“Jack!” she called. “JACK! Are you coming?”
“Better go back for him,” said Bill, puzzled. “I hope to goodness he hasn’t missed the way. He knew we had to turn to the right each time.”
They went back for some way — and then Bill stopped. “I suppose we’re right?” he said. “I don’t somehow remember this passage — it’s got such a very very low roof. I’ve just bumped my head against it, and I certainly didn’t do that coming along!”
“Oh dear — surely we haven’t missed our way — it seemed so easy — turn to the left each time going back,” groaned Dinah. “It must be right, Bill.”
Bill was uneasy. He certainly didn’t remember this low-roofed passage. He made up his mind. “We’ll go back,” he said. “I think we missed the last left-turn somehow.”
So they went back — but soon they came to a dead stop! The passage grew narrower and narrower, and at last nobody could squeeze through. That couldn’t be right, either!
“Wrong again,” said Bill, much more cheerfully than he felt. Secretly he was scared and horrified. How big was this labyrinth? How far did it go into the hill? On the map it looked a short route — but by the labyrinth itself might spread for miles, intersected by mazes of passages, criss-crossing, wandering round and round.
“It’s a real maze,” thought Bill. “And probably there are only one or two direct routes across it — and we’ve missed the one we ought to have taken. Goodness knows how long we’ll be wandering about here!”
“I wonder where Jack is,” said Lucy-Ann anxiously, as they wound in and out of the curious passages of the labyrinth. “I do hope he’s all right.”
Where was Jack? He had gone back to get Kiki, and had heard her talking mournfully to herself in the temple vault, perched on the spiral stone stairway that led up to the broken column. He called her.
“Kiki! What are you doing there? Why didn’t you come with us, idiot? Now I’ve had to come all the way back for you!”
Kiki was tired of being underground. She wanted to go up into the sunshine. Also she wanted a drink, and there seemed to be no water below the ground.
“Kiki! Come along! I want to get back to the others,” called Jack.
“Send for the doctor,” said Kiki, preening her wings. “Polly’s got a cold, send for the doctor.”
“Don’t be so tiresome,” said Jack, exasperated, and he went over to where Kiki sat. She flew up a few steps and cocked her head at Jack. He could see her plainly in the light of his lantern, and he was cross.
“You’re behaving very badly,” he scolded her. “Come down and sit on my shoulder, bad bird.”
“Naughty Polly, send for the doctor,” said Kiki, who seemed to have got the doctor on her brain. She flew up a few more steps. Jack had to follow. Blow Kiki! She would behave like this just when he wanted to catch up with the others.
He reached the parrot and she flew higher again. Finally she disappeared.
Jack yelled up the stone steps angrily. “You wait till I get you, you bad bird! Playing me up like this! For the last time, come down!”
A mocking voice floated down to him. “Wipe your feet, don’t sniff, pop goes the doctor!”
That was really too much for poor Jack! He climbed the spiral stone stairs as fast as he could, finding it very difficult indeed at the top, where they came up at the bottom of the broken column. At last he stood inside the column. He could see very well now, for the sun shone in through the hole in the stone. Kiki was sitting on the broken edge of the hole, preening herself in the sun. She kept a look-out for Jack, knowing he was very cross.
“Oh, I say!” she said loudly. “Oh, I say!” She flew off the edge of the hole and disappeared from Jack’s view. He could still hear her calling out, though. “Oh, I say! Oh, I say!”
Saying all kinds of rude things about Kiki under his breath, Jack found a rough foothold in the inside of the column, and heaved himself up to the hole. He swung himself through the hole and jumped down into the sunshine, looking round for Kiki.
There she sat, not far off, in a tree of some kind, peering down the hill. “Oh, I say!” she cried, in a shrill voice, and then went off into a cackle of laughter.
Jack ran to the tree angrily — and then he stopped. Someone was coming up the hill — someone quite familiar — astonishingly familiar! Someone with teeth that stuck out in front, and with a chin that was hardly there at all!
“Lucian!” said Jack, too much astonished to move. And Lucian it was. No wonder Kiki had suddenly gone off into a stream of “Oh, I say’s!” Lucian stopped and stared at Jack as if he really couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Oh, I say!” he said. “Oh, I SAY.”
“Hallo,” said Jack feebly, and grinned. “Er — what in the world are you doing here?”
“Well, I might say the same to you,” said Lucian. “Of all the extraordinary things! Well, I never! I can’t believe it!”
“How long have you been here?” asked Jack. “Why are you here?”
“I only came today,” said Lucian. “My uncle’s here, you see — goodness knows why! I don’t know when he came exactly. Anyway, he got here and then sent for another motor-boat to come to him here on Thamis, bringing some men he wanted, and some goods — and I thought I’d come along too. The Viking Star is held up, as you know, and I was bored stiff. I suppose my uncle’s going to get some antiques here or something.”
Jack digested all this in silence. Oho! So Mr. Eppy was there too, was he? He was hot on the track after all. Jack thought quickly. What a pity he had met Lucian! Now the boy would tell Mr. Eppy.
“Jack, what are yon doing here? You really must tell me!” said Lucian insistently. “It’s too extraordinary. And Kiki too! Where are the others?”
“Why should they be here?” said Jack. He didn’t want to tell Lucian about them — or where they were — or how to get to them. That would never do. He thought hard, but he couldn’t make any plan that seemed good — except that if he could get rid of Lucian he would pop down the broken column, get down the spiral stairway to the vaults — and warn Bill.’Bill would know what to do.
How could he get rid of Lucian? Lucian wasn’t likely to let him out of his sight at all. And blow, blow, blow — there was Mr. Eppy coming up the hillside now, with three other men!
Mr. Eppy was too surprised to speak, when he suddenly caught sight of Jack and Kiki. He stopped dead and stared through his dark glasses. He took them off, rubbed them, and was about to put them on again when Lucian went off into one of his silly fits of giggling.
“Oh dear! Oh, I say! You can’t believe your eyes, can you, Uncle! Nor could I. But it really is Jack — and Kiki the parrot too.”
For one wild moment Jack wondered if he should run for it — run from the surprised men, and hide somewhere, till he could manage to get back to Bill and warn him.
But there was no time. At a word from Mr. Eppy the three men with him ran up and stationed themselves behind Jack. Then Mr. Eppy came up, and stood in front of him.
“And what exactly are you doing here?” he said, in such a peculiar, menacing tone that Jack was astonished and scared. “Where are the others?”
“We came to explore a bit,” said Jack, at last. “That’s all. Anyone can come and explore these islands. The Viking Star’s engines broke down, and the passengers were told they could hire motor-boats and cruise among these islands.”
“Why did you come to this one?” asked Mr. Eppy, still in a fierce voice. Lucian answered unexpectedly for him.
“Oh, Uncle! I expect he came hunting for the treasure you told me about.”
“Hold your tongue, idiot of a boy,” said Mr. Eppy, almost spitting at poor Lucian. “And now you” — he turned to Jack again, “how dare you come trespassing on my island!”
“It isn’t yours,” said Jack.
“It is. I have just bought it!” said Mr. Eppy. “Ah — you didn’t know that — but you know why!”
Chapter 22
MR. EPPY AGAIN
YES, Jack did know why Mr. Eppy had bought the island. He stared at the man miserably, his heart sinking. If the island was Mr. Eppy’s, then the treasure would be his too. Once again it looked as if the adventure had come to a sudden end.