Bill was very worried. He stood and thought for a moment, trying in vain to get a sense of direction. It was so difficult underground! He set off again, and soon came to a fork.
“Well,” he said, “I vote we go right here. It may be one of the places where we’re supposed to go right. So we’ll hope for the best! Come on!”
They trailed after him, Lucy-Ann getting very weary of it all. They reached another fork, and turned right once more. Then they came to where the passages branched into four ways. Again they took the right-hand fork. Bill was feeling a little more cheerful. Perhaps they were on the right road now. They no longer came to blind ends and had to turn back as they had been doing before. Ah — here was another fork. Well, to the right again!
The passage ended abruptly in a downward flight of steep steps. Bill swung the lantern up high and peered down the steps.
“We’ve come the right way at last!” he said. “These must be the catacombs — underground caves and passages all joined together that were once used as hiding-places, burial-places and goodness knows what!”
“Oh, Bill — have we really come right?” said Lucy-Ann, in joy. “I thought we were lost for ever and ever! Do we go down the steps?”
“We do,” said Bill. “I’ll go first. Come on.”
Down he went and the others followed carefully. There were about thirty steps, and it seemed to the children as if they really were going down into the bowels of the earth. At the end was a queer place, stretching out into the darkness. Lining its walls were stone shelves, rocky niches, hollowed-out places that looked as if they had been used for storing things in, or for people to hide in and sleep.
They came to a hole in the floor of this queer place. Bill shone his torch down it. It was a shaft leading downwards, and there were footholds in the rock. “I’m going down,” said Bill. “I’ve got a hunch this is the place!”
He disappeared down the shaft with his torch. And soon his voice came back, excited and loud.
“This is it! This is the treasure-chamber — the TREASURE’S STILL HERE!”
Chapter 23
TREASURE — AND TRICKERY!
THE three children and Micky almost fell down the shaft, they were in such a hurry. They handed Bill the lantern, and, by the light of that and of Bill’s torch, they looked in wonder round the curious treasure-chamber.
It was perfectly round, as if it had been hollowed by machinery from the rock — though actually, of course, it had been done by hand. Thrown higgledy-piggledy into this enormous round cave — perhaps flung down the shaft in a hurry — were mouldering barrels and boxes and brass-bound chests.
Bursting out of them was a perfect medley of strange and amazing goods — chains of some kind of metal, set with precious stone — brooches, armlets, anklets — combs for the hair made probably of gold, and set with tiny stones — beautiful vases of metal, perhaps gold, perhaps brass, but too tarnished to tell. Beautifully wrought daggers lay in one corner, and what looked like armour of some kind in another — all fallen from the mouldered chests and boxes, or possibly burst out of these when they were thrown down the shaft so long long ago.
There were broken models of figures and things that looked like drinking-cups and bowls, and yet other things whose use the children simply couldn’t guess.
“Well, well, well,” said Bill, as thrilled as the children. “What a treasure hoard! Andra’s treasure, maybe — we shall never really know. But whether it is or not, it is certainly worth half a small kingdom, because of its priceless age! Look at this dagger — it must be hundreds of years old — perfectly preserved down in this dry shaft. I should think only our museums can show things like this now.”
“Bill! It’s super!” said Philip, his eyes shining in the lantern-light, as he picked up treasure after treasure, everything beautifully modelled and carved.
“I suppose the things like robes and cloaks and shoes have all mouldered away,” said Dinah regretfully. “I’d like to have dressed up in those. Oh, Bill — we’ve really found it!”
“I wish Jack was here,” said Lucy-Ann, with tears in her voice. “He would have loved it so. Where can he be, Bill?”
“I should think he probably took a long time finding Kiki and decided he wouldn’t risk coming after us by himself,” said Bill. “I’ll tell you what we’ll do — we’ll go back and find him, and then we’ll take him here to have a look at the greatest treasure in the world!”
“But shall we be able to find our way back?” said Philip doubtfully. Bill was very doubtful about this too. Also his torch was giving out and he was sure the oil in the lantern wouldn’t last much longer. It was very necessary to find their way back, pick up Jack, and also — have something to eat! Excitement had kept them going, but now all of them were feeling very hungry indeed.
“If we manage to get back quickly and find Jack we’ll all have a meal,” said Bill. “Then if Jack’s lantern is all right we’ll use that to come here again — but this time we’ll be sensible and mark the walls as we go along! Actually I think we could find our way here easily enough if we concentrated on going right, right, right, all the time. We must have missed one of the right turns.”
They climbed back up the shaft, leaving the extraordinary hiding-place behind them — what a strange treasure-chamber! How old was it? Had anyone else seen it since it had been put there?
They found themselves in the catacombs again. It was easy to get back to the steep flight of steps. Up they went into the labyrinth, and began to make their way through the passages. “Now we must keep left, left, left,” said Bill. “Then we shall be quite all right.”
But no — once more they missed their way and began the everlasting wandering round and round and in and out of the maddening underground maze. Lucy-Ann was almost crying with weariness.
All this time Micky had been quietly on Philip’s shoulder, clinging to his head at awkward places. He too was tired of the curious dark walk that everyone was taking. He wanted to be out in the open, he wanted something to eat and even more he wanted something to drink.
He suddenly leapt off Philip’s shoulder and landed on the floor of the passage. He began to scud along by himself. Philip called out to him.
“Hey, Micky, Micky! Come here! We don’t want to lose you too!”
Micky slowed down, but he still went on. Bill called to Philip. “Leave him, Philip! I believe he knows the way out. Animals have a queer sense of direction, you know — a kind of homing instinct. Maybe he can take us straight to the broken column!”
Micky didn’t know what Bill was saying, but if he had known he would most certainly have agreed. Of course he knew the way! Of course his instinct told him exactly the right way to go — left, left, left, without any silly mistake such as the humans had made. Why, he, Micky could have taken them straight back to the vaults at any time if only they had told him they wanted to go!
“Well, here we are in the vault again!” said Philip thankfully, when, in a very short space of time indeed, they came out in the enormous temple vault. Lucy-Ann was so thankful that she began to cry very quietly to herself. Nobody could see. She wiped away a few tears, then stopped her crying, feeling rather ashamed. She slipped her hand into Bill’s. He squeezed it comfortingly.
“We’re all right now,” he said. “We’ve found the treasure, and found our way back — now we’ll find Jack! As we haven’t heard or seen anything of him I imagine he’s out in the open, waiting for us!”
Jack was still in the courtyard with Mr. Eppy, Lucian and the three men. It was some time later, and the boy had not been having a nice time at all. Mr. Eppy had been on and on at him, trying to find out where the others were, and whether Jack knew the route to the treasure.
He had threatened Jack, had boxed his ears several times, and had boxed Lucian’s too, when he had tried to come to Jack’s help. Jack had been surprised at Lucian for that. He had always thought him such a silly little idiot. He looked at Lucian gratefully.
“Thanks, Lucian,” he said. “But don’t interfere, old chap — you’ll only get hurt. I can look after myself. Your uncle will get into trouble for ill-treating me, don’t you worry!”