Those boxes must have been piled in front of it to hide it, said Jack. There were empty boxes by the door, and now that he thought of it, Philip remembered seeing them in a big pile every time he had gone into the cellar. They had been neatly piled in front of that door. A trick of Jo-Jo’s, no doubt, to stop the children going into the second cellar, where all those stores were kept. How silly and childish! Well, Jo-Jo couldn’t stop them going there now.
We can go there through the secret passage, or we could go there through the door, because I’ve got the key now, thought Philip, pleased at the idea of being able to outwit the black man if he wanted to.
I suppose those steps lead up to the kitchen, don’t they? said Jack, pointing to them. Is it safe to go up, do you think? We don’t want anyone to see us, or they’d ask awkward questions.
I’ll slip up to the top, open the door a crack, and listen to see if anyone is about, said Philip. So up he went. But Jo-Jo had gone out and his aunt was no longer there, so the big kitchen was empty and silent. The boys were able to slip out, go to the outer door, and run down the cliff path without anyone seeing them at all.
The girls will wonder whatever has become of us, said Jack, suddenly remembering Dinah and Lucy-Ann, waiting patiently for them in the cave where the hole was that led into the passage. Come on let’s give them an awful fright, shall we? They’ll be expecting us to come back through the secret passage they’ll never expect us to come back this way.
They made their way down to the rocky shore. They went to the caves they had explored that morning and found the one that had the hole. The two girls were sitting by the hole, anxiously discussing what they ought to do.
We really must go and get help now, said Lucy-Ann. I’m sure something has happened to the boys. Really I am.
Philip suddenly spotted the giant starfish again, the one that had caused all the trouble. Very silently he picked it up. Without making a sound, he crept over the seaweedy cave floor to poor Dinah. He placed the starfish on her bare arm, where it slithered down in a horrible manner.
Dinah leapt up with a shriek that was even worse than Kiki’s loudest one. Oh oh Philip’s back again, the beast! Wait till I get hold of you, Philip! I’ll pull all your hair out of your head! You hateful boy!
In one of her furious rages Dinah leapt at Philip, who ran out of the caves and on to the sandy shore in glee. Lucy-Ann threw her arms round Jack. She had been very anxious about him.
Jack! Oh, Jack, what happened to you? I waited so long. How did you come back this way? Where did the passage lead to?
Shrieks and yells and shouts from Dinah and Philip made it impossible for Jack to answer, especially as Kiki now joined in the row, screeching like an express train in a tunnel.
There was a fine fight going on between Philip and Dinah. The angry girl had caught her brother, and was hitting out at him for all she was worth.
I’ll teach you to throw starfish at me. You mean pig! You know I hate those things. I’ll pull all your hair out.
Philip got free and ran off, leaving a few of his hairs in Dinah’s fingers. Dinah turned a furious face to the others.
He’s a beast. I shan’t talk to him for days. I wish he wasn’t my brother.
It was only a bit of fun, began Jack, but this made matters worse. Dinah flew into a temper with him too, and looked so fierce that Lucy-Ann was quite alarmed, and thought she would have to defend Jack if Dinah rushed to slap him.
I won’t have anything to do with any of you, stormed Dinah, and walked off angrily.
Now she won’t hear all we’ve found this morning, said Jack. What a spitfire she is! Well, we’ll have to tell you, Lucy-Ann. We’ve had a real adventure.
Dinah, walking off in a fury, suddenly remembered that she had not heard the story of the secret passage and where it came out. Forgetting her rage, she turned back at once.
She saw Lucy-Ann and the two boys together. Philip turned his back on her as she came up. But Dinah could be as sudden in her good tempers as she was in her bad ones. She put her arm on Philip’s.
Sorry, Philip, she said. What happened to you and Jack in that secret passage? I’m longing to know.
So peace was restored again, and soon the two girls were listening in the greatest excitement to all that the boys had to tell.
It was an adventure, I can tell you, said Jack. So it was and there were more to come!
Chapter 9
A STRANGE BOAT
The girls would not go up the secret passage, no matter how much the boys urged them to. They shuddered to think of the dark, narrow, winding tunnel, and although they agreed that it was very exciting, they did not want to feel the thrill of creeping along it themselves.
I suppose Dinah’s afraid of giant starfish jumping out at her, or something, said Philip in disgust. And Lucy-Ann is just a baby.
But even teasing would not make the girls try the passage, though they never tired of hearing about it. The boys slipped down into the cellar the next day, and found that Jo-Jo had once again piled up the boxes in front of the second door, so that it was quite hidden. It was puzzling, but he often did silly spiteful things. Anyway, they had the key of the door. That was something.
The weather became fine and hot. The sun shone down out of a cloudless sky and the children went about in bathing-suits. They were soon burnt as brown as gypsies. Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann spent more time than Jack in the water. The boy was quite mad over the wild birds that infested the coast in such numbers. He was for ever identifying terns and skuas, cormorants, gulls and others. He did not want Lucy-Ann with him, much to her dismay.
The birds are learning to know me, he explained to his sister. But they don’t know you, Lucy-Ann. You keep with the others, there’s a good girl. Anyway, we can’t both leave Tufty and Dinah, it would be rude.
So for once Lucy-Ann was not Jack’s shadow, and spent most of her time with the others. But she usually knew where Jack was, and, when it was about time for him to return, she would always watch for him.
Dinah thought she was silly. She would never have dreamt of watching for Philip. I’m only too glad when he gets out of the way, she said to Lucy-Ann. Horrid tease! He nearly made me go mad last year when he put earwigs under my pillow, and they all crawled out in the middle of the night.
Even Lucy-Ann thought that sounded horrid. But by now she was used to Philip and his peculiar ways. Even when he was only wearing bathing-drawers he seemed able to secrete some kind of creature about his body. Yesterday it had been a couple of friendly crabs. But when he had accidentally sat down on one, and it had nipped him, he had come to the conclusion that crabs were better in the sea than out of it.
Anyway, I’m glad Freckles takes Kiki with him when he goes bird-watching, said Dinah. I quite like Kiki, but now that she has taken to imitating all the birds around here, it is rather sickening. I’m surprised Aunt. Polly puts up with her as well as she does.
Aunt Polly had become fond of the parrot. It was an artful bird and knew that it had only to murmur Poor dear Polly to get anything it liked out of Aunt Polly. Jo-Jo had been well and truly ticked off by Aunt Polly the day he had gone shopping in the car and had forgotten the parrot’s sunflower seeds. The children had been delighted to hear the sullen black man so well scolded.
Uncle Jocelyn’s experience of Kiki was definitely not good. One hot afternoon the parrot had flown silently in at the open window of the study, where Uncle Jocelyn sat, as usual, bent double over his old papers and books. Kiki flew to the book-shelf and perched there, looking round her with interest.
How many times have I told you not to whistle? she said in a stern voice.
Uncle Jocelyn, lost in his books, came out of them with a start. He had never even seen the parrot and had forgotten that one had come to the house. He sat puzzling his head to know where such an extraordinary speech came from.