Swallows flew round them once again, not attracted by the food, but by the flies that pestered the donkeys. The children could hear the snapping of their beaks as they caught the flies. “We ought to get Jack to tame a few swallows and take them with us to catch the flies,” said Lucy-Ann, slapping at a big one on her leg. “Horrid things! I’ve been bitten by something already. You wouldn’t think there’d be any as high up as this, would you?”
Sally the slow-worm came out to eat the fly that Lucy-Ann had killed. She was getting much too tame for Dinah’s liking. She lay in the sun, gleaming like silver, and then slid under Philip as Snowy came up enquiringly.
“Keep your nose out of things,” said Philip, pushing the kid away as it tried to nose under him to find the slow-worm. Snowy butted him hard and then tried to get on his lap.
“Too hot, too hot,” said Philip. “Why did we ever bring a little pest like you, Snowy? You breathed down my neck all night!”
Lucy-Ann giggled. She loved Snowy. They all did. The kid was mischievous, given to butting, and didn’t mind treading on anyone — but he was so lively, so full of spring and bounce, so affectionate that it was impossible to be cross with him for long.
“Come on,” said Philip at last. “David’s clearing his throat as if he’s going to tell us we’re too lazy for words.”
David had a habit of clearing his throat about a dozen times before he spoke. It was a nervous habit which Kiki copied to perfection. She would sit near him, and make a noise as if she was clearing her throat every time he did the same thing. Then she would go off into a cackle of laughter. David was rather scared of her.
They travelled well that second day, and went a long way. When the time came to camp again, David looked earnestly over the mountains as if he was searching for something.
“Lost your handkerchief, old chap?” said Jack, and everyone laughed. David looked solemnly at him, not understanding. Then he suddenly began to flap his arms like wings, and to say a few words in Welsh.
He looked comical standing there, flapping like that. The children had to turn away, trying not to laugh. “He says tomorrow we shall see the butterfly valley,” said Jack. “Good! It ought to be a real sight, if it’s anything like I imagine it to be!”
They had a meal and prepared to camp out again. The evening was not so fine as the day. It had clouded over and there was no sunset to watch, and no stars to come gleaming out, one by one.
“If it rains, you’ll get wet, David,” said Jack. David shrugged his shoulders and said something in his singsong voice, then wrapped himself in his rug on the bare ground.
“It won’t rain,” said Philip, looking at the sky. “But it’s much colder. Brrrrr! I’ll be glad of my sleeping-bag tonight.”
“Good night!” called the girls. “Sleep well.”
“Good night! It will be a lovely day again tomorrow! You just see!” called back Philip, who thought himself a good weather forecaster.
But he was wrong. When they awoke the next morning, they looked out on a completely different world!
Chapter 9
A DIFFERENT WORLD
LUCY-ANN awoke first. She was cold. She snuggled down into her sleeping-bag, and then opened her eyes. She stared out of the open tent-flap, expecting to see the green mountainside, and the distant mountains towering up into the sky.
But they weren’t there! Instead, a white mist swirled past the tent-flap, some of it putting thin cold fingers into the tent itself.
There was nothing to see at all except the mist. The mountains had gone, the trees by the camp were blotted out, even the donkeys couldn’t be seen.
“What’s happened?” said Lucy-Ann, astonished. “Golly! It’s a thick mist come up!”
She awoke Dinah and the girls peered out in dismay at the misty mountainside. Now and again a tiny bit of view could be seen as the mist thinned a little — but it grew thick again at once.
“It’s a cloud,” said Dinah. “You know how we see clouds resting on mountain-tops — well, this is one. It’s resting on us! It’s like a thick fog we can’t see through. Blow!”
The boys woke up then and the girls could hear their dismayed voices. They called to them.
“Jack! Philip! Isn’t this sickening! We can’t see a thing!”
“It may clear when we’ve had breakfast,” said Philip cheerfully, appearing out of the mist with Snowy at his heels. “Gosh, it’s chilly! I’m going to put on a warm jersey.”
David also appeared, looking very doleful. He swung his arm out towards the valley and poured out a torrent of Welsh.
“He’s quite excited about it, isn’t he?” said Jack. “I wish I could follow him when he talks like that. I just don’t understand a word.”
They decided to have breakfast in one of the tents because the mist made everything damp and chilly. David preferred to stay outside. Dinah didn’t want to come into the tent because of Sally, and only agreed to if she were allowed to sit in the doorway, ready to escape if the slow-worm appeared.
It was not so cheerful a meal as usual. The children missed the magnificent view they had been used to, and were afraid that David wouldn’t take them on their way that day. But the mist cleared a little in an hour’s time, and David seemed quite willing to go.
They loaded up the donkeys, mounted and set off down the track. They could see some way ahead of them now, for the sun was rising higher, and trying to dissolve the mist with its heat.
“It’ll be all right,” said Jack. “I almost caught sight of the sun then!”
But the mist came down again and it was only just possible to see the donkey in front.
“I feel as if I ought to hold your donkey’s tail, in case you disappear in the mist!” shouted Jack to Dinah. “You know — like elephants do in circuses when they come into the ring all holding on to one another’s tails!”
The mist thickened very much, and the little company stopped to discuss what to do. It was difficult to get anything intelligible out of David, who seemed suddenly to have forgotten any English words he knew.
Jack flapped his arms, raised his eyebrows and pointed in front of him, meaning to ask if they were near the butterfly valley. David understood, but he hesitated.
“I hope he hasn’t lost the way,” said Jack to Philip. “He seemed sure enough of the direction yesterday — now he doesn’t seem very certain. Blow!”
“Well, we can’t stop here,” said Dinah, shivering in the clammy mist. “There’s no shelter and it’s jolly cold. Oh for the sun again!”
“Go on!” said Jack to David. “It’s the only thing to do till we find some kind of shelter. It’s too cold to hang about till the mist has gone. If we go the wrong way we can turn back and go right when the mist disappears.”
So they went on, following David’s donkey through the wet mist. Kiki was very silent. She didn’t understand the mist and was afraid of it. Snowy kept close to Philip’s donkey, and was not nearly so full of spring and liveliness. Everyone disliked the mist thoroughly.
“When we find a sheltered place we’ll stop for lunch.” said Philip. “I’m sure we’re all getting frightfully hungry now, but we seem to be on quite a bare bit of mountainside, hopeless to picnic in. We’d all be down with colds tomorrow!”
They ambled on, nose to tail, pulling their jerseys close, glad of their coats too. Jack began to look rather worried. He stopped his donkey and went to walk beside Philip’s.
“What’s up?” said Philip, seeing Jack’s serious face.
“We’ve left the track,” said Jack. “Haven’t you noticed? We’ve followed some kind of track up till an hour or two back — but now I’m pretty certain we’ve lost it. Goodness knows where David’s heading for. I doubt if he’s even noticed we’re not on any track at all.”
Philip whistled. “Don’t let the girls hear you. They’ll be scared. Yes, you’re right. There’s not the vestige of a track here. David’s lost the way.”
“Better ask him,” said Jack and rode to the front of the line. “Is this the right way?” he asked David slowly, so as to be understood. “Where is the track?” He pointed downwards to the ground.
David was looking solemn too. He shrugged his shoulders and said something in his sing-song voice. Jack rode back to Philip.
“I think he knows he’s off the track, but he’s hoping to pick it up further on. Anyway he doesn’t seem inclined to stop or go back.”