“We have nothing to be afraid of,” said the old man in a dignified manner. “They will not hurt us.”
“You have plenty to be afraid of,” said Jack desperately. “Do come and hide!”
But they wouldn’t. Jack could not waste any more time in arguing, because he wanted to get the girls to safety. He hurried them off.
“In the cave of stalactites?” asked Dinah. Jack nodded. But when he came to the cave of silent statues, he paused. Wouldn’t this be a better place? Suppose they all stood at the back, in the dim shadows, and posed like statues? Would anyone notice them? It was worth trying.
“Take shawls off some of the figures,” said the boy. “Wrap them round you. Stand quite still right at the back there.”
It didn’t take long to drape themselves and stand right at the back. “Do you remember that game called statues that we used to play?” whispered Lucy-Ann. “You had to stand quite still, or you were caught. I feel like that now.”
“Well, be sure you stand still or you will be caught,” said Jack. “Sh! Isn’t that somebody?”
“Shhhhhh!” said Kiki at once. Jack smacked her on her beak.
“Be quiet! Do you want to give us away, silly bird?”
Kiki opened her beak to squawk and then thought better of it. She flew off somewhere and disappeared. Jack was quite glad to see her go, for he didn’t want her chattering and attracting attention to them.
A noise came from the tunnel beyond. Somebody was already there. It must be Juan.
“He’s already gone through the cave of stalactites and the cave of stars,” whispered Philip. “Now he’s in the tunnel leading here. He’ll be at the door in a minute. Pity we didn’t shut it. He might not have guessed how to twist that iron stud to get it open.”
The door was almost closed, but not shut. As the children watched it, in the dim greenish glow of the cave, they saw it slowly pushed open. Then the gleaming barrel of a revolver came round it. Juan was evidently taking no chances.
Lucy-Ann gulped. Oh dear! She hoped the gun wouldn’t go off. She didn’t like guns at all.
The door was opened wide and Juan stood there, revolver in hand. He gasped when he saw the silent figures standing about, their curious eyes gleaming.
“Put your hands up!” said Juan sharply, to the statues. The statues did nothing of the sort. Juan’s hand trembled. The children guessed he was feeling as panicky as they had felt when they too had first seen the strange silent company.
“Wipe your feet!” ordered a sharp voice, and the children jumped violently. It was Kiki. She was sitting just above Juan, on a ledge of rock.
“Who’s there?” shouted Juan. “I tell you I’ll shoot if anyone moves.”
The statues didn’t move — not even the four live ones.
“Who’s there?” called Juan again.
“Three blind mice,” answered Kiki, and went off into a terrible cackle of laughter. It was almost too much for Juan. He backed a little, and tried to see which of the statues was talking.
“Pop goes the weasel!” said Kiki, and then began to cluck like Martha. Juan’s hand trembled again. But he advanced a little, going down the step into the cave. Then he saw, as the children had seen, that the figures were only bejewelled statues, and he laughed loudly.
“Fool!” he said to himself.
“Fool!” repeated Kiki, and Juan swung round at once.
“Who’s there? One of you children, I suppose. Wait till I get you!”
Kiki began to mew like a cat. The man looked for this unexpected cat, then decided it was one of the children again, playing a trick on him. Kiki flew silently to the next cave and began to talk to herself there.
“One, two, button my shoe, see how they run!”
The man took one more glance at the company of statues and went into the next cave. The children heaved a sigh of relief. But they dared not move yet.
It seemed a very long time till the man came back. With him came the two old people, evidently very frightened. Juan shouted at them in their own language, and the children could not understand a word.
Then, without another glance at the. statues, Juan went through the stout oaken door and shut it. The bang echoed loudly through the cave and made everyone jump.
Then they heard another sound which made their hearts sink. It was the noise of strong bolts being shot home on the other side of the door.
Crash! Crash, crash! All three bolts were shot firmly into place. Now the door could not possibly be opened from the inside.
“Did you hear that?” groaned Jack. “We’re prisoners now. If only we’d hidden in the cave of stalactites or the cave of stars, we’d have been all right. We could have got out of the hole. Now we can’t. We’ll have to stay here till the men set us free — if they ever do.”
Chapter 25
PHILIP’S ASTONISHING PLAN
THE old couple looked panic-stricken when four of the statues apparently talked and came alive. But when the children took off their borrowed draperies and carefully gave them back to the right statues again, the old couple saw who they were.
Elsa came running to Lucy-Ann and fondled her. The old man stood trembling.
“What did he say to you?” demanded Jack.
“He said he was going to make us prisoners here, and that he was bringing others back with him to remove all our treasure,” said the old man. Tears suddenly poured down his cheeks. “He is a bad man. Have I guarded these beautiful things all this time to let them fall into the hands of a man so bad?”
“It’s sickening,” said Jack. “We simply can’t do a thing! We shall just have to stand by and watch those rogues take away everything, pack them into crates and fly off with them!”
“Let’s go out to that sunny ledge,” said Dinah. “I can’t bear this gloom any more. I shall feel better when we are out there. Ask the old man to tell his wife to bring a picnic meal out there, Jack. You and Philip can help her to bring it. I can’t think properly down here in the dark, with all those statues trying to listen.”
“All right,” said Jack, seeing that Dinah was on the point of tears. “You go off with Lucy-Ann and Kiki. We’ll soon come. You’ll feel better in the sunshine.”
“Wasn’t Kiki clever to lead the man away from us?” said Lucy-Ann. “He was scared when she suddenly spoke to him. So should I have been! I should have thought it was one of the statues speaking.”
She and Dinah made their way to the sunny ledge. Dinah threw herself down there thankfully.
“I don’t like this adventure any more, Dinah, do you?” asked Lucy-Ann. “It’s not so bad if there’s something we can do — but we seem to be helpless here.”
“I like to make adventures go the way I want them to,” said Dinah rather sulkily. “I don’t like them to make me do things I don’t like. Don’t talk to me, Lucy-Ann. I shall snap at you. I feel cross.”
“It’s only because of the strain we went through whilst we were pretending to be statues,” said Lucy-Ann.
“Don’t sound so grown-up,” snapped Dinah. “It’s not that. I just feel bad-tempered because I want to get out of this valley and I can’t.”
Lucy-Ann said nothing more. She settled down in the sun, waiting for the picnic that Jack and Philip would soon be bringing out with Elsa. Kiki sat murmuring to herself nearby. Martha the hen arrived and began pecking about companionably. Kiki talked to her, and she clucked back.
Dinah forgot her bad temper when the others came out with a picnic meal. They had a good feast and then discussed all the morning’s happenings once more. In the middle of the discussion they heard the sound of the plane again, and this time saw it rising high into the sky.
“Why, they’re off again!” said Jack in surprise. “Why?”
“Probably to get other men along to help in removing everything, now they really do know where the treasure is,” said Philip. “And as you suggested, Jack — they might even bring more planes.”
It was hateful feeling that they were complete prisoners. Jack and Philip went desperately to the bolted door once and tried to move it — but it was hopeless of course. The bolts were old but still very strong.
There was nothing to do, and they felt bored. They went to examine the statues more closely and to look at the old pictures and the musty old books.
The statues were loaded with magnificent jewels. Some of the figures were really beautifully made and dressed, but others were crude and garish. All, however, were adorned with jewels, though the children were not able to tell if all the gleaming brooches, dazzling ear-rings and necklaces, glittering bracelets, belts and rings were really valuable or not. Probably some were, and others were only semi-precious.