There was a natural parapet of rock near where the children were, that ran round the edge of the mountain. Jack got up and went to it. He sat on it and put his field-glasses to his eyes. If only he could spot Bill! And yet he was afraid that if Bill was anywhere below, the dogs might set on him and find him. He wondered where all the dogs were.
Then he sat up a little straighter on the parapet and focussed the glasses on a small spot on the slope on the mountain. He had seen a movement. Could it be Bill and David and the donkeys?
No, it wasn’t. It was the dogs! They had evidently already been let loose and were ranging the countryside. If Bill was anywhere about, they would soon find him! Blow! Then Bill would be captured too. Jack wished he knew some way of preventing this happening, but he couldn’t think of anything.
He wondered about poor old Dapple. Thank goodness they had tied him up so very loosely. He had plenty of range, and there was grass and water for him. But how the donkey would wonder what had happened to everyone!
Something touched Jack’s hand and he jumped and looked down. It was Snowy! The kid had found his way to them and was nuzzling Jack in a half-scared manner.
“Hallo, Snowy! Have you been looking for Philip?” said Jack, rubbing the kid’s soft nose. “He’s in that cave again. You can’t get to him.”
Snowy knew that very well. He had already been to bleat outside Philip’s door. He looked so dismal that Jack took him to the girls and they all made a fuss over him.
“What do you suppose has happened to Kiki?” asked Lucy-Ann after a time.
“Oh, she’ll turn up all right,” said Jack. “She knows how to take care of herself. Trust Kiki for that! She’s probably leading those two men a fine old dance, coughing and sneezing and cackling and making a noise like an express train screeching in a tunnel!”
Jack was perfectly right. Kiki had been playing a fine game with Meier and Erlick, and as they had no idea that the children had a parrot, they were two extremely puzzled men. A voice without a body to it — how very strange!
Nothing happened for some time. Then, when the sun was sinking, there came a clamour of howls and barks, and the pack of Alsatians was brought up to the top of the mountain by two of the Japanese. The children watched to see if Bill had been caught, but there was no sign of any prisoner with the dogs. They heaved a sigh of relief.
The dogs were taken to a big wire enclosure some way off from the children. “You be caleful of dogs,” said one of the Japanese to the children. “They much bitee. You be caleful!”
Chapter 22
THE HELICOPTER
THE children, however, were not in the least afraid of the dogs, for had they not all slept together with them some nights back? They did not tell this to the Japanese, of course. They waited till the men had disappeared and then they went over to the dogs.
But Philip was not there this time, and the dogs did not feel the same towards the girls and Jack as they had done towards Philip. They growled when Jack came near to them, and one showed his enormous white teeth. Lucy-Ann and Dinah shrank back.
“Oh! How terribly fierce they look! They’ve quite forgotten us. Jack, be careful.”
Jack was not afraid, but he was cautious when he saw that the dogs did not want to be friendly. They were strong, fierce creatures, disappointed in their hunting that day, hungry, and suspicious of Jack. Now, if he had been Philip how different their behaviour would have been! Philip’s magic touch with animals would have put everything right. He had an irresistible attraction for all live creatures.
“Come away from them,” said Lucy-Ann, when she heard the growling taken up by most of the pack. “They’re making a perfectly horrible noise — just like wolves would, I’m sure.”
They went back to their own part of tho mountain. “A corner for the dogs, a corner for us, a corner for the men!” said Jack. “Well — I wonder how long we’re going to be here!”
Nobody brought them anything to eat at all for the rest of that day. They thought it was a very lucky thing they had had such good meals in the king’s room! Jack wondered if they were supposed to lie on the bare rock to sleep. What brutes those men were, if they meant to keep them without rugs or food!
But just as it was getting dark three of the Japanese appeared. They carried rugs with them, which they threw down at the children’s feet. One had brought a pitcher of water and mugs.
“What about something to eat?” asked Jack.
“No blingee,” said one of the men. “Master say no blingee.”
“Your master no nicee,” Jack told him. “Your master plenty nasty.”
The man said nothing. He and the others went away, soft-footed as cats. The children curled up in their rugs, wondering how Philip was faring alone in his cave.
The next morning was unbelievably beautiful when the sun rose and lighted up the mountain-tops one by one. The three children sat on the parapet and watched. They all felt very hungry indeed. Snowy was with them. Kiki had still not appeared and Jack was getting a little worried about her.
Snowy leapt up on to the parapet beside Jack. There was a very steep drop from there, with a tiny ledge of rock jutting out some way below. Nobody could escape by climbing down, that was certain. He would just go slipping and sliding down the mountain and break all his limbs in no time.
Snowy stood there, his little ears pricked up as if he was listening. He suddenly bleated very loudly. And then, very muffled, hardly to be heard, a voice answered. Jack leapt up from the parapet. Was it Philip’s voice? Where was his cave then? Anywhere near where they were?
Lucy-Ann and Dinah joined Jack, seeing his sudden excitement. Then Snowy gave them a really terrible shock. He jumped right over the mountain-top, off his perch on the parapet of rock!
“Oh!” screamed Lucy-Ann. “He’ll be killed!”
She wouldn’t look to see what happened, but Dinah and Jack watched in horror. The little kid had leapt to the tiny ledge of rock jutting out some way below the parapet. He landed on it with all four tiny hooves close together! There was only just room for them — not half an inch to spare!
He stood balanced there, and then, when it looked as if surely he must topple off, he leapt to a small ledge lower down, slithered down a rough bit, and disappeared completely.
“Gracious goodness! What a thing to do!” said Dinah, taking a deep breath. “My heart almost stopped beating.”
“Is Snowy all right?” asked Lucy-Ann, still not daring to look.
“Apparently. Anyway he’s disappeared — and I should think he’s probably found the cave where Philip is,” said Jack. “All I hope is he won’t try to get back the same way — or he’ll certainly break his neck.”
But Snowy did get back the same way and appeared on the parapet about half an hour later, looking as frisky as a squirrel.
And round his neck was a note! It was tied there with string. Jack took it off quickly and opened it.
How are you getting on? I’m all right except that I’ve nothing to eat, and only water to drink. I believe those brutes are going to starve me out! Can you send Snowy with anything for me to eat when you get a meal?
Cheerio!
PHILIP.
At that moment the Japanese arrived with a meal for the children. It was all out of tins but there was plenty. With it was a loaf of fresh bread. Dinah said she thought perhaps the Japanese had an oven down in the pit somewhere to bake their bread.
They waited till the men had gone and then Jack debated how to send food to Philip. He made some sandwiches and wrapped them up firmly in the paper the Japanese had brought the bread in. He slipped a note inside the sandwiches to say they would send food by Snowy whenever they could. Then he tied the packet very firmly on to Snowy’s back. Snowy smelt it and tried to reach it but he couldn’t.
“Now you go to Philip again,” said Jack and patted the parapet to show Snowy that he wanted him up there. As soon as he was up Snowy remembered Philip and down he went again on his clever little feet, landing on first one tiny ledge and then another.