“We’ve not got much time to spare,” said Juan. “Come on — let’s get out and stretch our legs. We’ll go to the hut and have a meal.”
To the children’s enormous delight the men clambered out of the plane and disappeared. They hadn’t even gone round to the back of the crate and seen the children! Maybe they could escape and get help at once. Anyway they would be able to send word to Bill and Mrs. Mannering telling them not to worry.
“Come on,” said Jack, getting up cautiously. “Let’s squint out of the window and see where we are. On an aerodrome, I hope. We’ll probably see a mechanic or two, and ask them to direct us to someone in authority.”
They all crowded to the nearest window. But what a shock when they looked out!
They were not on an aerodrome at all. They were on a broad flat piece of grassland in a valley — and that valley seemed to be surrounded on all sides by towering mountains.
“Gosh!” said Jack. “Where are we? Back of beyond, I should think.”
“We’re in a valley,” said Philip. “With mountains all round — awfully beautiful — but awfully lonely! How can we get help here? There won’t be a plane to take us back, that’s certain.”
There wasn’t a house or any kind of building to be seen. The view from the other side of the plane was exactly the same — mountains on every side. They seemed to be at the bottom of them, in a green valley. It was very strange. Why should the men come there?
“What are we going to do?” asked Dinah. “Do we get out — or stay in — or what?”
“Well — I don’t know what you think, Philip,” said Jack, “but I don’t like any of this. I don’t like those men, I don’t like the way they flew off in the middle of the night after what sounded like a lot of shooting — and I don’t like this lonely valley either. But all the same I think it would be a good idea if we got out and snooped round a bit. There must be peasants somewhere about — shepherds, perhaps — somebody like that.”
“What country are we in?” asked Lucy-Ann. “Shall we be able to speak their language?”
“I don’t suppose so for a minute,” said Philip. “But we’ll just have to try and make ourselves understood.”
“I wonder what those men have come here for,” said Dinah thoughtfully. “It seems a funny lonely place to come to. I don’t think they are up to any good. I think it would be just as well to get out now, whilst we can, and hide, and then see if we can’t find someone to help us. We can report everything to Bill when we get back.”
“That’s the best idea,” said Jack at once. “I’ll be glad to be in the open air again. This plane’s jolly stuffy.”
They looked cautiously out of every window to see if they could spot the two men. But there was no sign of them at all.
“Better get going,” said Jack. “What about our suitcases — and rugs — and Kiki?”
“Don’t leave them here,” said Philip. “We don’t want the men to guess we’ve been passengers in their plane. Take them with us.”
So the four of them left the plane and handed down their cases and rugs to one another. Kiki uttered a few words of annoyance at being lifted about like luggage, but only in a very low voice.
Soon all the children were standing outside the plane, wondering which way to go. Jack suddenly nudged Philip and made him jump.
“Look! Look over there!”
They all looked and saw a thin spire of blue smoke rising into the air.
“The men have made a fire down there, I should think,” said Jack in a low voice. “Better not go in that direction. We’ll take this path here — if it is a path.”
The little procession wound round some big rocks, and came to where a stream burbled down the hillside. It gushed out there as a spring, and became a little stream almost at once.
“We could drink from that,” said Philip. “I’m thirsty. But I’m not hungry yet. Funny!”
“Well, we’re all a bit tired and worried and puzzled,” said Jack. “Let’s get some water into our hands and lap it up. I’m thirsty too.”
The water was cold and crystal clear. It was delicious. All the children felt better for a drink. Dinah dipped her hanky into the stream and wiped her face. She felt much fresher then, and Lucy-Ann did the same.
“The thing is to find a good hiding-place for ourselves and these cases,” said Jack. “I’m afraid if those two men start wandering about they may come across us. Where can we go?”
“Let’s go straight on,” said Dinah. “Up the hill here. If we keep up a little we shall be able to see the plane down in the valley and keep our sense of direction a bit. Keep among those trees.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Philip, and they made their way slowly towards the trees. They felt safer among them. The men could not spot them there. On the other hand, they found that they could no longer see the plane.
“We can always spot it by climbing up a tree,” said Jack. “I say — look there — is that a house?”
Set in a clearing was what looked like a house. But when the children got near they found that it was almost burnt out — just a blackened ruin, empty and deserted.
“What a pity,” said Philip. “We could easily have asked help from the people who lived there. I wonder how the house got burnt.”
They went on a little higher, through a copse of silver birch-trees. They saw another building a little higher up — but to their astonishment and dismay that too was a blackened, scorched ruin. There was no sign of life anywhere about it.
“Two burnt houses — and nobody to be found anywhere,” said Jack. “Very curious. What’s been happening in this valley?”
Higher up still they could see yet another house — would that be burnt out too? They laboured up to it, and gazed on it in despair.
“Quite burnt out,” said Dinah. “What an awful thing! What’s happened to the people who lived here? There must have been war here, or something. I do wonder where we are.”
“Look — that cowshed, or whatever it is, isn’t very much burnt-out,” said Jack. “Let’s go over and see if the roof is still on. If it is, we could put our things there.”
They made their way to the broken-down cowshed. It seemed as if the flames had got hold of one half of it but had left the other half. The roof was almost off, but at the back was a sheltered place, with stalls where cows had been put.
“This is all right,” said Jack, making his way into the last stall of all. “The roof here will keep out the rain if it comes — and there are some jolly big clouds about. We can put our things here.”
“The floor’s dirty,” said Lucy-Ann, turning up her nose in disgust.
“Well, we may perhaps be able to find a broom or something to get it clean — and we’ll spread it with grass or bracken for a carpet,” said Dinah. “Then, if we spread out our rugs on it, we could even sleep here. We may not be able to find anyone to help us today. We could spend the night here.”
They put their cases down in the corner and draped the rugs over them. Kiki was put down on top in her basket. She gave a squawk of protest.
“Do you think it would be safe to let her out?” said Jack. “She’ll sit on my shoulder for hours now, I’m sure, if I tell her to. She must be so uncomfortable cooped up in that box.”
“Yes — let her out,” said Philip. “If she does fly off for a bit and the men see her they won’t know what she is or who she belongs to. She’ll give them a fright if she begins to talk.”
Kiki was set free. She was overjoyed. She clambered out of the basket and flew to Jack’s shoulder. She nibbled his ear fondly.
“Where’s your handkerchief?” she said. “How many times have I told you to . . .”
“All right, Kiki, all right,” said Jack. “Not so loud, there’s a good old thing.”
“Shhhhhhhhhh!” said Kiki at the top of her voice. Then she said no more, but just sat and cracked her beak.
“Well — what are our plans?” said Philip, sitting on his suitcase. “Shall we go exploring a bit further and see if we can find anyone to help us? Or shall we keep an eye on those men and see if we can find out why they’ve come here? Or shall we just stay here and hide?”