said Kiki in a curious hoarse whisper, and then was silent, pressing against Jack’s neck as she sat on his shoulder.
The plane roared nearer. It circled lower and lower. It dropped to the long smooth strip that made such an excellent runway. It bounced along on its high wheels and then came to a stop. Jack could not see the plane from where he was.
But he was counting on the men coming to the shed or to their fire, and he was right. They soon arrived, and Jack peered out through the leaves, nearly overbalancing in his efforts to see properly, for twilight was almost there.
This time there were four men. Jack looked very hard. He could see that one man was evidently a prisoner. He had his hands tied behind him. How strange!
He shambled along, his head bent, going from side to side a little as if he was dizzy. Now and again one of the others would give him a shove to keep him straight. They came straight to the campfire.
Juan set to work to light it. Pepi went off to the shed to get some tins. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He came out carrying tins of soup and meat.
The prisoner sat down on the grass, his head bent. It was obvious that he was not feeling well – or was he merely afraid? Jack couldn’t tell. The fourth man, who was a kind of guard for the prisoner, as far as Jack could make out, sat by the fire saying nothing, watching Juan and Pepi.
At first they talked in low voices and Jack could not hear their words. They drank hot soup, and then carved up a tongue from a glass jar. They ate bread with it which they had brought from the plane. The prisoner looked up and saw them eating, but the three men did not offer him anything. He said something in a low voice. Juan laughed.
He spoke to the guard. ‘Tell him he won’t get anything to eat or drink till he tells us what we want to know,’ he said.
The guard repeated this in some language that Jack could not make out. The prisoner said something and the guard struck him on the cheek. Jack watched in horror. Fancy hitting a man when his hands were tied! What cowards!
The man tried to dodge. He bent his head again and sat dismally there.
‘He says you’ve got the map, what else do you want?’ said the guard.
‘We can’t read the map,’ said Juan. ‘It’s all messed up. If he can’t explain it to us, he’ll have to show us the way tomorrow.’
The guard translated this to the prisoner. He shook his head. ‘He says he is too weak to walk so far,’ said the guard.
‘We’ll drag him all right,’ said Pepi, and took another piece of tongue, making himself a thick sandwich. ‘Tell him he’s to take us tomorrow. If he won’t, he gets nothing to eat or drink. He’ll soon come round when he’s half starved.’
They finished their meal. Then Juan yawned. ‘Me for bed,’ he said. ‘There’s a chair for you, Luis, in the hut. The floor’s good enough for the prisoner.’
The man begged to have his hands untied, but they would not allow him to. Jack felt very sorry for him. They stamped out the fire and went to the hut. Jack imagined Pepi and Juan on the mattress, and Luis in the only comfortable chair. The poor prisoner would have to lie on the cold, hard floor, with his hands still tied behind him.
Jack waited till he thought the coast was clear, then he slipped quietly down the tree. Kiki had been as good as gold all the time. Not even a whisper had come from her beak. Jack tiptoed to the hut. He peeped cautiously in at the window. A candle burned in the hut, and by its flickering light he could make out the four men. The prisoner was trying to make himself comfortable on the floor.
It was almost dark. Jack hoped he would be able to get back to the cave all right. He slipped his hand into his pocket and was relieved to find a small torch there. That was good!
He was very clever in the dark, for he had eyes like a cat. Once or twice he stopped, unable to think which way to go – but Kiki always knew. She simply flew a little way in front and called to him, or whistled.
‘Good old Kiki!’ said Jack. ‘I couldn’t find my way without you, that’s certain.’
The others were very worried about him. When darkness fell and still no Jack had arrived, Lucy-Ann wanted to go and look for him.
‘I’m sure he’s lost, I’m certain of it,’ she said, almost in tears.
‘Yes, and we’d all get lost too, if we went out on the mountainside in this darkness,’ said Philip. ‘I expect he hunted about for that opener, saw that twilight was coming and decided not to risk coming back in the dark. He’ll be back tomorrow morning early, for certain.’
It was too dark to do anything. Dinah had made the ‘bed’ and they lay down on it, Lucy-Ann very worried. She was sure something had happened to Jack.
Then there came a scrambling noise up near the cave, and the fern was parted and pushed aside. All the children sat up, their hearts beating. Was it Jack – or had their hiding place been discovered?
‘Hallo, there!’ came Jack’s familiar voice. ‘Where’s everybody?’
He switched on his torch and saw three delighted faces. Lucy-Ann almost fell on him.
‘Jack! We thought you were lost. What have you been doing? And we’re so hungry too. Have you brought the tin-opener?’
‘Yes, I’ve brought that – and plenty of news as well!’ said Jack. ‘What about a meal whilst I tell you all about it?’
15
A disappointment for the men
Tins were opened once more, and Kiki gave a delighted chortle at the sight of her favourite pineapple. Lucy-Ann pressed close to Jack.
‘What happened to you? I can’t wait to hear. Tell me quickly.’
‘Let me have a bite first,’ said Jack irritatingly, knowing quite well that all the others were longing to hear his news. But as he was longing just as much to tell it as they were to hear it, he soon began his story.
‘So the plane’s back!’ exclaimed Philip, as Jack began to tell everything. ‘Both men back too?’
Jack told of the four men. Lucy-Ann was distressed to hear about the poor prisoner.
‘I’m beginning to see daylight,’ said Philip at last. ‘Somewhere in this valley is hidden treasure – maybe stuff belonging to the people whose houses have been burnt. Those two men heard about it, and somehow managed to get a map that showed them the hiding place. But they can’t find it by that map, so they’ve got hold of somebody who knows the way.’
‘That’s it,’ said Jack. ‘He’s foreign. Maybe he once belonged to this valley, and even hid the things himself. They’ve captured him and mean to make him show them the hiding-place. They’re not giving him anything to eat or drink till he shows them what they want to know’
‘Brutes!’ said Dinah, and the others agreed with her.
‘Do you think he will show them?’ asked Lucy-Ann.
‘I hope he will for his own sake,’ said Jack. ‘And I’ll tell you what I propose. I propose that somehow or other one or more of us follow them, and see where this hiding place is. The men can’t possibly take everything away at once. We might be able to get help, and save the rest of the stuff being stolen by the men. It can’t belong to them.’
‘What do you think the stuff can be?’ asked Lucy-Ann, visions of gold bars and beautiful jewels floating in her mind.
‘Can’t tell you,’ said Jack. ‘I think we’re somewhere in the depths of Europe, where war has been, and as you know, plenty of treasure of all kinds was hidden in odd places by many, many people, good and bad. My guess is that it’s something of that kind these men are after. They speak English, but they’re not English. Perhaps from South America? Goodness knows.’
The others sat silent, thinking over what Jack had said. They thought he was probably right. But Lucy-Ann didn’t at all like the idea of following the men. Suppose they discovered that they were being followed, and captured them?
‘It might be best if Philip and I did the stalking tomorrow,’ said Jack. ‘I don’t think you girls should be mixed up in it.’
This made Dinah angry, though Lucy-Ann was secretly relie
ved.
‘You’re not going to keep all the excitement to yourselves,’ said Dinah. ‘I’m coming too.’
‘No, you’re not,’ said Jack. He switched on his torch and shone it at Dinah’s face. ‘I thought you’d be glaring,’ he said. ‘Cheer up, Dinah. After all, you and Lucy-Ann had an adventure yesterday, when you found the cave of echoes and the passage that leads to the waterfall. Give us boys a chance.’
‘Well, it’s all very well,’ grumbled Dinah, but she did not press the point any more, much to Lucy-Ann’s relief.
‘Where’s Lizzie?’ asked Dinah, not liking to settle down till she was quite sure of the lizard’s whereabouts.
‘Don’t know,’ said Philip annoyingly ‘She might be anywhere. Under your pillow, perhaps.’
‘She’s here,’ said Jack. ‘Kiki’s one side of my neck and Lizzie’s the other, keeping me nice and warm.’
‘What a pity!’ said Kiki, and cackled loudly.
‘Don’t!’ said everybody at once. Nobody liked Kiki’s awful cackle. She put her head under her wing, offended.
All the children lay down. They were sleepy. ‘Our fourth night in this valley,’ said Philip. ‘The valley of adventure. I wonder what will happen next.’
Soon they were all asleep. Lizzie ran across Lucy-Ann and cuddled down by Dinah, who would certainly have objected strongly if she had known. But she didn’t know. So she slept peacefully.
Everyone felt cheerful the next morning.
‘Really,’ said Dinah, reaching down some tins from the ledge, ‘I’m beginning to feel I’ve made this cave my home half my life. It’s extraordinary how soon we get used to anything new.’
‘How are we going to find out when those men are starting, and what way they go?’ said Philip.
‘Well, if you remember, the two of them came in this direction, not the other, when they set out with the map before,’ said Jack. ‘I think if we go to that big black rock we always pass on the way here, we may spot them. Then we can follow easily enough.’
So when they had finished their meal they set off cautiously to the big black rock. They crouched behind it, and Jack kept peering out to see if there was anything to be seen.