Five Get Into Trouble (8 page)

'I think I wil throw up a stone,' said Julian at last. 'I feel sure Dick's up there, if he has been taken here — and you're certain you heard the men say "Owl's Dene", aren't you, Anne?'

'Quite certain,' said Anne. 'Do throw a stone, Julian. I'm getting so worried about poor Dick.'

Julian felt about on the ground for a stone. He found one embedded in the moss that was everywhere. He balanced it in his hand. Then up went the stone, but fel just short of the window. Julian got another. Up it went — and hit the glass of the window with a sharp crack. Somebody came to the pane at once.

Was it Dick? Everyone strained their eyes to see — but the window was too far up. Julian threw up another stone, and that hit the window too.

'I think it is Dick,' said Anne. 'Oh dear — no it isn't after all. Can't you see, Julian?'

But the person at the window, whoever he was, had now disappeared. The children felt a bit uncomfortable. Suppose it hadn't been Dick? Suppose it had been someone else who had now disappeared from the room to go and look for them?

'Let's get away from this part of the house,' whispered Julian. 'Get round to the other side.'

They made their way round quietly — and Richard suddenly pul ed at Julian's arm.

'Look!' he said. 'There's a window open! Can't we get in there?'

11 Trapped!

Julian looked at the casement window. The moonlight shone on it. It certainly was a little ajar. 'How did we miss that when we went round before?' he wondered. He hesitated a little. Should they try to get in or not? Wouldn't it be better to rap on the back door and get that miserable-looking woman to answer it and tell them what they wanted to know?

On the other hand there was that evil-looking hunchback there. Julian didn't like the look of him at all. No — on the whole it might be better to creep in at the window, see if it was Dick upstairs, set him free, and then al escape through the same open window.

Nobody would know. The bird would have flown, and everything would be all right.

Julian went to the window. He put a leg up and there he was astride the window. He held out a hand to Anne. 'Come on — I'l give you a hand,' he said, and pul ed her up beside him. He lifted her down on the floor inside.

Then George came, and then Richard. George was just leaning out to encourage Timmy to jump in through the window too, when something happened!

A powerful torchlight went on, and its beam shone right across the room into the dazzled eyes of the four children! They stood there, blinking in alarm. What was this?

Then Anne heard the voice of one of the men who had captured Dick, 'Well, well, well

— a crowd of young burglars!'

The voice changed suddenly to anger. 'How dare you break in here! I'l hand you over to the police.'

From outside Timmy growled fiercely. He jumped up at the window and almost succeeded in leaping through. The man grasped what was happening at once, and went to the open window. He shut it with a bang. Now Timmy couldn't get in!

'Let my dog in!' said George, angrily, and stupidly tried to open the window again. The man brought his torch down sharply on her hand and she cried out in pain.

'That's what happens to boys who go against my wishes,' said the man, whilst poor George nursed her bruised hand.

'Look here,' began Julian, fiercely, 'what do you think you're doing? We're not burglars —

and what's more we'd be very, very glad if you'd hand us over to the police!'

'Oh, you would, would you?' said the man. He went to the door of the room and yelled out in a tremendous voice: 'Aggie! AGGIE! Bring a lamp here at once.'

There was an answering shout from the kitchen, and almost immediately the light of a lamp appeared shining down the passage outside. It grew brighter, and the miserable-looking woman came in with a big oil-lamp. She stared in amazement at the little group of children. She seemed about to say something when the man gave her a rough push.

'Get out. And keep your mouth shut. Do you hear me?'

The woman scuttled out like a frightened hen. The man looked round at the children in the light of the lamp. The room was very barely furnished and appeared to be a sitting-room of some kind.

'So you don't mind being given up to the police?' said the man. 'That's very interesting.

You think they'd approve of you breaking into my house?'

'I tel you, we didn't break in,' said Julian, determined to get that clear, at any rate. 'We came here because we had reason to believe that you've got my brother locked up somewhere in this house — and it's al a mistake. You've got the wrong boy.'

Richard didn't like this at all. He was terribly afraid of being locked up in the place of Dick! He kept behind the others as much as possible.

The man looked hard at Julian. He seemed to be thinking. 'We haven't a boy here at all,'

he said at last. 'I real y don't know what you mean. You don't suggest that I go about the countryside picking boys up and making them prisoners, do you?'

'I don't know what you do,' said Julian. 'Al I know is this — you captured Dick, my brother, this evening in Middlecombe Woods — thinking he was Richard Kent — well, he's not, he's my brother Dick. And if you don't set him free at once, I'll tel the police what we know.'

'And dear me — how do you know all this?' asked the man. 'Were you there when he was captured, as you cal it?'

'One of us was,' said Julian, bluntly. 'In the tree overhead. That's how we know.'

There was a silence. The man took out a cigarette and lighted it. 'Well, you're quite mistaken,' he said. 'We've no boy held prisoner here. The thing is ridiculous. Now it's very, very late — would you like to bed down here for the night and get off in the morning? I don't like to send a parcel of kids out into the middle of the night. There's no telephone here, or I'd ring your home.'

Julian hesitated. He felt certain Dick was in the house. If he said he would stay for the night he might be able to find out if Dick was real y there or not. He could quite wel see that the man didn't want them tearing off to the police. There was something at Owl's Dene that was secret and sinister.

'I'l stay,' he said at last. 'Our people are away — they won't worry.'

He had forgotten about Richard for the moment. His people certainly would worry! Stil , there was nothing to do about it. The first thing was to find Dick. Surely the men would be mad to hold him a prisoner once they were certain he wasn't the boy. Perhaps Rooky, the ruffian who knew Richard, hadn't yet arrived — hadn't seen Dick? That must be the reason that this man wanted them to stay the night. Of course — he'd wait til Rooky came —

and when Rooky said, 'No — he's not the boy we want!' they'd let Dick go. They'd have to!

The man called for Aggie again. She came at once.

'These kids are lost,' said the man to her. 'I've said I'l put them up for the night. Get one of the rooms ready — just put down mattresses and blankets — that's all. Give them some food if they want it.'

Aggie was evidently tremendously astonished. Julian guessed that she was not used to this man being kind to lost children. He shouted at her.

'Well, don't stand dithering there. Get on with the job. Take these kids with you.'

Aggie beckoned to the four children. George hung back. 'What about my dog?' she said. 'He's stil outside, whining. I can't go to bed without him.'

'You'l have to,' said the man, roughly. 'I won't have him in the house at any price, and that's flat.'

'He'll attack anyone he meets,' said George.

'He won't meet anyone out there,' said the man. 'By the way — how did you get in through the gates?'

'A car came out just as we got there and we slipped in before the gates closed,' said Julian. 'How do the gates shut? By machinery?'

'Mind your own business,' said the man, and went down the passage in the opposite direction.

'Pleasant, kindly fel ow,' said Julian to George.

'Oh, a sweet nature,' answered George. The woman stared at them both in surprise. She didn't seem to realize that they meant the opposite to what they said! She led the way upstairs.

She came to a big room with a carpet on the floor, a smal bed in a corner, and one or two chairs. There was no other furniture.

'I'l get some mattresses and put them down for you,' she said.

'I'l help you,' offered Julian, thinking it would be a good idea to see round a bit.

'Al right,' said the woman. 'You others stay here.'

She went off with Julian. They went to a cupboard and the woman tugged at two big mattresses. Julian helped her. She seemed rather touched by this help.

'Well, thank you,' she said. 'They're pretty heavy.'

'Don't expect you have many children here, to stay, do you?' asked Julian.

'Well, it's funny that you should come just after . . .' the woman began. Then she stopped and bit her lip, looking anxiously up and down the passage.

Just after what?' asked Julian. Just after the other boy came, do you mean?'

'Sh!' said the woman, looking scared to death. 'Whatever do you know about that? You shouldn't have said that. Mr. Perton wil skin me alive if he knew you'd said that. He'd be sure I'd told you. Forget about it.'

'That's the boy who's locked up in one of the attics at the top of the house isn't it?' said Julian, helping her to carry one of the mattresses to the big bedroom. She dropped her end in the greatest alarm.

'Now! Do you want to get me into terrible trouble — and yourselves too? Do you want Mr. Perton to tell old Hunchy to whip you al ? You don't know that man! He's wicked.'

'When's Rooky coming?' asked Julian, bent on astonishing the woman, hoping to scare her into one admission after another. This was too much for her altogether. She stood there shaking at the knees, staring at Julian as if she couldn't believe her ears.

'What do you know about Rooky?' she whispered. 'Is he coming here? Don't tell me he's coming here!'

'Why? Don't you like him?' asked Julian. He put a hand on her shoulder. 'Why are you so frightened and upset? What's the matter? Tell me. I might be able to help you.'

'Rooky's bad,' said the woman. 'I thought he was in prison. Don't tell me he's out again.

Don't tell me he's coming here.'

She was so frightened that she wouldn't say a word more. She began to cry, and Julian hadn't the heart to press her with any more questions. In silence he helped her to drag the mattresses into the other room.

'I'l get you some food,' said the poor woman, sniffing miserably. 'You'l find blankets in that cupboard over there if you want to lie down.'

She disappeared. Julian told the others in whispers what he had been able to find out.

'We'll see if we can find Dick as soon as things are quiet in the house,' he said. 'This is a bad house — a house of secrets, of queer comings and goings. I shal slip out of our room and see what I can find out later on. I think that man — Mr Perton is his name — is real y waiting for Rooky to come and see if Dick is Richard or not. When he finds he isn't I've no doubt he'll set him free — and us too.'

'What about me?' said Richard. 'Once he sees me, I'm done for. I'm the boy he wants.

He hates my father and he hates me too. He'l kidnap me, take me somewhere, and ask an enormous ransom for me — just to punish us!'

'Well, we must do something to prevent him seeing you,' said Julian. 'But I don't see why he should see you — it's only Dick he'l want to see. He won't be interested in what he thinks are Dick's brothers and sisters! Now for goodness' sake don't start to howl again, or honestly I'l give you up to Rooky myself. You real y are a frightful little coward — haven't you any courage at al !'

'Al this has come about because of your sil y lies and deceit,' said George, quiet fiercely. 'It's al because of you that our trip is spoilt, that Dick's locked up — and poor Timmy's outside without me.'

Richard looked quite taken aback. He shrank into a corner and didn't say another word.

He was very miserable. Nobody liked him — nobody believed him — nobody trusted him.

Richard felt very, very small indeed.

The woman brought them some food. It was only bread and butter and jam, with some hot coffee to drink. The four children were not real y hungry, but they were very thirsty, and they drank the coffee eagerly.

George opened the window and called softly down to Timmy. 'Tim! Here's something for you!'

Timmy was down there all right, watching and waiting. He knew where George was. He had howled and whined for some time, but now he was quiet.

George was quite determined to get him indoors if she could. She gave him all her bread and jam, dropping it down bit by bit, and listening to him wolfing it up. Anyway, old Timmy would know she was thinking of him!

'Listen,' said Julian, coming in from the passage outside, where he had stood listening for a while. 'I think it would be a good idea if we put out this light, and settled down on the mattresses. But I shal make up a lump on mine to look like me, so that if anyone comes they'l think I'm there on the mattress. But I shan't be.'

'Where wil you be, then?' asked Anne. 'Don't leave us!'

'I shall be hiding outside in that cupboard,' said Julian. 'I've a sort of feeling that our pleasant host, Mr Perton, wil come along presently to lock us in — and I've no intention of being locked in! I think he'll flash a torch into the room, see that we're all four safely asleep on the mattresses, and then quietly lock the door. Well — I shall be able to unlock it when I come back from the cupboard outside — and we shan't be prisoners at all!'

'Oh — that real y is a good idea,' said Anne, cuddling herself up in a blanket. 'You'd better go and get into the cupboard now, Julian, before we're locked up for the night!'

Julian blew out the lamp. He tiptoed to the door and opened it. He left it ajar. He went into the passage and fumbled his way to where he knew the cupboard should be. Ah —

there it was. He pul ed at the handle and the door opened silently. He slipped inside and left the door open just a crack, so that he would be able to see if anyone came along the wide passage.