Blyton, Enid – Famous Five 15 – Five On a Secret Trail

‘Can we cut it open?’ asked George.

‘No. I don’t think so. It’s made of really strong leather. We would need a special knife to cut through it – an ordinary pen-knife wouldn’t be any use,’ said Julian. ‘I think we’ll just have to assume that we’ve got the goods, and hope for the best. If they’re not in here, it’s just bad luck. Someone else has got them, if so.’

They all looked at the tantalizing bag.

Now they would have to wait for ages before they found out whether their efforts had been successful or not!

‘Well – what do we do now?’ said George, feeling suddenly flat. ‘Go back all through that long tunnel once more? I’ll be glad to be in the open air again, won’t you?’

‘Rather!’ said Julian. ‘Well – I suppose we’d better get down through that hole again.’

‘Wait!’ said Anne, her sharp eyes catching sight of something. ‘Look – what does all this mean?’

She shone her torch on to various signs on the wall.

Again there were arrows drawn in white chalk – but, very oddly, a line of them ran downwards across the wall of the little rocky room, right to the edge of the hole – and another line of arrows pointing the other way, ran horizontally across the wall!

‘Well – do you suppose that’s just meant to muddle people?’ said Dick, puzzled. ‘We know jolly well that the way out of this room is down that hole, because that’s the way we came into it.’

‘Perhaps the other line of arrows means that there’s a second way out,’ suggested George. They all looked round the little rocky room. There didn’t seem any way out at all.

‘Where’s Timmy?’ said Anne, suddenly, flashing her torch round. ‘He’s not here! Has he fallen down the hole? I never heard him yelp!’

At once there was a great to-do. ‘Timmy, Timmy, Timmy! TIMMY! Where are you?’

George whistled shrilly, and the noise echoed round and round the little room. Then, from somewhere, there was a bark. How relieved everyone was.

‘Where is he? Where did that bark come from?’ said Dick. ‘It didn’t sound as if it came from below, down that hole!’

There came another welcome bark, and the sound of Timmy’s feet. Then to everyone’s amazement, he appeared in the little rocky room as if by magic – appearing straight out of the wall, it seemed!

‘Timmy! Where were you? Where have you come from!’ cried George, and ran to see. She came to a standstill and exclaimed loudly.

‘Oh! What idiots we are! Why, just behind this big jutting-out piece of rock, there’s another passage!’

So there was! A very, very narrow one, it is true – and completely hidden from the children because of tlie enormous slab of rock that jutted out from the wall and hid it! They stood and stared at it, shining their torches on the narrow way. The arrows ran round the wall to it.

‘We never even looked properly!’ said Dick. ‘Still – it’s a passage that would be extremely dificult to spot – hidden round the corner of that rock – and very narrow at that. Well, I do know one thing for certain about that man called Paul!’

‘What?’ asked Anne.

‘He’s thin – thin as a rake!’ said Dick. ‘No one but a skinny fellow could squeeze through this opening! I doubt if you can, Julian – you’re the biggest of us.’

‘Well, what about trying’?’ said George. ‘What does everyone say? This might be an easier, shorter way out – or it might be a harder, longer one.’

‘It won’t be longer,’ said Harry. ‘By my reckoning we must be pretty well near the Camp now. It’s likely that the way leads straight there – though where it comes out I can’t imagine. Guy and I have explored the Camp pretty thoroughly.’

Dick suddenly thought of something he hid noticed at the Camp – the big hole behind the slab of stone, where he had seen the baby rabbit a day or two before! What had Guy said about that? He had said there was a great hole underground, which had been explored – but that it was probably just an ancient storage place for food or for loot! He turned eagerly to Harry.

‘Harry – would this lead to that enormous hole underground – the one that Guy once told me had been explored, but was of no interest – probably just an old store-place’?’

‘Let me see,’ said Harry. ‘Yes – yes, it might lead to that. Most of these underground ways are throughways – ways that lead from one place to another. They don’t as a rule stop suddenly, but have usually been of use as secret escape-routes or something of that kind. I think you may be right, Dick – we’re fairly near the Camp, I’m sure, and we may quite well find that if we go on, instead of going back, we shall come into the Camp itself – probably through that great hole!’

‘Then come on,’ said Julian. ‘It will certainly be a shorter way!’

They tried to squeeze through the narrow opening that led out of the little rocky room. Dick got through all right, and so did the others – but poor Julian found it very very dificult and almost gave up.

‘You shouldn’t eat so much,’ said Dick, unkindly. ‘Go on – one more try, Ju – I’ll haul on your arm at the same time!’

Julian got through, groaning. ‘I’m squashed flat!’ he said. ‘Now, if anyone makes any more jokes about too much breakfast, I’ll pull his nose!’

The passage grew wider immediately, and everyone was thankful. It ran fairly straight, and then went steeply downwards, so that the five slithered about, and Timmy found himself suddenly running. Then it came to a stop – a complete stop! This time it was not a blank wall of rock that faced them – it was something else.

‘A roof-fall!’ groaned Dick. ‘Look at that! Now we’re done!’

It certainly looked most formidable. Earth, rocks and stones had fallen from the roof and blocked up the whole passage-way. There was no use in going on – they would just have to turn and go back!

‘Blow it!’ said Dick, and kicked at the mass of earth. ‘Well – there’s no use staying here – we’d better turn back. My torch isn’t too good now, and neither is yours, George. We don’t want to lose any time – if our torches give out, we shall find things very difficult.’

They turned to go back, feeling very despondent. ‘Come on, Timmy!’ said George. But Timmy didn’t come. He stood beside the roof-fall, looking very puzzled, his ears cocked and his head on one side. Then he suddenly gave a sharp bark.

It made everyone jump almost out of their skins, for the sound echoed round and about in a very queer way.

‘Don’t, Timmy!’ said George, almost angrily. ‘Whatever’s the matter? Come along!’

But Timmy didn’t come. He began to paw at the pile of earth and rocks in front of him, and barked without stopping. Wuff-wuff-wuff-wuff-wuff-WUFF!

‘What’s up?’ said Julian, startled. ‘Timmy, what on earth’s the matter?’

Timmy took absolutely no notice, but went on feverishly scraping at the roof-fall, sending earth and stones flying all over the others.

‘There’s something he wants to get at – something behind this roof-fall,’ said Dick. ‘Or perhaps somebody – make him stop barking, George, and we’ll listen ourselves and see if we can hear anything.’

George silenced Timmy with difficulty, and made him stand quiet and still. Then they all listened intently – and a sound came at once to their ears.

‘Yap-yap-wuff-wuff-wuff!’

‘It’s Jet!’ yelled Harry, making everyone jump violently again. ‘Jet! Then Guy must be with him. He never leaves Guy! What’s Guy doing here? He may be hurt. GUY! GUY! Jet!’

Timmy began to bark wildly again and to scrape more furiously than ever. Julian shouted to the others above the barking.

‘If we can hear Jet barking, this roof-fall can’t be very big. We’d better try and get through it. Two of us can work in turn with Timmy. We can’t all work at once, the passage is too narrow.’

Then began some very hard work – but it didn’t last as long as Julian feared, because, quite suddenly, the mass of rubble and rock shifted as they worked, and a gap appeared at the top of the heap, between it and the roof.

Dick began to scramble up, but Julian called to him at once. ‘Be careful, ass! The roof can’t be too good here – it may come down again, and you’ll be buried. Go carefully!’

But before Dick could go any further, a little figure appeared on the top of the rubble above their heads, and slid down to them yapping loudly, and waving a long wiry tail!