“Gosh, yes! They must all have gone quickly behind this curtain of creepers,” said Jack. “And I thought they had vanished! Hold it up, Lucy-Ann. Let’s see the crack. I bet they went through that!”
All three passed easily behind the swinging curtain of creeper and bramble. They could slip through the crack without any trouble at all. Once through it they found themselves in an immensely high cave, very round, and with no roof that could be seen, though Jack flashed his torch up as far as he could manage.
“It’s like a hole in the mountain,” he said. “It goes up goodness knows how high!”
“Did the others come in here?” asked Dinah, staring upwards. “Where did they go then?”
“Can’t think,” said Jack, puzzled. “I say, look here — look what’s in the middle of the floor! I almost went into it!”
He flashed his torch onto the floor of the cave — but there was hardly any floor to be seen! Most of it was taken up by a silent black pool, whose surface had no wrinkle or ripple!
“It’s not a nice pool,” said Lucy-Ann, with a shudder.
“This is a most peculiar cave,” said Dinah. “No roof — no floor — only a deep pool! And no sign of where the others went yesterday.”
“There must be some way out,” said Jack, quite determined to search until he found it. He began to walk all round the cave, flashing his torch on it, inch by inch. But there was no opening anywhere, not even a tiny hole. The walls were absolutely solid.
“Well, there’s no passage leading out of this cave!” said Jack, giving it up. He glanced up to the roofless top of the cave. “The only way is up there! But there are no footholds to climb up — nothing! Nobody could possibly climb up these steep walls.”
“Well then — is there a way out through the pool?” said Dinah, half in fun.
Jack looked at the black pool. “No, I don’t see how that pool can possibly contain a way out of this cave. Still — it’s the only thing I haven’t examined. I’ll have a swim in it — or wade across!”
But it was too deep to wade. Jack took two steps and the water came over his knees. He stripped off his clothes and plunged in. Lucy-Ann didn’t like it much. She watched Jack anxiously as he swam across and back.
“Can’t feel the bottom at all,” said Jack, kicking out with his legs. “Must be awfully deep. A bottomless pool and a roofless cave — sounds queer, doesn’t it? I’m coming out now. The water’s icy cold.”
He found his footing almost at the edge of the pool, slipped and went in again. He reached out to grasp the edge, and his hand found something else. It felt like a small steering-wheel, a foot under the water!
Jack got out and dressed. He was shivering too much to do any more investigation till he had some clothes on. Then he knelt down by the edge of the pool and put his hand in to feel the curious wheel-like thing again.
“Hold my torch, Lucy-Ann,” he commanded. “There’s something queer here!”
Lucy-Ann held the torch in trembling fingers. What was Jack going to find? “It’s a little wheel,” he said. “Why is it here? Well, wheels are meant to turn, so I’ll turn it! Here goes!”
He turned it to the right. It ran easily. And then he jumped violently because both the girls screamed loudly and clutched him hard!
Chapter 16
INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN
“WHAT’S the matter?” shouted Jack, jumping up. “What’s happened!”
Lucy-Ann had dropped the torch in her fright. The light went out and they were in darkness. She clutched at Jack again and startled him.
“Something touched me!” she wept. “Something ran its fingers all down me. Oh, Jack, what was it?”
“Yes, and me too,” said Dinah, in a trembling voice. “I felt them. They touched my shoulder softly and then ran all the way down to my feet. What is it, Jack? There’s something here. Let’s get out.”
“Where’s the torch?” said Jack impatiently. “Oh, Lucy-Ann, I hope it isn’t broken. You idiot, dropping it like that.”
He groped about for it on the floor and found it. Luckily it hadn’t rolled into the pool. He shook it and the light came on. Everyone was very thankful.
“Now what touched you?” demanded Jack. “Nothing touched me!”
“I don’t know,” sobbed Lucy-Ann. “I want to get out of here, Jack. I’m frightened.”
Jack swung his torch round behind the girls. He saw something that made him cry out in surprise. The girls didn’t dare to look. They clung to him, trembling.
“See what touched you? A rope-ladder falling down just behind you!” laughed Jack. “Well, of all the babies! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!”
Dinah pulled herself together at once, and forced herself to laugh. “Well! Fancy that! I really did think it was somebody touching me. It felt just like it.”
“It must just have run down quietly behind you from somewhere up high,” said Jack, flashing his torch upwards, and following the ladder with the beam as far as he could. “Well, you made me jump all right when you yelled. I almost went head-first into the pool!”
“It happened when you turned that wheel down there,” said Lucy-Ann, still sniffing a little.
“Yes. A very clever little idea,” said Jack. “I must say this is a jolly well-hidden entrance to the mountain — better even than Ali Baba’s cave! First there’s the green curtain. Then just a crack in the rock. Then you come in and see nothing but a black pool and a roofless cave. Most people would just say, ‘How queer!’ and go out again!”
“Yes. They would never, never guess about the ladder that comes tumbling down when you turn the wheel hidden so cleverly in the water,” agreed Dinah. “Most ingenious, all of it. Somebody with brains lives in this mountain!”
“Yes,” said Jack thoughtfully. “Brains that work and produce minor earthquakes and crimson smoke, and plan for landing-grounds for helicopters on mountain-tops — and keep packs of Alsatians that would terrorise anyone roaming too near the mountain. Very remarkable brains! I wonder exactly what those brains are after!”
The girls stared at him in the dimly-lit cave, with the black pool glinting up at them. Jack sounded very serious. He felt serious too. There was something very strange about all this. Something very clever. Much too clever. What could be going on?
He stared up the ladder. He felt very much inclined to go up it. He longed to see what was inside this mountain — and he wanted to find Philip again too. Then a hollow voice made them all jump violently.
“Naughty boy! Pifflebunk!”
“It’s Kiki,” said Jack, relieved. “You wretched bird, you made me jump! What do you think of this cave, Kiki?”
“Pifflebunk,” repeated Kiki, and made a noise like a mowing-machine. It sounded terrible in that roofless cave. The noise seemed to go up and up endlessly. Kiki enjoyed the sound. She began all over again.
“Be quiet,” said Jack. “Goodness knows what will happen if your noises arrive at the top of this ladder, and somebody hears them!”
“You’re not going up, are you, Jack?” asked Lucy-Ann, afraid, as she saw Jack place a foot on the lowest rung of the rope-ladder.
“Yes. I’ll just go up to the top and see what’s there and come down again,” said Jack. “I don’t expect there’ll be anyone on guard, because nobody would ever dream of us guessing the secret of getting the ladder down. You two go out into the sunshine and wait for me.”
“No. We’re coming too,” said Lucy-Ann. They had lost Philip. She wasn’t going to lose Jack! So she and Dinah began to climb up behind him.
The ladder was well made and strong. It swung to and fro a little as the three of them climbed it. Up they went, and up and up. There seemed no end to it!
“I’m stopping for a rest,” whispered Jack. “You stop too. It’s frightfully tiring, this.”
They clung to the rungs and rested, panting a little with their long climb. Lucy-Ann didn’t like to think how far away the foot of the cave was. Nor did she like to think how far away the top of the ladder was!
They went on again. It was pitch dark, for Jack had put away his torch, needing both hands to climb with. Lucy-Ann began to feel that she was in a peculiarly horrid nightmare — one in which she would have to climb ladders in the dark until she awoke in the morning!
“I say — I can see a dim sort of light now,” whispered Jack. “I believe we must be coming to the top. Don’t make any noise.”