We’ll do as we said and keep to this main passage, which looks like a sort of main road of the mines, said Philip.
Jack flashed his torch down a smaller passage. Look! he said. The roof has fallen in there. We couldn’t go down that way if we wanted to.
Golly, I hope the roof of this passage won’t fall in on top of us, said Lucy-Ann, looking up at it in alarm. In places it was propped up by big timbers, but mostly it was of hard rock.
Come on we’re safe enough, said Jack impatiently. I say isn’t it thrilling to be hundreds of feet below the earth, down in a copper-mine as old as the hills!
It’s funny that the air is quite good here, isn’t it? said Dinah, remembering the musty-smelling air in the secret passage at Craggy-Tops.
There must be good airways in these mines, said Philip, trying to remember how the airways in coal-mines worked. That’s one of the first things that men think about when they begin to work mines underground how to get draughts of air moving down the tunnels they make and channels to drain off any water that might collect and flood the mine.
I’d hate to work in a mine, said Lucy-Ann, shivering. Philip, are we under the sea yet?
Not yet, said Philip. About half-way there, I should think. Hallo, here’s a well-worked piece quite a big cave!
The passage suddenly opened out into a vast open cave that showed many signs of being worked by men. Marks of tools stood out here and there in the rock, and Jack, with a delighted exclamation, darted to a corner and picked up what looked like a small hammer-top made of bronze.
Look, he said proudly to the others. This must be part of a broken tool used by the ancient miners it’s made of bronze a mixture of copper and tin. My word, won’t the boys at school envy me this!
That made the others look around eagerly as well, and Lucy-Ann made a discovery that interested everybody very much. It was not an ancient bronze tool it was a stub of pencil, bright yellow in colour.
Do you know who this belongs to? said Lucy-Ann, her green eyes gleaming in the torch-light like a cat’s. It belongs to Bill Smugs. I saw him writing notes with it the other day. I know it’s Bill’s.
Then he must have been down here and dropped it by accident, said Philip, thrilled. Golly, our guess was right then! He’s no bird-watcher he’s living on the coast with his car and his boat because he’s friends with the men working this old mine, and brings them food and stuff. Artful old Bill he never told us a word about it.
Well, you don’t go blabbing everything out to children you meet, said Dinah. Well, well how surprised he would be if he knew we knew his secret! I wonder if he’s down here now?
‘Course not, silly, said Philip, at once. His boat wasn’t on the shore, was it? And there’s no other way of getting here except by boat.
I forgot that, said Dinah. Anyway I don’t feel afraid of meeting the secret miners now that we know they are friends of Bill’s. All the same, we won’t let them know we’re here if we can help it. They might think that children couldn’t be trusted, and be rather cross about it.
They examined the big cave closely. The ceiling was propped up with big old timbers, some of them broken now, so that the roof was gradually falling in. A number of hewn-out steps led to a cave above, but the roof of that had fallen in and the children could not get into it.
Do you know what I think? said Jack suddenly, stopping to face the others behind him, as they examined the cave. I believe that light I saw out to sea the other night wasn’t from a ship at all it was from this island. The miners were giving a signal to say that they had finished their food and wanted more and the light from the cliff was flashed by Bill to say he was bringing more.
Yes but the light came from our cliff, not from Bill’s cliff, objected Philip.
I know but you know jolly well that it’s only from the highest part of the cliff that anyone signalling from the cove side of the island could be seen, said Jack. If somebody stood on that hill in the middle of the island and made a bonfire or waved a powerful lamp, it could only be seen from our cliff, and not from Bill’s. So Bill must have gone to our cliff that night and answered the signal.
I believe you’re right, said Philip. Old Bill must have been wandering about that night, behind Craggy-Tops and you saw his signalling light and so did Jo-Jo. No wonder old Jo-Jo says there are ‘things’ wandering about at night and is scared of them! He must often have heard Bill and seen lights, and not known what they were.
I expect Bill went off to the island in his boat, as soon as he could, with fresh food, said Jack. And he took away the pile of old tins. That explains why it is they are gone. Artful old Bill! What a fine secret he has and we are the only people who know it!
I do wish we could tell him we know it, said Lucy-Ann. I don’t see why we can’t. I’m sure he’d rather know that we knew it.
Well we could sort of say a few things that will make him guess we know it, perhaps, said Philip. Then if he guesses, he’ll own up, and we’ll have a good talk about the mines, and Bill will tell us all kinds of exciting things.
Yes, that’s what we’ll do, said Jack. Come on let’s explore a bit further. I feel as if I know this cave by heart.
The passage swerved suddenly to the left after a bit, and Philip’s heart gave a thump. He knew, by the map, that when the main passage swerved left they were going under the sea-bed itself. It was somehow very thrilling to be walking under the deep sea.
What’s that funny noise? asked Dinah. They all listened. There was a curious, far-off booming noise that never stopped.
Miners with machines? said Philip. Then he suddenly knew what it was. No it’s the sea booming away above our heads! That’s what it is!
So it was. The children stood and listened to the muffled, far-away noise. Boom-boooom, boom. That was the sea, moving restlessly over the rocky bed, maybe pounding over rocks in its way, talking with its continual, rhythmical voice.
It’s funny to be under the sea itself, said Lucy-Ann, half frightened. She shivered. It was so dark, and the noise was so strange.
Isn’t it awfully warm down here? she said, and the others agreed with her. It certainly was hot down in the old copper-mines.
They went on their way down the passage, keeping to the main one, and avoiding all the many galleries that spread out continually sideways, which probably led to other workings of the big mines.
If we don’t keep to this main road, we’ll lose ourselves, said Philip, and Lucy-Ann gave a gasp. It had not occurred to her that they might get lost. How awful to go wandering about miles of mine-workings, and never find the shaft that led them upwards!
They came to a place where, quite suddenly, a brilliant light shone. The children had rounded a corner, noticing, as they came to it, that a glimmer of light seemed to show there. As they turned the corner of the passage they came into a cave lighted by a powerful lamp. They stopped in the greatest surprise.
Then a noise came to their ears a queer noise, not the muffled boom of the sea, but a clattering noise that they couldn’t recognise then a bang, then a clattering noise again.
We’ve found where the miners work, said Jack, in an excited whisper. Keep back a bit. We may see them but we don’t want them to see us!
Chapter 20
PRISONERS UNDERGROUND
The children huddled against the wall, trying to see what was in the cave before them, blinking their eyes in the brilliant light.
There were boxes and crates in the cave, but nothing else. No man was there. But in the near distance was somebody at work, making that queer clattering, banging noise.
Let’s go back, said Lucy-Ann, frightened.
No. But look there’s a passage going off just here, whispered Philip, flashing his torch into a dark tunnel near by. We’ll creep down there and see if we come across the miners working somewhere near.
So they all crept down the tunnel. As they went down it, pressing themselves closely against the rocky sides, a rock fell from the roof. It gave Kiki such a fright that she gave a squawk and flew off Jack’s shoulder.