‘Good heavens!’ said Mr. Lenoir, now looking thoroughly alarmed. ‘Barling must be mad! I’ve always thought he was a bit queer – but he must be absolutely mad to kidnap people like this – and Block must be, too. This is a plot! They’ve heard what I’ve been planning with your uncle – and they’ve made up their minds to
stop it because it will interfere with their smuggling. Goodness knows what-they’ll do now! This is serious!’
‘If only we had Timmy!’ suddenly said George.
Mr. Lenoir looked astonished.
‘Who’s Timmy?’
‘Well, you might as well know everything now,’ said Julian, and he told Mr. Lenoir about Timmy, and how they had hidden him.
‘Very foolish of you,’ said Mr. Lenoir, shortly, looking displeased. ‘If you’d told me I would have had someone in the town look after him. I can’t help not liking dogs. I detest them, and never will have them in the house. But I would willingly have arranged for him to be boarded out, if I’d known you’d brought him.’
The children felt sorry and a little ashamed. Mr. Lenoir was a queer, hot-tempered person, but he didn’t seem nearly as horrid as they had thought he was.
‘I’d like to go and see if I can find Timmy,’ said George. ‘You’ll get the police in now, I suppose, Mr. Lenoir, and perhaps we could go and find Timmy? We know the way into the secret passage from your study.’
‘Oh – so that’s why you were hiding there in the afternoon yesterday,’ said Mr. Lenoir. ‘I thought you were a very bad boy. Well, go and try and find him if you like, but don’t let him come anywhere near me. I really cannot bear dogs in the house.’
He went to telephone the police-station again. Mrs. Lenoir, her eyes red with crying, stood by him. George slipped away to the study, followed by Dick and Julian and Anne. Marybelle stayed beside her mother.
‘Come on – let’s get into that secret passage and try and find old Timmy,’ said George. ‘If we all go, and whistle and shout and call, he’s sure to hear us!’
They found the way into the passage, by doing the
things they had done before. The panel slid back, and then another, larger opening came as before. They all squeezed through it, and found themselves in the very narrow passage that led from the study up to Sooty’s bedroom.
But Timmy was not there! The children were surprised, but George soon thought why.
‘Do you remember Sooty telling us there was a way into this passage from the dining-room, as well as from the study and Sooty’s bedroom? Well, I believe I saw a door or something there, as we passed where the dining-room must be, and it’s likely Timmy may have pushed through it, and gone into another passage somewhere.’
They went back, one by one. They came to the dining-room – or rather, they walked behind the dining-room wall. There they saw the door that George had noticed as they passed – a door, small and set quite flat to the wall, so that it was difficult to see. George pushed it. It opened easily, and then flapped shut, with a little click. It could be opened from one side but not from the other.
‘That’s where Timmy’s gone!’ said George, and she pushed the door open again. ‘He pushed against the door and it opened – he went through, and the door fastened itself so that he couldn’t get back. Come on, we must find him.’
They all went through the small door. It was so low that they had to bend their heads to go through, even Anne. They found themselves in a passage rather like the one they had just left, but not quite so narrow. It suddenly began to go downwards. Julian called back to the others.
‘I believe it goes down to the passages where we used to take Timmy when we let him down into that pit to go for a walk! Yes, look – we’ve come to where the pit itself is!’
They went on, calling Timmy, and whistling loudly, but no Timmy came. George began to feel worried.
‘Hallo! – surely this is where we came out when we climbed down all those steps from the window-seat passage!’ said Dick, suddenly. ‘Yes, it is. Look, there’s the tunnel where we saw Block and Mr. Barling going!’
‘Oh – do you think they’ve done something to Timmy?* said George, in a frightened voice. ‘I never thought of that!’
Everyone felt alarmed. It was strange that Block and Mr. Barling could go about unmolested by Timmy if Timmy was somewhere near! Could they have harmed him in any way? They had no idea that Timmy was at that very minute with George’s father and Sooty!
‘Look at this!’ said Julian, suddenly, and he shone his torch on to something to show the others. ‘String! String going right down this tunnel. Why?’
‘It’s the tunnel that Mr. Barling and Block took!’ said George. ‘I believe it leads to where they’ve taken my father and Sooty! They’re keeping them prisoners down here! I’m going to follow the string and find them! Who’s coming with me?’
Chapter Twenty-one A JOURNEY THROUGH THE HILL.
‘I’m coming!’ said everyone at once. As if they would let George go alone!
So down the dark tunnel they went, feeling the string and following it. Julian ran it through his fingers, and the others followed behind, holding hands. It would not do for anyone to get lost.
After about ten minutes they came to the rounded cave where Sooty and George’s father had been the night before. They were not there now, of course – they were on their way down to the marsh!
‘Hallo, look! This is where they must have been!’ cried Julian, shining his torch round. ‘A bench – with tumbled rugs – and an over-turned lamp. And look here, scraps of paper torn into bits! Something’s been happening here!’
Quick-witted George pieced it together in her mind. ‘Mr. Barling took them here and left them. Then he came back with some sort of proposal to Father, who refused it! There must have beeen a struggle of some sort and the lamp got broken. Oh – I do hope Father and Sooty got away all right.’
Julian felt gloomy. CI hope to goodness they haven’t gone wandering about these awful tunnels. Even Sooty doesn’t know a quarter of them. I wish I knew what’s happened.’
Someone’s coming!’ suddenly said Dick. ‘Snap out the light, Ju.’
Julian snapped off the torch he carried. At once they
were all four in darkness. They crouched at the back of the cave, listening.
Yes – footsteps were coming. Rather cautious footsteps. ‘Sounds like two or three people,’ whispered Dick. They came nearer. Whoever was coming was plainly following the tunnel where the string was.
‘Mr. Barling perhaps – and Block,’ whispered George. ‘Come to have another talk with Father! But he’s gone!’
A brilliant light flashed suddenly round the cave -and picked out the huddled children. There was a loud exclamation of astonishment.
‘Good heavens! Who’s here? What’s all this?’
It was Mr. Barling’s voice. Julian stood up, blinking in the bright light.
‘We came to took for my uncle and Sooty,’ he said. ‘Where are they?’
‘Aren’t they here?’ said Mr. Barling, seeming surprised. ‘And is that horrible brute of a dog gone?’
‘Oh – was Timmy here?’ cried George, joyfully. ‘Where is he?’
There were two other men with Mr. Barling. One was Block. The other was his servant. Mr. Barling put down the lantern he was carrying.
‘Do you mean to say you don’t know where the others are?’ he said, uneasily. ‘If they’ve gone off on their own, they’ll never come back.’
Anne gave a little scream. ‘It’s all your fault, you horrid man!’
‘Shut up, Anne!’ said Julian. ‘Mr. Barling,’ he said, turning to the angry smuggler, ‘I think you’d better come back with us and explain things. Mr. Lenoir is now talking to the police.’
‘Oh, is he?’ said Mr. Barling. ‘Then I think it would be as well for us all to stay down here for a while! Yes,
you too! I’ll make Mr. Lenoir squirm! I’ll hold you all prisoners – and this time you shall be bound so that you don’t go wandering off like the others! Got some rope, Block?’
Block stepped forward with the other man. They caught hold of George first, very roughly.
She screamed loudly. ‘Timmy! Timmy! Where are you? Timmy, come and help! Oh, TIMMY!’ >
But no Timmy came. She was soon in a corner with her hands tied behind her. Then they turned to Julian.
‘You’re mad’ Julian said to Mr. Barling, who was standing nearby, holding the lantern. ‘You must be mad to do things like this.’
‘Timmy!’ shouted George, trying to free her hands. ‘Timmy, Timmy, Timmy!’