Five on a Hike Together (10 page)

They scrambled through bushes and brambles to get to the entrance of the building. It had to be entered by the front, which was over the water and completely open. A broad ledge ran right round the boat-house inside, and the steps that went up to it from the bank outside were al broken away, completely rotted.

„Have to tread warily here," said Julian. „Let me go first."

He tried the old wooden steps, but they gave way beneath him at once. „Hopeless!" he said. „Let"s see if there"s any other way into the boat-house."

There wasn"t - but at one side some of the wooden boards that made the wall of the boat-house were so rotten that they could be pul ed away to make an opening. The boys pul ed them down and then Julian squeezed through the opening into the dark, musty boat-house.

He found himself on the broad ledge that went round the great shed. Below him was the dark, quiet water with not even a ripple on it. He cal ed to the others.

„Come along in! There"s a wooden ledge to stand on here, and it"s hardly rotted at al . It must be made of better wood."

They all went through the opening and stood on the ledge, peering down. Their eyes had to get used to the darkness at first, because the only light came through the big entrance at the farther end - and that was obscured by big trails of ivy and other creepers hanging down from roof to water.

„There are boats here!" said Dick, excited. „Tied up to posts. Look - there"s one just below us. Let"s hope one of them is the Saucy Jane!"

There were three boats. Two of them were half ful of water, and their bows were sunk right down. „Must have got holes in them," said Julian, peering about. He had got out his torch and was shining it all round the old boat-house.

Oars were strung along the walls. Dirty, pulpy masses of something lay on the shelves too -

rotted cushions probably. A boat-hook stood in one corner. Ropes were in coils on a shelf.

It was a dreary desolate sight, and Anne didn"t like the queer echoes of their voices in the damp-smel ing, lonely boat-house.

„Let"s see if any of the boats are called Saucy Jane," said Dick. He flashed his torch on to the nearest one. The name was almost gone.

„What is it?" said Dick, trying to decipher the faded letters. „Merry something."

„Meg!" said Anne. „Merry Meg. Well, she may be a sister of Saucy Jane. What"s the next boat"s name?"

The torch shone steadily on to it. The name there was easier to read. They all read it at once.

„Cheeky Charlie!"

„Brother to Merry Meg!" said Dick. „Well, all I can say is that these poor old boats look anything but merry or cheeky."

„I"m sure the last one must be Saucy Jane!" said Anne, excited. „I do hope it is!"

They went along the broad ledge and tried to read the name on the half-sunk boat there.

„It begins with C," said George, disappointed. „I"m sure it"s C,"

Julian took out his handkerchief and dipped it in the water, He rubbed at the name to try and clean it and make it clearer.

It could be read then - but it wasn"t Saucy Jane!

„Careful Carrie!" read the four, mournfully. „Blow!"

„Merry Meg, Cheerful Charlie, Careful Carrie," said Julian. „Well, it"s quite obvious that Saucy Jane belongs to the family of boats here - but where oh where is she?"

„Sunk out of sight?" suggested Dick.

„Don"t think so," said Julian. „The water is pretty shallow in this boat-house - it"s right at the very end of the little backwater, you see. I think we should be able to spot a boat sunk to the bottom. We can see the sandy bottom of the backwater quite clearly by the light of our torches."

Just to make quite sure they walked careful y all rouncl the broad wooden ledge and flashed their torches on the water that fil ed the boat-house. There was no completely sunken boat there at all.

„Well, that"s that," said Dick. „The Saucy Jane is gone. Where? Why? And when?"

They flashed their torches round the walls of the boat-house once more. George"s eye was caught by a large flat wooden thing standing upright on the ledge at one side of the house.

„What"s that?" she said. „Oh - a raft, isn"t it? That"s what those paddles are for, then, that I saw on the shelf above."

They went and examined the raft. „Yes - and in quite good condition too," said Julian. „It would be rather fun to see if it would carry us on the water."

„Ooooh yes!" said Anne, thril ed „That would be super. I always like rafts. I"d rather try that raft than any of those boats."

„Well, there"s only one boat that is possible to use," said Julian. „The others are obviously no good - they must have big holes in to sink down like that."

„Hadn"t we better look into them careful y just to make sure there"s no loot hidden there?"

said Dick.

„If you like," said Julian. „But I think it"s Saucy Jane that"s got the loot - otherwise why mention it by name in that message?"

Dick felt that Julian was right. Al the same he went to examine the three boats most methodical y. But except for rotted and burst cushions and coils of rope there was nothing to be seen in the boats at all.

„Well - where"s the Saucy Jane?" said Dick, puzzled. „Al the family are here but her. Can she be hidden anywhere on the banks of the lake?"

'That"s an idea!" said Julian, who was trying to shift the big raft. „That"s a real y good idea! I think we ought to explore all round the lake and see if we can find the Saucy Jane hidden anywhere."

„Let"s leave the raft for a bit then," said George, feeling thril ed at the thought of possibly finding the Saucy Jane tucked away somewhere, al the loot hidden in her. „Let"s go now!"

They made their way round the wooden ledge to the opening they had made in the side of the boathouse, and jumped down. Timmy leapt down gladly. He hadn"t liked the dark boat-house at al . He ran into the warm sunshine, wagging his tail.

„Now which side of the lake shall we go first?" said Anne. „The left or the right?"

They went down to the edge of the silent water and looked to left and right. They both seemed to be equal y thick with bushes!

„It"s going to be difficult to keep close to the edge of the water," said Julian. „Anyway, we"ll try. The left side looks a bit easier. Come on!"

It was fairly easy at first to keep close to the water, and examine any tiny creek or look under over-hanging bushes. But after about a quarter of a mile the undergrowth became so very thick and grew so close to the water"s edge that it was quite impossible to force their way through it without completely ruining their clothes.

„I give up!" said Julian at last. „I shal have no jersey left in a minute! These spiteful brambles! My hands are ripped to bits."

„Yes - they are spiteful!" said Anne. „I felt that too!"

Timmy was the only one real y enjoying himself. He couldn"t imagine why the four were scrambling through such thick undergrowth, but as it was just what he liked he was very pleased. He was disappointed when they decided to give up and go back.

„Shall we try the right hand side of the lake, do you think?" said Julian, as they went back, rather disheartened.

„No. Don"t let"s," said Anne. „It looks even worse than this side. It"s only waste of time. I"d rather go out on the raft!"

„Well - that would surely be a better way of exploring the banks of the lake than scrambling through prickly bushes, wouldn't it?" said George. „We"d only need to paddle along slowly and squint into all the little creeks and under over-hanging trees - it would be easy!"

„Of course," said Dick. „We were sil y not to think of it before. It would be a lovely way of spending the afternoon, anyway."

They came through the trees and saw the ruined house in the distance. Timmy suddenly stopped. He gave a low growl, and all the others stopped too.

„What"s up, Timmy?" said George in a low voice, „What is it?"

Timmy growled again. The others cautiously retreated behind bushes and looked intently towards the house. They could see nothing out of the way. Nobody seemed to be about.

Then what was Timmy growling at?

And then a woman came in sight, and with her was a man. They were talking earnestly together.

„Maggie! I bet it"s Maggie!" said Julian.

„And the other is Dirty Dick," said Dick. „I recognize him - yes - it"s Dirty Dick."

They watched the couple in the distance, and thought quickly. Julian had been expecting them, so he was not surprised. Dick was looking at Dirty Dick, recognizing the broad, short man, with his hunched-up shoulders and shock of hair. He didn"t like the look of him any more than when he had seen him up at the old cottage!

Anne and George didn"t like the look of the woman either! She was wearing trousers and had a jacket draped round her shoulders. She was also wearing sunglasses, and smoking a cigarette. She walked quickly and they could hear her voice. It was sharp and determined.

„So that"s Maggie," thought Julian. „Well, I don"t like her. She looks as hard as nails - a good companion for Nailer!"

He moved cautiously towards the other three. George had her hand on Timmy"s collar, afraid that he might show himself.

„Listen," said Julian. „You"re none of you to turn a hair! We"ll just walk out into the open, talking cheerful y together and let them see us. If they ask us what we"re doing, you all know what to say. Chatter nonsense as much as you like - put them off and make them think we"re a bunch of harmless kids. If there are any leading questions asked us - leave me to answer them. Ready?"

They nodded. Then Julian swung out from the bushes and walked into the open, cal ing to Dick. „Here we are again - there"s the old house! My word, it looks worse than ever this morning!"

George and Timmy came bounding out together, and Anne followed, her heart beating fast. She wasn"t as good as the others at this sort of thing!

The man and the woman stopped abruptly when they saw the children. They said a few words to one another very rapidly. The man scowled.

The children went towards them, chattering all the time as Julian had ordered. The woman cal ed sharply to them.

„Who are you? What are you doing here?"

„Just hiking," said Julian, stopping. „It"s our half-term."

„What do you want to come here for then?" asked the woman. „This is private property."

„Oh no," said Julian. „It"s only a burnout ruin. Anyone can come. We want to explore this queer lake - it looks exciting."

The man and the woman looked at one another. It was clear that the idea of the children exploring the lake was surprising and annoying to them. The woman spoke again.

'You can"t explore this lake. It"s dangerous. People are forbidden to bathe in it or use a boat."

„We weren"t told that,' said Julian, looking astonished. „We were told how to get here, and no one said the lake was forbidden. You"ve been told wrongly."

„We want to watch the moor-hens, you see," put in Anne, suddenly seeing a moor-hen on the water. „We"re fond of nature."

„And we"ve been told there are deer near here," said George.

„And wild ponies," said Dick. „We saw some yesterday. They were really lovely. Have you seen any?"

This sudden burst of chatter seemed to annoy the man and the woman more than Julian"s answers. The man spoke roughly.

„Stop this nonsense. People aren"t al owed here. Clear out before we make you!"

„Why are you here, then, if people aren"t al owed?" asked Julian, and a hard tone came into his voice. „Don"t talk to us like that."

„You clear off, I say!" cried the man, suddenly shouting loudly as he lost his temper. He took two or three steps towards them, looking very threatening indeed. George loosed her hold on Timmy"s col ar.

Timmy also took two or three steps forward. His hackles went up and he emitted a most fearsome growl. The man stopped suddenly, and then retreated.

„Take hold of that dog"s collar," he ordered. „He looks savage."

„Then he looks what he is," said George. „I"m not taking hold of his col ar while you"re about. Don"t think it!"

Timmy took two or three more steps forward, growling loudly, walking stiffly and menacingly. The woman cal ed out at once.

„It"s al right, children. My friend here just lost his temper for a moment. Cal your dog back."

„Not while you are about," said George. „How long are you staying?"

„What"s that to do with you?" growled the man, but he didn"t say any more because Timmy at once growled back.

„Let"s come and have something to eat," said Julian, loudly, to the others. „After all, we have as much right to be here as these people have. We don"t need to take any notice of them - and we shan"t be in their way!"

The four children marched forward. Timmy was stil loose. He barked savagely once or twice as he came close to the unpleasant couple, and they shrank back at once. Timmy was such a big dog and he looked so very powerful! They eyed the children angrily as they went by, and watched them go into the ruined house.

„On guard, Timmy," said George, as soon as they were in, pointing to the ruined doorway.

Timmy understood at once, and stood in the doorway, a menacing figure with hackles up and snarling mouth. The children went down to the cellar room. They looked round to see if anyone had been there while they were away, but nothing seemed to have been moved.

„They probably haven"t even noticed the cel ars," said Julian. „I hope there"s plenty of bread left. I"m hungry. I wish to goodness we were going to have a dinner like the one we had yesterday! I say - what an unpleasant pair Maggie and Dick are!"

„Yes. Very," said Dick. „I can"t bear Maggie. Horrid common voice and hard face. Ugh!"

„I think Dirty Dick is worse," said Anne. „He looks like a goril a or something with his broad hunched-up body. And WHY doesn"t he cut his hair?"

„Fancies himself like that, I expect," said George, cutting a loaf of bread. „His surname ought to be Gol iwog. Or Tarzan. I"m jol y glad we"ve got Timmy."

„So am I," said Anne, „Good old Timmy, He hated them, didn"t he? I bet they won"t come near the doorway with Timmy there!"