Five On A Secret Trail Part 6

'Hallo - Guy's having a swim!' said d.i.c.k, in surprise. Sure enough, a boy was there, his hair falling over his forehead as usual.

'Hey, Guy!' shouted George. 'Have a swim with us!'

But the boy was already getting out of the water. d.i.c.k shouted. 'Wait a minute - don't go. We'd like to have a swim with you, Guy!'

The boy turned defiantly. 'Don't be an a.s.s!' he said. 'My name's not Guy!'

And, leaving four astonished people behind him, he ran lightly over the heather and disappeared.

'There you are - he's mad after all!' said Anne. 'Don't bother about him. Come on in - the water's lovely and warm.'

They lazed about afterwards and began to feel hungry. 'Though how any of us could feel hungry after eating about fifty sandwiches between us at dinner-time, I don't know!' said d.i.c.k. 'Race you back to the cottage, Ju!'

They changed back into ordinary clothes and then had tea - fruit cake, shortbread biscuits, and tinned pineapple on bread. They kept the juice and diluted it with cold spring water - it was simply delicious.

'Now let's explore the cottage,' said d.i.c.k.

'We already have, Anne and I,' said George. 'So I don't expect you'll find anything much.'

They went methodically through the old house, and even up the old stone stairway to the two rooms upstairs - though they could hardly be called rooms, for they had very little roof and not much wall!

'Nothing much here, that's certain,' said d.i.c.k clattering down the stone stairway. 'Now let's go to the out-buildings - not that there's much left of them either!'

They examined everything, and came last of all to the old stables. It was dark inside, for the windows were very small, and it was some seconds before anyone could see properly.

'Old mangers,' said d.i.c.k, touching them. 'I wonder how long ago it is since they were used - and...'

'I say!' said George, suddenly. 'There's something funny here. Anne, look - this bit of floor was undisturbed yesterday, wasn't it?'

Anne looked down at the big white flagstone on which George was standing. It was quite obvious that it had been lifted, for the edges were not as green with moss as the others were, and the stone had been put back a little crookedly.

'Yes - someone's been interested in this stone - or in what is beneath it!' said d.i.c.k. 'I bet something is buried underneath!'

'Those men last night - that's what they came about!' said George. 'They went into these stables and lifted this stone. Why?'

'We'll soon find out!' said Julian. 'Come on everyone, loosen it with your fingers - then we'll heave it up!'

Chapter Ten

WHAT CAN BE HAPPENING?

Forty fingers and thumbs were very hard at work trying to loosen the heavy stone. At last Julian got hold of a corner which could be held more easily than any other part of the stone. He tried to lift it and it came away a little.

'Help me this side, d.i.c.k,' said Julian, and d.i.c.k put his strong fingers there too. 'Heave-ho!' he said - and up came the stone.

It went over with a crash and Timmy barked loudly, jumping aside. Everyone peered down - and then looked exceedingly disappointed!

There was nothing there at all. Not even a hole! The black earth, hard as iron, lay underneath, and nothing else.

They all stared down at the dry, hard earth, puzzled. George looked up at Julian.

'Well - that's queer, isn't it? Why should anyone lift up this heavy stone if there is nothing hidden underneath?'

'Well, it's clear that whoever was here didn't find anything - nor did he hide anything either,' said Julian. 'Dear me - why should anyone lift up a heavy stone and put it back - just for nothing?'

'He was obviously looking for something that wasn't here,' said Anne. 'The wrong stone, probably!'

'Yes. I think Anne's right,' said d.i.c.k. 'It's the wrong stone! Probably there is something very interesting under the right stone! But which one is it?'

They all sat and looked at one another, and Timmy saw it too, wondering why all this fuss was made about a flat white stone. Julian thought hard.

'From what you've told me, Anne - about seeing a light in the cottage that first night you were here - and hearing voices - and then seeing those figures outside last night in the storm - it looks as if someone is urgently hunting for something round about here.'

'Yes - something under a stone. Treasure of some sort, do you think?' said George.

Julian shook his head. 'No. I hardly think that much treasure would be hidden anywhere about this old cottage - all the people who lived here must have been fairly poor. The most they would have hidden would have been a few pieces of gold, and that would have been found long ago.'

'Well - someone modern might have hidden something valuable here - even something stolen,' said Anne.

'Yes. We can't tell. It's obviously important and urgent to somebody,' said d.i.c.k. 'I wonder if the people that Guy said came bothering him were anything to do with this?'

'They may have been,' said Julian. 'But they have clearly decided that what they are looking for is here now, whatever it is. And they must have been most annoyed to find you and Anne here last night, George. That's why someone came and looked in at the window, I expect - to make sure you were asleep! And you weren't.'

'I don't know whether I want to stay on here or not now,' said Anne, alarmed. 'If they haven't found what they want, they'll probably come again - in the night too.'

'Who cares?' said d.i.c.k. 'We've got Timmy, haven't we? I'm not turning out of here because somebody's got a habit of turning up big stones!'

Julian laughed. 'Nor am I. Let's stay on! And I don't see why we shouldn't do a bit of pulling up of stones ourselves! We might come across something very interesting!'

'Right. It's decided that we stay on then, is it?' said d.i.c.k. 'What about you, Anne?'

'Oh yes - of course I'll stay,' said Anne, not wanting to in the least, but knowing that she simply could not bear not to be with the others.

The Five walked round and about the cottage for a while, trying to make out where the people that the girls had seen the night before had come from - from what direction did they come and go?

'The figures I saw first in the lightning stood about there,' said Anne, pointing. 'Let's go and see if there are any foot-prints. It was pouring with rain and the ground must have been very muddy.'

'Good idea,' said d.i.c.k, and off they went to where Anne had pointed. But it was a heathery piece of ground, and difficult to tell even if anyone had trodden there, for the heather was thick and springy.

'Let's look just outside the window now - the one where Anne saw someone looking in,' said d.i.c.k. And there they had a find! Just in front of the window were two quite deeply-printed foot-marks. One was slightly blurred as if the maker of them had turned his foot sideways as he waited. The other was very clear indeed.

d.i.c.k got out a piece of paper. 'I rather think I'll measure these,' he said, 'and make a note of the pattern on the soles. They had rubber soles and heels - look at the markings - crepe rubber I should think.'

He measured the prints. 'Size eight shoes,' he said. 'Same as yours, Ju. Then he carefully drew an exact picture of the sole and heel markings.

'You're quite a detective, d.i.c.k,' said Anne, admiringly, and he laughed.

'Oh, anyone can copy foot-prints!' he said. 'The thing is to match them up with the owner!'

'I have a feeling it's getting on for supper-time - if anyone wants any supper,' said George. 'It's half-past eight! Would you believe that the time could fly so fast.'

'I don't really feel very hungry,' said d.i.c.k. 'We've done pretty well today.'

'Well, don't waste our precious food if you don't feel hungry,' said George. 'We shall have to keep going home for more if we eat everything too quickly.'

n.o.body felt terribly hungry. They made a cosy corner in the cottage and had a slice of cake and a biscuit each, with a drink of pineapple juice and spring-water. George had had the bright idea of filling the big empty pineapple tin, and they each filled a mug from it in turn, and drank.

'It's getting dark,' said Julian. 'Are we going to sleep inside the cottage or out?'

'In,' said d.i.c.k, promptly. 'We'll make things just as difficult for any night-prowlers as possible!'

'Right,' said Julian. 'I bet they won't be pleased to find old Timmy here too. Shall we go out and get some heather for beds? I don't fancy sharing a thin rug between the four of us.'

Soon they were all dragging in armfuls of the springy heather. They laid it in the front room, in two corners, for the boys thought they would rather be in the same room as the girls, in case of danger.

'You need an awful lot of heather to make a soft bed,' said d.i.c.k, trying his. 'My bones seem to go right through the clumps and rub against the floor!'

'We can put our macs over our heather,' said Julian. 'That will help. The girls can have the rug. We shan't need any covering, it's so hot.'

By the time they had finished, it was dark. George lay on her heather and yawned. 'I'm going to sleep,' she announced. 'We don't need to keep guard or anything like that do we? Timmy will bark if anyone comes near.'

'You're right. I really don't think we need take turns at keeping awake,' said Julian. 'Move up, d.i.c.k - you've left me no room.'

Julian was the last to go to sleep. He lay awake puzzling over the lifted stone slab. It was clear that someone had expected to find something under it. How did they know it was that particular slab? Had they a map? If so, it must have shown the wrong stone - or perhaps the searchers read the map wrong?

Before he could work it out any further, he was asleep. Timmy was asleep too, happy because all the others were under his care. He had one ear open as usual, but not very much open!

It was enough to let him hear a small mouse of some kind run across the floor. It was even enough for him to hear a beetle sc.r.a.ping its way up the wall. After a while his ear dropped down and he didn't even hear a hedgehog outside.

But something caused his ear to listen again and it p.r.i.c.ked up. A noise crept inside the cottage - a noise that got louder and louder - a weird and puzzling noise!

Timmy woke up and listened. He pawed at George, not knowing whether to bark or not. He knew he should not bark at owls, but this was not an owl. Perhaps George would know.

'Don't, Timmy,' said George sleepily, but Timmy went on pawing her. Then she too heard the noise and sat up in a hurry.

What a truly horrible sound! It was a whining and a wailing, rising and falling through the night. A sound of misery and woe, that went on and on.

'Julian! d.i.c.k! Wake up!' called George, her heart beating wildly. 'Something's happening.'

The boys awoke at once and so did Anne. They sat and listened to the weird noise. What in the world could it be? There it went again - wailing high in the air, and then dying away with a moan, only to begin again a few seconds later.

d.i.c.k felt the roots of his hair p.r.i.c.king. He leapt off the heather-bed and ran to the window. 'Quick! Gome and look at this!' he cried. 'What is it?'

They all crowded to the window, Timmy barking now as loudly as he could. In silence the others gazed at a very strange sight.

Blue and green lights were shining here and there, sometimes dimly, sometimes brightly. A curious round white light was travelling slowly in the air, and Anne clutched George, breathing fast.

'It won't come here,' she said. 'It won't, will it? I don't like it. What is happening, Julian?'

'I wish that awful wailing, whining noise would stop,' said d.i.c.k. 'It gets right inside my head. Do you make anything of all this, Julian?'

'Something's queer abroad,' said Julian. 'I'll go out with Timmy and see what I can find.' And before anyone could stop him, out he went, Timmy barking beside him.

'Oh Julian - come back!' called Anne, listening as his footsteps became distant. They all waited tensely at the window - and then suddenly the wailing noise stopped and the strange lights began to fade.

Then they heard Julian's footsteps coming back firmly in the darkness.

'Ju! What was it?' called d.i.c.k, as his brother came in at the doorway.'

'I don't know d.i.c.k,' said Julian, sounding very puzzled. 'I simply - don't - know! Perhaps we can find out in the morning.'

Chapter Eleven

INTERESTING DISCOVERIES - AND A PLAN

The four sat in the dark and talked over the horrible noises and the weird blue and green and white lights. Anne sat close to Julian. She really was frightened.

'I want to go back to Kirrin,' she said. 'Let's go tomorrow. I don't like this.'

'I didn't see a thing just now,' said Julian, puzzled, his arm close round Anne. 'I seemed to go quite close to those wailing sounds - and then they stopped as soon as I got fairly near. But although Timmy barked and ran around, there didn't seem to be anyone there.'

'Did you get near the lights?' asked d.i.c.k.

'Yes, fairly near. But the odd thing was that they seemed high up when I got near them - not near the ground as I expected. And again Timmy couldn't find anyone. You would have thought if there was anyone about, playing the fool, that Timmy would have found them. But he didn't.'