Jack had begun to feel extremely hungry. So had the others, presumably, because Mr. Eppy changed the subject suddenly and began asking Jack where they had put the food they had got from the farm-boy. Jack remembered perfectly well where it was — inside the broken column, on the stone ledge at the base of it, where the stone stairway began — but how could he say that? It would give the secret away completely!
So he sat silent, shaking his head to Mr. Eppy’s exasperated questions, getting more and more hungry — and getting really rather anxious about the others too. Where in the world could they be? The sun was going down already, and soon it would be night.
And then Kiki began to talk excitedly. She left Jack and flew to the broken edge of the hole in the column. She peered down it. Jack bit his lip. Oh, Kiki, Kiki, don’t give the game away!
Kiki had heard the others coming. She had heard Bill’s deep voice, as he came up the spiral stairway, she had heard Lucy-Ann’s high voice, just behind. She had gone to welcome them.
“Kiki!” called Jack. “Come here.”
“Shut the door, shut the door, wipe your feet, beg your pardon!” shouted Kiki excitedly, her head inside the column. And then an answering call came from inside too.
“Hallo, Kiki, old bird! So there you are! Where’s Jack?” It was Bill’s cheery deep voice.
Mr. Eppy sprang to attention at once. He gave a short sharp order to his three men, and they ran to the column, waiting. Jack gave a yell.
“Look out, Bill! Danger! Look out!”
There was a silence from inside the column. Then Bill’s voice came up again.
“What’s up?”
“Mr. Epp . . .” began Jack, and was silenced as Mr. Eppy placed a heavy and very rough hand over his mouth.
Bill shouted again. “What’s up?” As he got no reply, he appeared at the hole in the column, and swung himself astride the edge. The men were at the other side, hidden, waiting to spring.
Bill saw Mr. Eppy apparently holding down Jack, and he leapt off the broken edge of the hole in the column at once. The three men sprang on him and bore him to the ground.
One sat on his head so that he could not shout. Jack squirmed under Mr. Eppy’s hand, kicking and trying to bite, but the man was very strong indeed.
Then up the column came Philip, wondering what had happened to Bill, and when he saw him being well and truly sat on he sprang to his rescue. Mr. Eppy shouted a few words and the men released Bill. He sat up at once, feeling his nose, and wondering if any of his teeth were loose!
“What on earth is all this?” he began. But before he could go on, a wail from inside the column came to him. It was Lucy-Ann.
“Bill! Oh, Bill! What’s happened? Can we come out?”
Bill considered. “I’m going to help the girls out,” he said to Mr. Eppy, who nodded, and very soon both girls, and a very scared Micky, were standing in the old courtyard with Philip, Jack and Bill.
“What’s happened?” said Lucy-Ann. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you, Jack. I was dreadfully worried about you. Gracious, there’s Lucian!”
“Oh, I say!” said Lucian, trying to put a brave face on things. “Fancy meeting you here!”
Mr. Eppy said something snappy in Greek and poor Lucian collapsed again. Then Mr. Eppy turned to Bill, who was now eyeing him with a very sinister look indeed. Bill was extremely angry, and his injured nose was swelling rapidly.
“Look here, Eppy, or whatever your name is,” he said, “you’re going to run into serious trouble. You can’t roam round with a posse of shady fellows like these, acting like gangsters. What are you doing here, anyway?”
“It’s my island,” said Mr. Eppy, with a note of triumph in his voice. “I’ve bought it. You can clear off — when I’ve found the way to the treasure with your help. Otherwise I shall have you arrested for trespassing and for trying to steal what is mine.”
“You’re mad,” said Bill, in scorn. “Absolutely crazy. I don’t believe a word of it! You only heard of the island a day or two ago — you haven’t had time to buy it. That’s a wonderful tale — but you won’t get me to believe it. Now, you keep your hands off all of us, and behave yourself — or you’re the one that’s going to land in prison and pretty quick too!”
Mr. Eppy gave an order — and Bill was pounced on again by the three men. He was down on the ground in no time, and one of the men was tying his wrists and ankles together. Bill was strong, but his strength was no use against the three. Mr. Eppy had Jack by the wrists so that he could not go to Bill’s help, and as soon as Philip ran to help, he was struck by one of the men and sent spinning. Lucy-Ann began to cry with fright.
Lucian did nothing. He was trembling in a corner. Kiki and Micky were high up in a tree, watching in amazement. What was all this to-do? Kiki swooped down and gave Mr. Eppy a nip on the ear again, and he nearly let Jack go, the pain was so sharp.
After Bill was tied up, the boys were tied too. “Don’t touch the girls,” threatened Bill. “If you do you’ll get more than you bargain for when we get out of here!”
It was no use. Dinah and Lucy-Ann were also tied, though not so tightly as the boys. Dinah was sulky and mutinous, and Lucy-Ann was very frightened.
“And now,” said Mr. Eppy, “now we go to find the Andra treasure. My treasure! You had only the plan — I have the island, and I shall soon own the treasure! Thank you for showing me the way down!”
He went inside the column, and the three men followed him. Lucian was beckoned over and made to go down just behind his uncle. He looked very frightened.
“Well!” said Bill. “Of all the scoundrels! Can we possibly get free whilst they’re down there? It’s our only chance!”
Chapter 24
PRISONERS!
EVERYONE waited till the last man had disappeared down the column. Then Bill spoke.
“Well, I’m blessed if I’ll ever look at a treasure map again, or listen to anything you kids have to tell me! It’s fatal. We plunge into trouble immediately. Jack — Philip — can you possibly loosen your ropes?”
“I’ve been trying,” said Philip, and Jack said the same. “Those beasts know how to tie knots all right. The rope is biting into my ankles like anything, and I can hardly move my hands.”
All of them had their hands tied behind their backs, and it was really impossible to get free. Bill rolled himself over and over to the girls. He was very sorry for poor Lucy-Ann. Dinah was tougher, more like a boy — but Lucy-Ann couldn’t help being scared.
“Lucy-Ann, don’t be upset,” said Bill, ending up just by her. “We’ll think of some wonderful way to get even with these rogues.”
“I hope they’ll get lost in the labyrinth,” said Jack fiercely, still struggling with the rope that tied his wrists.
“They probably will,” said Bill. “In any case they’ll be a long time gone. We must somehow get free before they come back.”
“The first thing I do when I get free is to hop inside the column and get some of the food we put down there,” said Jack. “That’s if the brutes have left us any! I bet they’ve taken most of it with them.”
Bill privately thought they probably would have taken it, but he didn’t say so. He gave up trying to loosen the rope round his wrists. It only made it cut into his flesh unbearably.
He looked round to see if there was a sharp stone he could perhaps rub his ropes on. He saw one and rolled over to it. But as his hands were behind his back he couldn’t see what he was doing, and cut his fingers on the stone till they bled. He gave it up.
Kiki was up in the tree, muttering to herself. All the shouting and struggling had frightened her. She cocked her head down at Jack and decided it was safe to go to him. She flew down and landed on his middle.
“Send for the doctor,” she said, her head on one side. “Send for the doctor, mistersir.”
“Good idea, Kiki,” said Jack, with an attempt at a grin. “Tell him to come quickly! Telephone him at once!”
Kiki at once gave an imitation of a telephone bell ringing. It sounded queer in that old ruined courtyard! Even Lucy-Ann gave a little laugh.