This was certainly a problem. The boys hailed the girls and helped them up on to the rock where Snowy stood. “Look,” said Jack, “here’s a good place to sleep in tonight. We can see quite well from here if Bill and David come — see what a good view we have from this rock — and we’d be safe from the wolves if we lighted a fire at the entrance to the cave.”
“Oh yes!” said Lucy-Ann, pleased. She went into the cave. She had to bend her head at the opening, but inside the roof grew higher. “It’s not really a cave!” she said. “It’s just a space under that big jutting-out rock — but it will do awfully well.”
They all sat down on the rock, wishing the sun would come out. Snowy lay down beside them and Kiki sat on Jack’s shoulder.
But suddenly she rose up into the air and screeched loudly. Snowy leapt up and stood looking downwards. What was the matter?
“Is it the wolves again?” asked Lucy-Ann in alarm. They listened. They could hear a noise of some animal or animals down below in the thick bushes, under the birch-trees.
“Get back into the cave,” said Jack to the girls. “And keep quiet.”
The two girls went silently back into the darkness of the cave. The boys listened and watched. What animal was it down there? It must be big, by the noise it made!
Chapter 12
WOLVES IN THE NIGHT!
SNOWY suddenly bleated loudly and took a flying leap off the rock before Philip could stop him. He disappeared into the bushes below — and then a loud and welcome sound filled the air.
“Ee-ore! Ee-ore! Ee-ore!”
“Goodness! It’s a donkey!” cried Jack, and scrambled down to see. “Have they come back? Is David with them?”
They soon found what they were looking for. Dapple the donkey was in the bushes, nuzzling Snowy, evidently full of delight at seeing him again. But there was no sign at all of the other donkeys or of David.
“Dapple! You darling!” said Lucy-Ann, running up to him in joy. “You’ve come back to us.”
“Come back to Snowy, you mean!” said Philip. “He was always fond of Snowy, weren’t you, Dapple? So you came back to find him. Well, we’re very very glad to see you, because you will solve a very knotty problem for us — how to get all our goods up to that cave!”
Dapple had come back to see Snowy, but he was also very pleased to see the children again. He was a quiet, stout little donkey, hard-working and patient. He kept close to the children, and had evidently made up his mind he was going to stay with them. Snowy was happy with him, and trotted by his side all the time.
“Here, Dapple!” called Philip. “Come and help us with these things, there’s a good fellow.”
Dapple stood obediently whilst the boys strapped things on to his back. He took all the bedding up to the cave first, scrambling up the steep bits with difficulty, but managing very well indeed. Then he took up the panniers of food.
“Thanks, Dapple,” said Jack, giving him a pat. “Now come and have a drink!”
They all went to the stream and drank and splashed. The sun had come out again and immediately it was very hot. The children flung off their coats and lay about basking.
“We must collect wood for the fire tonight,” said Jack. “We shall need a good lot if we’re going to keep the fire going all night long. We’ll stack it in the big panniers and get Dapple to take it up for us.”
“Good old Dapple!” said Dinah.
They collected as much wood as they could, and soon it was all piled up on the rock outside the cave. The boys made a fire but did not light it. There was no need to do that till night.
The day soon went, and the sun sank behind the mountains in a blaze of crimson. As soon as darkness fell on the mountainside, the children retired into the cave. The thought of wolves kept coming into their mind, and David’s scream of terror when he had seen something in the bushes. “Black, black, black!” What could he have seen?
The children hadn’t thought much of these things during the bright daylight, but they came back into their minds now it was dark. They debated whether or not to have Dapple in the cave with them.
But Dapple settled that idea by firmly refusing to go under the overhanging rock. He just stood outside stubbornly, his four legs set firmly on the ground, and no amount of pushing or pulling made the slightest difference. He was not going into that cave!
“All right, Dapple,” said Jack crossly. “Stay outside and be eaten by wolves if you want to!”
“Oh, don’t say things like that,” said Lucy-Ann. “Dapple, do come inside! Please!”
Dapple lay down firmly outside, and the children gave it up. There would be no difficulty about Snowy or Kiki. One would want to be with Philip, the other with Jack.
“Now we’ll light the fire,” said Jack, as stars began to glimmer in the sky. “It’s getting very dark. Got the matches, Philip?”
The fire soon burnt, for the twigs and branches were very dry. The cheerful flames leapt and flickered, and the fire crackled merrily.
“That’s very very nice,” said Lucy, pleased. “I feel safe, tucked away in this cave with a fire at the entrance. Philip, make Snowy go the other side of you. He’s sticking his hooves into me. I wish he’d wear bedroom slippers at night!”
Everybody laughed. They all felt safe and comfortable, tucked up in their sleeping-bags, with the fire lighting up the cave, filling it with jumping shadows. Snowy was pressed against Philip, Kiki was on Jack’s middle. Somewhere outside was Dapple. Lucy-Ann wished he was inside with them, then the whole family would be safe.
They all watched the flames for a while and then fell asleep. The fire flickered down as the wood was burnt up, and soon only the embers glowed.
Philip woke with a start a few hours later. He saw that the fire had died down, and he got out of his sleeping-bag to put on more wood. It would never do to let it go out!
Dapple was still outside, lying quietly. Philip saw him when the flames leapt up to burn the wood he piled on. The boy went back to his sleeping-bag. He found that Snowy had crept inside it while he was piling wood on the fire.
“You little scamp!” he whispered. “Get out. There’s not room for us both.”
There was quite a scuffle as he tried to pull Snowy out of the bag. Fortunately the others were so very sound asleep that they didn’t wake. Philip got Snowy out at last and slid in himself. He hastily laced up the neck of the bag before Snowy could try to squeeze in again. Snowy gave a sigh and lay down heavily right on Philip’s middle.
Philip lay awake, watching the fire. The wind sometimes blew the smoke towards the cave, and for a moment or two the smell made Philip want to cough.
Then he heard Dapple stir outside, and he got up on one elbow to see why. His heart began to beat very fast.
Silent dark figures were slinking up to the cave! They did not pass beyond the fire, but they did not seem to be afraid of it. Philip felt breathless, and his heart beat faster as if he had been running.
What were those figures? Were they the wolves? The boy caught sight of two gleaming eyes, shining like the headlights of a distant car — but green as grass! He sat up quietly.
The wolves were back! They had smelt out the little company. What would they do? They had not attacked Dapple, thank goodness — and the donkey did not seem to be unduly frightened. He was only moving uneasily.
The slinking figures moved to and fro behind the fire. Philip couldn’t think what in the world to do! He could only hope that the fire would frighten them enough to keep them out of the cave.
After a while all the animals disappeared. Philip breathed again! Gosh, what a horrible fright he had had! What a blessing they had thought of that fire! Philip made up his mind that he wasn’t going to sleep again that night, in case the fire went out. At all costs he must keep that up.
So the boy lay wide-eyed, thinking of wolves, rumblings, earthquakes and “black, black, black.” There was something queer about all these things. Did they fit together, or didn’t they? Was there something peculiar about this mountain?
The fire was dying down again. Philip got up cautiously to put more wood on. The moon was up now and he could see for miles. He piled wood on the fire and the flames shot up.