“But how can we find out what’s happened to him, whilst that fellow down there is guarding this place?” said Philip gloomily.
Everyone fell silent. It was a puzzler. Then Lucy-Ann brightened up. “I know,” she said. “There’s one certain way of making sure Pepi doesn’t see anyone creeping out of this cave.”
“What?” said Jack.
“Well, if one or two of us got behind the waterfall and capered about a bit to attract the man’s attention, he would be all eyes for them, and wouldn’t notice anyone creeping out of this cave,” said Lucy-Ann.
“There’s something in that,” said Jack, and Philip nodded. “Yes, quite a good idea. Well, there’s no time like the present. Shall we give a performance for dear Pepi now? You two girls could go and caper about, if you like — you are quite safe when you’re behind the waterfall, because nobody can possibly get at you there, unless they go the same way as you do. And Pepi certainly doesn’t know that way. Whilst you are attracting his attention, Philip and I will go off and see if we can see any sign of the prisoner.”
“Well, wait here till you see us behind the water,” said Dinah, and she got up. She and Lucy-Ann disappeared up the hole at the back of the cave. The boys waited patiently for them to appear behind the waterfall.
After some while Philip clutched Jack’s arm. “There they are! Good old Lucy-Ann, good old Dinah! They’re having a fine old game down there. What are they waving? Oh, they’ve taken off those red pullovers and they’re waving them like mad — doing a kind of dance.”
Pepi caught sight of them at once. He stared in surprise, and then stood up. He yelled and shouted and waved. The girls took no notice at all, but went on capering. Pepi began to try all kinds of ways to get to the waterfall.
“Now’s our chance,” said Jack. “Come on. His eyes will be glued on Lucy-Ann and Dinah for ages.”
They crept quickly out of the cave, swinging the fronds closely together behind them. They climbed up the rocks there and soon took cover so that they could not be seen. When the girls saw that they were safely out of the cave and could no longer be seen, they left the waterfall ledge and went back into the passage that led to the cave of echoes. They had done their bit.
The boys made their way cautiously over the rocks, keeping a good look-out for the others. When they were quite a long way from Pepi, they stopped to take counsel.
“Now — should we go back to that blocked-up cave, where apparently the treasure is, and see if we can find the prisoner fallen by the way — or shall we scout a bit in the other direction — back to the men’s hut, to see if by any chance they’ve taken him there?”
“Better go to the men’s hut,” said Philip, thinking. “I don’t think it’s very likely they’ve left him to die by the wayside. They might still want to get something out of him.”
So they made their way back to the men’s hut. How well they knew the way now! They saw the smoke of the fire long before they came near, and by that they knew the men were back.
There was no sign to be seen of the two men or of the prisoner. Cautiously the boys peered through the trees near the hut. The door of the hut was shut and presumably locked. Were the men inside?
“Hark, isn’t that the sound of the plane’s engines running?” asked Philip suddenly. “Yes, it is. Are those fellows going off again?”
They went to a place from which they could see the plane well by means of Jack’s field-glasses. The men were not going off — merely doing something to their plane. There was no sign of the prisoner being with them.
“Stay here, Philip, with my field-glasses and keep an eye on the plane and the men,” said Jack, pushing his glasses into Philip’s hand. “Come and tell me at once if they stop their work there and come towards the hut. I’m going to peep in at the hut window and see if the prisoner is there. I’m worried about him.”
“Right,” said Philip, and put the field-glasses to his eyes. Jack sped off. He soon came to the hut. He tried the door. Yes, it was locked all right. He crept round to the window and peeped in.
The prisoner was there. He was sitting in the chair, the picture of misery, his face in his hands. As Jack looked, he heard him groan deeply, and it was such a dreadful noise that the boy’s heart was wrung.
“If only I could get him out!” he thought. “No use breaking the window. It’s too small even for me to get in, and certainly that fellow couldn’t squeeze out. What can I do? I can’t break down the door. It’s jolly strong!”
He went all round the hut two or three times, but there was absolutely no way of getting in. He stood and stared at the door, hating it. Horrid strong thing!
And then he saw an unbelievable sight. There was a nail at one side of the door, and on it hung — a key! A large key! A key that surely must fit the door. Otherwise why should it be there? It must have been put there so that any of the men could go in and out at any time without waiting for the one who had the key.
With trembling fingers Jack took the key from the nail. He put it into the lock of the door. He turned it. It was stiff — but it turned all right.
The door swung open and Jack went in. The prisoner, hearing the door open, looked up. He stared in surprise at Jack. The boy grinned at him.
“I’ve come to set you free,” he said. “Like to come with me?”
The man did not seem to understand. He frowned a little and stared even harder at Jack.
“Spik slow,” he said. Jack repeated what he had said. Then the boy tapped himself on the chest and said, “I am your friend. Friend! Understand?”
The man evidently did understand that. A slow smile broke over his face. It was a nice face — a kindly, sad, trustable face, Jack thought. The boy held out his hand.
“Come with me,” he said.
The man shook his head. He pointed to his feet. They were bound tightly with rope, which the man obviously had not had the strength to untie. Jack whipped out his pocket-knife in a trice. He sawed through the thick strands and they fell apart. The man stood up unsteadily, looking as if he was about to fall. Jack steadied him, thinking that he would never be able to walk all the way to their cave. He seemed even weaker than before.
“Come on,” said the boy urgently. “We haven’t much time to lose.”
Jack put the cut pieces of rope into his pocket. He led the man to the door, put him outside, and then carefully locked the door again, hanging the key up on its nail. He grinned at the prisoner.
“Bit of a surprise for Juan and Luis to find you’ve apparently walked through a locked door,” said the boy. “I’d like to be here when they unlock the door and find you gone.”
Jack took the man’s arm and piloted him away into the cover of the nearby trees. The man walked very unsteadily. He gave a groan every now and again as if it hurt him to walk. Jack felt more and more certain that he would never be able to get to the cave.
He wondered what to do. Perhaps he could park the man in the old cowshed he and the others had found the first day they had arrived? He could put him in the last cow-stall, and then fetch him the next day, when he was a little more recovered. That would be the best thing.
“You stay here a minute,” said the boy, thinking he had better run to Philip, tell him what had happened, and get him to keep guard till he had got the man safely installed in the shed.
Philip was intensely surprised to hear what Jack had to tell him. He nodded and agreed to stay on guard till Jack came for him.
“The men seem to be overhauling the plane,” he said. “Looks as if they’ll be busy for some time.”
Jack helped the stumbling prisoner over to the cowshed. It took a long time to get there, because the man went so slowly.
Once there, he sank down in the stall and panted painfully. He was certainly an ill man. But there was no doctor for him — only Jack’s gentleness, which he seemed to be very grateful for.