They went off in the night, Ronnie driving. Kiki was on Jack’s shoulder. She meant to be in everything, no matter what it was!
They came to Borken. The town was in utter darkness. ‘Park the van in the field where the camp was,’ said Jack, and guided them to it. ‘The castle is only just up the steep slope of the hill then.’
They parked the van behind a big bush. Then they made their way up the steep slope to the castle. ‘There’s the bell-tower,’ said Jack, as they came nearer. ‘Better go cautiously in case there are people on guard. The Count must know that we escaped by means of the bell-tower. We had to leave Toni’s wire rope behind, stretched from tower to tower.’
Nobody seemed to be about, however. But Jack suddenly saw lights in the castle windows high above them. They blazed out of half a dozen windows-something was going on in the castle in the middle of that night, it was certain!
‘We might be able to have a look in on that,’ said Bill, staring at the lights. ‘Must be some kind of a conference going on.’
‘There’s a hole in one of the walls of the conference room-at least, I think it must be a conference room,’ said Jack, suddenly excited. ‘I saw a round table, and chairs, and writing-pads and pencils all set out. If we could get up to that room, and look through the hole, we might see something interesting-and hear something too!’
‘We might,’ agreed Bill. ‘Come on-let’s get going. Into the bell-tower we go! Where’s that trapdoor you told us about?’
They were soon in the bell-tower. Jack searched about for the trapdoor. He found it, and Bill pulled it open. Down they went into the little cellar below. Bill pulled the trapdoor shut behind him.
‘Lead the way, Jack,’ he said, and flashed on an extremely powerful torch. With a jump Jack saw that both men now carried revolvers too. Gosh-this might be a serious business then!
‘This way,’ said Jack, and stepped over the junk in the underground hole. ‘Better be as quiet as we can. Now-through here!’
Chapter 28
TO BORKEN CASTLE AGAIN!
JACK clambered through the round hole at the other end of the little cellar. He was now in the very narrow, low-roofed passage he remembered so well, because he had had to walk through it with his head well bent. He led Bill and Ronnie up the steeply sloping way, lit by Bill’s powerful torch.
Jack stopped when they came to the top of the long, sloping passage. ‘We’re very near the room where the spy-hole is,’ he whispered. ‘If there is a conference being held-or some sort of meeting-we’ll be able to look through the hole at it-or you will, Bill, because as far as I know there’s only one hole.’
‘Let me know when we come to it,’ whispered Bill, and they went on again. In a short while Jack saw a little beam of light coming from the side of the right-hand wall-that must be the spy-hole!
He whispered to Bill. Bill saw the beam of light and nodded. There was not room for him to get in front of Jack, so the boy went on past the little spy-hole, and let Bill stand by it behind him. Ronnie was by Bill, quite silent. Kiki had been tapped on the beak, so she knew she was to be quiet too.
Bill glued his eye to the spy-hole. He saw the same room that Jack had seen-a room with a round table, chairs pulled up to it, and writing materials on the table.
But now there were lights blazing in the room-and every chair at the table was filled. At the top sat Count Paritolen. Beside him sat his sister, Madame Tatiosa. On his other side sat someone else, whom Bill knew from photographs-the Prime Minister, husband of Madame Tatiosa. He looked ill-at-ease and grave. Men in military uniform were also round the table.
At the bottom of the table stood a tall man, with a great likeness to Gussy-his uncle, the King! Bill heaved a sigh of relief. So he hadn’t been killed. Well, that was one good thing at any rate. If only he could be got away, things could be put right very quickly, and civil war would be avoided.
Bill strained his ears to hear what was going on. He could not hear very well, behind the wooden panelling, but he heard enough to know what was happening.
The King was being urged to abdicate-to leave his throne, go into retirement, and let Gussy-the Prince Aloysius-rule in his stead.
‘If you will not sign this document of abdication, then it will be the worse for you,’ finished Count Paritolen. ‘You will, I fear, not be heard of again.’
Bill followed this with difficulty, for he did not speak Tauri-Hessian well. He had, in fact, only tried to learn it when he knew he might have to go to the country. But he had no doubt that that was what the Count was saying.
The Prime Minister said something in protest, but the Count would not listen. Madame Tatiosa made a short, angry speech and sat down. The King bowed, and then spoke in such a low voice that Bill couldn’t hear a word.
‘Very well,’ said the Count. ‘You may have tonight to make up your mind-tonight only. We will adjourn this meeting.’
He stood up and so did everyone else. The Count went out with his sister and the Prime Minister. The King followed, closely hemmed in by four men. He looked sad and worried.
The lights in the conference room dimmed, and there was silence. Bill turned to Ronnie and repeated rapidly what he had seen and what he thought had happened.
‘As far as I can make out the King’s got tonight to think things over. If he says no, he won’t give up the throne, that’s the end of him. I think he will say no.’
There was a silence behind the wooden panelling for a moment or two. Bill debated with himself. Could he get back to the capital of Tauri-Hessia, tell what he had seen, and bring men to rescue the King?
No-there wouldn’t be time-the capital town was too far off. There was only one sure thing to do-and that was to see if he himself could get the King away.
He whispered this to Jack. The boy nodded. ‘Yes. If only we knew where he was going to be tonight! He won’t be put into the tower-room, I’m sure. They’d be afraid he’d escape too, like Gussie. Let’s go to the ball room, where that moving picture hangs-we might be able to shove it aside and get into the room.’
He led the way again-up some very steep steps, up and up. Then round a sharp corner and into a narrow, dark passage running just inside the walls of the rooms, but a little below the level of the floor. Then came a small flight of steps, and Jack paused.
‘These are the steps that lead up to that picture,’ he whispered. ‘You must see if you can find out how to move it away from the hole, Bill-it slides right away from it, keeping level with the wall.’
Bill and Ronnie began to feel about all over the place. Bill suddenly found a knob. Ah-this must be it! A pull at this might set the mechanism working that moved the picture away, and left a hole in its place.
He listened carefully. No noise came from the room within. Well-he’d have to risk it, anyhow. Bill pulled the knob.
Nothing happened. He twisted it. Still nothing happened. Then he pushed it-and it gave beneath his hand.
Then came a slight scraping noise, and it seemed to Bill as if part of the wall was disappearing! But it was only the picture moving to one side, leaving a hole almost as large as itself-the secret entrance to the ballroom!
There was very little light in the big room-merely a dim glow from a lamp whose wick had been turned down. Bill peered out.
‘No one here,’ he whispered to the others. ‘We’ll get into the room while we can.’
He climbed out of the hole and jumped lightly to the floor. The others followed. Their rubber shoes made no sound.
‘We’d better just go and see if the King has been put into the tower-room,’ whispered Jack. ‘I’ll go. I know the way. You stay here-behind these curtains.’
He sped into the anteroom, and saw the spiral stairway. He stopped and listened. No sound anywhere. He ran up the steps quietly and came to the little landing. He flashed his torch on the door that led into the room where Philip and the others had been imprisoned.
It was wide open! The room beyond was dark, too, so it was plain that the King was not imprisoned there. Jack went down again.