Nyambung lagi dari
part-1
Chapter
Sixteen : The Sticks Get A Fright.
But the Sticks didn't go! The children peeped
out of the spy-hole at the top of the caveroof every now and again, and saw one
or other of the Sticks.
The evening went on and it began to be dark.
Still the Sticks didn't go. Julian ran down to the nearby shore and discovered
a small boat there. So the Sticks had managed to find their way round the
island, rowed near the wreck, maybe landed on it too, and then come to the
shore, cleverly avoiding the rocks they might strike against.
"It looks as if the Sticks have come to
stay for the night," said Julian, gloomily.
"This is going to spoil our stay here,
isn't it? We rush away here to escape from the Sticks—and lo and behold! the
Sticks are on top of us again. It's too bad."
"Let's frighten them," said George,
her eyes shining by the light of the one candle in the cave.
"What do you mean?" said Dick,
cheering up. He always liked George's ideas, mad as they sometimes were.
"Well, I suppose they must be living down
in one of the dungeon rooms, mustn't they?" said George.
"There is no place in the ruins to live
in proper shelter or we'd be there ourselves and the only other place is down
in the dungeons. I wouldn't care to sleep there myself, but I don't suppose the
Sticks would mind."
"Well, what about it?" said Dick.
"What's your idea?"
"Couldn't we creep down, and do a bit of
shouting, so that the echoes start up all round?" said George.
"You know how frightening we found the
echoes when we first went down into the dungeons. We only had to say one or two
words, and the echoes began saying them over and over again shouting them back
at us."
"Oh yes, I remember," said Anne.
"And wasn't Timmy frightened when he barked! The echoes barked back at
him, and he thought there were thousands of dogs hiding down there! He was
awfully frightened."
"It's a good idea," said Julian.
"Serve the Sticks right for coming to our island like this! If we can frighten
them away, that would be one up to us! Let's do it."
"What about Timothy?" said Anne.
"Hadn't we better leave him behind?"
"No. He can come and stand at the dungeon
entrance to guard it for us," said George.
"Then if any of the real smugglers happened
to come, Timmy could give us warning. I'm not going to leave him behind."
"Come on, then, let's go now!" said
Julian. "It would be a fine trick to play. It's quite dark, but I've got
my torch, and as soon as we are certain that the Sticks are down in the
dungeons, we can start to play our joke."
There was no sign or sound of the Sticks
anywhere about. No light of fire or candle was to be seen, no sound of voices
to be heard. Either they had gone, or they were below in the dungeons. The
stones had been taken from the entrance, so the children felt sure they were
down there.
"Now Timmy, you stay quite still and
quiet here," whispered George to Timmy.
"Bark if anyone comes, but not unless.
We're going down into the dungeons."
"I think perhaps I'll stay up here with
Timothy," said Anne, suddenly. She didn't like the dark look of the
dungeon entrance.
"You see, George—Timmy might be
frightened or lonely up here by himself."
The others chuckled. They knew Anne was
frightened. Julian squeezed her arm.
"You stay here, then," he said,
kindly. "You keep old Timmy company."
Then Julian, George and Dick went down the
long flight of steps that led into the deep old dungeons of Kirrin Castle. They
had been there the summer before, when they had been seeking for lost treasure;
now here they were again!
They crept down the steps and came to the many
cellars or dungeons cut out of the rock below the castle. There were scores of
those, some big and some small, queer, damp underground rooms in which, maybe,
unhappy prisoners had been kept in the olden days.
The children crept down the dark passages.
Julian had a piece of white chalk with him, and drew a chalk-line here and
there on the rocky walls as he went, so that he might easily find the way back.
Suddenly they heard voices and saw a light.
They stopped and whispered softly together in each other's ears.
"They're in that room where we found the
treasure last year! That's where they're camping out! What noises shall we
make?"
"I'll be a cow," said Dick. "I
can moo awfully like a cow. I'll be a cow."
"I'll be a sheep," said Julian.
"George, you be a horse. You can whinny and hrrrumph just like a horse.
Dick, you begin!"
So Dick began. Hidden behind a rocky pillar,
he opened his mouth and mooed dolefully, like a cow in pain. At once the echoes
took up the mooing, magnified it, sent it along all the underground passages,
till it seemed as if a thousand cows had wandered there and were mooing
together.
"Moo—oo—oo—OOOOOOOO,
ooo—oo—MOOOOOOO!" The Sticks listened in amazement and fright at the
sudden awful noise.
"What is it, Ma?" said Edgar, almost
in tears. Stinker crouched at the back of the cave, terrified.
"It's cows," said Mr. Stick, amazed.
"Them there's cows. Can't you hear the moos? But how did cows get to be
here?"
"Nonsense!" said Mrs. Stick,
recovering herself a little. "Cows down these caves! You're mad! You'll be
telling me there's sheep next!"
It was funny that she should have said that,
for Julian chose that moment to begin baaing like a flock of sheep. His one
long, bleating "baa-baa-aa-aa" was taken up by the echoes at once,
and it seemed suddenly as if hundreds of poor lost sheep were baa-ing their way
down the dungeons!
Mr. Stick jumped to his feet, as white as a
sheet. "Well, if it isn't sheep now!" he said. "What's up?
What's in these "ere dungeons? I never did like them."
"Baa-aa-AAAAAAAAAAP went the mournful
bleats all round and about. And then George started her whinnying and neighing,
just like an impatient horse.
The little girl tossed her head in the
darkness and hrrrumphed exactly like a horse and then she stamped with her
foot, and at once the echoes stamped too, sending the whinnying and neighing
and stamping into Sticks cave twenty times louder than George had made them.
Poor Stinker began to whine pitifully. He was
frightened almost out of his life. He pressed himself against the floor as if
he would like to disappear into it. Edgar clutched his mother's arm.
"Let's go up," he said. "I
can't stay here. There's hundreds of sheep and horses and cows roaming these
dungeons, you can hear them. They're not real, but they've got voices and
hoofs, and I'm scared of them."
Mr. Stick went to the door of the room they
were in, and shouted loudly. "Get out, you! Clear out! Whoever you
are!"
George giggled. Then she shouted out in a very
deep, hoarse voice. "BE-WARE!" And the echoes thundered out all
round. "WARE! 'WARE! "WARE-ARE-ARE!"
Mr. Stick went back quickly into the
cave-room, and lighted another candle. He shut the big wooden door that led
into the room. His hands were shaking.
"Queer goings-on," he said.
"Shan't stay here much longer if we get this kind of thing happening every
night."
Julian, Dick and George were now in such a
state of giggle that they could not imitate any more-cows, horses or sheep.
George did begin to be a pig, and gave such a realistic snort and grunt that
Dick nearly died of laughing. The snorts and grunts were echoed everywhere.
"Come out" gasped Julian, at last.
"I shall burst with trying not to laugh. Come out!" "Come
out!" whispered the echoes. "Come out, out, out!"
They stumbled out, stuffing hankies into their
mouths as they went, following Julian's chalk-marks easily by the light of his
torch. It was impossible to take the wrong passage if they followed his
guiding-lines.
They sat on the dungeon steps with Anne and
Timmy, and choked with laughter as they related all they had done.
"We heard old Stick yelling to us to
clear out," said George, "and he sounded scared stiff. As for
Stinker, we never heard even the smallest growl from him. I bet the Sticks will
clear off tomorrow after this! It must have given them a most terrible
fright."
"Oh, that was grand!" said Julian.
"It was a pity I began to laugh. I was just feeling I might trumpet like
an elephant next. The echoes would like that!"
"Funny the Sticks all staying on the
island like this," said Dick, thoughtfully. "They've left Kirrin
Cottage—but they're not looking for us.”
“They must be in league with the smugglers all
right. Perhaps that's why Mrs. Stick took the job with your mother, George — to
be near the island when the time came—when the smugglers wanted their
help."
"We could really go back to Kirrin
Cottage, couldn't we?" said Anne, who, much as she loved the island, was
not nearly so keen on it now that the Sticks were there.
"Go back! Leave an adventure just when
it's beginning!" said George, scornfully.
"How silly you are, Anne. Go back if you
want to — but I'm sure nobody will go with you."
"Oh, Anne will stay with us all
right," said Julian, knowing that Anne would feel hurt at the suggestion
she should leave them. "It will be the Sticks who have to go, don't
worry!"
"Let's go back to the cave," said
Anne, thinking longingly of its safety and bright little candle.
They got up and made their way across the
courtyard to the little wall that ran round the castle. They climbed over it
and turned their steps to the cliff. Julian switched on his torch when he
thought it was, safe, for it was impossible to see clearly in the dark, and he
did not want any of them to fall down the hole, instead of climbing down
properly by the rope. Julian stood by the hole at last, shining his torch so
that the others might climb down the rope in safety, one by one.
He glanced up, looking over the dark sea, as
he stood there, and then stared intently. There was a light out to sea, and it
was signalling. It must have seen his torchlight! Julian watched, wondering if
it was a ship that was signalling, and how far out it was, and why it was
signalling.
"Perhaps they're going to put more stuff
into the old wreck for the Sticks to find," he thought.
"I wonder if they are. How I'd like to
find out—but it would be dangerous to go there in daylight in case the Sticks
see us."
The
signalling went on for a long time, as if a message was being flashed. Julian
could not for the life of him make out what it was. It simply looked like the flash-flash-flash
of a lantern to him. But it must mean a signal or message of some sort to the
Sticks.
"Well, they won't get it tonight!"
thought Julian, with a chuckle, when at last the signalling stopped.
"I rather think the Stick family will
stay where they are tonight, too scared of sheep and cows and horses rushing
about in those dungeons!"
Julian was quite right—the Sticks did stay
where they were! Nothing would get them out of their underground room till
morning.
Chapter
Seventeen : A Shock For Edgar.
The children slept well that night, and as
Timothy did not growl at all, they were sure that nothing important could have
happened. They had a fine breakfast of tongue, tinned peaches, bread and
butter, golden syrup and ginger-beer.
"That's the end of the ginger-beer, I'm
afraid," said Julian, regretfully. "I must say gingerbeer is a
gorgeous drink—seems to go with simply everything."
"That was the nicest meal I've ever
had," said Anne. "It really was. We do have lovely meals on Kirrin
Island. I wonder if the Sticks are having nice meals too."
"You bet they are!" said Dick.
"I expect they have ransacked Aunt Fanny's cupboards and taken the best
they can find."
"Oh, the beasts!" said George, her
eyes flashing. "I never thought of that—they may have robbed the house and
taken all kinds of things."
"They probably have," said Julian,
and he frowned. "I say, I never thought of that, somehow. How awful,
George, if your mother came back, feeling ill and weak, and found half her
belongings gone!"
"Oh dear!" said Anne, dismayed.
"George, wouldn't that be dreadful?"
"Yes," said George, looking very
angry. "I would believe anything of those Sticks! If they have the cheek
to come to our island and live here, they've the cheek to steal from my
mother's house. I wish we could find out."
“They could have brought quite a lot of things
away in their boat," said Julian.
"They must have come here by boat. If
they did bring stolen goods, they must have put them somewhere down in the
dungeons, I suppose."
"We might have a look round and see if we
can spy anything, without the Sticks seeing us," suggested Dick.
"Let's have a look round now," said
George, who always liked doing things at once.
"Anne, you do the washing up and tidy our
cave-house for us, will you?"
Anne was torn between wanting to go with the
others, and longing to play "house" again. She did so love arranging
everything and making the beds and tidying up the cave. In the end she said she
would stay and the others could go. So up the rope they went.
Timothy stayed with Anne, because they were
afraid he might bark. Anne tied him up, and he whined a little, but did not
make a terrible noise. The other three lay flat on the cliff-top, looking down
on the ruined castle. There seemed to be no one about, but, even as they
watched, the three Sticks appeared, apparently coming up from the dungeons.
They seemed glad to be in the sunshine, and the children were not surprised,
for the dungeons were so cold and dark. The Sticks looked all round. Stinker
kept close to Mrs. Stick, his tail well down.
"They're looking for the cows and sheep
and-horses they heard down in the dungeons last night!" whispered Dick to
Julian.
The
Sticks spoke together for a minute or two, and then went off in the direction
of the shore that faced the wreck. Edgar went to the room in which the children
had first planned to sleep—the one whose roof had fallen in.
"I'm going to stalk the two Sticks,"
whispered Julian to the others. "You two see what Edgar is up to."
Julian disappeared, keeping behind bushes as
he watched where the Sticks went, and followed them. George and Dick went
cautiously and quietly over the cliff to the castle in the middle of the little
island. They could hear Edgar whistling. Stinker was running about the courtyard
of the castle. Edgar appeared out of the ruined room, carrying a pile of
cushions, which had evidently been stored there. George went red with rage and
clutched Dick's arm fiercely.
"Mother's best cushions!" she
whispered.
"Oh, the beasts!" Dick felt angry
too.
It was quite plain that the Sticks had helped
themselves to anything handy when they had left Kirrin Cottage. He picked up a
clod of earth, took careful aim, and flung it into the air. It fell between
Edgar and Stinker, breaking into a shower of earth. Edgar dropped the cushions,
and looked up into the air in fright. It was plain that he thought something
had fallen from the sky.
George picked up another clod, took aim, and
flung it high into the air. It fell all over Stinker, and the dog gave a yelp,
and scuttled down the hole that led into the dungeons. Edgar looked up into the
sky and then all round and about him, his mouth wide open. What could be
happening? Dick waited until he was looking in the opposite direction, and then
once more sent a big clod into the air. It fell into bits and scattered itself
all over the startled Edgar. Then Dick gave one of his realistic moos, exactly
like a cow in pain, and Edgar stood rooted to the spot, almost frightened out
of his skin. Those cows again! Where were they?
Dick mooed again, and Edgar gave a yell, found
his feet, and almost fell down the dungeon steps. He disappeared with a dismal
howl, leaving behind all the cushions on the ground.
"Quick!" said Dick, jumping to his
feet. "He won't be back for a few minutes, anyhow. He'll be too scared.
Let's grab the cushions and bring them here. I don't see why the Sticks should
use them down in those awful old dungeons."
The two children raced to the courtyard,
picked up the cushions and raced back to their hiding-place. Dick looked across
to the room where Edgar had brought them from.
"What about slipping across there and
seeing what else they've stored away?" he said.
"I don't see why they should be allowed
to have anything that isn't theirs."
"I'll go across, and you keep watch by
the dungeon entrance," said George.
"You've only got to moo again if you see
Edgar, and he'll run for miles."
"Right," said Dick, with a grin, and
went swiftly to the flight of steps that led underground to the dungeons.
There was no sign of Edgar at all, nor of
Stinker. George went to the ruined room and gazed round in anger. Yes, the
Sticks certainly had helped themselves to her mother's things, no doubt about
that!
There were blankets and silver and all kinds of
food. Mrs. Stick must have gone into the big cupboard under the stairs and
taken out various things stored there for weekly use.
George ran to Dick. "There are heaps of
our things!" she said, in a fierce whisper.
"Come and help me to get them. We'll see
if we can take them all before Edgar appears, or the Sticks come back."
Just as they were whispering together, they
heard a low whistle. They looked round, and saw Julian coming along. He joined
them.
"The Sticks have rowed off to the
wreck," he said. "They've got an old boat somewhere down among those
rocks. Old Pa Stick must be a good sailor to be able to take the boat in and
out of those awful hidden rocks."
"Oh, then we've got time to do what we
want to do," said Dick, pleased.
He hurriedly told Julian of the things George
had seen in the ruined room.
"Awful thieves!" said Julian,
indignantly. "They don't mean to go back to Kirrin Cottage, that's plain.”
“They've got some business on with the
smugglers here—and when that is done they'll go off with all their stolen
goods, join a ship somewhere, and get off scotfree."
"No, they won't," said George at
once. "We are going to get everything and take it to the cave! Dick's
going to keep watch for Edgar at the cave entrance, and you and I, Julian, can quickly
carry the things away. We can drop them down the hole into the cave."
"Hurry then!" said Julian. "We
must do it before the Sticks return, and I don't expect they'll be long.”
“They've probably gone to fetch the trunk and
anything else in the wreck. You know I saw a light out to sea last night—maybe
that's a signal that the smugglers were leaving something in the wreck for the
Sticks to fetch."
George and Julian ran to the ruined room,
piled their arms with the goods there, and then ran to hide them on the cliff,
ready to take them to the hole when they had time.
It looked as if the Sticks had just taken
whatever was easiest to lay their hands on. They had even got the kitchen clock!
Edgar did not appear at all, so Dick had nothing to do but sit by the steps of
the dungeon and watch the others. After some time Julian and George gave a sigh
of relief and beckoned to Dick. He left his place and went to join them.
"We've got everything now," said
Julian. "I'm just going to the cliff-edge to see if the Sticks are
returning yet. If they're not we'll all carry the things to the hole in the
roof of the cave."
He soon returned. "I can see their boat
tied to the wreck," he said.
"We're safe for some while yet. Come on,
let's get the things to safety! This really is a bit of luck."
They carried the things to the hole and called
down it to Anne.
"Anne! We've got tons of things to put
down the hole. Stand by to catch!"
Soon all kinds of things came down the hole
into the cave! Anne was most astonished. The silver and anything that might be
hurt by a fall was first wrapped up in the blankets, and then let down by a
rope.
"My goodness!" said Anne. "This
cave will really look like a house soon, when I have arranged all these things
too!"
Just as they were finishing their job the
children heard voices in the distance.
"The Sticks are back!" said Julian,
and looked cautiously over the cliff-top. He was right. They had returned to
their boat, and were even now on their way back to the castle, carrying the
trunk from the wreck.
"Let's follow them, and see what happens
when they find everything gone," grinned Julian. "Come on,
everyone!"
They wriggled over the cliff on their tummies,
and came to a clump of bushes behind which they could hide and watch. The
Sticks put the trunk down, and looked round for Edgar. But Edgar was nowhere to
be seen.
"Where's that boy?" said Mrs. Stick,
impatiently. "He's had plenty of time to do everything. Edgar! Edgar!
Edgar!"
Mr. Stick went to the ruined room and peeped
inside. He came back to Mrs. Stick.
"He's taken everything down," he
said. "He must be down in the dungeon. That room's quite empty."
"I told him to come up and sit in the sun
when he'd finished," said Mrs. Stick.
" 'Tisn't healthy down in them dungeons.
EDGAR!"
This time Edgar heard, and his head appeared,
looking out of the entrance to the dungeon. He looked extremely scared.
"Come on up!" said Mrs. Stick.
"You've got all the things down, and you'd better stay up here in the
sunshine now."
"I'm scared," said Edgar. "I'm
not staying up here alone."
"Why not?" said Mr. Stick,
astonished.
"It's them cows again!" said poor
Edgar. "Hundreds of them, Pa, all a-mooing round me, and throwing things
at me. They're dangerous animals, they are, and I'm not coming up here
alone!"
Chapter
Eighteen : An Unexpected Prisoner.
The Sticks stared at Edgar as if he was mad.
"Cows throwing things?" said Mrs. Stick at last.
"What do you mean by that? Cows don't
throw any thing."
"These ones did," said Edgar, and
then began to exaggerate in order to make his parents sympathise with him.
"They were dreadful cows, they
were-hundreds of them, with horns as long as reindeer, and awful mooing voices.”
“And they threw things at me and Tinker.
Proper scared he was, and so was I. I dropped the cushions I was taking down,
and rushed away to hide."
"Where are the cushions?" said Mr.
Stick, looking round. "I can't see no cushions. I suppose you'll tell us
the cows ate them."
"Didn't you take everything down into the
dungeons?" demanded Mrs. Stick.
"Because that room's empty now. There's
not a thing in it."
"I didn't take nothing down at all,"
said Edgar, coming cautiously out of the dungeon entrance.
"I dropped the cushions just about where
you're standing. What's happened to them?"
"Look "ere!" said Mr. Stick, in
amazement. " 'Oo's been 'ere since we've been gone? Someone's taken them
cushions and everything else too. Where have they put them?"
"Pa, it was them cows," said Edgar,
looking all round as if he expected to see cows walking off with cushions and
silver and blankets.
"Shut up about them cows," said Mrs.
Stick, suddenly losing her temper.
"For one thing there aren't any cows on
this island, and that we do know, for we looked all over it this morning. What
we heard last night must have been queer sort of echoes rumbling round. No, my
boy — there's something funny about all this. Looks as if there somebody on the
island!"
A dismal howl came echoing up from below the
ground. It was Stinker, terrified at being alone below, and not daring to come
up.
"Poor lamb!" said Mrs. Stick, who
seemed much fonder of Stinker than of anyone else.
"What's up with him?" Stinker let
out an even more doleful howl, and Mrs. Stick hurried down-the steps to go to
him. Mr. Stick followed her, and Edgar lost no time in going after them.
"Quick!" said Julian, standing up.
"Come with me, Dick. We may just have time to get that trunk! Run!"
The two boys ran quickly down to the courtyard
of the ruined castle. Each took a handle of the small trunk, and lifted it
between .them. They staggered back to George with it.
"We'll take it to the cave,"
whispered Julian. "You stay here a few minutes and see what happens."
The boys went over the cliff with the trunk.
George flattened herself behind her bush and watched. Mr. Stick appeared again
in a few minutes, and looked round for the trunk. His mouth fell open in
astonishment when he saw that it was gone. He yelled down the entrance to the
dungeon.
"Clara! The trunk's gone!" Mrs.
Stick was already on her way up, with Stinker close beside her and Edgar just
behind. She climbed out and stared round.
"Gone?" she said, in enormous
surprise. "Gone? Where's it gone?"
"That's what I'd like to know!" said
Mr. Stick. "We leave it here a few minutes — and then it goes. Walks off
by itself—just like all the other things!"
"Look here! There's someone on this
island," said Mrs. Stick. "And I'm going to find out who it is. Got
your gun, Pa?"
"I have," said Mr. Stick, slapping
his belt. "You get a good stout stick too, and we'll take Tinker. If we
don't ferret out whoever's trying to spoil our plans, my name's not
Stick!"
George slipped away quietly to warn the
others. Before she slid down the rope into the cave, she pulled several bramble
sprays across the hole. She dropped down to the floor of the cave, and told the
others what had happened.
Julian had been trying to open the trunk, but
it was still locked.. He looked up as George panted out her tale.
"We'll be all right here so long as no
one falls down that hole in the roof!" he said.
"Now keep quiet everyone, and don't you
dare to growl, Timmy!"
Nothing was heard for some time, and then
Stinker's bark came in the distance.
"Quiet now," said Julian. "They
are near here."
The Sticks were up on the cliff once more,
searching carefully behind every bush. They came to the great bush behind which
the children often hid, and saw the flattened grass there.
"Someone's been here," said Mr.
Stick. "I wonder if they're in the middle of this bush— it's thick enough
to hide half an army! I'll try and force my way in, Clara, while you stand by
with my gun."
Edgar wandered off by himself while this was
happening, feeling certain that nobody would be foolish enough to live in the
middle of such a prickly bush. He walked across the cliff— and then, to his
awful horror, he found himself falling! His legs disappeared into a hole, he
clutched at some thorny sprays but could not save himself.
Down he went, and down and down—and
down—crash! Edgar had fallen down the hole in the roof of the cave. He suddenly
appeared before the children's startled eyes, and landed in a heap on the soft
sand. Timmy at once pounced on him with a fearsome growl, but George pulled him
off just in time.
Edgar was half-stunned with fright and his
fall. He lay on the floor of the cave, groaning, his eyes shut. The children
stared at him and then at one another. For a few moments they were completely
taken aback and didn't know what to do or say.
Timmy growled ferociously—so ferociously that
Edgar opened, his eyes in fright. He stared round at the four children and
their dog in the utmost surprise and horror. He opened his mouth to yell for
help, but at once found Julian's large hand over it.
"Yell just once and Timmy shall have a
bite out of any part of you he likes!" said Julian, in a voice as
ferocious as Timothy's growl.
"See? Like to try it? Timmy's waiting to
bite."
"I shan't yell," said Edgar,
speaking in such a low whisper that the others could hardly hear him.
"Keep that dog off. I shan't yell."
George spoke to Timothy. "Now you listen,
Timothy—if this boy shouts, you just go for him! Lie here by him and show him
your big teeth. Bite him wherever you like if he yells."
"Woof!" said Timmy, looking really
pleased. He lay down by Edgar, and the boy tried to move away. But Timmy came
nearer every time he moved. Edgar looked round at the children.
"What you doing on this island?" he
said. "We thought you'd gone home."
"It's our island!" said George, in a
very fierce voice. "We've every right to be on it if we want to—but you
have no right at all. None! What are you and your father and mother here
for?"
"Don't know," said Edgar, looking
sulky.
"You'd better tell us" said Julian.
"We know you're in league with smugglers."
Edgar looked startled. "Smugglers?"
he said. "I didn't know that. Pa and Ma don't tell me nothing. I don't
want nothing to do with smugglers."
"Don't you know any-thing?" said
Dick. "Don't you know why you've come to Kirrin Island?"
"I don't know nothing," said Edgar,
in an injured tone. "Pa and Ma are mean to me. They never tell me nothing.
I do as I'm told, that's all. I don't know nothing about smugglers, I tell you
that."
It was quite plain to the children that Edgar
really did not know anything of the reasons for his parents coming to the
island.
"Well, I'm not surprised they don't let
Spotty-Face into their secrets," said Julian.
"He'd blab them if he could, I bet.
Anyway, we know it's smuggling they're mixed up in."
"You let me go," said Edgar,
sullenly. "You got no right to keep me here."
"We're not going to let you go,"
said George at once. "You're our prisoner now. If we let you go back to
your parents, you'd tell them all about us, and we don't want them to know
we're here. We're going to spoil their pretty plans, you see."
Edgar saw. He saw quite a lot of things. He
felt rather sick. "Was it you that took the cushions and things?"
"Oh no, dear Edgar," said Dick.
"It was the cows, wasn't it? Don't you remember how you told your mother
about the hundreds of cows that mooed at you and threw things and stole the
cushions you dropped? Surely you haven't forgotten your cows already?"
"Funny, aren't you?" said Edgar,
sulkily. "What you going to do with me? I won't stay here, that's
flat."
"But you will, Spotty-Face," said
Julian. "You will stay here till we let you go—and that won't be till
we've cleared up this little smuggling mystery.”
“And let me warn you that any nonsense on your
part will be punished by Timmy."
"Lot of beasts you are," said Edgar,
seeing that he could do nothing but obey the four children. "My Pa and Ma
won't half be furious with you."
His Ma and Pa were feeling extremely
astonished. There had, of course, been nobody hiding in the big thick bush, and
when Mr. Stick had wriggled out, scratched and bleeding, he had looked round
for Edgar. And Edgar was not to be seen.
"Where's that dratted boy?" he said,
and shouted for him. "Edgar! ED-GAR!" But Edgar did not answer.
The Sticks spent a very long time looking for
Edgar, both above ground and underground. Mrs. Stick was convinced that poor
Edgar was lost in the dungeons, and she tried to send Stinker to find him. But
Stinker only went as far as the first cave. He remembered the peculiar noises
of the night before and was not at all keen on exploring the dungeons.
Julian turned his attention to the little
trunk, once Edgar had been dealt with.
"I'm going to open this somehow," he
said. "I'm sure it's got smuggled goods in, though goodness knows
what."
"You'll have to smash the locks
then," said Dick.
Julian got a small rock and tried to smash the
two locks. He managed to wrench one open after a while, and then the other gave
way too. The children threw back the lid. On the top was a child's blanket,
embroidered with white rabbits. Julian pulled it off, expecting to see the
smuggled goods below. But to his astonishment there were a child's clothes!
He pulled them out. There were two blue
jerseys, a blue skirt, some vests and knickers and a warm coat. At the bottom
of the trunk were some dolls and a teddy bear!
"Golly!" said Julian, in amazement.
"What are all these for? Why did the Sticks bring these to the island—and
why did the smugglers hide them in the wreck? It's a puzzler!"
Edgar appeared to be as astonished as the
rest. He too had expected valuable goods of some kind. George and Anne pulled
out the dolls. They were lovely ones. Anne cuddled them up to her. She loved
dolls, though George scorned them.
"Who do they belong to?" she said.
"Oh won't she be—sad not to have them? Julian, isn't it funny? Why should
anyone bring a trunk full of clothes and dolls to Kirrin Island?"
Chapter
Nineteen : A Scream In The Night.
Nobody could even guess the answers to Anne's
surprised questions. The children stared into the trunk and puzzled over it. It
seemed such a funny thing to smuggle. They remembered the other things in the
wreck too—the tins of food. They were queer things to smuggle into the island.
There didn't seem any point in it.
"Funny," said Dick, at last.
"It beats me. There's no doubt that queer things are afoot here, or the
Sticks wouldn't be hanging around our island. And we've seen signals from a
ship out to Sea. Something's going on. We thought if we opened this trunk it
might help us — but it's only made the mystery deeper."
Just then the voices of the two parent Sticks
could be heard shouting for Edgar. But Edgar did not dare to shout back.
Timmy's nose was poked against his leg. He might be nipped at any time. Timmy
growled every now and again to remind Edgar that he was still there.
"Do you know anything about the ship that
signals to this island at night?" asked Julian, turning to Edgar. The boy
shook his head.
"Never heard of no signals," he
said. "I just heard my mother saying that she expected the Roomer tonight,
but I don't know what she meant."
"The Roomer?" said George, at once.
"What's that—a man—or a boat—or what?"
"I don't know," said Edgar.
"I'd only have got a clip on the ear if I'd asked. Find out
yourself."
"We will," said Julian, grimly.
"We'll watch out for the Roomer tonight! Thanks for the information."
The children spent a quiet and rather boring
day in the cave—all but Anne, who had plenty of things to arrange again.
Really, the cave looked most home-like when she had finished! She put the
blankets on the bed, and used the rugs as carpets. So the cave really looked
most imposing!
Edgar was not allowed to go out of the cave,
and Timothy didn't leave him for a moment. He slept most of the time,
complaining that "them cows and things" had frightened him so much
the night before that he'd not been able to sleep a wink.
The others discussed their plans in low
voices. They decided to keep watch on the clifftop, two and two together, that
night. They would wait and see what happened. If the Roomer came, they would
hurriedly make fresh plans then. The sun sank. The night came up dark over the
sea. Edgar snored softly, after a very good supper of sardines, pressed beef
sandwiches, tinned apricots and tinned milk.
Anne and Dick went up to keep the first watch.
It was about half-past ten. At half-past twelve Julian and George climbed up
the knotted rope and joined the other two. They had nothing to report. They
went down into the cave, got into their comfortable beds and went to sleep.
Edgar was snoring away in his corner, Timmy
still on guard. Julian and George looked out to sea, watching for any sign of a
ship. The moon was up that night, and things were not quite so dark. Suddenly
they heard low voices, and saw shadowy figures down by the rocks below.
"The two Sticks," whispered Julian.
"Going to row out to the wreck again, I suppose."
There was the splash of oars, and the children
saw a boat move out over the water. At the same time George nudged Julian
violently and pointed out to sea. A light was being shown a good way out, from
a ship that the children could barely see. Then the moon went behind a cloud,
and they could see nothing for some time. They watched breathlessly. Was that
shadowy ship a good way out the Roomer? Or was the owner of it the
"Roamer'? Were the smugglers at work tonight?
"There's another boat coming—look!"
said George. "It must be coming from that ship out to sea. Now the moon
has come out again, you can just see it. It is going to the old wreck. It must
be a meeting-place, I should think."
Then, most irritatingly, the moon went behind
a cloud again, and remained there so long that the children grew impatient. At
last it sailed out again and lighted up the water.
"Both boats are leaving the wreck
now," said Julian excitedly.
"They've had their meeting—and passed
over the smuggled goods, I suppose—and now one boat is returning to the ship,
and the other, the Sticks" boat, is coming back here with the goods.”
“We'll follow the Sticks when they get back
and see where they put the goods."
After a long time the Sticks" boat came
to shore again. The children could not see anything then, but presently they
saw the Sticks going back towards the castle. Mr. Stick carried what looked
like a large bundle, flung over his shoulder. They could not see if Mrs. Stick
carried anything. The Sticks went into the courtyard of the castle, and came to
the dungeon entrance.
"They're taking the smuggled goods down
there," whispered Julian to George.
The children were now watching from behind a
nearby wall.
"We'll go back and tell the others, and
make some more plans. We must somehow or other get those goods ourselves, and
take them back to the mainland and get in touch with the police!"
Just then a scream rang out in the night. It
was a high-pitched, terrified scream, and frightened the watching children very
much. They had no idea where it came from.
"Quick! It must be Anne!" said
Julian, and the two ran as fast as they could to the hole that led down to the
cave.
They dropped down the rope and Julian looked
round the quiet cave anxiously. What had happened to Anne to make her scream
like that? But Anne was peacefully asleep on her bed, and so was Dick. Edgar
still snored and Timmy watched, his eyes gleaming green.
"Funny," said Julian, still
startled. "Awfully queer. Who screamed like that? It couldn't possibly
have been Anne—because if she had screamed in her sleep like that, she would
have wakened the others."
"Well, who screamed, then?" said
George, feeling rather scared.
"Wasn't it weird, Julian? I didn't like
it. It was somebody who was awfully frightened. But who could it be?"
They woke Dick and Anne and told them about
the strange scream. Anne was very startled. Dick was interested to hear that
two boats had met at the wreck, and that the Sticks had brought back smuggled
goods of some sort, and taken them down in the dungeons.
"We'll get those tomorrow, somehow!"
he said, cheerfully. "We'll have good fun."
"Why did you think it was me
screaming?" asked Anne. "Did you think it was a girl's scream?"
"Yes. It sounded like the scream you give
when one of us jumps out at you suddenly," said Julian, "A proper
little girl's scream—not a yell, like a boy gives."
"It's funny," said Anne. She cuddled
down into her bed again, and George got in beside her.
"Oh Anne!" said George, in disgust,
"you've got our bed simply full of those dolls—and that teddy bear is here
too! You really are a baby!"
"No, I'm not," said Anne. "The
dolls and the bear are babies—they are frightened and lonely because they're
not with the little girl they belong to. So I had them in bed with me instead!
I'm sure the little girl would be glad."
"The little girl!" said Julian,
slowly. "We thought we heard a little girl scream tonight—we found a small
trunk full of a little girl's clothes, and a little girl's dolls. What docs it
all mean?"
There was a silence—and then Anne spoke
excitedly. "I know! The smuggled goods are a little girl! They've stolen a
little girl away—and these are her dolls, and those over there are her clothes
that were stolen at the same time, for her to dress in and play with.”
“The little girl's here, on this island
now—you heard her scream tonight when those horrid Sticks carried her down into
the dungeons!"
"Well — I do believe Anne has hit on the
right idea," said Julian. "Clever little girl, Anne! I think you're
right. It isn't smugglers who are using this island—it's kidnappers!"
"What are kidnappers?" said Anne.
"People who steal away children or grown-ups
and hide them somewhere till a large sum of money is paid out for them,"
explained Julian.
"It's called a ransom. Till the ransom is
paid, the prisoner is held by the captors."
"Well, that's what's happened here
then!" said George. "I bet it has! Some poor little rich girl has
been stolen away—and brought to the wreck by boat from some ship — and taken
over by those horrible Sticks. Wicked creatures!"
"And we heard the poor little thing
scream just as she was taken down underground," said George.
"Julian, we've got to rescue her."
"Yes, of course," said Julian. "We will, never fear! We'll
rescue her tomorrow."
Edgar
woke up and joined in the conversation suddenly. "What you talking
about?" he said. "Rescue who?"
"Never you mind," said Julian. George
nudged him and whispered. "All I hope is that Mrs. Stick is feeling as
upset about losing her dear Edgar as the mother of the little girl," she
said.
"Tomorrow we find the little girl
somehow, and take her away," said Julian. "I expect the Sticks will be
on guard, but we'll find a way."
"I'm tired now," said George, lying
down. "Let's go to sleep. We'll wake up nice and fresh. Oh Anne, do put
these dolls your side. I'm lying on at least three."
Anne took the dolls and the bear and arranged
them on her side of the bed.
"Don't feel lonely," George heard
her say. "I'll look after you all right till you go back to your own
mistress. Sleep tight!"
Soon they all slept—all but Timothy, who lay
with one eye open all night long. There was no need to put anyone on guard
while Timmy was there. He was the best guardian they could have.
Chapter
Twenty : A Rescue—And A New Prisoner!
The next
day Julian was awake early and went up the rope to the cliff-top to see if the
Sticks were about. He saw them coming up the steps that led from the dungeons.
Mrs. Stick looked pale and worried.
"We've got to find our Edgar," she
kept saying to Mr. Stick. "I tell you we've got to find our Edgar. He's
not down in the dungeons. That I do know. We've yelled ourselves hoarse down
there."
"And he's not on the island," said
Mr. Stick. "We hunted all over it yesterday. I think whoever was here
then, took our goods, caught Edgar, and made off with him and everything else
in their boat. That's what I think."
"Well, they've taken him to the mainland
then," said Mrs. Stick. "We'd better take our boat and go back there
and ask a few questions.”
“What I'd like to know is—who is it messing
about here and interfering with our plans? It makes me scared. Just when things
are going nicely Too!"
"Is it all right to leave here just
now?" said Mr. Stick, doubtfully. "Suppose whoever was here yesterday
is still here—they might pop down into the dungeons when we're gone."
"Well, they're not here," said Mrs.
Stick, firmly. "Use your common sense, if you've got any—wouldn't our
Edgar yell the place down if he was being kept prisoner on this little
island—and wouldn't we hear him?”
“I tell you he must have been taken off in a
boat, together with all the other things that are gone. And I don't like
it."
"All right, all right!" said Mr.
Stick in a grumbling tone. "That boy's always a nuisance— always in silly
trouble of some sort."
"How can you talk of poor Edgar like
that?" cried Mrs. Stick. "Do you think the poor child likes being
captured! Goodness knows what he's going through — feeling frightened and
lonely without me."
Julian felt disgusted. Here was Mrs. Stick
talking like that about old Spotty-Face—and yet she had a little girl down in
the dungeons—a child much younger than Edgar! What a beast she was.
"What about Tinker?" said Mr. Stick,
in a sulky tone. "Better leave him here, hadn't we, to guard the entrance
to the dungeons? Not that there will be anyone here, if what you say is
right."
"Oh, we'll leave Tinker," said Mrs.
Stick, setting off to the boat.
Julian saw them embark, leaving the dog
behind. Tinker watched them rowing away, his tail well down between his legs.
Then he turned and ran back to the courtyard, and lay down dolefully in the
sun. He was very uneasy. His ears were cocked and he kept looking this way and
that. He didn't like this queer island and its unexpected noises.
Julian tore back to the cave and dropped down
the rope, startling Edgar very much.
"Come outside the cave and I'll tell you
my plans," said Julian to the others. He didn't want Edgar to hear them.
They all went outside. Anne had got breakfast
ready while Julian had been gone, and the kettle was boiling away merrily on
the little stove.
"Listen!" said Julian. "The
Sticks have gone off in their boat back to the mainland to see if they can find
their precious little darling Edgar.”
“Mrs. Stick is all hot and bothered because
she thinks someone's gone off with him and she's afraid the poor boy will be
feeling frightened and lonely!"
"Well!" said George. "Doesn't
she think that the little kidnapped girl must be feeling much worse? What a
horrid woman she is!"
"You're right," said Julian.
"Well, what I propose to do is this—we'll go down into the dungeons now
and rescue the little girl—and bring her here to our cave for breakfast.”
“Then we'll take her off in our boat, go to
the police, find out where her parents are, and telephone to them that she is
safe."
"What shall we do with Edgar?" said
Anne.
"I know!" said George at once.
"We'll put Edgar into the dungeon instead of the little girl! Think how
astonished the Sticks will be to find the little girl gone — and their dear
Edgar shut up in the dungeon instead!"
"Oooh!—that is a good idea," said
Anne, and all the others laughed and agreed.
"You stay here, Anne, and cut some more
bread and butter for the little girl," said Julian. He knew that Anne
hated going down into the dungeons.
Anne nodded, pleased."All right, I will.
I'll just take the kettle off for a bit too, or else the water will boil
away."
They all went back into the cave. "Come
with us, Edgar," said Julian. "You come too, Timmy."
"Where you going to take me?" said
Edgar, suspiciously. "A nice cosy, comfortable place, where cows can't get
at you," said Julian. "Come on! Buck up."
"Gr-r-r-r-r-r," said Timmy, his nose
against Edgar's leg. Edgar got up in a hurry. They all went up the rope, one
after another, though Edgar was terribly scared, and was sure he couldn't. But
with Timmy snapping at his ankles below, he climbed up the rope remarkably
quickly, and was hauled out at the top by Julian.
"Now, quick march!" said Julian, who
wanted to get everything over before the Sticks thought of returning. And quick
march it was, over the cliffs, over the low wall of the castle, and down into
the courtyard.
"I'm not going down into them dungeons
with you," said Edgar, in alarm.
"You are, Spotty-Face," said Julian,
amiably.
"Where's my Pa and Ma?" said Edgar,
looking anxiously all round.
"Those cows have got them, I
expect," said George. "The ones that came and mooed at you and threw
things, you know."
Everyone giggled, except Edgar, who looked
worried and pale. He did not like this kind of adventure at all. The children
came to the dungeon entrance, and found that the Sticks had not only closed
down the stone that opened the way to the dungeons, but had also dragged heavy
rocks across it.
"Blow your parents!" said Julian, to
Edgar. "Making a lot of trouble for everybody. Come on, stir yourself— all
hands to these stones. Edgar, pull when we pull. Go on! You'll get into trouble
if you don't."
Edgar pulled with the rest, and one by one the
rocks were moved away. Then the heavy trapdoor stone was hauled up too, and the
flight of steps was exposed leading down into darkness.
"There's Tinker!" suddenly cried
Edgar, pointing to a bush some distance away. Tinker was there, hiding, quite
terrified at seeing Timothy again.
“That lot of good Stinker is," said
Julian. "No, Timmy—you're not to eat him. Stay here! He wouldn't taste
nice if you did eat him!"
Timothy was sorry not to be able to chase
Stinker round and round the island. If he couldn't chase rabbits, he might at
least be allowed to chase Stinker!
They all went down into the dungeons. Julian's
white chalk-marks were still on the rocky walls, so it was easy to find the way
to the cave-like room where the children, last summer, had found piles of
golden ingots. They felt sure that the little kidnapped girl had been put
there, for this cave had a big wooden door that could be bolted on the outside.
They came to the door. It was well and truly bolted. There was no sound from
inside. Everyone halted outside and Timmy scratched at the door, whining
gently. He knew there was someone inside.
"Hallo, there!" shouted Julian, in a
loud and cheerful voice. "Are you all right? We've come to rescue
you."
There was a scrambling noise, as if someone
had got up from a stool. Then a small voice sounded from the cave.
"Hallo! Who are you? Oh, do please rescue
me! I'm so lonely and frightened!"
"Just undoing the door!" called back
Julian, cheerfully. "We're all children out here, so don't be afraid.
You'll soon be safe."
He shot back the bolts, and flung open the
door. Inside the cave, which was lighted by a lantern, stood a small girl, with
a scared little white face, and large dark eyes. Dark red hair tumbled round her
cheeks, and she had evidently been crying bitterly, for her face was dirty and
tear-stained.
Dick went to her and put his arm round her.
"Everything's all right now," he said. "You're safe. We'll take
you back to your mother."
"I do want her, I do, I do," said
the little girl, and tears ran down her cheeks again. "Why am I here? I
don't like being here."
"Oh, it's just an adventure you've
had," said. Julian. "It's over now—at least, nearly over. There's
still a bit of it left—a nice bit, though. We want you to come and have
breakfast with us in our cave. We've a lovely cave."
"Oh, have you?" said the little
girl, rubbing her eyes. "I want to go with you, I like you, but I didn't
like those other people."
"Of course you didn't," said George.
"Look! This is Timothy, our dog. He wants to be friends with you."
"What a simply lovely dog!" said the
little girl, and flung her arms around Timmy's neck. He licked her in delight.
George was pleased. She put her arm round the
little girl. "What's your name?" she said.
"Jennifer Mary Armstrong," said the
little girl. "What's yours?" "George," said George, and the
little girl nodded, thinking that George was a boy, not a girl, for she was
dressed in jeans just like Julian and Dick, and her hair was short, too, though
very curly. The others told her their names—and then she looked at Edgar, who
had said nothing.
"This is Spotty-Face," said Julian.
"He isn't a friend of ours. It was his father and mother who put you here,
Jennifer. Now we are going to leave him here in your place. It will be such a
pleasant surprise for them, won't it?"
Edgar gave a yell of dismay and tried to back
away—but Julian gave him a strong shove that sent him flying into the cave.
"There's only one way to teach people
like you and your parents that wickedness doesn't pay!" said the boy,
grimly. "And that is to punish you hard. People like you don't understand
kindness. You think it's just being soft and silly. All right—you can have a
taste of what Jennifer has had. It will do you good, and do your parents a lot
of good too! Good-bye!"
Edgar began to howl dismally as Julian bolted
the big wooden door top and bottom. "I shall starve!" he wailed.
"Oh no, you won't," said Julian.
"There's plenty of food and water in there, so help yourself. It would do
you good to go hungry for a while, all the same."
"Mind the cows don't get you!"
called Dick, and he gave a realistic moo that startled Jennifer very much, for
the echoes came mooing round too.
"It's all right—only the echoes,"
said George, smiling at her in the torch-light. Edgar howled away in the cave,
sobbing like a baby.
"Little coward, isn't he?" said
Julian. "Come on—let's get back. I'm awfully hungry for my
breakfast."
"So am I," said Jennifer, slipping
her small hand into Julian's. "I wasn't hungry at all in that cave — but
now I am. Thank you for rescuing me."
"Don't mention it," said Julian,
grinning at her. "It's a real pleasure—and an even greater one to put old
Spotty-Face there instead of you. Nice to give the Sticks a dose of their own
medicine."
Jennifer didn't know what he meant, but the
others did, and they chuckled. They made their way back through the dark, musty
passages of the dungeons, passing many caves, big and small, on the way. They
came at last to the flight of steps and went up them into the dazzling
sun-light.
"Oh!" said Jennifer, breathing in
great gulps of the fresh, sea-smelling air. "Oh! This is lovely! Where am
I?"
"On our island," said George.
"And this is our ruined castle. You were brought here last night in a boat.
We heard you scream, and that's how we guessed you were being made a
prisoner."
They walked to the cliff, and Jennifer was
amazed at the way they disappeared down the knotted rope. She was eager to try
too, and soon slid down into the cave.
"Nice kid, isn't she?" said Julian
to George. "My word, she's had even more of an adventure than we
have!"
Chapter
Twenty-One : A Visit To The Police Station.
Anne liked
Jennifer very much, and gave her a hug and a kiss. Jennifer looked round the
well-furnished cave in amazement and wonder—and then she gave-a scream of
surprise and joy. She pointed to Anne's neatly-made bed, on which sat a number
of beautiful dolls, and a large teddy-bear. “My dolls!" she said.
"Oh, and Teddy, too! Oh, oh, where did you get them? I've missed them so!
Oh Josephine and Angela and Rosebud and Marigold, have you missed me?"
She flung herself on the dolls. Anne was very
interested to hear their names. "I've looked after them well," she
told Jennifer. "They're quite all right."
"Oh, thank you," said the little
girl, happily. "I do think you're all nice. Oh, I say—what a lovely
breakfast!"
It was. Anne had opened a tin of salmon, two
tins of peaches, a tin of milk, cut some bread and butter, and made a big jug
of cocoa. Jennifer sat down and began to eat. She was very hungry, and as she
ate, she began to lose her paleness and look rosy and happy. The children
talked busily as they ate. Jennifer told them about herself.
"I was playing in the garden with my
nurse," she said, "and suddenly, when nurse had gone indoors to fetch
something, a man climbed over the wall, threw a shawl round my head, and took
me away. We live by the sea, you know, and I soon heard the sound of the waves
splashing on the shore, and I knew I was being put into a boat. I was taken to
a big ship, and locked down in a cabin for two days. Then I suppose I was
brought here one night. I was so frightened that I screamed."
"That was the scream we heard," said
George. "It was lucky we heard it. We had thought there was smuggling
going on here, in our island—we didn't guess it was a case of kidnapping, till
we heard you scream—though we had found your trunk with your clothes and
toys."
"I don't know how the man got
those," said Jennifer. "Maybe one of our maids helped him. There was
one I didn't like at all. She was called Sarah Stick.”
"Ah!" said Julian, at once.
"That's the one, then! It was Mr. and Mrs. Stick who brought you here.
Sarah Stick, your maid, must be some relation of theirs. They must have been in
the pay of someone else, I should think someone who had a ship, and could bring
you here to hide you."
"Jolly good hiding-place, too," said
George. "No one but us would ever have found it out."
They ate all their breakfast, made some more
cocoa, and discussed their future plans. "We'll take our boat and go to
the mainland this morning," said Julian.
"We'll go straight to the police station
with Jennifer. I expect the newspapers are full of her disappearance, and the
police will recognise her at once."
"I hope they catch the Sticks," said
George. "I hope they won't disappear into thin air as soon as they hear
that Jennifer is found."
"Yes, we must warn the police of
that," said Julian, thoughtfully. "Better not spread the news abroad
till the Sticks are caught. I wonder where they are."
"Let's get the boat now," said Dick.
"There's no point in waiting about. Jennifer's parents will be thrilled to
know she is safe."
"I don't really want to leave this lovely
cave," said Jennifer, who was thoroughly enjoying herself now. "I
wish I lived here, too. Are you going to come back to the island and live here,
Julian?"
"Well, we shall come back for a few days
more, I expect," said Julian. "You see, our aunt's home is empty at
the moment because she is away ill and our uncle is with her. So we might as
well stay on our island till they come back."
"Oh, could I come back with you?"
begged Jennifer, her small round face alight with joy at the thought of living
in a cave on an island with these nice children and their lovely dog. "Oh,
do let me! I would so like it. And I do so love Timmy."
"I don't expect your parents would let
you, especially after you've just been kidnapped," said Julian. "But
you can ask them, if you like."
They all went to the boat and got in. Julian
pushed off. George steered the boat in and out of the rocks. They saw the
wreck, which interested Jenny very much indeed. She badly wanted to stop, but
the others thought they ought to get to land as quickly as possible. Soon they
were near the beach. Alf, the fisher-boy was there. He saw them and waved. He
ran to help them to pull in their boat.
"I was coming out in my boat this morning,"
he said. "Your father's back, Master George. But not your mother. She's
getting better, they say, and will be back in a week's time."
"Well, what's my father come back
for?" demanded George, in surprise.
"He got worried because nobody answered the
telephone," explained Alf. "He came down and asked me where you all
were. I didn't tell him, of course. I kept your secret. But I was just coming
out to warn you this morning. He got back last night and wasn't he wild? No one
there to give him any food. All the house upside down and half the things gone!
He's at the police station now."
"Golly!" said George. "That's
just where we are going too! We shall meet him there. Oh dear, I do hope he
won't be in an awful temper. You just can't do anything with my father when
he's cross."
"Come on!" said Julian. "It's a
good thing, in a way, that your father is here, George — we can explain
everything to him and to the police at the same time."
They left Alf, who looked very surprised to
see Jennifer with the others. He couldn't make out where she had come from.
Certainly she had not started out to the island with them—but she had come back
in their boat. How was that? It seemed very mysterious to Alf. The children
arrived at the police station and marched in, much to the surprise of the
policeman there.
"Hallo!" he said. "What's the
matter? Been doing a burglary, or something, and come to own up?"
"Listen!" said George, suddenly,
hearing a loud voice in the room next to theirs. "That's Father's
voice!" She darted to the door.
The policeman called to her, shocked.
"Now don't you go in there. The Inspector's in there. Come over here
special, he has, and mustn't be interrupted."
But George had flung open the door and gone
inside. Her father turned and saw her. He rose to his feet. "George! Where
have you been? How dare you go away like this and leave the house and
everything! It's been robbed right and left! I've just been telling the
Inspector about all the things that have been stolen."
"Don't worry, Father," said George.
"Really don't worry. We've found them all. How's Mother?"
"Better, much better," said her
father, still looking amazed and angry. "Thank goodness I can go back and
tell her where you are. She kept asking me about you all, and I had to keep
saying you were all right, so as not to worry her but I hadn't any idea what
was happening to you or where you had gone. I feel very displeased with you.
Where were you?"
"On the island," said George,
looking rather sulky, as she often did when her father was angry with her.
"Julian will tell you all about it."
Julian came in, followed by Dick, Anne,
Jennifer and Timothy. The Inspector, a big, clever-looking man with dark eyes
under shaggy eyebrows, looked at them all closely. When he saw Jennifer, he
stared hard and then suddenly rose to his feet.
"What's your name, little girl?" he
said. "Jennifer Mary Armstrong," said Jenny, in a surprised voice.
"Bless us all!" said the-Inspector,
in a startled voice. "Here's the child the whole country is looking for and
she walks in here as cool as a cucumber! Lands sakes, where did she come
from?"
"What do you mean?" said George's
father, looking surprised. "What child is the whole country looking for? I
haven't read the papers for some days."
"Then you don't know about little Jenny
Armstrong being kidnapped?" said the Inspector, sitting down and pulling
Jenny near him.
"She's the daughter of Harry Armstrong,
the millionaire, you know. Well, somebody kidnapped her and wants a hundred
thousand pounds ransom for her. My word, we've combed the country for her — and
here she is, as merry as you please. Well, I'm blessed—this is the queerest
thing I ever knew. Where have you been, little Missy?"
"On the island," said Jenny.
"Julian—you tell it all." So Julian told the whole story from
beginning to end. The policeman from outside came in, and took notes down as he
spoke. Everyone listened in amazement. As for George's father, his eyes nearly
fell out of his head. What adventures these children did have, to be sure and
how well they managed everything!
"And do you happen to know who was the
owner of the ship that brought little Miss Jenny along—the one that sent a boat
off to the wreck and put her there for the Sticks to take?" asked the
Inspector.
"No," said Julian. "All we
heard was that the Roomer was coming that night."
"A-HA!" said the Inspector, with
great satisfaction in his voice. "Aha and oho! We know the Roomer all
right— a ship we've been watching for some time—owned by somebody we're very,
very suspicious of we think he's dabbling in a whole lot of shady deals. Now
this is very good news indeed. The thing is — where are the Sticks—and how can
we catch them redhanded, now you've got Miss Jenny out of their clutches?
They'll probably deny everything."
"I know how we could catch them,"
said Julian, quickly. "We've left their nasty son, Edgar, locked in the
same dungeon where they put Jenny. If only one of us could pass the word to the
Sticks, that that is where Edgar is, they'd go back to the island all right,
and go right into the dungeons. So if you found them there, it wouldn't be much
good them denying that they don't know anything about the island, and have
never been there."
"That would certainly make things a lot
easier," said the Inspector. He pressed a bell and another policeman came
into the room. The Inspector gave him a full description of Mr. and Mrs. Stick,
and told him to watch the countryside round about, and report when they were
found.
"Then, Master Julian, you might like to
go and have a little conversation with them about their son, Edgar," said
the Inspector, smiling. "If they do go back to the island, we shall follow
them, and get all the evidence we want. Thank you for your very great help. Now
we must telephone to Miss Jenny's parents and tell them she is safe."
"She can come back to Kirrin Cottage with
us," said George's father, still looking rather dazed at all that had
happened. "'I've got Joanna, our old cook, to come back for a while to put
things straight, so there will be someone there to see to the children. They
must all come back."
"Well, Father," said George, firmly,
"we will come back just for today, but we plan to spend another week on
Kirrin Island till Mother comes back. She said we could, and we are having such
a fine time there. Let Joanna stay at Kirrin Cottage and keep it in order and
get it ready for Mother when she comes home — she won't want the bother of
looking after us too. We can look after ourselves on the island."
"I certainly think these children deserve
a reward for. the good work they have done," remarked the Inspector, and
that settled the matter.
"Very well," said George's father,
"you can all go off to the island again—but you must be back when your
Mother returns, George."
"Of course I will," said George.
"I badly want to see Mother. But home isn't nice without her. I would
rather be on our island."
"And I want to be there, too," said
Jenny, unexpectedly. "Ask my parents to come to Kirrin, please…so that I
can ask them if I can go with the other children."
"I'll do my best," said the
Inspector, grinning at the five children. They liked him very much.
George's father stood up. "Come
along!" he said. "I want my lunch. All this has made me feel hungry.
We'll go and see if Joanna has got anything for us."
Off they all went, talking nineteen to the
dozen, making George's poor father feel quite bewildered. He always seemed to
get into the middle of some adventure when these children were about!
Chapter
Twenty-Two : Back To Kirrin Island!
Soon
everyone was at Kirrin Cottage. Joanna, the old cook they had had before, gave
them a good welcome, and listened to their adventures in astonishment, getting
the lunch ready all the while. It was while they were having lunch that Julian,
looking out of the window, suddenly caught sight of a figure he knew very
well—someone skulking along behind the hedge.
"Old Pa Stick!" he said, and jumped
up. "I'll go after him. Stay here, everyone." He went out of the
house, ran round a corner and came face to face with Mr. Stick."
"Do you want to know where Edgar
is?" said Julian mysteriously. Mr. Stick looked startled. He stared at
Julian not knowing what to say.
"He's down in the dungeons, locked in
that cave," said Julian, even more mysteriously. "You don't know
nothin' about Edgar," said Mr. Stick. "Where have you been? Didn't
you go home?"
"Never you mind," said Julian.
"But if you want to find Edgar—look in that cave!" Mr. Stick gave the
boy a glare and left him.
Julian hurried indoors and rang up the police
station. He felt sure that Mr. Stick would tell Mrs. Stick what he had said,
and that Mrs. Stick would insist on going back to the island to see if what he
had said was true. So all that needed to be done was for the police to keep a
watch on the boats along the shore and see when the Sticks left.
The children finished their dinner and Uncle
Quentin announced that he must return to his wife, who would want to know his
news. "I'll tell her you are having a fine time on the island," he
said, "and we can tell her all the extraordinary details when she returns
home, better."
He left in a car, and the children wondered
whether they might now return to their island or not. But they decided to wait
a little, for they did not know what to do with Jennifer. Very soon a large car
drove up and stopped outside the gate of Kirrin Cottage. Out jumped a tall man
with dark red hair, and a pretty woman.
"They must be your father and mother,
Jenny," said Julian. They were—and Jennifer got so many hugs and kisses
that she quite lost her breath. She had to tell her story again and again, and
her father could not thank Julian and the others enough for all they had done.
"Ask me for any reward you like!" he
said, "and you can have it. I shall never, never be able to tell you how
grateful I am to you for rescuing our little Jenny."
"Oh—we don't want anything, thank
you," said Julian, politely. "We enjoyed it all very much. We like
adventures."
"Ah, but you must tell me something you
want!" said Jenny's father.
Julian glanced round at the others. He knew
that none of them wanted a reward. Jenny nudged him hard and nodded her head
vigorously. Julian laughed. "Well," he said, "there is one thing
we'd all like very much."
"It's granted before you ask it!"
said Jenny's father.
"Will you let Jenny come and spend a week
with us on our island?" said Julian. Jenny gave a squeal and pressed
Julian's arm very hard between her two small hands. Jenny's parents looked
rather taken-aback.
"Well," said her father,
"well—she's just been kidnapped, you know—and we don't feel inclined to
let her out of our sight at the moment — and..."
"You promised Julian you'd grant what he
asked, you promised, Daddy," said Jenny, urgently. "Oh please do let
me. I've always wanted to live on an island. And this one has got a perfectly
marvellous cave, and a wonderful ruined castle, and the dungeons where I was
kept, and…"
"And we take Timothy, our dog, with
us," said Julian. "See what a big powerful fellow he is—nobody could
come to much harm with Timmy about — could they, Tim?" "Woof!"
said Timothy, in his deepest voice.
"Well, you can go, Jenny, on one
condition," said the little girl's father at last, "and that is that
I and your mother, come over tomorrow and spend the day on the island, to see
that everything is all right for you."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, Daddy!"
cried Jenny, and danced round the room in delight. A whole week on the island
with these new friends of hers, and Timmy the dog! What could be lovelier?
"Jenny can stay here the night, can't
she?” said George. "You'll be staying at the hotel, I suppose?"
Soon Jenny's parents left and went to the
police station to get all the details of the kidnapping. The children went to
see if Joanna was going to make cakes for tea. Just about tea-time there came a
knocking at the-door. A large policeman stood outside.
"Is Master Julian here?" he said.
"Oh, you're the boy we want, sir. The Sticks have just left for the island
in their boat, and we've got ours on the beach to follow. But we don't think we
know the way in and out of those hidden rocks that lie all round Kirrin Island.
Could you or Miss Georgina guide us, do you think?"
"I'm Master George, not Miss
Georgina," said George, in a cold voice.
"Sorry, sir," said the policeman,
with a grin. "Well, could you come too?"
"We'll all come!" said Dick, jumping
up. "I want to go back to the dear old island and sleep in our cave again
tonight. Why should we miss a single night? We can fetch Jenny's people
tomorrow in our own boat. We'll all come."
The policeman was a little doubtful about the
arrangement, but the children insisted, and as there was no time to waste, they
all ended in crowding into the two boats, with three big policemen, George and
Julian leading the way in their own boat. Timmy lay down at George's feet as
usual. George guided the boat as cleverly as ever, and soon they landed in the
usual little sandy cove. The Sticks had evidently gone round by the wreck as
usual, and landed on the rockier part.
"Now, no noise," said Julian,
warningly. They all went quietly towards the ruin, and came into the courtyard.
There was no sign of the Sticks.
"We'll go down underground," said
Julian. "I've got my torch. I expect the Sticks are down there already,
letting out dear Edgar."
They went down the steps into the dark
dungeons. Anne went too, this time, holding on to the hand of one of the big
policemen. They moved quietly through the long, dark, winding passages. They
came at last to the door of the cave in which they had imprisoned Edgar. It was
still bolted at the top and bottom!
"Look!" said Julian, in a whisper,
shining his torch on to the door. "The Sticks haven't been down here
yet."
"Sh!" said George, as Timmy growled
softly. "There's someone coming. Hide! It's the Sticks, I expect."
They all hid behind the wall that ran near by.
They could hear footsteps coming nearer, and then the voice of Mrs. Stick
raised in anger.
"If my Edgar's locked in there, I'll have
something to say about it! Locking up a poor innocent boy like that. I don't
understand it. If he's there, where's the girl? You answer me that. Where's the
girl? It's my belief that the boss has done some double-crossing to do us out
of our share of the money. Didn't he say that he'd give us a thousand pounds if
we kept Jenny Armstrong for a week? Now I think he must have sent someone to
this island, played tricks on us, taken the girl himself and locked up our
Edgar."
"You may be right, Clara," said Mr.
Stick, his voice coming nearer and nearer. "But how did this boy Julian
know where Edgar was? There's a lot I don't understand about all this."
Now the Sticks were right at the door of the
cave, with Stinker at their heels. Stinker smelt the others in hiding and
whined in fear. Mr. Stick kicked him. !Stop it! It's enough to hear our own
voices echoing away all round without your whines too!"
Mrs.
Stick was calling out loudly: "Edgar! Are you there? Edgar!"
"Ma! Yes, I'm here!" yelled Edgar. "Let me out, quick! I'm
proper scared. Let me out!"
Mrs. Stick undid the bolts at once and flung
open the door. By the light of the lantern in the cave she saw Edgar. He ran to
her, half-crying. "Who put you here?" demanded Mrs. Stick.
"You tell your Pa and he'll knock their
heads off, won't you, Pa? Putting a poor frightened child into a dark cave like
this. It's a wicked thing to do!"
Suddenly the Stick family had the fright of
their lives — for a large policeman stepped out of the shadows, torch in one
hand and notebook in the other!
"Ah!" said the policeman, in a deep
voice. "You're right, Clara Stick. To shut up a poor frightened child in
that cave is a wicked thing to do and that's what you did, isn't it? You put
Jenny Armstrong there! She's only a little girl. This boy of yours knew he
wasn't coming to any harm — but that little girl was scared to death!"
Mrs. Stick stood there, opening and shutting
her mouth like a goldfish, not finding a word to say. Mr. Stick squealed like a
rat caught in a corner. "We're copped! It's a trap, that's it We're
copped!"
Edgar began to cry, sobbing like a
four-year-old. The other children felt disgusted with him. The Sticks suddenly
caught sight of all the children when Julian switched on his torch.
"Snakes alive, there's all the
children—and there's Jenny Armstrong too!" said Mr. Stick, in a tone of
the greatest amazement. "What's all this? What's happening? Who shut up
Edgar?"
"We'll tell you the answers when we get
to the police-station," said the big policeman. "Now, are you coming
quietly?"
The Sticks went quietly, Edgar sobbing away to
himself. He imagined his mother and father in prison, and he himself sent to a
hard and difficult school, not allowed to see his mother for years. Not that
that would matter, for the Sticks, both mother and father, were no good to
Edgar, and had taught him nothing but bad things. There might be a chance for
the wretched boy if he were kept away from them and set a good example instead
of a bad one.
"We shan't be coming back with you,"
said Julian politely, to the policeman. "We're staying here the night. You
could go back in the Sticks boat. They know the way all right. Take their dog
with you. There he is—Stinker, we call him." Then he added, I guess your
colleagues could follow in the police boat!"
The Sticks boat was found and the policeman,
the two grown-up Sticks and Edgar got in. Stinker jumped in too, glad to get
away from the glare of Timothy's green eyes.
Julian pushed the boat out.
"Good-bye!" he called, and the other children waved goodbye, too.
"Good-bye, Mr. Stick, don't go kidnapping any more children. Good-bye,
Mrs. Stick, look after Edgar better, in case he gets kidnapped again! Good-bye,
Spotty-Face, try and be a better boy! Good-bye, Stinker, do get a bath as soon
as possible. Good-bye!"
The policemen grinned and waved. The Sticks
said not a word nor did they wave. They sat sullen and angry, trying to work
out in their minds what had happened to make things end up like this. The boats
rounded a high rock and were soon out of sight.
"Hurrah!" said Dick. "They've
gone—gone for ever! We've got our island to ourselves at last. Come on, Jenny,
we'll show you all over it! What a lovely time we're going to have."
They raced away, happy and carefree, five
children and a dog, alone on an island they loved. And we will leave them there
to enjoy their week's happiness. They really do deserve it!
END
Nah ini penampakkan para aktor serial tv yang dulu kutonton di TVRI ☺
