He went up for a good way. It was almost like going up a chimney shaft, he thought. It was cold and smelt musty.
Suddenly he came to a ledge, and he stepped on to it. He took his torch from his teeth and flashed it around him.
There was stone wall behind him, at the side of him and stone above him. The black hole up which he had come, yawned by his feet. Julian shone his torch in front of him, and a shock of surprise went through him.
There was no stone wall in front of him, but a big wooden, door, made of black oak. A handle was set about waist-high, Julian turned it with trembling fingers. What was he going to see ?
The door opened outwards, over the ledge, and it was difficult to get round it without falling back into the hole. Julian managed to open it wide, squeezed round it without losing his footing, and stepped beyond it, expecting to find himself in a room.
But his hand felt more wood in front of him! He
shone his torch round, and found that he was up against what looked like yet another door. Under his searching fingers it suddenly moved sideways, and slid silently away!
And then Julian knew where he was! ‘I’m in the cupboard at Kirrin Farmhouse – the one that has a false back!’ he thought. ‘The Secret Way comes up behind it! How clever! Little did we* know when we played about in this cupboard that not only did it have a sliding back, but that it was the entrance to the Secret Way, hidden behind it!’
The cupboard was now full of clothes belonging to the artists. Julian stood and listened. There was no sound of anyone in the room. Should he just take a quick look round, and see if those lost papers were anywhere about ?
Then he remembered the other four, waiting patiently below in the cold. He had better go and tell them what had happened. They could all come and help in the search.
He stepped into the space behind the sliding back. The sliding door slipped across again, and Julian was left standing on the narrow ledge, with the old oak door wide open to one side of him. He did not bother to shut it. He felt about with his feet, and found the iron staples in the hole below him. Down he went, clinging with his hands and feet, his torch in his teeth again.
‘Julian! What a time you’ve been! Quick, tell us all about it!’ cried George.
‘It’s most terribly thrilling,’ said Julian. ‘Absolutely super! Where do you suppose all this leads to? Into the
cupboard at Kirrin Farmhouse – the one that’s got a false back!’
‘Golly! ‘said Dick.
‘I say I’ said George.
‘Did you go into the room ?’ cried Anne.
‘I climbed as far as I could and came to a big oak door,’ said Julian. ‘It has a handle this side, so I swung it wide open. Then I saw another wooden door in front of me – at least, I thought it was a door,’ I didn’t know it was just the false back of that cupboard. It was quite easy to slide back and I stepped through, and found my-self among a whole lot of clothes hanging in the cupboard ! Then I hurried back to tell you.’
‘Julian! We can hunt for those papers now,’ said George, eagerly. ‘Was there anyone in the room ?’
‘I couldn’t hear anyone,’ said Julian. ‘Now what I propose is this – we’ll all go up, and have a hunt round those two rooms. The men have the room next to the cupboard one too.’
‘Oh good ! ‘ said Dick, thrilled at the thought of such an adventure. ‘Let’s go now. You go first, Ju. Then Anne, then George and then me.’
‘What about Tim ?’ asked George.
‘He can’t climb, silly,’ said Julian. ‘He’s a simply marvellous dog, but he certainly can’t climb, George. We’ll hav to leave him down here.’ ‘He won’t like that,’ said George. ‘Well, we can’t carry him up,’ said Dick. ‘You won’t , mind staying here for a bit, will you, Tim, old fel— Tim wagged his tail. But, as he saw the four children mysteriously disappearing up the wall, he put his big tail down at once. What! Going without him? How could they ? He jumped up at the wall, and fell back. He jumped again and whined. George called down to him in a low voice. ‘Be quiet, Tim dear! We shan’t be long.’ Tim stopped whining. He lay down at the bottom of the wall, his ears well-cocked. This adventure was becoming more and more peculiar! Soon the children were on the narrow ledge. The old oak door was still wide open. Julian shone his torch and the others saw the false back of the cupboard. Julian put his hands on it and it slid silently sideways. Then the torch shone on coats and dressing-gowns! The children stood quite still, listening. There was no sound from the room. Til open the cupboard door and peep into the room,’ whispered Julian. ‘Don’t make a sound!’ The boy pushed between the clothes and felt for the outer cupboard door with his hand. He found it, and pushed it slightly. It opened a little and a shaft of daylight came into the cupboard. He peeped cautiously into the room. There was no one there at all. That was good. ‘Come on!’ he whispered to the others. ‘The room’s empty P One by one the children crept out of the clothes cupboard and into the room. There was a big bed there, a wash-stand, chest of drawers, small table and two chairs. Nothing else. It would be easy to search the whole room. ‘Look, Julian, there’s a door between the two rooms,’ said George, suddenly. ‘Two of us can go and hunt there and two here - and we can lock the doors that lead on to the landing, so that no one can come in and catch us!’ ‘Good idea!’ said Julian, who was afraid that at any moment someone might come in and catch them in their search. ‘Anne and I will go into the next room, and you and Dick can search this one. Lock the door that opens on to the landing, Dick, and I’ll lock the one in the other room. We’ll leave the connecting-door open, so that we can whisper to one another.’ Quietly the boy slipped through the connecting-door into the second room, which was very like the first. That was empty too. Julian went over to the door that led to the landing, and turned the key in the lock. He heard Dick doing the same to the door in the other room. He heaved a big sigh. Now he felt safe! ‘Anne, turn up the rugs and see if any papers are hidden there,’ he said. ‘Then look under the chair-cushions and strip the bed to see if anything is hidden under the mattress.’ Anne set to work, and Julian began to hunt too. He started on the chest of drawers, which he thought would be a very likely place to hide things in. The children’s hands were shaking, as they felt here and there for the lost papers. It was so terribly exciting. They wondered where the two men were. Down in the warm kitchen, perhaps. It was cold up here in the bedrooms, and they would not want to be away from the warmth. They could not go out because the snow was piled in great drifts round Kirrin Farmhouse! Dick and George were searching hard in the other room. They looked in every drawer. They stripped the bed. They turned up rugs and carpet. They even put their hands up the big chimney-place! ‘Julian? Have you found anything?’ asked Dick in a low voice, appearing at the door between the two rooms. ‘Not a thing,’ said Julian, rather gloomily. They’ve hidden the papers well! I only hope they haven’t got them on them - in their pockets, or something!’ Dick stared at him in dismay. He hadn’t thought of that. ‘That would be sickening!’ he said. ‘You go back and hunt everywhere - simply everywhere I’ ordered Julian. ‘Punch the pillows to see if they’ve stuck them under the pillow-case!’ Dick disappeared. Rather a lot of noise came from his room. It sounded as if he were doing a good deal of punching! Anne and Julian went on hunting too. There was simply nowhere that they did not look. They even turned the pictures round to see if the papers had been stuck behind one of them. But there was nothing to be found. It was bitterly disappointing. ‘We can’t go without finding them,’ said Julian, in desperation. ‘It was such a bit of luck to get here like this, down the Secret Way - right into the bedrooms! We simply must find those papers!’