Five Go To Demons Rock
_Chapter One__THREE VISITORS ARRIVE__
‘Fanny!’ shouted Mr Kirrin, running up
the stairs with a letter in his hand. ‘FANNY! Where are you?’_‘Here, dear,
here, helping Joan with the dusting,’ said Mrs Kirrin, appearing out of a bedroom.
‘Don’t shout like that. I’m not deaf, you know. What’s the matter?’_‘I’ve a
letter here from that old friend of mine, Professor Hayling,’ said Mr Kirrin.
‘You remember him, don’t you?’_‘Do you mean the man who came here to stay a few
years ago, and kept forgetting to come in for meals?’ said Mrs Kirrin, flicking
some dust off her husband’s coat._‘Fanny, don’t flick at me like that,’ said Mr
Kirrin, crossly. ‘Anyone would think I was covered in dust. Listen - he’s
coming to stay today for a week - instead of next week.’_Mrs Kirrin stared at
her husband in horror. ‘But he can’t do that!’ she said. ‘George is coming home
today - and her three cousins with her, to stay. You know that!’_‘Oh - I’d
forgotten,’ said Mr Kirrin. ‘Well, ring up and tell George to stay where she is
- we can’t have them while Professor Hayling is here. I shall want to be quite
undisturbed - he and I have to confer about some new invention of his. Don’t
look like that, my dear - this may be very very important.’_‘Well, it’s
important to the Five that their plans shouldn’t be spoilt,’ said Mrs Kirrin.
‘After all, George only went to stay with Dick, Julian and Anne because you had
some urgent papers to write, and you didn’t want to be disturbed - and you knew
today was the day they were due home. Quentin, you must ring up your Professor
friend and say he can’t come.’_‘Very well, my dear, very well,’ said Mr Kirrin.
‘But he won’t like it. He won’t like it at all!’ He went off to his study to
use the telephone, and Mrs Kirrin hurried up the stairs to get ready the rooms
for the four cousins._‘Anne can sleep with George as usual,’ she said to Joan.
‘And the two boys can sleep in the guest-room.’_‘It will be nice to have all
the Five back again,’ said Joan, pushing the carpet-sweeper up and down the
landing. ‘I miss them - and you should see the cakes I made yesterday, ma’am -
two whole tins full!’_‘You’re too good to those children, Joan,’ said Mrs
Kirrin. ‘No wonder they’re so fond of you. Now, we’ll - oh dear - there’s Mr
Kirrin calling me again. All right, dear, I’m coming, I’m coming!’_She ran
downstairs to the hall, and into the study. Mr Kirrin was standing there,
holding the telephone receiver. ‘What shall I do?’ he almost shouted.
‘Professor Hayling has left and is already on his way here. I can’t stop him
coming. And he’s bringing his son with him, so there are two of them.’_‘His
son! Well, really!’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘There isn’t room for them here, with the
four cousins as well, Quentin. You know that.’_‘Well, ring up George and tell her
not to come back for a week, but to stay with her cousins,’ said Mr Kirrin,
crossly. ‘There’s no reason why they should ALL come here.’_‘But, Quentin, you
know perfectly well that George’s aunt and uncle are shutting up the house
today, and going on a cruise somewhere,’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘Oh dear, oh dear!
Well, I’ll ring up George, and try to stop them all coming!’_So once more the
telephone was used, and Mrs Kirrin tried anxiously to get in touch with George.
For a long time nobody answered, and then at last a voice came. ‘Hallo - who’s
there?’_‘Mrs Kirrin here - may I speak to George, please?’_‘Oh - I’m sorry -
all the Five have already left, on their bicycles,’ said the voice. ‘And the
house is empty except for me. I’m a neighbour come in to lock everything up.
I’m so sorry I can’t get George for you.’_‘Oh - thank you. Never mind!’ said
Mrs Kirrin and put back the receiver. She gave a heavy sigh. NOW WHAT what was
to be done? Professor Hayling and his son were on their way to Kirrin Cottage -
and so were the Five - and none of them could be stopped. What a household it
would be!_‘Quentin,’ she said, going into the study where her husband was
tidying up enormous piles of papers. ‘Quentin, listen - George and all the
others are on their way here. And HOW I am going to put everyone up. I do - not
- know. It looks as if somebody will have_to sleep in Timmy’s kennel, and I’ve
a good mind to make a bed up for you in the coal-house!’_‘I’m busy,’ said Mr
Kirrin, hardly listening. ‘I’ve all these papers to get in order before
Professor Hayling comes. And by the way, my dear, will you PLEASE tell the
children to be quiet while the Professor is here - he’s rather short-tempered,
and...’_‘Quentin, I’m beginning to feel rather short-tempered too,’ said Mrs
Kirrin. ‘And if...’ She stopped very suddenly and gazed through the study
window in horror. Then she pointed her finger at it. ‘Look! What’s that at the
window?’_Her husband turned and stared in amazement. ‘It looks like a monkey!’
he said. ‘Where on earth did it come from?’_A voice called down the stairs. It
was Joan. ‘Ma’am! There’s a car at the door - I think it’s the master’s
visitors - a man and a boy!’_Mrs Kirrin was still staring in astonishment at
the monkey, who was now scratching at the window-pane, chattering in a funny
little prattle. He pressed his nose to the glass, just like a child._‘DON’T
tell me that your friend owns a monkey - and has brought him to stay too!’
groaned poor Mrs Kirrin. Slie jumped as a loud bang came from the front door,
and went to open it._Yes - there stood Professor Hayling, the man who had so
often forgotten to come in for meals when he had stayed at Kirrin Cottage years
before. And by him was a boy of about nine, with a face a little like that of
the monkey now on his shoulder!_The professor strode in, calling to the
chauffeur behind. ‘Bring the luggage in, man. Hallo, Mrs Kirrin - nice to see
you again. Where’s your husband? My word, I’ve some interesting news to tell
him. Ah, Quentin, there you are! Got your papers all ready for me?’_‘My dear
old friend!’ said Mr Kirrin, shaking hands warmly. ‘Fine to see you! So glad
you could come.’_‘This is Tinker, my son,’ said Professor Hayling, clapping the
boy on the back, and almost knocking him over. ‘I always forget what his real
name is - we call him Tinker because he’s always tinkering with cars - mad on
them, you know! Shake hands, Tinker. Where’s Mischief?’_Poor Mrs Kirrin hadn’t
been able to get in a word. The Professor was now in the hall, still talking.
The monkey had leapt off the boy’s shoulder, and was on the hall-stand,
swinging on a hat-peg._Really, it’s like a circus! thought poor Mrs Kirrin. And
the rooms not prepared yet - and what about lunch? Oh my goodness - and all the
cousins coming as well. What is that monkey doing now? Making faces at himself
in the hall mirror!_Somehow or other the visitors were pushed into the
living-room, and they sat down. Mr Kirrin was so anxious to discuss some mighty
problems with the Professor that he actually fetched a great sheaf of papers and
immediately spread them over the table._‘Not in here, dear - in your study
please,’ said Mrs Kirrin, firmly. ‘Joan! Will you take the bags up to the
guest-room. And make up a bed there on the couch for the little boy? There
won’t be room anywhere else.’_‘What about the monkey!’ asked Joan, eyeing it
warily. ‘Is he to have a bed too?’_‘He sleeps with me,’ said Tinker, in an
astonishingly loud voice, and leapt suddenly up the stairs, making a most
extraordinary purring noise as he went. Mrs Kirrin stared after him in
amazement._‘Is he in pain, or something?’ she said._‘No, no - he’s just being a
car,’ said his father. ‘I told you he was mad about cars. He can’t help
pretending to be one now and again.’_‘I’m a car, a Jaguar car!’ yelled Tinker,
from the top of the stairs. ‘Can’t you hear my engine! R-R-R-R-R-R-R! Hey,
Mischief come and have a ride!’_The little monkey scampered up the stairs and
leapt on to the boy’s shoulder, chattering in its funny little voice. The
Jaguar car then apparently made a tour of all the bedrooms, occasionally giving
a very loud honk._‘Does your boy always behave like that?’ asked Mr Kirrin,
amazed. ‘How do you manage to do any work?’_‘Oh, I have a sound-proof workroom
in my garden,’ said the Professor. ‘I hope your workroom is soundproof,
too?’_‘No, it isn’t,’ said poor Mr Kirrin, still hearing the ‘car’ upstairs.
What a boy! How could anyone bear him for more than two minutes? And to think
he had come to STAY!_He shut the study door after the Professor - but no door
could shut out the sound of the small boy honking upstairs!_Poor Mrs Kirrin was
eyeing all the luggage brought in. Why hadn’t the Professor gone to a hotel?
What was life going to be like, with the Five here, and the Professor, and a
small boy who apparently thought he was some kind of car all the time. To say
nothing of a monkey called Mischief! And WHERE were they all going to
sleep?___Chapter Two__A LITTLE EXCITEMENT__George and her three cousins were
already on their way back to Kirrin. They cycled along the lanes with Timmy,
George’s dog, loping easily beside them._‘Won’t it be fun to be at Kirrin
Cottage again!’ said Anne. ‘It’s so lovely to look out of a window and see
Kirrin Bay, blue as the sky! I vote we go over to the Island for a
picnic!’_‘You’ll like to have your own kennel again, won’t you, Timmy?’ said
George, and Timmy gave her ankle a quick lick, and barked._‘It’s always so
peaceful at Kirrin Cottage,’ said Dick. ‘And your mother’s so kind and jolly,
George, I hope we shan’t upset Uncle Quentin with our talk and fun.’_‘I don’t
think Father has any very important work on hand,’ said George. ‘Anyway, he’ll
only have you for a week - it’s a pity that Professor friend of his is coming
in a week’s time, or you could have stayed longer.’_‘Well, a week is quite a nice
long time,’ said Julian. ‘Hallo - there’s our first glimpse of Kirrin Bay, look
- as blue as ever!’_They were all glad to see the little blue bay, and to catch
sight of Kirrin Island lying there peacefully in the sun. ‘You’re lucky,
George, to have an island all of your own,’ said Anne. ‘One that is really and
truly yours!’_‘Yes, I am lucky!’ said George. ‘I was never so pleased in all my
life as the day Mother gave it to me. It’s belonged to our family for years, of
course - and now it’s mine! We’ll go over there tomorrow!’_At last they came to
the end of their journey. ‘I can see the chimneys of Kirrin Cottage!’ said
Julian, standing up on the pedals of his bicycle. ‘And the kitchen fire is
going - I can see smoke. The dinner must be cooking!’_‘I can smell it!’ said
Dick, sniffing. ‘I think it’s sausages.’_‘Ass,’ said the other three together,
and laughed. They rode up to the back gate, and leapt off their bicycles. They
put them into the shed, and George gave a shout!_‘Mother! We’re HOME! Where are
you?’_She had hardly finished yelling when Anne suddenly clutched her
arm._‘George - what’s that? Look! Peeping out of the window there!’_They all
looked - and George shouted in astonishment: ‘It’s a monkey! A MONKEY! No,
Timmy. No - come back! TIMMY!’_But Timmy too had seen the quaint little face
peering out of the window, and had shot off to investigate. Was it a small dog?
Or a queer sort of cat? Anyway, whatever it was, he was going to chase it away!
He barked at the top of his voice as he galloped indoors, and almost knocked
over a small boy there. The monkey, terrified, at once leapt on to the
picture-rail that ran round the room._‘You leave my monkey alone, you big bully
you!’ cried a furious voice; and through the open door George saw a small boy
give Timmy a sharp smack. She raced indoors, and gave the small boy a smack as
sharp as the one he had given Timmy! Then she glared at him angrily._‘What are
you doing here? How DARE you hit my dog? It’s a good thing he didn’t eat you
up. And what’s that creature doing up there?’_The little monkey was terrified.
It sat clinging to the picture-rail, trembling, making a piteous chattering
noise. Julian came in just as Joan and cook arrived from upstairs._‘What’s all
this?’ she said. ‘You’ll have your father racing out of his study in a minute,
George. Stop barking at the little monkey, Timmy, for goodness sake! And stop
crying, Tinker, and take your monkey away before Timmy eats him.’_‘I’m NOT
crying,’ said Tinker fiercely, rubbing his eyes. ‘Come here, Mischief. I won’t
let that dog hurt you! I’ll - I’ll...’_‘You take your monkey away, old son,’
said Julian gently, thinking that the small boy was very brave to imagine he
could fight old Timmy. ‘Run along.’_Tinker made a clicking sound and the monkey
dropped at once on to his shoulder, and nuzzled there. It put its tiny arms
round the boy’s neck, and made a little choking noise._‘Oh - poor little mite -
it’s crying!’ said Anne. ‘I didn’t know monkeys could cry. Timmy, don’t
frighten it again, please don’t. You mustn’t bully tiny things.’_‘Timmy never
bullies anything!’ said George at once, frowning at Anne. ‘But after all, what
do you expect him to do when he comes home and finds a strange boy and a monkey
here. Who are you, boy?’_‘I shan’t tell you,’ said Tinker, and marched out of
the room, the monkey still whimpering into his neck._‘Joan - who on earth is
he?’ asked Dick. ‘And what is he doing here?’_‘I thought you wouldn’t like it,’
said Joan. ‘It’s that Professor friend of your father’s, George - the one who
was coming to stay next week. He telephoned this morning to say he was coming
this week insteacl - and bringing his boy as well! He didn’t say anything about
a monkey, though!’_‘Are they staging here?’ said George, in horror. ‘How can
Mother let them - she knew we were all coming today! How mean of her,
how...’_‘Be quiet, George,’ said Julian. ‘Let Joan go on.’_‘Well, they arrived
before anything could be done to stop them,’ said Joan. ‘And now your father is
shut up in his study with Professor Hayling - the boy’s father - and your
mother and I are at our wit’s end to know where to put you all. The boy and his
father - and I suppose the monkey too - are sharing the guest-room.’_‘But
that’s where Julian and Dick were going to sleep!’ said George, losing her
temper again. ‘I’ll go and tell Mother that boy can’t stay, I’ll...’_‘Don’t be
an ass, George,’ said Julian. ‘We’ll manage somehow. We can’t go back home
because our house will be all shut up now.’_‘You could sleep up in the loft,’
said Joan, sounding rather doubtful. ‘But it’s very dusty and terribly
draughty. I could put a couple of mattresses up there for you.’_‘All right,’
said Julian. ‘We’ll make do up in the loft. Thanks, Joan. Where’s Aunt Fanny?
Does she mind all this?’_‘Well - she’s a bit rushed,’ said Joan. ‘But you know
what your aunt is - always so kind, never thinks of herself. That Professor
Hayling! Just walked into the house as if he owned it, bringing luggage and
that most peculiar little boy - and a monkey! Though the monkey seems a nice
enough little thing. It came and watched me wash up, and bless me if it didn’t
try to dry the plates for me!’_The kitchen door swung open and George’s mother
came in. ‘Hallo, dears!’ she said smiling. ‘I thought I heard Timmy barking.
Dear Timmy - wait till you see the monkey!’_‘He’s seen him already,’ said
George, scowling. ‘Mother, how could you take people in when you knew we were
coming home today?’_‘That’s enough, George,’ said Julian, who saw how worried
his aunt looked. ‘Aunt Fanny, we won’t be ANY trouble! We’ll keep out of the
house as much as we can, we’ll do the shopping for you, we’ll go across to
Kirrin Island and keep out of your way, we’ll...’_‘You’re kind, Julian,’ said
his aunt, and smiled at him. ‘Things will be rather difficult - especially as
Professor Hayling never can remember to come to meals in time, and you know
what your uncle is! He could forget breakfast, dinner and supper for a whole
year, and then wonder why he felt hungry!’_That made everyone laugh. Julian
slipped his arm round his aunt and gave her a hug. ‘We’ll sleep in the loft,’
he said, ‘and enjoy it, too. The girls will help with the housework, and Dick
and I will do the odd jobs. You’ve no idea how fine I look with an apron round
my waist, and a broom in my hand!’_Even George smiled at the idea of Julian
wearing an apron. Then Timmy went suddenly to the half-open door and barked. He
could smell that monkey again. He heard a high chattering noise, and pushed the
door open at once. What! Was that monkey calling him rude names?_He saw the
little creature sitting on the top of the rail at the foot of the stairs. It
saw Timmy, and danced up and down, sounding as if it were laughing. Timmy raced
to the rail and leapt up, barking fiercely._The study door flew open and out
marched not one angry Professor, but two!_WIIAT’S ALL THIS NOISE? CAN’T WE HAVE
A MOMENT’S PEACE?_‘Oh dear!’ said Mrs Kirrin, foreseeing this kind of thing
happening twenty times a day, now that Timmy and the others were here. She
shushed the two angry men._‘Now, now - Timmy just isn’t used to the monkey yet.
Go back, please, and shut the door. I’ll see you aren’t disturbed
again!’_‘WOOF-WOOF!’ shouted Timmy, using his very loudest bark, and Professor
Hayling shot back into the study at top speed!_‘Any more rudeness from Timmy
and I’ll have him sent away!’ roared Mr Kirrin, and he too disappeared._‘WELL!’
said George, her face red with anger. ‘What does he mean by that, Mother? If
Timmy goes, I go too! Oh look at that monkey - he’s sitting on top of the
grandfather clock now! He ought to be sent away, horrid little mischievous
thing - not old Timmy!’___Chapter Three__MISCHIEF, TINKER - AND TIMMY!__Julian
and Dick set to work to take a couple of old mattresses up to the loft, and
some rugs and a couple of cushions for pillows. It was rather draughty! But
what else was to be done? It was still too cold to sleep outside in a
tent._George was very sulky. ‘That scowl will grow on your face, George, if you
aren’t careful,’ said Dick. ‘Cheer up, for goodness’ sake. It’s worse for your mother
than it is for any of us. She’s going to be very busy this week.’_She certainly
was! Meals for nine people, five of them very hungry children, were not easy to
provide. Joan did an enormous amount of cooking, the girls helped with the
housework, and the boys cycled off to Kirrin village in the mornings to do the
shopping._‘Why can’t that boy Tinker help?’ demanded George, on the second day
they were at home. ‘What on earth does he think he’s doing now? Look at him out
in the garden rushing all round, making a frightful noise. Tinker, shut up!
You’ll disturb your father and mine.’_‘You shut up yourself!’ called back
Tinker, rudely. ‘Can’t you see I’m a Bentley car, with a very powerful engine?
And see how well it stops when I put on the brakes - no jerk at all! And hear
the horn - marvellous!’_He gave a remarkably good imitation of a powerful
car-horn. At once the study window shot up and two very angry men shouted
together:_‘TINKER! What do you think you’re doing, making that noise? You’ve
been told to be QUIET!’_Tinker began to explain about the Bentley, but as this
didn’t seem to satisfy either of the angry men, he offered to be a little
mini-car. ‘You see, it goes like this,’ said Tinker, beginning to move off,
making a low purring noise, ‘and it...’_But the window was slammed shut, so the
little minicar drove itself into the kitchen, and said it was very hungry,
could it have a bun?_‘I don’t feed cars,’ said Joan. ‘I have no petrol. Go
away.’_The mini-car purred out of the kitchen on its two legs, and went to look
for passengers. Mischief the monkey scampered up, and ran up Tinker’s body to
his shoulder._‘You’re my passenger,’ said Tinker, and Mischief held on to his
hair as he drove all round the garden at top speed, honking every now and
again, but very quietly indeed._‘He’s a funny child,’ said Joan to Mrs Kirrin,
wlien she came into the kitchen. ‘Not bad really - him and his cars! I’ve never
seen a child so mad on them in my life! One of these days he’ll turn into
one!’_It began to rain next day and Tinker couldn’t go out. He nearly drove
everyone mad, rushing about all over the house hooting, and purring like a car
engine._‘Now look,’ Joan said to him, when for the twentieth time he drove
himself all round her kitchen. ‘I don’t care if you’re a Morris Minor, or an
Austin, or a Consul, or even a Rolls - you just keep out of my kitchen! It’s a
funny thing to think that a fine car like a Rolls can steal a bun out of my tin
- it ought to be ashamed of itself!’_‘Well, if I can’t get petrol, I’ve got to
get something to run on, haven’t I?’ demanded Tinker. ‘Look at Mischief - he’s
helping himself to apples in the larder, but you don’t say anything to
him!’_‘Oh lands sakes, is that creature in the larder again?’ cried poor Joan,
rushing across the kitchen. ‘Who left it open, I’d like to know?’_‘Timmy did,’
said Tinker._‘You little fibber!’ said Joan, as she shooed Mischief out of the
larder. ‘Timmy would never do a thing like that. He’s as honest as the day, not
like that little thief of a monkey of yours!’_‘Don’t you like him?’ said
Tinker, sorrowfully. ‘He likes you.’_Joan glanced across at the tiny monkey. He
sat huddled in a corner, his arms over his face, looking very small and sad.
One small brown eye peeped out at Joan._‘You’re a humbug, you are!’ said Joan.
‘Looking as if you’re the unhappiest monkey in the world, when all the time
you’re thinking what mischief to do next. Here - come and get this biscuit, you
rascal - and don’t you dare to go near Timmy this morning. He’s very very angry
with you.’_‘What did Mischief do to Timmy?’ asked Tinker, surprised._‘He went
to Timmy’s dish and stole one of the bones there,’ said Joan. ‘Timmy growled
like a roll of thunder! I really thought he would bite off the monkey’s tail.
My word, you should have seen Mischief skedaddle!’_Mischief had now crept up
cautiously to Joan, eyeing the biscuit she held. He had had one or two slaps
from her for stealing, and he was rather wary of her quick right hand._‘Here
you are - take the biscuit, for goodness’ sake,’ said Joan. ‘And don’t look
such a little misery, or I might suddenly find myself giving you another
biscuit. Hallo - where’s he gone?’_The monkey had snatched the biscuit with one
of his tiny paws, and had scampered away to the door. It was shut, so Tinker
opened it for him. At once Timmy came in. He had been lying outside the door,
sniffing the good smell of soup cooking on the stove._Mischief leapt to the top
of a chair-back and made a strange little whinnying sound - rather apologetic
and sad. Timmy stood still and pricked up his ears. He understood animal
language very well!_Mischief still held the biscuit. He leapt down to the seat
of the chair - and then, to Joan’s enormous surprise, he held out the biscuit
to Timmy! He chattered in a very small voice, and Timmy listened gravely. Then
the big dog took the biscuit gently, threw it up into the air, chewed it once,
and swallowed it!_‘Well, did you ever see anything like that before!’ said
Joan, marvelling. ‘For all the world as if Mischief was apologizing to Timmy for
stealing his bone - and offering him his biscuit to make up! Well, whatever
will George say when she hears!’_Timmy licked his lips to see if any biscuit
crumbs were left, and then put his big head forward, and gave the monkey a
sudden lick on the tip of his funny little nose._‘Timmy’s saying thank you!’
cried Tinker, in delight. ‘Now they’ll be friends - you see if they
won’t!’_Joan was astonished and pleased. Well, well - to think of that monkey
being clever enough to present Timmy with a biscuit that he very much wanted to
eat himself! He wasn’t a bad little thing! She went upstairs to find George and
tell her._But George didn’t believe her. ‘Timmy would never take a biscuit from
that silly little monkey!’ she said. ‘Never! You made all that up, Joan, just
because you’re getting fond of Mischief. You wait till he runs off with your
toasting-fork again!’_All the same, George went down with Joan, curious to see
if the two animals were becoming friendly - and she saw a very strange sight
indeed!_Mischief was on Timmy’s back, and Timmy was solemnly trotting round the
kitchen, giving him a ride! The monkey was chattering in delight, and Tinker
was shouting in glee._‘Go faster, Tim, go faster! You’re a very fine horse!
You’d easily win the Derby! Go on gallop!’_‘I don’t want Timmy to give rides to
the monkey,’ said George. ‘Stop it, Timmy! You look silly.’_The monkey suddenly
leaned forward and hugged Timmy round the neck. Then he slid off and looked at
George as if to say, ‘All right! I won’t make your dog look silly!’_Timmy knew
that George was cross and he went to lie down on the rug. At once Mischief came
sidling across to him, and settled himself between Timmy’s big front paws,
cuddling there without fear. Timmy bent his big head and licked him very
gently._Tears came suddenly to Joan’s eyes. That Timmy! He was just about the
nicest dog in the whole world._‘See that!’ she said to George. ‘Big-hearted and
kind that dog of yours is! Don’t you scold him now for being great enough to
make friends with a little creature who stole his bone!’_‘I’m not going to
scold him!’ said George, astonished and proud. ‘He’s a marvel - the best dog in
the Kingdom! Aren’t you, Timmy darling?’_And she went over to Timmy and stroked
his big soft head. He whined lovingly and licked her, looking up as if to say,
‘Well, everything’s all right now - we’re all friends!’_Tinker had been
watching from a corner of the kitchen, saying nothing. He was rather afraid of
George and her quick temper. He was delighted when he saw her go over and pat Timmy,
without even disturbing the monkey. In his joy he began to honk like a lorry,
and startled everyone so much that they yelled at him._‘Stop it, Tinker!’_‘Be
quiet, you little nuisance!’_‘Woof!’ That was from Timmy._‘You’ll have Mr
Kirrin in here if you honk like that,’ said Joan. ‘Can’t you be something quiet
for a change - a bicycle, for instance?’_Tinker thought that was quite a good
idea. He ran round the kitchen and out into the hall, making a hissing noise
like the sound of a bicycle’s wheels on the road. Then he decided to make a
noise like a bicycle bell, and produced a very loud ringing noise indeed! It
was so like the ringing of a bell that Mrs Kirrin ran out of the living-room,
thinking there was someone at the front door!_Then the study door flew open and
out came Mr Kirrin and Tinker’s father. Poor Tinker was caught and his father
shook him so hard that two pencils shot out of his pocket and rolled over the
floor._Tinker began to yell - and how he could yell! George came out of the
kitchen to see what was happening, and Dick, Julian and Anne raced down the
stairs. Joan rushed out into the hall, too, and almost sent Mr Kirrin
flying._Then George did a very silly thing. She began to laugh - and when
George laughed properly, her laugh was wonderful to hear! But neither Mr Kirrin
nor Professor Hayling thought it wonderful - they merely thought it rude!
George was laughing at them - and that wouldn’t do at all!_‘This is absolutely
the last straw!’ shouted Mr Kirrin, his face red with rage. ‘First this boy
ringing bells all over the place - and George encouraging him by laughing! I
won’t have it! Don’t you know that very very important work is going on here,
in Kirrin Cottage - work that may bring great benefits to the world! Fanny,
send these children away somewhere. I won’t have them in the house, disturbing
us when we are doing such important work. Do you hear? SEND THEM AWAY! And
that’s my LAST word!’_And he and the Professor stalked back to the study and
banged the door. WELL! Now what was to be done?___Chapter Four__TINKER HAS A
WONDERFUL IDEA__Mrs Kirrin had appeared during the row, and sighed when she
heard her husband shouting. Oh dear dear - these scientists who liked to do
wonderful things for the world - and yet often made their own families unhappy!
She smiled at George’s angry face, and took her arm._‘Come into the
living-room, dear, and bring the others with you. We’ll have to decide what can
be done. Your father really is doing wonderful work, you know - and I must say
that Tinker and Mischief and Timmy don’t help very much! All right, all right,
George - I know it isn’t Timmy’s fault - but he does have a very loud bark, you
know!’_She took the five children and Timmy into the living room. The monkey,
scared at the shouting had gone into hiding and was nowhere to be seen. Mrs
Kirrin called to Joan._‘Joan - come and help us to discuss what’s to be done.
This kind of thing can’t go on.’_They all sat down, looking rather solemn.
Timmy flopped down under the table, and put his nose on his paws. Where was
that little monkey who had given him his biscuit?_The discussion began. George
spoke first, most indignantly._‘Mother, this is our home. Why do we have to go
away just because Father wants this scientist friend to stay with him? I have
to do holiday homework, and I don’t make a row every time Father bangs a door
when I’m studying. But if I so much as...’_‘That will do, George,’ said her
mother. ‘You ought to understand your father better than you seem to. You are
both exactly the same - impatient, short-tempered, bangers-of-doors, and yet
both so kind too! Now - let’s see if we can find a way out.’_‘I only wish we
could stay at my home,’ said Julian, feeling awkward. ‘But it’s all shut up now
that my parents have gone away.’_‘Can’t we take tents over to Kirrin Island?’
said George. ‘Yes, Mother, yes - I know what you’re going to say - it’s only
the beginning of April, and it’s far too cold and all the rest of it,
and...’_‘The forecast for the weather is very bad,’ said her mother. ‘Rain,
rain, nothing but rain. You can’t possibly go and camp in the pouring rain -
and row to and fro getting drenched each day - I’d have you all in bed with
bronchitis before three days had gone - and then what should we do!’_‘All
right, Mother - have you any good suggestions?’ said George, still cross._‘Hey
- what’s that monkey doing?’ said Dick, suddenly. ‘Stop him!’_‘He’s only poking
the fire,’ said Tinker. ‘He thinks it’s cold in here.’_‘Well, what next!’ said
Joan, and took the poker firmly from the monkey’s little paw. ‘Do you want to
set the house on fire, you - you little...’_‘Monkey!’ finished Dick, with a
grin. ‘I must say that Mischief is always up to mischief! Can’t keep your eye
off him for a moment!’_‘Well, now - if we can’t go to Kirrin Island, or back home,
or stay here - where can we go?’ said Julian, looking serious. ‘Hotels are too
expensive - and which of our friends would like to have five of us to stay,
plus a wicked little monkey and a big dog with an enormous appetite ?’_There
was a silence. What a problem! Then suddenly Tinker spoke up._‘I know where we
could go - and we’d jolly well have some fun, too!’ he said._‘Oh - and where is
this wonderful place?’ asked George disbelievingly._‘Well - I was thinking of
my light-house,’ said Tinker most surprisingly. And then, as no one said
anything, but merely stared at him in astonishment, he nodded at them. ‘I said
my light-house - don’t you know what a light-house is?’_‘Don’t be silly,
please,’ said Dick. ‘This is not time for jokes.’_‘It’s not a joke,’ said
Tinker, indignantly. ‘It’s perfectly true. You ask my father.’_‘But Tinker dear
- you can’t possibly own a lighthouse,’ said Mrs Kirrin, smiling._‘Well, I do,’
said Tinker, quite fiercely. ‘You see, my father had some very special work to
do, that couldn’t be done on land - so he bought an old empty lighthouse, and
did his work there. I went to stay with him - my, it was grand there, with the
wind and the waves crashing about all the time.’_‘But - surely he didn’t give
it to you, did he?’ said Julian, disbelievingly._‘Yes, he did. Why shouldn’t
he, if I wanted it badly?’ demanded Tinker. ‘He didn’t want it any more, and
nobody would buy it - and I wanted it terribly, so he gave it to me on my last
birthday. And it’s mine, I tell you.’_‘Well, I’m blessed!’ said Julian. ‘Here’s
old George owning an island given to her by her mother - and Tinker owning a
light-house given to him by his father! I wish my parents would present me with
a volcano, or something really thrilling!’_George’s eyes shone as she looked at
the surprising Tinker. ‘A light-house - of your very own! Where is it?’_‘About
ten miles along this coast to the west,’ said Tinker. ‘It’s not an awfully big
one, you know - but it’s smashing! The old lamp is still there, but it’s not
used now.’_‘Why not?’ asked Dick._‘Well, because a big new light-house was
built farther along the coast, in a better position for warning ships,’
explained Tinker. ‘That’s how it was this old one was put up for sale. It was
fine for my father to work in. Nobody ever disturbed him there - though he did
get very angry with the sea-gulls sometimes. He said they mewed like great cats
all the time, and made him feel he ought to put out milk for them.’_This made
everyone burst into loud laughter, and Tinker sat beaming round proudly. How
clever he must be to make these children laugh like that - yes, and even Joan
and Mrs Kirrin too! He broke into their laughter by banging on the table._‘You
do believe me now, don’t you?’ he said. ‘It’s quite true that the light-house
is mine. You ask my father. Do let’s all go and stay in it till our two fathers
have finished their work. We could take Timmy and Mischief too - there’s plenty
of room.’_This proposal was so astonishing that no one answered for a few
moments. Then George gave him a friendly dig in the chest._‘I’ll come! Fancy
living in a light-house! I bet the girls at school won’t believe that!’_‘Aunt
Fanny! May we go?’ said Anne, her eyes shining too._‘Well - I don’t know,’ said
her aunt. ‘It really is a most extraordinary idea. I shall have to discuss it
with your uncle, and with Tinker’s father too.’_‘My father will say yes, I know
he will!’ said Tinker. ‘We left some stores there - and some blankets - I say,
wouldn’t it be grand to run a light-house ourselves!’_The idea certainly appealed
to all the Five - even Timmy thumped his tail on the floor as if he had
understood every word. He probably had - he never missed anything that was
going on!_‘I’ve a map that shows where my light-house is,’ said Tinker,
scrabbling in one of his pockets. ‘It’s rather crumpled and dirty because I’ve
looked at it so often. Look - here’s a map of the coastline - and just there -
built on rocks is my light-house. It’s marked by a round dot, look!’_Everyone
pored over the grubby map. Nobody had the least doubt but that this was the
answer to all their problems! Dick stared at the excited Tinker. How lucky he
was to own a light-house! Dick had never before met a light-house owner - and
to think it should be this funny little Tinker!_‘The rocks that the light-house
is built on used to wreck many ships,’ said Tinker. ‘Wreckers used to work
along that coast, you know - they would shine a light as if to guide ships
along the coast, and make them go on the rocks. Crash! They’d be broken to
pieces, and everyone drowned - and the wreckers would wait till the ship was
washed up on the shore, and then take everything they could from her.’_‘The
wicked wretches!’ said Dick, horrified._‘There’s a Wreckers’ Cave there, too,
where the wreckers stored the things they stole from the wrecked ships,’ said
Tinker. ‘I haven’t been very far into it - I’m too scared to. They do say
there’s an old wrecker or two there still.’_‘Oh nonsense!’ said Mrs Kirrin,
laughing. ‘That’s probably just a tale to keep children away from dangerous caves
and rocks. Well, dears - I really don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t go to
Tinker’s lighthouse, if his father agrees.’_‘Mother! THANK YOU!’ cried George
and gave her mother a hug that made her gasp. ‘I sap - living in an old
light-house - it’s too good to be true! I shall take my binoculars and keep
watch for ships!’_‘Well, Julian had better take his record-player as well,’
said Mrs Kirrin. ‘If it’s stormy weather, it may be a bit duller than you
think, mewed up in a lonely lighthouse!’_‘It will be MARVELLOUS!’ cried Tinker,
and he suddenly became a racing-car, tearing round the room at top speed,
making a most extraordinary noise. Timmy barked and Mischief began to chatter
loudly._‘Sh!’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘You’ll make your father cross, Tinker, and that
will be the end of your fine idea. Switch your engine off, please, and sit down
quietly! I’ll talk to your father as soon as I can!’___Chapter Five__TINKER’S
LIGHT-HOUSE__Mrs Kirrin thought that she might as well go immediately to the
study, and see if her husband and Professor Hayling could talk about the
children going away to this light-house of Tinker’s. Could it really be true?
She knocked discreetly at the closed door._She could hear voices inside the
room, but nobody called ‘Come in!’ She knocked again._‘What is it now!’ shouted
Mr Kirrin. ‘If it’s you, George, go away and keep away. And if it’s Tinker,
tell him to go to the garage and park himself there. I suppose it’s he who has
been making all that row this morning!’_Mrs Kirrin smiled to herself. Well,
well - if all scientists were like her husband and Professor Hayling, it was a
wonder they were ever calm enough to get any work done!_She went away. Perhaps
she could bring up the subject of the light-house at dinner-time. What a relief
it would be to have a peaceful house for a few days!_She went into the kitchen
to find Joan. The monkey was there, helping her! He had slipped away from
Tinker and gone to see if there were any tit-bits about. Joan was talking away
to him as she rolled out pastry._‘See, I roll it like this - and like that -
and I pick off a tiny bit for you!’ And she gave Mischief a snippet for
himself. He was very pleased, and leapt on Joan’s shoulder. He lifted a piece
of her hair and whispered in her ear. Joan pretended to understand._‘Yes,
Mischief. If you’re good I’ll give you another tit-bit in a minute. Now get off
my shoulder, and stop whispering. It tickles!’_‘Well, Joan - I never thought to
see you rolling pastry with a monkey on your shoulder!’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘Joan,
what do you think about this light-house idea? I haven’t been able to get into
the study yet! Mr Kirrin thought I was Tinker, and told me to go and park
myself in the garage!’_‘And a very good idea too,’ said Joan, rolling her
pastry vigorously. ‘Isn’t that Tinker out in the hall now - sounds like a car
of some sort! Well, ma’am, I’d say that if the light-house is habitable, why
shouldn’t the Five go there, with Tinker and the monkey? They’d enjoy
themselves all right, and Timmy would look after them. Sort of thing that they
love - rushing off to a light-house! Ugh! Nasty lonely place, with waves
crashing round and a wind fit to blow your head off!’_‘Yes, but do you think
they’d be all right all alone there, Joan!’ said Mrs Kirrrin._‘Well, Julian and
Dick are old enough to look after the others - though I must say I wouldn’t
like the job of being in charge of that Tinker,’ said Joan. ‘All I hope is that
he doesn’t imagine he’s an aeroplane all of a sudden, and take off from the top
of the light-house!’_Mrs Kirrin laughed. ‘Don’t say that to him!’ she said.
‘His idea of being a car is bad enough. Well, Joan, I feel very mean sending
George and the others away immediately they come here - but with two excitable
scientists in the house, I don’t see that there’s anything else to do. Look out
for that monkey - he’s found your bag of raisins!’_‘Oh you little Mischief!’
said Joan, and made a grab at the monkey. He shot off to the top of a cupboard
with the bag of raisins firmly held in one paw. He made a tiny chattering noise,
as if he were scolding Joan._‘You come down with those raisins!’ said Joan,
advancing to the cupboard. ‘Else I’ll tie you to a chair with that long tail of
yours. You little monkey!’_Mischief said something in his funny little voice
that sounded rather cheeky. Then he put his paw into the paper bag and took out
a raisin. But he didn’t eat it - he threw it straight at Joan! It hit her on
the cheek, and she stared at Mischief in astonishment._‘What! You’d pelt me
with my own raisins! Well, that I will NOT have!’ She went to the sink and
filled a cup with water, while Mischief pelted both her and Mrs Kirrin with
raisin after raisin! He danced about on the top of the cupboard, screeching
loudly in glee!_A bowl on the top of the cupboard fell off as the monkey danced
about, and crashed to the ground. The noise scared him, and, with a flying
leap, he shot off the cupboard and landed on the top of the half-open door. He
pelted the two women from there, making the most extraordinary noises._The
study door was flung open, and out came Mr Kirrin, followed by the Professor.
‘What was that crash? What’s happening here? How can we w...’_It was most
unfortunate that Joan should have thrown the cup of water at Mischief at that
moment. He sat there on the top of the door - and the water fell all over him,
splashed over the top of the door - and down on to Mr Kirrin’s head as he
pushed the door open!_Joan was horrified. She disappeared into the scullery at
once, not knowing whether to laugh or to make her apologies._Mr Kirrin was
astounded to find himself dripping wet. He stared angrily up at Mischief
absolutely certain that it was the monkey who had emptied the water over
him._By this time the Five had come out of the living-room, wondering what the
noise was. ‘It’s old Mischief,’ said Tinker. ‘Throwing water, I should
think!’_‘Well, actually, I threw the water,’ began Joan apologetically, peeping
out of the scullery, ‘because...’_‘YOU threw it?’ said Mr Kirrin, amazed. ‘What
is happening in this house? Things have come to a pretty pass if you start
flinging water at people, Joan. You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Are you
mad?’_‘Listen, Quentin,’ said his wife. ‘Nobody’s mad at present, but pretty
soon we all shall be, if this sort of thing goes on! Quentin, are you LISTENING?
I’ve something important to say to you - and to you too, Professor.’_The
Professor remembered his manners. He gave a slight bow to Mrs Kirrin. ‘Please
go on,’ he said politely, and then flinched as a raisin hit him squarely on the
head. Mischief had found one on the floor, and had taken a pot-shot at the
Professor. Dick looked at the monkey admiringly - he really was a very good
shot!_‘What’s that little fathead of a monkey throwing!’ said Mr Kirrin,
fiercely, and at once knew when a raisin hit him smartly on the nose. ‘Get rid
of him! Put him in the dustbin! Why have I to put up with monkeys that throw
things and boys that chug about the house like cars gone mad? I tell you Fanny,
I will NOT have it!’_Mrs Kirrin looked at him very sternly. ‘Listen Quentin, I
have something to say. LISTEN! Tinker says his father gave him a light-house
for his own, and he suggests that he and all the others should leave here and
go and stay in the light-house. Quentin, are you listening?’_‘A light-house!
Are you mad? What, that little monkey of a boy says he owns a light-house? And
you believed him?’ said Mr Kirrin, amazed._‘Tinker’s quite right, as it
happens,’ said Professor Hayling. ‘I bought a light-house to work in when I
wanted to get right away from everywhere and concentrate - and when I’d
finished, I couldn’t sell it - so as Tinker pestered me for it, I gave it to
him. But not to live in!’_‘A light-house to work in!’ said Mr Kirrin, thinking
what a truly marvellous idea this was. ‘I’ll buy it from you! I’ll...’_‘No,
Quentin, you won’t do anything of the sort,’ said his wife, firmly. ‘Will you
PLEASE listen to me, both of you. Professor Hayling, is the light-house fit for
these five to stay in - and if so, they want to know if they can go there until
you two have finished your work here. They’re a nuisance to you - and to be
quite honest, you’re a nuisance to them!’_‘Fanny!’ said her husband, astonished
and angry._‘Father, listen. We’ll all get out of your way as soon as possible,
if you’ll say we can go to Tinker’s lighthouse,’ said George, planting herself
firmly in front of her father. ‘Say one word - YES - that’s all we
want.’_‘YES!’ shouted Mr Kirrin, suddenly tired of all the argument, and
longing to get back to his papers with the Professor. ‘YES! Go to the light-house
- go to the Tower of London - go and live at the Zoo, if you like! The monkeys
will welcome that mischievous little creature, sitting grinning up there on the
cupboard! But go SOMEWHERE!’_‘Oh thank you, Father!’ said George, joyfully.
‘We’ll go off to the light-house as soon as we can. HURRAY! THREE CH...’_But
before she could continue, the study door shut with a bang behind the two
exasperated men. George bent down, took Timmy’s two front legs, and proceeded
to dance all round the living-room with him, shouting HURRAY! THREE CHEERS!’
over and over again._Mrs Kirrin sat down suddenly in a chair, and began to
laugh. Joan laughed too. ‘If we don’t laugh, we shall cry!’ she said. ‘What a
hullabaloo! Well, it’s a good thing they’ll soon be off, ma’am. That loft is
much too draughty for the boys, you know. Look at poor Julian - he’s got such a
stiff neck he can hardly turn it this morning.’_‘Who cares?’ said Julian.
‘We’ll soon be off again together, all the Five - and two more to keep us
company. It will be quite an adventure!’_‘An adventure?’ said Tinker,
surprised. ‘But you can’t have adventures in a light-house - it’s out on the
rocks, all by itself, as lonely as can be! There aren’t any adventures to be
found there!’_Ah - you wait and see, Tinker! You don’t know the Five! If
there’s any adventure about, they’re bound to be right in the middle of
it!___Chapter Six__MAKING PLANS__It was very exciting making plans to go to the
lighthouse. Tinker told them all about it, time and time again. ‘It’s very tall
- and there’s an iron stairway - a spiral one, going from the bottom up to the
top. And at the top is a little room for the lamp that used to flash to warn
ships away.’_‘It sounds smashing,’ said George. ‘What about Timmy, though? Can
he climb up a spiral stairway?’_‘Well, he can live down at the bottom, can’t
he, if it’s too difficult for him to climb up?’ said Tinker. ‘Mischief can
climb it easily - he simply races up!’_‘If Timmy has to live at the bottom, I
shall live there with him,’ said George._‘Why not wait and see the light-house
before you arrange the sleeping places?’ said Julian, giving lier a friendly
punch. ‘Now first we must find out exactly where it is - and the way to get
there. It’s a pity Tinker can’t turn into a real car - he could run us there in
no time!’_Tinker at once imagined himself to be a large van, taking the Five
and all their luggage along the road. He raced round the room, making his usual
car noise, and hooting so loudly that he made everyone jump. Julian caught him
as he raced round the table and sat him down firmly._‘Any more of that and we
leave you behind,’ he said. ‘Now - where’s that map of yours - let’s have a
look at it - and then we’ll get Aunt Fanny’s big map of the coast, and track
down the road to your lighthouse.’_Soon Tinker and the Five were studying a
large-scale map of the coast, Mischief sitting on Dick’s shoulder and tickling
his neck._‘See - that’s the way to go,’ said Julian. ‘It really wouldn’t be far
by sea - look, round the coast here, cut across this bay, round the headland -
and just there are the rocks on which the old light-house stands. But by road
it’s a very long way.’_‘Better go by car, though,’ said Dick. ‘We’ve a good bit
of luggage to take - not only our clothes, but crockery and things like that.
And food.’_‘There are still some stores there,’ said Tinker, eagerly. ‘Dad left
some when we went away from the light-house.’_‘They’ll probably have gone bad,’
said Julian._‘Well - don’t take too much,’ said Tinker. ‘It’s a pretty rough
way over the rocks to the light-house - there isn’t a road that runs right up
to it, you know. We shall have to carry everything ourselves, once we get to
the place. We can always get fresh food if we want it - the village isn’t all
that far away - but there are some days when you can’t even leave the
light-house! You see the waves splash house-high over the rocks when there’s a
rough wind. We’d have to get across by boat if the tide’s in - the rocks are
covered then!’_‘This sounds too exciting for words!’ said Dick, his eyes
shining. ‘What do you think about it, Anne? You haven’t said a word!’_‘Well - I
do feel just a bit scared!’ said Anne. ‘It sounds so lonely. I do hope no ships
will be wrecked on those awful rocks while we’re there!’_‘Tinker said there was
a fine new light-house farther along the coast,’ said Julian. ‘Its light will
keep every ship away from that wicked stretch of rocks. Look, Anne, you would
like to come, wouldn’t you? If not, Aunt Fanny wouldn’t mind just you staying
here - you’re a little mouse, you wouldn’t bother Uncle Quentin or the
Professor at all!’_‘I shouldn’t DREAM of not coming with you,’ said Anne,
indignantly. ‘Julian - you don’t think there are still wreckers about do you? I
should hate that.’_‘They belong to years gone by,’ said Julian. ‘Cheer up, Anne
- this is just a little visit we’re going to pay to Tinker’s seaside house! He
is kindly taking in visitors this spring!’_‘Well, let’s get on with our plans,’
said Dick. ‘We go there by car - er, what was that you just said, Tinker?’_‘I said
I’ll drive you, if you like,’ said Tinker. ‘I could dr...’_‘You haven’t a
driving licence, so don’t talk nonsense,’ said George, crossly._‘I know I
haven’t - but all the same I can drive!’ said Tinker. ‘I’ve driven my father’s
car round and round our garden, see? And...’_‘Oh do shut up,’ said Dick. ‘You
and your pretend cars! Julian, when shall we go to his light-house?’_‘Well, why
not tomorrow morning?’ said Julian. ‘I’m sure everyone would be glad if we left
as soon as possible! It’s hard on Aunt Fanny and Joan to have so many here.
We’ll see about a car and someone to drive us, and then we’ll pack and make our
getaway!’_‘Hurray’ said George in delight, and pounded on the table, making
Mischief leap up to the top of a bookcase in fright. ‘Oh, sorry, Mischief - did
I scare you? Timmy tell him I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. He probably
understands your doggy language.’_Timmy looked up at Mischief, gave two little
whines and a comforting wuff. Mischief listened with his head on one side, and
then leapt down, landing neatly on Timmy’s back._‘Thanks for giving him my
messsage, Tim,’ said George, and everyone laughed. Good old Timmy! He wagged
his long tail and put his head on George’s knee, looking up at her
beseechingly._‘All right old thing - I understand your language, whether you
talk with your voice or your eyes,’ said George, patting him. ‘You want a walk,
don’t you?’_‘Woof!’ said Timmy joyfully, and tore to the door._‘Let’s walk down
to the garage and see if they have a car or a van to hire out to us,’ said
Julian. ‘We’ll have to have a driver too, because someone has to take back the
car. Come on, Timmy-dog!’_They all set off to the garage in the village. The
rain held off for a while, and the sun came out, making Kirrin Bay sparkle and
shine._‘I wish we could have gone to stay on my island,’ said George. ‘But it
really is too damp to camp out. Anyway, a light-house will be nice for a
change!’_The man at the garage listened to Julian’s tale of wanting a car to go
to the light-house. ‘It’s the old light-house at Demon’s Rocks, not the new one
at High Cliffs,’ he said. ‘We’re going to stay there.’_‘Stay at a light-house!’
said the man. ‘This isn’t a joke is it!’_‘No. It happens to belong to one of
us,’ said Julian. ‘We have a few things to take there, of course, and we hoped
you’d have a car and a driver tomorrow for us. We’d let you know somehow when
we are ready to come back from the light-house, and you can send the same car
for us then.’_‘Right,’ said the man. ‘And you’re staying at Kirrin Cottage now,
you say? Oh - your uncle is Mr Kirrin? Well, I know Master George here, of
course - but I wasn’t certain who you were. Some queer people order cars, you
know!’_George was pleased to be called Master George. It was nice to be thought
a boy. She dug her hands deep down in the pockets of her jeans._‘We’d better
take a few rugs and cushions,’ said Julian. ‘And some sweaters and
wind-cheaters. I can’t imagine it’s very warm in the light-house.’_‘There’s an
oil-heater there,’ said Tinker. ‘I think it was for the light-house lamp when
it was in use. We can use that for warmth, if we’re cold.’_‘What sort of stores
did you and your father leave there?’ asked Dick. ‘We’d better order some
foodstuffs at the grocer’s - and some ginger-beer or something - and take it
all in the car.’_‘Well - there’s plenty of tinned food, I think,’ said Tinker,
trying to remember. ‘We left it there in case my father wanted to come back at
any time and work again in peace and quiet.’_‘Hm. It’s a pity he didn’t fix up
with Uncle Quentin to have him there with him,’ said Julian. ‘Then everyone
would have been happy!’_They went to the grocer’s and Anne tried her best to
order what she thought they would need, outside of tinned food. ‘Sugar - butter
- eggs - oh dear - help me, George. How much shall I order?’_‘Don’t forget we
can go shopping in Demon’s Rocks village,’ said Tinker. ‘Only it’s a bit of a
nuisance if there’s windy weather - the path over the rocks isn’t very safe
then. We might have to stay in the lighthouse for a day or two without leaving
it. Even a boat might be too risky.’_‘It sounds thrilling!’ said George,
picturing them all marooned by fierce storms, waiting to be rescued from peril
and starvation! ‘Get some biscuits, Anne. And bars of chocolate. And lots of
ginger-beer. And a big bottle of lemonade. And a...’_‘Wait a minute - do you
know who’s paying for all this?’ said Julian. ‘I am. So don’t ruin me
completely!’ He took out his wallet. ‘Here’s a pound,’ he said. ‘That’s all I
can spare at present! Dick can buy the next lot of food we want!’_‘Well, I’ve
plenty of money too,’ said Tinker, taking out a handful from his pocket._‘You
would have!’ said George. ‘I suppose your father just hands out money whenever
you ask him. He’s so vague he wouldn’t know if he paid you three times a day!’_‘Well,
yours seems pretty vague too,’ said Tinker, smartly. ‘He poured the coffee over
his porridge this morning, instead of the milk. I saw him. And what’s more, he
ate it without even noticing it was coffee!’_‘That’s enough,’ said Julian. ‘We
don’t tell tales about our parents in public. Tinker, don’t you want to take
anything for Mischief to eat while we’re in the light-house? George has bought
biscuits for Timmy, and we’re going to lay in a supply of bones, too.’_‘I’ll
buy Mischief’s food myself, thank you,’ said Tinker, not very pleased at being
ticked off by Julian. He gave an order for a packet of raisins, a packet of
currants, a pound of apple rings and some oranges. Mischief eyed all these with
very great pleasure._‘Paw’s off!’ said George, sharply, as the little monkey
slyly slid his paw into the bag of biscuits put ready for Timmy. Mischief
jumped on to Tinker’s shoulder and hid his face in his tiny paws, as if he were
ashamed!_‘We’ll just buy some more fruit,’ said Julian, ‘and then I think we’ll
have enough. We’ll have it all sent to the garage, and put in the car ready to
take away tomorrow.’_‘Tomorrow!’ said George, her eyes shining. ‘Oh, I hope it
comes soon. I can’t wait for it!’___Chapter Seven__OFF AT LAST__It was very
exciting that evening to talk about the next day - the car coming to fetch them
- the drive round the coast to Demon’s Rocks - exploring the lighthouse -
looking out over the endless sea, and watching the great waves coming in to
pound on the rocks!_‘What I’m looking forward to is our first night there,’
said George. ‘All alone, high up in that old light-house! Nothing but wind and
waves around! Snuggling down in our rugs, and waking up to hear the wind and
waves again.’_‘And the gulls,’ put in Tinker. ‘They cry all the time. You can
watch them from the light-house top. I wish I had wings like a gull - spread
out wide - sitting on the wind as they glide!’_‘Sitting on the wind - yes,
that’s exactly what they do!’ said Anne. ‘I just wish their cry didn’t sound so
mournful, though.’_Mrs Kirrin was half-inclined not to let the children go
after all! The weather forecast was bad, and she pictured them sitting
half-frozen, and perhaps very scared, in the old deserted light-house. But no
sooner did she begin to wonder out loud if she ought to let them go than the
children raised their voices in indignant chorus!_‘But we’ve ordered the
CAR!’_‘And heaps of food! And Joan has packed up a big tin of all kinds of
things. She even baked a special cake for us!’_‘Mother! How could you think of
saying no when you’ve already said yes!’_‘All right, all right, dears!’ said
Mrs Kirrin. ‘I wouldn’t really stop you going. But do send me a card or two,
will you? That’s if there’s anywhere to post one!’_‘Oh, there’s a tiny
post-office in the village,’ said Tinker. ‘We’ll send a card every day. Then
you’ll know we’re all right.’_‘Very well - but if a card doesn’t come I’ll be
very worried,’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘So please do keep your word! You won’t forget
your anoraks will you - and your rubber boots, and...?’_‘Mother! I feel as if
you’re going to mention umbrellas next!’ said George. ‘But honestly we’d be
blown out to sea if we put an umbrella up on Demon’s Rocks. Tinker says there’s
always a gale blowing round the coast there.’_‘You can think of us playing Slap
Bang with our packs of cards, and having a fine time in the lighthouse while
storms rage round and howl like demons!’ said Dick. ‘We’ll be sitting snug in
our rugs, with ginger-beer beside us, and chocolate biscuits all
round...’_‘Woof,’ said Timmy, at once, pricking his ears up at words he knew so
well._‘Ha - you think you’re going to feed on chocolate biscuits, do you, Tim?’
said Dick, ruffling the dog’s hairy head. ‘And please don’t interrupt the
conversation. It’s not good manners.’_‘Woof’ said Timmy apologetically, and
licked Dick’s nose._‘I think you’d all better go to bed early tonight,’ said
Mrs Kirrin. ‘You’ve still some packing to do tomorrow - and you say you’ve
ordered the car for half past nine.’_‘We’ll be down to breakfast at eight o’clock
sharp,’ said Julian. ‘I bet the Professor won’t be down till about eleven, and
forget all about his bacon and eggs! Tinker, does your father ever have a
really hot meal? I mean - it seems to me he either forgets them altogether, or
wanders in hours late, and then doesn’t know if he’s having breakfast, dinner,
or supper!’_‘Well, I can always eat up everything that’s there, if I think he’s
forgotten to come,’ said Tinker, sensibly. ‘Mischief helps too. You’d be
surprised how fond Mischief is of fat bacon.’_‘I’m not a bit surprised at
anything Mischief does,’ said Julian. ‘I’m just wondering how we are going to
put up with his tricks when we’re all cooped up in the light-house together! We
can’t send him out into the garden then, to work off some of his high spirits.
Aunt Fanny, do you know he took my pencil this morning and scribbled
monkey-words all over my wall-paper? It’s a good thing I can’t read
monkey-language for I’m sure he wasn’t scribbling anything polite!’_‘You’re not
to say things like that about Mischief,’ said Tinker, offended. ‘He’s very
good-mannered for a monkey. You should see some monkeys I know!’_‘I’d rather
not, thanks,’ said Julian._Tinker was cross. He picked up Mischief and went out
of the room. Soon there was the noise of a car out in the hall - one that
needed repairing by the sound of it!_‘R-r-r-r-RRRRRR-r-r-r-r, OOOOOOPH,
Rrrrrrr, PARP!’_Mrs Kirrin rushed to the door. ‘You know you’ve been told not
to be a car out in the hall. Come back before your father hears you, Tinker. My
goodness me, this house will be an entirely different place, once it is rid of
all the cars that have driven about in it since you came!’_‘I was only being a
tractor,’ said Tinker, surprised. ‘I always feel as if I must go and be a car
when people are horrid to me or Mischief.’_‘Oh, be your age!’ said George._‘I
shall go up to bed,’ said Tinker, offended again._‘Well, that’s not a bad idea,
seeing that you have to be punctual tomorrow morning,’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘Good
night, then, Tinker dear. Good night Mischief.’_Tinker found himself gently
propelled to the door. He went up the stairs, grumbling, Mischief on his
shoulder. But he soon stopped frowning as he undressed and thought of the next
day. Off to the lighthouse - his light-house! Ha, that would make George and
the others sit up. He snuggled down in bed with Mischief nestling beside him,
one little paw down the front of Tinker’s pyjama jacket._Next morning George
awoke first. She sat up, afraid that the weather forecast might be right, and
that it would be pouring with rain. No - it was wrong for once - the sun shone
down and she could not hear the sound of the sea - that meant that there was
not much wind to blow up big waves that pounded on the shore._She awoke Anne.
‘Light-house day!’ she said. ‘Buck up - it’s half past seven.’_They were all
down very punctually to breakfast - except Professor Hayling! As usual he did
not appear until breakfast was over, and then he sauntered in at the front
door!_‘Oh - you are up then,’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘I thought you were still asleep
in bed.’_‘No - Tinker woke me up at some very early hour,’ complained the
Professor. ‘Or else it was the monkey - I really don’t know. They both look
alike to me in the early morning.’_Mr Kirrin was already down, but hadn’t come
into breakfast. He was in his study as usual. ‘George - go and fetch your
father,’ said Mrs Kirrin. ‘His breakfast will soon be uneatable.’_George went
to the study door and knocked. ‘Father! Don’t you want your breakfast?’_‘I’ve
had it!’ said a surprised voice. ‘Very nice couple of boiled eggs.’_‘Father!
That was your yesterday’s breakfast!’ said George, impatiently. ‘It’s bacon and
fried eggs today. You’ve forgotten as usual. Do come. We’re leaving for the
light-house soon.’_‘Light-house - what light-house?’ said Mr Kirrin, in tones
of great astonishment. But he had no answer. George had gone back to the
dining-room, not knowing whether to laugh or frown. Really! Father was so
forgetful that he would forget where he lived next!_There was great excitement
after breakfast. Rugs - coats - night-clothes, the warmest that could be found
- tins of cakes and mince-pies packed by Joan - sandwiches to eat on the way -
books - games - as George said, anyone would think they were going away for a
month!_‘The car’s late!’ said Dick, impatiently. ‘Or else my watch is
fast.’_‘Here it comes!’ said Anne, excited. ‘Oh, Aunt Fanny, I wish you were
coming too! We’re going to have such fun! Where’s Mischief - oh, there he is!
And Timmy - Timmy, we’re going to live in a light-house! You don’t even know
what that is, do you?’_The car came up to the front gate of Kirrin Cottage, and
the driver blew his horn, making Mr Kirrin almost jump out of his skin. He
turned on poor Tinker at once. ‘Was that you up to your silly tricks of
pretending to be a car, and hooting again? Own up, now!’_‘No sir, it wasn’t, on
my honour it wasn’t,’ said Tinker, indignantly, hopping out of the way of what
looked as if it might be a very powerful slap. ‘See - it’s that car!’_‘I’ll
just ask the driver what he means by driving up here and hooting fit to scare
us all!’ said Mr Kirrin indignantly. ‘What’s he come here for, anyway?’_FATHER!
It’s the CAR that’s come to take us to the LIGHT-HOUSE!’ said George, not
knowing whether to laugh or be cross._‘Ah yes,’ said Mr Kirrin. ‘Why didn’t you
tell me before? Well, good-bye, good-bye! Have a good time, and don’t forget to
dry yourselves well after a bathe.’_They piled into the car, and the man put
their luggage into the big boot. He stared as Timmy and Mischief leapt in. ‘Sure
you’ve all got enough room?’ he said. ‘What a carful!’_Then to the
accompaniment of a loud R-r-r-r-r-RRR from the car’s engine, and an equally
loud one from the delighted Tinker, the car turned and drove away down the
sandy lane._‘We’re off,’ said George, in a happy voice. ‘Off all by ourselves
again. It’s the thing I like best of all. Do you like it too, Tim?’_‘WOOF!’
said Timmy, agreeing heartily, and lay down with his head on George’s foot. Ah
- now for a lovely holiday with George. Timmy didn’t mind where he went - even
to the end of the world - so long as he was with George!___Chapter
Eight__THERE’S THE LIGHT-HOUSE!__Once they were out on the main road, Tinker
began to talk to the driver, asking him questions about all kinds of cars. The
others listened, amused._‘Well, I don’t think much of the new cars,’ said
Tinker. ‘All gadgets!’_‘Some of the new gadgets are very good,’ said the
driver, amused with the cocky little boy, and he touched a little lever beside
him. At once the window next to Tinker went down smoothly, with a curious low
moan. Tinker was extremely startled._‘Oh, don’t open that window,’ said Anne,
as a rough wind swooped in. ‘For goodness’ sake shut it, Tinker.’_Tinker shut
it and began to talk about cars again. Once more the driver touched the lever
beside him, and once more Tinker’s window slid mournfully down, and a cold
draught came in._‘TINKER! Don’t mess about with the windows,’ ordered
Julian._‘I never touched the thing,’ said Tinker, eyeing the window with
suspicion. It suddenly shut itself, sliding upwards very smoothly. Tinker began
to feel uncomfortable. He watched the window closely, afraid that it might play
tricks again. The others, knowing perfectly well that the driver could open and
shut any of the windows automatically from his own seat, nudged one another,
and giggled. ‘That shut up poor old Tinker!’ murmured Dick._It had. Not another
word about new cars or old came from Tinker during the whole drive! It was a
very pleasant one, mostly round the coast, and very little inland. The views
were magnificent._‘That dog of yours seems to like the views,’ said the driver.
‘His head has been out of the window all the time.’_‘Well - I always thought it
was because he liked the fresh air,’ said George. ‘Timmy, is it because you
enjoy the views?’_‘Woof,’ said Timey, and withdrew his head to give George a
lick. He also gave the little monkey a lick. Poor Mischief didn’t much like the
motion of the car. He sat very still indeed, afraid that he might be sick. The
car purred along, sounding just like Tinker’s usual imitation!_They stopped for
an early lunch, and ate their sandwiches hungrily, sitting on a cliff. The
driver had brought his own, and once Mischief had discovered that half the
man’s sandwiches were made of tomato, he sat on his knee in a very friendly
manner, sharing his sandwiches in delight._‘We’ll be there in another hour or
so,’ said the man. ‘Where are you staying at Demon’s Rocks? The garage didn’t
tell me.’_‘At the light-house,’ said Julian. ‘Do you know it?’_‘Yes - but people
don’t stay there!’ said the driver, thinking that Julian was pulling his leg.
‘What hotel are you going to - or are you staying with friends?’_‘No. We really
are going to the light-house,’ said Tinker. ‘It’s mine. My very own.’_‘Well -
you’ve certainly got a place with a fine view!’ said the driver. ‘I was born at
Demon’s Rocks. My old great-grandad is still in the same cottage where I was
born. My word - the stories he used to tell me of that old light-house - and
how the wreckers got into it one night and grabbed the keeper there, and doused
the light, so that a great ship might go on the rocks.’_‘How horrible - and did
it get wrecked?’ asked Dick._‘Yes. Smashed to bits,’ said the driver.
‘Ab-sol-utely - smashed - to bits! And then they waited for the tide to wash up
the wreckage. You ought to look up my old great-grandad, and get him to tell
you his tales. He might even show you the Wreckers’ Cave...’_‘Oh - we heard
about that,’ said George. ‘Is it really true - can we see it? And is there
someone in there still?’_‘No - no, all the old wreckers are gone long ago,’
said the driver. ‘As soon as the new light-house was built, the wreckers’ day
was done. It’s so powerful, you see. Its beams can be seen even in the fiercest
storm. The beam from the light-house you’re going to wasn’t very good - but it
saved a good many ships, all the same!’_‘What’s your grandad’s name?’ asked
George, making up her mind to look him up as soon as she could. ‘Where does he
live?’_‘Ask for Jeremiah Boogie,’ said the driver, carefully skirting a herd of
cows. ‘You’ll find him sitting some where on the quay, smoking a long pipe, and
scowling at anyone that comes nigh him. But he likes children, so don’t you be
afraid of his scowl. He’ll tell you a few tales, will my old great-grandad!
Well, bless us all, if there isn’t another herd of cows coming round the
corner.’_‘Hoot at them,’ said Tinker._‘Ever heard the rhyme about the cow that
jumped over the moon, boy?’ said the driver. ‘Well, someone hooted when it came
by, see? And that’s what it did - jumped over the moon! No good driver hoots at
cows. It scares them silly, and they jump like hares. Look - see that cliff
round the curve of the coast there? Well, that’s the first bit of Demon’s
Rocks. We’ll soon be there now.’_‘Why is it called that?’ asked George._‘Well,
the rocks there are so wicked that it was reckoned they could only have been
put there by some kind of savage demon,’ said the driver. ‘Some are just below
the water so that they catch the keel of a boat and rip it. Others stick up
sharp as sharks’ teeth - and there’s a great ledge of rocks where a boat can be
pounded to bits by the waves. Ah, they’re Demon’s Rocks all right!’_‘When shall
we see the light-house?’ asked Tinker. ‘We ought to see it soon.’_‘Wait till
another bit of the coast comes in sight as soon as we get to the top of this
hill,’ said the driver. ‘And just tell that monkey of yours to take his paw out
of my coat-pocket. I’ve no more tomatoes there!’_‘Behave yourself, Mischief,’
said Tinker, so sternly that the little creature hid its face in its paws and
whimpered._‘Little humbug!’ said George. ‘There’s not a tear in his eye! Oh
look - is that the light-house?’_‘Yes. That’s it,’ said the driver. ‘You get a
good view of it now, from this hill. Fine one isn’t it, for an old one? Ah,
they could build well in those days. That one’s made of stone. It’s wave-swept
so it has to be fairly tall, or the shining of the lamp would have been hidden
by the spray falling on the windows.’_‘Where did the light-house keeper live?’
asked Dick._‘Oh, there’s a cosy enough room just under the lamp room,’ said the
driver. ‘My grandad took me up there once. I never saw such a view of a stormy
sea in my life!’_‘My father lived there all one summer,’ boasted Tinker. ‘I was
with him most of the time. It was grand.’_‘Why did your father want to live in
a light-house?’ asked the driver, curiously. ‘Was he hiding, or something?’_‘Of
course not. He’s a scientist, and he said he wanted peace and quiet, with no
telephones ringing, and no one coming to see him,’ said Tinker._‘And do you
mean to say he had peace and quiet with you there?’ said the driver teasingly.
‘Well, well!’_‘It’s not so quiet there really,’ said Tinker. ‘The waves make
such a noise, and so does the wind. But my father didn’t really notice those.
He only notices things like bells ringing, or people talking, or somebody
knocking at the door. Things like that drive him mad. He loved the
light-house.’_‘Well - I hope you enjoy yourselves there,’ said the driver.
‘It’s not my cup of tea - hearing nothing but waves and gulls crying. Better
you than me!’_They descended the other side of the hill and the light-house was
no longer to be seen. ‘Soon be there now,’ said Tinker. ‘Mischief, will you
like to be at the light-house again? My word, how quickly you could go up the
spiral staircase and down - do you remember?’_The car swept down almost to the
edge of the sea. The light-house was now plainly to be seen, a good way out
from the shore. A small boat bobbed at a stone jetty, and Tinker pointed it out
with a scream of joy. ‘That’s the boat we had - the one that took us to and
from the light-house when the tide was in! It’s called Bob-About, and my word,
it does bob about too.’_‘Is it yours?’ asked George, rather jealously._‘Well,
it was sold with the light-house, so I suppose it is,’ said Tinker. ‘Anyway,
it’s the one we’ll use when we can’t wade over the rocks.’,_‘Well, see you
don’t get storm-bound in the lighthouse,’ said the driver, bringing the car to
a stop. ‘The sea between Demon’s Rocks and the jetty will be too rough for that
little boat, in stormy weather.’_‘I can manage boats all right,’ said George.
‘I’ve had one since I was small.’_‘Yes. You’re pretty good with them, that I do
know,’ said the driver. ‘Well - here we are. Are you going to go straight to
the light-house - in that boat? Shall I help you to carry your things to
it?’_‘Well thanks,’ said Julian, and between them they carried everything to
the little boat. An old man sat nearby, and he touched his cap to them.
‘Message came through from Kirrin to say I was to get the old boat out for
you,’ he said. ‘Which of you’s Master Hayling?’_‘I am,’ said Tinker. ‘And
that’s my boat, and that’s my light-house! Come on, everyone - let’s row to the
light-house - come on! I can hardly wait to get there!’___Chapter Nine__INSIDE
THE LIGHT-HOUSE__The five children jumped down into the boat, which was
certainly acting up to its name of Bob-About! Timmy leapt in after George, but
Mischief the monkey cried in terror when Tinker took him into the bobbing boat
and sat down, holding him firmly._‘It’s all right, Mischief,’ said Tinker.
‘Don’t you remember this little boat of mine? You never did like going in a
boat, though, did you?’_There were two pairs of oars. Julian took one pair, and
George was going to take the other, when Dick quietly took them himself,
grinning at George’s angry face._‘Sorry - there’s a good old swell on the sea,
and we’ve to row through some pretty good waves. I’m just a bit stronger than
you, George!’_‘I row just as well as you do,’ said George. The boat gave a
great roll to one side just then, and she just managed to save one of their
suitcases from toppling overboard._‘Well saved!’ said Julian. ‘And only just in
time too! My word, what a swell there is just here!’_‘Are you going to row
right over the rocks?’ asked Anne peering down into the water. ‘They are
covered by the water now - we shan’t scrape the bottom of the boat at
all.’_‘These are the rocks that we can walk over when the tide’s out,’ said
Tinker. ‘Lovely pools there are in them, too! I used to wallow in a nice warm
one that was so well-heated by the sun that I wished I had a cold tap to turn
on when the water felt too hot!’_Anne chuckled. ‘I wish it was warm enough to
bathe now,’ she said. ‘My word - look down and see what horrible rocks there
are, just beneath the boat!’_‘Yes - I bet they ripped up many a poor ship in
the old days,’ said Julian. ‘No wonder they called them Demon’s Rocks! It’s a
bit of a pull over them, isn’t it, Dick?’_‘Let me have a turn,’ said George,
grabbing at one of Dick’s oars._‘Nothing doing,’ said Dick, with a grin. ‘You
just look after those bags, old thing!’_‘Is it a very old light-house?’ asked
Anne, as they swung over the hidden rocks, and the light-house came nearer and
nearer. ‘It looks old!’_‘Yes, it is,’ said Tinker. ‘It’s an odd little
light-house, really - built by a rich man years and years ago. His daughter was
drowned in a ship that was wrecked on these rocks - so he built a light-house,
partly as a memorial to the girl, and partly to prevent other shipwrecks.’_Anne
gazed at it. It was sturdily built and seemed very tall to her. Its base was
firmly embedded in the rocks below it, Dick thought that the foundations must
go very deep down into the rocks, to hold the lighthouse firmly in the great
gales that must blow in bad weather. A gallery, rather like a verandah, ran
round the top, just below the windows through which the light-house lamp once
shone. What a view there would be from that gallery, thought Anne._They came
near to the light-house, which had stone steps running from the rocks up to a
doorway built some way above the crashing waves._‘Will the door be locked?’
asked Dick, suddenly, ‘I wouldn’t want to row all this way and then find we
can’t get into the place!’_‘Of course the door will be locked,’ said Tinker.
‘Anyone got the key?’_‘Oh, don’t be a donkey!’ said Julian, resting his oars,
and glaring at Tinker. ‘Do you mean to say we can’t get in, after all
this?’_‘It’s all right!’ said Tinker, grinning at Julian’s dismayed face. ‘I
just wanted to pull your leg. Here’s the key! It’s my light-house, you see, so
Dad gave me the key, and I always carry it about with me. It’s very
precious.’_It was an extremely large key, and George marvelled that Tinker
could keep it in his pocket. He flourished it at them, grinning again. ‘I’m
looking forward to unlocking my lighthouse with my key!’ he said. ‘I bet you
wish you had a light-house of your own, George.’_‘Well, yes, I do,’ said
George, gazing up at the towering light-house, now so near to them._‘You’d
better be a bit careful now,’ said Tinker to the boys. ‘Wait till a big wave
swells up, then ride over it, and make for that rock over there - the one
standing out of the water. There’s a calm bit beyond it, for some reason, and
you can row up to the steps quite safely. Look out for a stone post there, and
chuck the rope round it, George. You’re in a better position than I am for
that.’_It was all done much more easily than the Five hoped. The boat swung
into a stretch of fairly calm water, and the two boys rowed hard for the steps.
George neatly threw the loop of rope over the post - and there they were, at
the foot of the light-house, with only a few rocks to climb over to reach the
steps. These rocks were not under water, and one by one the children and Timmy
jumped out, and stared up at the light-house. It seemed much bigger now that
they were just at the bottom!_‘I’ll unlock the door,’ said Tinker, proudly, and
climbed up the steep stone steps. ‘Look at the enormous great stones that my
light-house is made of. No wonder it has stood so long!’_He thrust the great
key into the lock of the stout wooden door, and tried to turn it. He struggled
for a minute, and then turned to the others with a scared face. ‘I can’t open
the door!’ he said. ‘Now what do we do?’_‘I’ll have a try,’ said Julian. ‘It’s
probably stuck.’ He took hold of the key, gave it a strong twist - and opened
the door! Everyone was most relieved. Julian pushed the others in out of the
wind and the spray, and shut the door firmly._‘Well - here we are!’ he said.
‘Isn’t it dark! Good thing I brought a torch!’_He shone the torch round, but
all that was to be seen was a steep iron staircase spiralling up the middle of
the light-house!_‘The staircase goes right up to the top, to the lamp-room,’
explained Tinker. ‘It passes through a few rooms on the way. I’ll show you.
Hang on to the railing of the staircase, you may feel giddy going up round and
round so steeply.’_Tinker proudly led the way up the steep little staircase,
that went round and round and round! They came to a hole through which the
stairway passed into a little dark room. ‘One of the store-rooms,’ said Tinker,
and flashed his torch round. ‘See - there are tins of food that I told you my
father and I left here. Now we go on up to the oil-room - that’s not very
big.’_‘What’s the oil-room?’ asked Anne._‘Oh it was just where tins of paraffin
oil used to be kept - the oil they used for the light at the top of the
light-house. The old lamp had to burn oil, you see - there wasn’t electricity
in those days. Look - here’s the oil-room.’_The oil-room had a very low
ceiling, no window, and was packed with old tins. It had a nasty smell, and
Anne held her nose with her fingers._‘I don’t like this room,’ she said. ‘It
has a horrid smell and a horrid feel about it! Let’s go on up the
staircase.’_The next room had one of the few little windows in the light-house,
and as the sun came through it, it was much lighter and more cheerful._‘This
was where my father and I slept,’ said Tinker. ‘My word - look, we forgot to
take that old mattress away with us. What a bit of luck! We can use it!’_Up the
spiral staircase they went once more, and this time came to a room with a
higher ‘ceiling’ than the others, and a good window, though small. The sun came
through this one too, and it looked quite homely! It had a table, and three
chairs, and a box. It also had an old desk, and a little paraffin stove for
boiling water or frying food._‘There’s my old frying-pan!’ said Tinker. ‘We’ll
find that jolly useful. And a kettle - and a saucepan. And we left spoons and
forks and knives behind, though not enough for all five of us, I’m afraid. And
there’s crockery too - though not as much as there ought to be. I broke rather
a lot. But there are some tin cups and plates - I used just to wipe them clean
with a cloth. Water’s precious in a light-house you know.’_‘Where is the
water-tank?’ asked George. ‘We’ll have to have some water.’_‘My father arranged
a catch-tank on the west side of the light-house,’ said Tinker, proudly. ‘It
catches rainwater, and runs into a pipe that goes through one of the windows
and fills a little tank over a sink. I forgot to show you that. There’s a tap
to turn the water on and off. My father’s very clever you know - and a thing
like that is as simple as ABC. He didn’t want to have to fetch water every day
for washing in! Gosh, we did have fun here!’_‘Well, it looks as if you’ll have
some more fun!’ said Dick. ‘You’ve plenty of company this time! You must have
been jolly lonely before.’_‘Oh well - I had Mischief,’ said Tinker, and when he
heard his name, the little monkey came scampering over to him, and leapt into
the boy’s arms, cuddling into him lovingly._‘And what’s the next room in this
marvellous little light-house?’ asked Julian.’_‘There’s only one more - and
that’s the lamp-room. I’ll show you that - it used to be the most important
room in the place - but now it’s lonely - never used - quite forgotten! Come
and see!’ And up the last spiral of the stairway went Tinker. How very, very
proud he was of his light-house!___Chapter Ten__SETTLING IN__Once more they all
climbed up the spiral stairway. Timmy rather slowly, for he found the winding
stairs difficult. Mischief shot up in front of them, almost as if he were the
owner of the light-house, and was showing off his home!_The lamp-room was a
high room with big windows all round it. It was very bright, for the sun shone
steadily into it. The view was magnificent!_Anne gave a shout of wonder! The
light-house was so high that the children could see for miles and miles over
the heaving dark blue sea. They went all round the lamp-room, looking in every
direction._‘I say! There’s a door here!’ cried Dick. ‘Does it open on to that
little balcony, or gallery, or whatever it is that runs all round this
room?’_‘Yes. The gallery goes completely round the lamp-room,’ said Tinker. ‘My
word, you should see it sometimes when the weather’s rough, and the gulls go
seeking somewhere out of the storm. They perch on that gallery by the dozen!
But you can’t go out there except in calm weather - you might be blown right
off! You’ve no idea what it’s like when there’s a storm. Honestly, one night
when my father and I were here I thought I felt the light-house rocking!’_‘This
is about the most exciting place I’ve ever stayed in,’ said Anne, her eyes
shining. ‘Tinker, I think you are the luckiest boy in the world!’_‘Do you
really?’ said Tinker, pleased. He gave Anne a little pat. ‘I hoped you’d like
it. Mischief loves it - don’t you, Mischief?’_Mischief was up on top of the
great lamp. He chattered down to Timmy as if he were telling him all about it.
Timmy listened, his ears cocked, his head on one side._‘He looks just as if he
understood that monkey-gabble!’ said George. ‘Tinker - this lamp is never
lighted now, is it?’_‘No, never,’ said Tinker. ‘I told you there is a fine new
light-house a bit farther down the coast. It has a terrific lamp - run by
electricity. We shall see its beam sweeping the sea at night.’_‘Why don’t
people build light-houses and live in them?’ wondered George, as she gazed out
over the wide blue sea._‘Anyone feeling hungry?’ asked Tinker, rubbing his
tummy. ‘I feel jolly empty.’_‘Oh gosh - we haven’t taken the things out of my
boat!’ said Tinker. ‘Come on - let’s carry them all indoors, and have a meal.
What’s the time? Past four o’clock! No wonder I feel empty. Come on, Mischief -
to work! You can carry some of the things in too.’_They ran down the spiral
stairway, through room after room, and came to the great door. ‘I suppose it
had to be built as thickly and strongly as possible, because of the sea dashing
against it in storms,’ said Julian, pulling it open. The wind rushed in and
almost knocked him over! They pushed their way out, and climbed back over the
rocks to where they had left the boat. It was bobbing gently up and down in the
little stretch of calm water._‘Hallo, Bob-About!’ said Tinker. ‘Did you think
we were never coming? Got all our goods safely? Good little boat!’_‘Ass!’ said
Dick, grinning. ‘Come on, Ju - I’ll take half the heavy things, you take the
rest. The girls and Tinker can manage the smaller things. Hey, Mischief, what
do you think you’re doing?’_Mischief had picked up a parcel or two, and was
bounding off with them. ‘It’s all right! He’s used to helping!’ shouted Tinker.
‘He often goes shopping with me, and carries bags and things. Let him help, he
likes it.’_The monkey certainly was very useful. He scampered to and fro with
all kinds of little things, and chattered happily. Timmy stood staring at him,
his tail down, wishing he could use his paws as nimbly as Mischief could.
George gave him a loving pat._‘It’s all right, Timmy, darling. Here - take this
basket.’_Timmy took the basket in his mouth by the handle and leapt happily up
the steps of the light-house. He might not be able to pick up the little things
that Mischief so easily managed - but at least he could carry baskets!_‘We’ll
leave the boat bobbing up and down,’ said Tinker. ‘It will be quite all right
there, tied to the post, unless the sea gets terribly rough - then we’ll have
to pull it halfway up the steps.’_‘Let’s have our meal and unpack before we
arrange our things,’ said Anne. ‘I really do feel very hungry now. What sort of
a meal shall we have? I feel as if I want something more than a tea-time
meal!’_‘That’s the worst of living in a light-house,’ said Tinker, quite
seriously. ‘You’re awfully hungry nearly all the time. I used to have five or
six meals a day when I stayed here with my father.’_‘Sounds all right to me,’
said Dick, with a grin. ‘Let’s have a “tea-sup” meal, shall we? A mixture of
tea and supper! Tea-sup!’_Some of the things were put into the bedroom and some
into the living-room. Soon Tinker popped a saucepan of water on the stove to
boil. Because of the rainy weather, the little rain-catch tank had provided
plenty of water for the small inside tank set over the sink, which was most
conveniently put in the living-room. When Tinker turned on the tap, out came
clear rain-water!_‘Magic!’ said Anne, delighted. ‘I feel as if I’m in a
dream!’_Eggs were put into the saucepan, and were soon boiled. ‘Exactly three
minutes and a half,’ said Anne, ladling out each one with a spoon. ‘TWO eggs
each! At this rate we shall have to go shopping every day! George, you cut some
bread-and-butter. The bread’s in that bag - but goodness knows where the butter
is. I know we bought some.’_‘What about having a few of Joan’s famous
mince-pies too?’ said Dick, taking the lid off a bigs square tin. ‘Whew!
Dozens! And cherry buns as well! And home-made macaroons - Joan’s speciality! I
say - what a meal!’_‘What shall we have to drink?’ said Julian. ‘Ginger-beer?
Lemonade? Or shall we make some tea?’_Everyone voted for ginger-beer. It was a
very pleasant and cheery meal that the Five had in the old lighthouse, with
Mischief and Tinker. The gulls called outside, the wind gave the light-house an
occasional buffet, and the sound of the sea was mixed with all the other noises
- lovely! Anne hugged her knees as she waited for her ginger-beer. To think
they were going to stay here for days and days. All by themselves._When the
meal was over, Anne and George washed up in the little sink. ‘Oh don’t wash up
- just give the things a quick wipe-over!’ said Tinker. ‘Like this!’_‘Oh no!’
said Anne. ‘That’s just like a boy! You’d better leave this side of things to
me. I like doing jobs like this, see?’_‘Just like a girl!’ said Tinker, with a
grin._‘No, it isn’t,’ said George. ‘I hate doing them, and I’m a girl - though
I wish I wasn’t!’_‘Never mind - you look like a boy, and you’re often as rude
as a boy, and you haven’t an awful lot of manners,’ said Tinker, quite thinking
that he was comforting George._‘I’ve more manners than you,’ said George, and
stalked off in a huff to look out of the windows. But nobody could be in a huff
for long, with that wonderful view - sea for miles and miles, tipped here and
there with white breakers. George gave a sigh of pleasure. She forgot that she
was annoyed with Tinker, and turned to him with a smile._‘If I could own this
view, I’d feel I was the richest person in all the world!’ she said. ‘You’re
very lucky, Tinker.’_‘Am I?’ said Tinker, thinking it over, ‘Well, you can have
half the view, if you like. I don’t want it all.’_Julian laughed, and clapped
the boy on the back. ‘We’ll all share it, while we’re here!’ he said. ‘Come on
- let’s unpack and arrange everything. Girls, you had better sleep here in this
living-room - and we three boys will sleep down in the bedroom. That all right
by you, Tinker?’_‘Fine - so long as you don’t mind Mischief sleeping with us,’
said Tinker. ‘Anyway I expect Timmy will sleep with the girls.’_‘Woof,’ said
Timmy, agreeing. He was certainly not going to sleep anywhere without
George!_They all had fun unpacking, and putting the things in the diferent
places. ‘Store-room for that,’ Julian said, ‘and living-room for this and this
- and bedroom for these rugs - thought these two had better go to the
living-room, because the girls will sleep there.’_‘Cards for the living-room,’
said Dick, handing them to Anne. ‘And books. And papers. Gosh, we mustn’t
forget to send a card each day to Aunt Fanny. We promised we would.’_‘Well,
she’ll know we arrived safely today because the car-driver will be sure to send
a message to her,’ said George. ‘But tomorrow we’ll go down to the village and
buy a stock of post-cards - and we’ll send one every single day. I know Mother
will worry if we don’t.’_‘All mothers are worriers,’ said Dick. ‘It’s a
nuisance - but on the other hand it’s one of the nice things about them. Now
then - what about a game of cards?’_And there they all are in the light-house,
playing cards with shouts and laughter, Timmy and Mischief watching. You do
have fun together, Five, don’t you?___Chapter Eleven__JEREMIAH BOOGLE__When it
began to get dark, Tinker left the card-table, and fetched an old-fashioned
oil-lamp. He shook it._‘It’s still got some oil in,’ he said. ‘Good. I’ll light
it, then we can see properly.’_‘What a pity we can’t light the great oil-lamp
at the top of the light-house,’ said George. ‘That must have been the light-house
keeper’s great moment - lighting up the lamp to warn ships away. I wonder who
first thought of a light-house - someone whose folk sailed, and might be
wrecked on rocks, I suppose?’_‘One of the first great light-houses was built
ages ago on an island called Pharos at the mouth of the Nile, not far from the
great port of Alexandria,’ said Julian._‘What was it built of - stone, like
this one?’ asked Tinker._‘No. It was built of white marble,’ said Julian. ‘I
thought of it today when we went up the spiral staircase here - because the
Pharos light-house had one too - much, much bigger than ours.’_‘What was their
lamp like?’ asked Tinker._‘I don’t know if it had a lamp,’ said Julian. ‘It’s
said that an enormous fire was built each night on the top of the light-house,
whose flames could be seen by ships a hundred miles away!’_‘Goodness - it must
have been a pretty high light-house, then, this Pharos!’ said Dick. ‘Well, it
was supposed to be 600 feet high!’ said Julian._‘Whew! I wonder the wind didn’t
blow it down!’ said Dick. ‘Let’s go and see it one day - if it’s still
there.’_‘Ass!’ said Julian. ‘It’s gone long since. After all, it was built over
twenty-two hundred years ago! An earthquake came along one day and the
magnificent light-house was shaken to bits - completely destroyed!’_There was a
shocked silence. Everyone looked round at the walls of the light-house they
were in. An earth-quake! What a catastrophe that would be for even a little
light-house!_‘Cheer up, Anne!’ said Julian, with a laugh. ‘We’re not likely to
visited by an earthquake tonight! That old light-house on Pharos Island was one
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. No - don’t ask me the others - I’m
getting too sleepy to remember!’_‘I wish we could light the lamp in this
light-house,’ said Anne. ‘It can’t like being a blind light-house, after
shining brightly for so many years. Could the lamp be lighted, Tinker, or is it
broken now?’_‘Anne - if you think we’re going to scramble round that lamp-room
and light the lamp just because you feel sorry about it, you’re mistaken,’ said
Dick, firmly. ‘Anyway, it’s sure to be out of order after all these years.’_‘I
don’t see why it should be,’ objected Tinker. ‘The lamp’s never been interfered
with.’_‘Look - are we going to go on with our game, or are we not?’ said
Julian. ‘l may as well remind you that I have won practically every game so
far! Unless someone else wins a game soon I shall consider that I’m playing
with a set of nitwits!’_That was quite enough to make everyone pick up their
cards, and see if they couldn’t possibly beat Julian!_‘We’ll jolly well play
till you’re well and truly beaten!’ said Dick._But no - nobody could beat
Julian that night. Luck went his way all the time. At the end of the fifth game
Anne yawned loudly._‘Oh sorry!’ she said. ‘Don’t think I’m bored. That yawn
came too suddenly for me to stop it.’_‘Well, I feel decidedly yawny too,’ said
Dick. ‘What about a snack of something - and then we’ll go to bed. We had such
an enormous tea-sup that I feel I can’t manage another meal - but a chocolate
biscuit or two would be quite welcome.’_‘Woof!’ said Timmy at once, agreeing
heartily, and Mischief said something in his little chattering voice, and
tugged at Tinker’s sleeve._‘I’ll bring you a snack or two,’ said Anne, getting
up. She soon came back with a tray on which she had put lemonade, large slices
of Joan’s new cake, and a chocolate biscuit for everyone, including Timmy and
Mischief._They ate with enjoyment, feeling lazy and comfortable. ‘And now to
bed!’ said Julian. ‘Girls, do you want any help with your mattress or rugs or
anything?’_‘No, thanks,’ said Anne. ‘Do you boys want to wash, and clean your
teeth at the sink here? Because if so, do it now.’_Before a quarter of an hour
had gone, everyone was bedded down comfortably. The three boys curled up in
rugs in the bedroom below, with Mischief cuddled into Tinker’s neck. The two
girls and Timmy lay on a mattress, with a blanket over them, Timmy lay beside
George, occasionally licking her ear with his big tongue._‘Dear Timmy!’ said
George, sleepily. ‘I love you - but do please keep your tongue to
yourself!’_And soon they were all asleep, boys, girls, and animals too.
Outside, the sea sighed and splashed and swirled, and the wind cried like the
day-time gulls. But all was peace and quiet inside the old light-house. Not
even Mischief the monkey stirrred in his sleep._It was fun to wake up in the
morning, and hear the gulls screaming round; fun to have breakfast of eggs and
bread-and-butter, and apples to crunch afterwards - fun to plan what to do that
day._‘I vote we do a bit of shopping and buy some more eggs, and fresh bread,
and a bottle or two of creamy milk,’ said Anne._‘And we might try and find that
car-driver’s greatgrandad, and ask him a few things about the lighthouse, and
the wreckers that came in the old days,’ said Dick._‘Yes - and he might show us
the Wreckers’ Cave!’ said Julian. ‘I’d like to see that! Buck up with whatever
jobs there are to do, Anne and George - and we’ll go over the rocks to the
jetty. The tide should be out, so we ought to be able to walk over.’_‘Well, we
must be back before the tide comes in, then,’ said Tinker. ‘Because if we leave
the boat tied up here by the light-house, we shan’t be able to get back once
the sea sweeps over the rocks and cuts us off!’_‘Right,’ said Julian. ‘Be ready
as soon as you can, girls.’_The girls were ready very quickly, and the little
party set off over the rocks that at low tide lay between the light-house and
the shore. Wicked rocks they were too - with sharp edges and points that would
hole a ship at once!_Soon the children were on the little stone jetty. ‘What
was the name of old great-grandad?’ said Dick frowning._‘Jeremiah Boogie,’ said
Anne. ‘And he smokes a long pipe, and scowls at people.’_‘Well - he should be easy
to find!’ said Julian. ‘Come along. He’s probably somewhere on the
quay.’_‘There he is!’ said George, spotting an old man with a long pipe in his
mouth. ‘That’s Jeremiah, I’m sure!’_Yes, there he was, sitting with his legs
stretched out in front of him, an old old man, smoking a very long pipe! He had
a fine beard, a yachting cap askew on his head, and such enormous shaggy
eyebrows that it was difficult to see his eyes beneath them!_The Five went up
to him, with Timmy trotting behind, and Mischief on Tinker’s shoulder. The old
man spotted Mischief at once._‘Well, well - a monkey!’ he said. ‘Many’s the
little monkey I’ve brought home from my voyages.’ He snapped his fingers and
made a curious noise in his throat. Mischief stared at him, listening. Then he leapt
from Tinker’s shoulder on to the old man’s, and rubbed his head against the old
sailor’s hairy ear._‘Mischief!’ said Tinker, amazed. ‘Look at that, George. He
never goes to a stranger!_‘Well, maybe I knew his great grandfather!’ said the
old sailor, laughing, and scratching Mischief’s neck._‘All monkeys like me -
and I like them!’_‘Er - are you Mr Jeremiah Boogie!’ asked Julian._‘Jeremiah
Boogie, that’s me,’ said the old fellow, and touched his cap. ‘How do you know
my name?’_‘Well, Jackson, the car-driver, told us he was your great-grandson,’
said Julian. ‘You see we’re staying at the old light-house - and Jackson said
you could tell us a few things about it - its history, you know. And about the
wreckers that lived here before the lighthouse was built.’_‘Oh, I can tell you
tales all right!’ said Jeremiah, puffing out a cloud of smoke, and making
Mischief cough. ‘That’s more than that silly young great-grand-son of mine can!
He don’t know nothing, nothing at all - except about cars. Well, who wants cars,
nasty, smelly noisy things? Pah! That young George Jackson is a ninny!’_‘He’s
not. He’s the cleverest mechanic in the place!’ said George, at once. ‘There’s
not a thing he doesn’t know about cars!’_CARS! There now, what did I say -
nasty, noisy, smelly things!’ said Jackson’s great-grandad, with a
snort._‘Well, look - we don’t want to talk about cars,’ said Julian. ‘You tell
us about the old days - the wreckers and all that!’_‘Ah - them old days!’ said
Great-Grandad. ‘Well I knew some wreckers myself, once - there was One-Ear
Bill, now...’ And then old Jeremiah told a story that the Five could hardly
believe!___Chapter Twelve___Jeremiah’s TALE__‘Now when I were a boy,’ began the
old man, ‘a boy not much older than this here youngster,’ and he poked Tinker
with his horny forefinger, ‘there wasn’t no light-house out there - but there
was always them wicked rocks! And many’s the time in a stormy season when ships
have been caught by their teeth, a-glittering there, waiting. You know what
they’re called, don’t you?’_‘Yes. Demon’s Rocks,’ said Tinker._‘Well, up on
that high cliff there, lived a wicked old man,’ said Jeremiah. ‘And he had a
son as bad as himself, and a nephew too. The Three Wreckers, they was called,
and I’ll tell you how they came by their name.’_‘Did you know them?’ asked
Dick._‘That I did! And if I was hidden behind a bush when they came marching
by, I’d send a stone skedaddling after them!’ said the old man. ‘Mean and cruel
and wicked they were. And everyone was skeered of them, right down afraid!
There was One-Ear, the old man. They say his left ear was chewed off by a
monkey, but do I blame that monkey? No, I do not, no more than I’d blame your
monkey for chewing off the ear of Somebody Else I know - but I won’t mention no
names, he might hear me.’_The old fellow looked over his shoulder as if the man
he was thinking of might be about._‘Well - there was One-Ear, the old man - and
there was Nosey, the son - and Bart his nephew - and not a pin to choose
between them for meanness. There was only one thing they was after - and that
was money! And a mighty wicked way they chose to get it.’ The old man stopped
and spat in disgust on the pavement._‘Pah! I’ll tell you how they got rich, oh
yes, I’ll tell you. And I’ll tell you what happened to them in the end too. Be
a lesson to you and to everyone! Well now, you see that high cliff away down
the coast there - the one with the flag-post and the flag a-waving in the
wind?’_‘Yes,’ said everyone, looking at the waving flag._‘Now ships mustn’t hug
the coast beyond that point!’ said Grandad. ‘It they do, they’ll be forced
inland by the current, and thrown on them rocks down there - Demon’s Rocks. And
that’s the end of them. No ship has ever been able to escape the sharp teeth of
them wicked rocks, once she’s caught in that current. Well now, to stop the
ships going near to the cliff in those days, they flew a flag in the day-time -
and lighted a lamp up there at night. And both said as plain as could be
“BEWARE! KEEP OUT! DANGER!”’_‘Of course, all sailors knew the flag and the lamp
too, and many a one blessed them, and took their ships out to sea, away from
Demon’s Rocks. But that didn’t suit old One-Ear Bill. He didn’t mind a wreck or
two! He’d be down on the beach picking up what he could, if a ship came smashing
down on the rocks. And would he save a single soul - not he! There was some
people said he was the Demon of Demon’s Rocks himself!’_‘What a wicked old
man!’ said Anne horrified._‘Aye, you’re right missie,’ said the old fellow.
‘Well, the wrecks didn’t come often enough for him and Nosey and Bart. So they
put their ugly heads together and thought up as wicked a plan as any man could
think of!’_‘What was it?’ said Tinker, his eyes almost falling out of his
head._‘Well, on a stormy night he put out the lamp a-shining brightly on the
far cliff, and he and Nosey carried it to that bit of cliff over yonder, see?’
and the old man pointed to a jutting-out piece nearby. ‘And you know what’s
just below that cliff, don’t you - all round the light-house!’_‘Rocks! Sharp,
horrible rocks - the Demon’s Rocks!’ said George, horrified._‘Do you mean to
say that One-Ear Bill and the others deliberately shone the lamp there on
stormy nights, to guide ships straight on to the rocks?’ said Julian._‘Aye,
that’s what I do mean,’ said Jeremiah Boogie. ‘And what’s more I met old
One-Ear Bill meself one dark night when the storms were on - and what was he
carrying between himself and Nosey - the lamp! They’d doused the light, of
course, but I’d my own little lantern with me, and I saw the lamp plain enough.
Aye, that I did! And when they saw me, they set Bart on to me, to push me over
the cliff, so’s I wouldn’t tell on them. But I got away, and I DID tell on ’em!
Ho, yes, I told all right. And One-Ear Bill went to prison, and serve him
right, the wicked man. But he didn’t care - and why should he? He was rich!
RICH!’_‘But how was he rich?’ asked Dick._‘Well, young sir, the ships that came
sailing round this coast in those days, came from far-off countries, and many
of them carried treasure,’ said Jeremiah. ‘And One-Ear Bill stole so much gold
and silver and pearls and other things from the wrecks, that he knew he
wouldn’t need to do another day’s work when he came out of prison. A rich man
he would be - he wouldn’t even need to wreck a ship again!’_‘But why weren’t
the stolen goods taken from him?’ said Julian._‘He’d hidden them!’ said the old
man. ‘Ah he’d hidden them well, too. Not even Nosey his son, nor Bart his
nephew knew where he’d put them. They were sure he’d got everything hidden in
one of the caves in the cliff - but search as they might, they never found the
treasure! They went to prison too, but they came out long afore old One-Ear
Bill was due out, - and how they hunted for the gold and silver, and all that
One-Ear had hidden away!’_‘Did One-Ear Bill get it when he came out of prison?’
asked Dick, thinking this was a much more exciting story than he had ever read
in a book - and a true one too!_‘No. No, he didn’t get it,’ said Jeremiah,
puffing out a cloud of smoke. ‘And glad I am to say that. He died in prison,
the wicked old man.’_‘Well then - what happened to the treasure from the
wrecked ships?’ asked George. ‘Who found it?’_‘No one,’ said the old man. ‘No
one at all! It’s still there, hidden wherever that old rascal put it. His
secret went with him. Bart looked for it, and Nosey too - ho, I’ve seen ’em in
those caves day after day, and with a lamp night after night. But they never
found even a pearl necklace. Ho - that was a good joke, that was! They’re dead
and gone now - but there’s relatives of theirs still living in Demon’s Rocks,
who could do with a bit of that treasure - poor as church mice they are, with
two children as skinny as ever you’d see!’_‘Doesn’t anyone even have an idea
where the loot from the wrecked ships is?’ asked Julian. ‘What about the cave
we’ve been hearing about - the Wreckers’ Cave?’_‘Oh aye - we’ve a Wreckers’
Cave, all right,’ said the old man, knocking out his pipe. ‘And I reckon about
five thousand people have been in it, scouting round, looking into holes and
corners hoping to find what Bart and Nosey never did find! Or maybe ten
thousand, who knows? I don’t mind telling you, I’ve been there meself - but not
a smell of a little gold coin did I ever see! I’ll take you there meself some
day if you like. But mind - don’t you hope to find anything. It’s my belief
that One-Ear Bill never did hide his treasure there - he just said it was there
to fool Nosey and Bart!’_‘We’d love to go and see the Cave,’ said Dick, and
George nodded her head in delight. ‘Not to hunt for treasure, of course - it’s
pretty obvious it’s not there now - maybe somebody did find it, and took it
away secretly!’_‘Maybe,’ said Jeremiah. ‘All right, young sir - you come and
tell me when you’re ready. I’m sitting here most days. And if you’ve a nice bit
of baccy you don’t have no use for, you think of me, see?’_‘We’ll go and buy
you some straightaway,’ said Julian. He couldn’t help laughing. ‘What tobacco
do you smoke?’_‘Oh you tell Tom the Tobacconist it’s for old Jeremiah Boogie -
he’ll give you what I like,’ said the old man. ‘And mind now - don’t you go
snooping round them old caves by yourselves - you might get lost. It’s a proper
laby - laby...’_‘Labyrinth,’ said Julian, smiling. ‘Right - we’ll be
careful.’_The Five went off, Timmy glad to be on the move again. He couldn’t
understand the old man’s story, of course, and he wondered why George hadn’t
taken him for his usual after-breakfast walk. He gave a little whine, and she
patted his big head._‘Sorry, Timmy!’ she said. ‘That old man told such an
interesting story that I quite forgot you were longing for a walk. We’ll go for
one now.’_‘Let’s call in at the tobacconist’s first, shall we?’ said Julian.
‘That old chap deserves an extra smoke for his tale. Goodness knows how much was
true - but he certainly told it well!’_‘Of course it was true!’ said George.
‘Why ever should he tell lies?’_‘Well - he might have to get extra tobacco, you
know!’ said Julian, smiling. ‘I don’t blame him! It’s a jolly good story - but
please don’t think there’s any treasure still hidden somewhere, George. It’s no
use believing that.’_‘Well, I do believe it!’ said George, defiantly. ‘I think
he was telling the truth, tobacco or no tobacco. Don’t you, Tinker?’_‘Oh yes,’
said Tinker. ‘You wait till you see the caves round about here! Hoo - there
might be any amount of treasure there, and no one would ever know! I did hunt
round a bit myself - but those caves are scary, and when I coughed once, my
cough came echoing back to me a hundred times and I was so scared I ran for my
life - and fell splash into a pool!’_Everyone laughed. ‘Let’s buck up and do
our shopping,’ said Dick. ‘And then what about going for a good long
walk?’_‘Well, I don’t want to carry eggs and bread and milk for miles,’ said
George. ‘I say a walk first - and then we’ll come back, have ice-creams, do our
shopping - and go back to the light-house.’_‘Right!’ said Julian. ‘Come on,
Timmy. We’re off for a WALK - a WALK! Ha, that’s the word to set your tail
wagging, isn’t it? Look at it Mischief. Don’t you wish you could wag your tail
like that!’___Chapter Thirteen__A PLEASANT MORNING - AND A SHOCK!__Where shall
we go for our walk?’ said George, as they wandered through the village. ‘Oh
look - there’s a tiny little shop with Tom the Tobacconist written over the
door. Let’s get the tobacco while we remember.’_So in went Julian, and rapped
on the counter. A very small man appeared like a hob-goblin out of a dark
corner._‘I want some tobacco for Jeremiah Boogie, please,’ said Julian. ‘I
think you know the kind he wants.’_‘I do that!’ said Tom, scrabbling about on a
shelf. ‘The amount that old Jeremiah has smoked since I’ve been here would keep
a bonfire going for years. There you are, young sir!’_‘He tells a fine story,’
said Julian, putting down the money for the tobacco._Tom laughed. ‘He’s been
going on about Bart and Nosey and all them old folk, I suppose,’ he said. ‘He’s
a queer one, is old Jeremiah. Never forgets a thing, even if it happened eighty
or more years ago! Never forgives, neither. There’s two folk in this village
that he spits at when he passes by them. Naughty old man, he is.’_‘What have
they done to earn his spite?’ asked Dick, in surprise._‘Well, they be some kin
of his old enemy, One-Ear Bill,’ said Tom. ‘I reckon he told you about him all
right, didn’t he?’_‘Yes, he did,’ said Julian. ‘But all that business about the
wrecking happened years and years ago! Surely Jeremiah doesn’t visit his anger
on any descendants of the wicked One Ear Bill!’_‘Oh, but he do!’ said Tom. ‘You
see, these two fellows he spits at have the job of showing people round the
caves here - especially the Wreckers’ Cave - and I reckon old Jeremiah still
broods about One-Ear’s hidden treasure, and is scared in case these two chaps
ever find it. Find it! It’s nigh on seventy years since all that happened. Why,
that light-house yonder was built over sixty years ago - after that wrecking
business went on. No one will come across any treasure now!’_‘But surely they
might,’ said George. ‘It depends where it was hidden. If it was in some dry,
watertight place, it should still be all right. After all, gold and silver
don’t decay, do they? Wherever it was hidden, it must still be there!’_‘That’s
what all you visitors say!’ said Tom. ‘And that’s what Ebenezer and Jacob say -
they’re the two chaps who show people round the caves. But they only say that
to make a bit of a thrill for the visitors, you know. Same as old Jeremiah
does. Takes them in properly! Well - you believe what you like, youngsters -
but you won’t find any treasure! I reckon the sea took that years ago! Good-day
to you! I’ll give Jeremiah the baccy when he calls in.’_‘Well,’ said Dick, as
soon as they were outside the shop, ‘this is all very interesting! I think
probably old Tom’s right. The reason why the treasure was never found is
because it was probably hidden where the sea managed to get at it - in some
water-hole, or somewhere like that.’_‘I still believe it’s somewhere safe,’
said George. ‘So does Tinker.’_‘Oh well... I should think probably Timmy
believes it as well,’ said Dick. ‘He has a child-like mind too!’_Dick at once
received a hard punch on the back from George. He laughed. ‘All right! We’ll
give you a chance to hunt for the treasure, won’t we, Ju? We’ll visit the
Wreckers’ Cave as soon as we can. Let’s go up on the cliffs for our walk, and
see if we can spot where the first old lamp used to be, that warned ships to
swing out to sea, and avoid Demon’s Rocks.’_It was a lovely walk along the
cliffs. The celandines and tiny dog violets were out, and clumps of pale yellow
primroses were everywhere. The breeze blew strongly, and Mischief held tightly
to Tinker’s right ear, afraid of' being blown off his shoulder. Timmy enjoyed
himself thoroughly, bounding along, tail flourishing happily, sniffing at
everything._They came to the flag-post set high on the cliff, its great red
flag waving vigorously in the breeze. A notice-board was beside it. George read
it._‘This flag warns ships off Demon’s Rocks by day. By night the great
light-house at High Cliffs, farther along the coast, gives warning. In the old
days a lamp shone from this spot to give the ships warning, and later a small
light-house was built out on Demon’s Rocks. It is still in existence, but is no
longer in use.’_‘Ha - they’re wrong there!’ said Tinker, pointing to the last
sentence. ‘We’re using it! I’ll alter the notice!’ and Tinker actually took a
pencil to scratch out the last six words!_Julian took it from him. ‘Don’t be an
ass. You can’t mess about with public notices. Don’t say you’re one of the fatheads
who like to scribble all over the place!’_Tinker held out his hand for the
pencil. ‘All right. It was just that I thought it wanted correcting. I’m not
the kind of idiot who scribbles on walls or public notices.’_‘Right,’ said
Julian. ‘Tinker, can we see Demon’s Rocks - the rocks themselves, I mean, with
our lighthouse - from these cliffs.’_‘No,’ said Tinker. ‘The cliff swings away
to the left, look, and the Demon’s Rocks are away right round the corner, if
you see what I mean - so no ship should follow the coastline here, but should
keep well out at sea, or it’d be on the rocks. You can quite well see that if
the wreckers took the lamp from its warning-place here, and put it much farther
back, along the way we’ve come, the ships would swing too far inland, and find
themselves wrecked.’_‘I think I should have hated old One-Ear Bill as much as
old Jeremiah does,’ said George, imagining the beautiful ships being ground to
pieces all those years ago - just because of a greedy man who liked the pickings
from wrecks!_‘Well, we’d better go back,’ said Julian, looking at his watch.
‘We’ve some shopping to do, remember! Better buck up too - it looks like rain
all of a sudden!’_He was right. It was pouring by the time they reached the
village! They crowded into a little shop that said ‘Morning Coffee’ and ordered
a cup each, and buns. The buns were so nice that they bought some to take back
to the light-house with them. Then Anne remembered post-cards._‘We must buy
some,’ she said, ‘and send one off today. Better get some now, and write one
and post it while we’re here.’_Dick slipped out of the coffee-shop and returned
with a packet of very gaudily coloured cards. ‘Some of them show the
light-house,’ he said. ‘We’ll send one of those - and you choose a card to send
to your father too, Tinker.’_‘It would be a waste,’ said Tinker. ‘He wouldn’t
even bother to read it.’_‘Well, send one to your mother,’ said Anne._‘I haven’t
one,’ said Tinker. ‘She’s dead. She died when I was born. That’s why my father
and I always go about together.’_‘I’m very, very sorry, Tinker,’ said Anne,
shocked. The others were sorry too. No wonder Tinker hadn’t very good manners,
and was all on his own. No mother to teach him anything! Poor Tinker! Anne felt
as if she wanted to buy him every bun in the shop!_‘Have another bun, Tinker,’
she said. ‘Or an ice-cream. I’ll pay. Mischief can have one too.’_‘We’re all
going to have another bun each, and an ice-cream,’ said Julian. ‘Timmy and
Mischief too. Then we’ll do our shopping and go home - home to the light-house.
That sounds grand, doesn’t it!’_They wrote three cards - one to Mr and Mrs
Kirrin - one to Joan - and one to the Professor. ‘Now they’ll know we are safe
and happy!’ said Anne, sticking on the stamps._The rain had stopped, so they
went to do their shopping - fresh bread, more butter and eggs, two bottles of
milk, some fruit and a few other things. Then off they went down to the little
jetty._‘Tide will soon turn,’ said Julian, as they jumped down from the jetty
to the rocky little beach. ‘Come on - we’ll just have time to walk over the
rocks to the light-house. PLEASE don’t drop the eggs, Tinker!’_They made their
way over the rocks, jumping over little pools here and there and avoiding the
slimy strands of seaweed that in places covered the rocks. The light-house
seemed very tall as they came up to it._‘It’s tiny compared to the great new
one away at High Cliff,’ said Tinker. ‘You ought to go over that! The revolving
lamp at the top is magnificent! Its light is so powerful that ships can see it
for miles!’_‘Well, this little light-house looks nice enough to me at the
moment,’ said Dick, climbing up the stone steps to the strong wooden door.
‘Hallo! Look - two bottles of milk at the top step! Don’t tell me the milkman’s
been!’_‘He used to call when my father and I were here,’ said Tinker. ‘Only
when the tide was out in the morning though, because he hasn’t a boat. I
suppose he heard we were all staying here, and came to see if we wanted milk -
and left two bottles when he found we were out. He probably yelled through the
letter-box and when we didn’t answer he just left the milk, on
chance.’_‘Sensible fellow!’ said Dick. ‘Get out your key, Tinker, and unlock
the door.’_‘I don’t remember locking it behind us when we went out this
morning,’ said Tinker, feeling frantically in all his pockets. ‘I must have
left it in the lock on the inside of the door. Let’s see now - we locked the
door last night, and left the key in the lock. So I must have unlocked it this
morning for us all to go out.’_‘That’s right - but after you unlocked it you
ran straight down the steps with George, and the rest of us followed,’ said
Julian. ‘Anne was last. Did you lock the door after you, Anne?’_‘No. I never
thought of it!’ said Anne. ‘I just shut the door with a bang and raced after
you all! So the key must still be on the other side of the door!’_‘Well, if we
push the door, it should open!’ said Julian, with a grin. ‘And the key will be
on the inside, waiting for us! Let’s go in!’_He pushed hard, for the door shut
very tightly - and sure enough, it swung open. Julian put his hand round to the
inside lock to feel for the key._It wasn’t there! Julian looked at the others,
frowning._‘Someone’s been here - and found the door unlocked - taken the key -
and probably plenty of other things as well!’ he said. ‘We’d better go and
look. Come on!’_‘Wait - there’s something on the door-mat,’ said Dick, picking
up a letter. ‘The postman has visited the light-house too - here’s a letter
forwarded from Kirrin - so at least two people came while we were out! But
surely neither of them would take the key - or anything else either!’_‘Well -
we’ll soon see!’ said Julian, grimly, and up the first bend of the spiral
stairway he went, at top speed!___Chapter Fourteen__THE OLD, OLD MAP__Julian and
Dick went into each room of the lighthouse, racing up the spiral stairway from
one to the other. Why, oh why hadn’t they watched to see that Tinker locked the
door and took the key!_Yes - a few things had been taken!_‘My rug!’ said
George. ‘That’s gone!’_‘And my purse,’ said Anne. ‘I left it here on the table.
That’s been taken, too!’_‘So has my little travelling clock,’ groaned Julian.
‘Why did I bring it? I could have used my watch!’_There were a few other things
gone, all small. ‘Horrible fellow, whoever he is, to creep into the lighthouse
while we were out and take our things!’ said Anne, almost crying. ‘Who would
come here - they would surely be seen from the quay, wouldn’t they?’_‘Yes -
you’re right there,’ said Julian. ‘Though probably the thief slipped in when it
was pouring with rain, and the quay was deserted! I think we’ll have to tell
the police, you know. Let’s have our dinner, and then I’ll take the boat and
slip across to the village. The tide will be in then, and I shan’t be able to
walk over the rocks. Blow that thief! I was looking forward to a nice quiet
read this afternoon!’_After their meal, Julian took the boat and rowed across
to the jetty. He went straight to the police-station, where a stolid-looking
policeman listened to him, and wrote slowly in a book._‘Have you any idea, sir,
who the thief might be?’ asked the policeman. ‘Or if anyone came to the
lighthouse while you were out?’_‘Well, two people seem to have come,’ said
Julian. ‘The milkman, because we were surprised to find milk-bottles on the
steps. And the postman. There was a letter for us on the mat inside the door. I
don’t know of anyone else.’_‘Well, as far as I can tell you, both Willy the
Milkman, and Postie, are as honest as the day,’ said the policeman, scratching
his chin with his pencil. ‘There may have been a third visitor - one who didn’t
leave milk or a letter! I’ll see if anyone was on the quay this morning, who
saw the thief going over the Demon’s Rocks. Er - do you suspect anyone,
sir?’_‘Good gracious, no!’ said Julian. ‘I don’t know anyone here - unless you
can count Jeremiah Boogie, or Tom the Tobacconist!’_‘No. No, sir, I think we
can rule both of them out,’ said the policeman, smiling. ‘Well, I’ll do what I
can, and let you know if I hear of anything. Good afternoon, sir - and by the
way, as you can’t lock that light-house door now, and it’s plain there are
thieves about, I shouldn’t leave the light-house empty, see?’_‘Yes. Yes, I’d
already thought of that,’ said Julian. ‘I can jam the door all right with
something when we’re in the light-house - but I can’t do that when we’re
out.’_‘Well - it looks as if we’re in for a wet spell,’ said the policeman. ‘So
maybe it won’t be much hardship to keep indoors. I hope you’re comfortable in
the lighthouse - seems a funny place to stay, really.’_‘Oh we’re very
comfortable, Constable,’ said Julian, smiling. ‘Why not pay us a call sometime,
and see us?’_‘Thanks, sir,’ said the policeman, and took Julian to the
door._The constable was right in forecasting a wet spell. It poured all that
afternoon, and the little company in the light-house whiled away the time
playing cards. Julian and Dick had managed to find a heavy piece of wood in the
store-room to jam the door from the inside. They all felt much safer when they
knew that had been done! Now no one could get in without making a terrific
noise!_‘I’m stiff,” said George, at last. ‘I want to stretch my legs. I’ve a
good mind to run up and down the stairway half a dozen times.’_‘Well, go on,
then,’ said Dick. ‘Nobody’s stopping you!’_‘How far down does the light-house
go, Tinker?’ asked George. ‘We always scoot up the first bit of the spiral
stairway and never think about the light-house foundations deep down in the
rock. Are they deep down?’_‘Oh, they are,’ said Tinker, looking up from his
book. ‘My father told me that when the light-house was built, they drilled
right down into the rock for a long way - made a kind of shaft. And he said
that under these rocks there are all kinds of queer holes and tunnels - the
drill kept shooting downwards when it came to a sudden space.’_‘Really?’ said
Dick interested. ‘I hadn’t thought of what would have to be done to make a high
lighthouse safe from the gales and storms. It would have to have deep
foundations, of course!’_‘My father found an old map somewhere,’ said Tinker.
‘A sort of plan made when the light-house was first built.’_‘Like architects
draw when they plan how to build a house?’ said Anne._‘Yes. Something like
that,’ said Tinker. ‘I can’t remember much about it. I know it showed all the
rooms in the light-house, connected by the spiral stairway - and it showed the
big lamp-room at the top - and at the bottom of the map the foundation shaft
was drawn.’_‘Can you go down the shaft?’ asked Dick. ‘Is there a ladder, or
anything?’_‘I don’t know,’ said Tinker. ‘I’ve never been down there. I never
thought about it!’_‘Do you know where the old map is - the one made by the
architect who drew up plans for the light-house builder to follow?’said Julian.
‘Where did your father put it?’_‘Oh, I expect he threw it away,’ said Tinker.
‘Wait a minute though - it may be in the lamp-room! I remember him taking it up
there, because it had a drawing of how the lamp worked.’_‘Well, I’d rather like
to go and see if I can find it,’ said Julian, interested. ‘Come up with me,
Tinker. Thank goodness you don’t keep turning into some sort of car now - you
must be growing up!’_So the two of them went up the spiral stairway to the
lamp-room at the very top of the tower. Again Julian marvelled at the
magnificent views all around. The rain had stopped for a time, and the sea,
swept by strong winds, was a swirling tumult of angry waters._Tinker scrabbled
about in a little dark space under the lamp. He at last brought up a roll of
something white and waved it at Julian. ‘Here’s the map. I thought it would be
in the lamp-room.’_Julian took it down to the others, and they spread it out.
It showed the plan of the light-house, and was very clearly and beautifully
drawn._‘How is it that architects draw so marvellously?’ said George. ‘Are they
architects because they can do this kind of thing so well - or do they draw
beautifully because they are architects?’_‘A bit of both, probably,’ said
Julian, bending over the finely-drawn plan. ‘Ah - here are the foundations,
look - my word, they do go down a long way into the rock!’_‘Great tall
buildings like this always have deep, strong foundations,’ said Dick. ‘Last
term at school we studied how...’_‘Let’s not talk of school,’ said Anne. ‘It’s
already looming in the distance! Tinker - can anyone get down into this
foundation place?’_‘l told you - I don’t know,’ said Tinker. ‘Anyway I should
think it would be a horrible place down there - dark and smelly, and narrow,
and...’_‘Let’s go and see,’ said George, getting up. ‘I’m so bored at the moment
that if I don’t do something, I’ll fall asleep for a hundred years.’_‘Ass,’
said Dick. ‘Still - quite a good idea of yours. We’d have a bit of peace while
you were sleeping! Oooooch - don’t jab me like that, George!’_‘Come on,’ said
George. ‘Let’s trot down and find out what’s down the shaft.’_Anne didn’t want
to go down the shaft, but the others ran down the stairway, Timmy too, and soon
came to the bottom, opposite the entrance door of the light-house._Tinker
showed them a large round trap-door in the floor there. ‘If we open that, we’ll
be looking down into the foundation shaft,’ he said._So they pulled up the
large round wooden trap-door, and gazed downwards. They could see nothing at
all except darkness! ‘Where’s my torch?’ said Julian. ‘I’ll fetch it!’_Soon his
torch was lighting up the round shaft, and they saw an iron ladder going down
it on one side. Julian climbed down a few steps and examined the walls of the
shaft._‘They’re cement!’ he called. ‘And they must be enormously thick, I
should think. I’m going on down.’_So down he went, and down, marvelling at the
sturdy cement lining of the enormous shaft. He wondered why it had not been
filled in. Perhaps a hollow cement-lined shaft was stronger than a filled-in
one? He didn’t know._He came almost to the bottom - but he didn’t go down the
last steps of the iron ladder. A peculiar noise came from below him! A
gurgling, choking noise! What in the world could it be?_He shone his torch down
to see - and then stared in amazement! There was water at the bottom of the
shaft, water that swirled and moved around, making a strange hollow, gurgling
noise. Where did it come from?_As he watched it, it disappeared - then it came
back again! He shone his torch here and there to find out how the water made
its way into the shaft._‘There must be a tunnel or a passage of some sort down
there, that the sea can enter!’ he thought. ‘It’s high tide now - so the water
is swirling in. I wonder - now I wonder - if it’s free of water when the tide
is out! And if so where does that tunnel, or whatever it is, lead to? Or is it
always under water? I’ll go back and tell the others - and have another look at
that old map!’_He climbed back, glad to be out of the smelly darkness of the
old shaft. The others were at the top, looking down rather anxiously._‘Here he
is!’ said George. ‘See anything interesting, Julian?’_‘I did, rather,’ said
Julian, climbing out of the shaft ‘Got that old map with you? I want to look at
something if so.’_‘Come upstairs, then,’ said Dick. ‘We can see better there.
What was down there, Ju?’_‘Wait till we’re up in the living-room,’ said Julian.
He took the map from Tinker as soon as he arrived there, and sat down to look
at it. He ran his finger down the shaft to the bottom, and then jabbed at a
round mark drawn there._‘See that? That’s a hole at the bottom of the shaft,
through which sea-water is coming. It’s high tide now, so the water is seeping
into the shaft - but it’s only about a foot deep. At low tide there wouldn’t be
a single drop coming in. Wouldn’t I love to know where that water-tunnel went
to - up to the surface of the rocks? Through them to somewhere a good way off?
Or what!’_‘An undersea tunnel!’ said George, her eyes bright. ‘Why don’t we
explore it sometime when the tide is out?’_‘Well - we’d have to be pretty
certain we wouldn’t suddenly be drowned!’ said Julian, rolling up the map.
‘Very interesting, isn’t it? I suppose the hole was left in case the constant
push of water there, when the tide was in, might undermine the foundation.
Better to have the shaft half full of water than eaten away by constant
tides!’_‘Well,’ began Anne, and then suddenly stopped in fright. A stentorian
voice came up the stairway, and made everyone jump violently._‘ANYONE AT HOME?
HEY, ANYONE AT HOME?’___Chapter Fifteen__JACOB IS IN TROUBLE__‘Who’s that
shouting like that?’ said Anne, fearfully. ‘It can’t be the robber, can
it?’_‘Of course not,’ said Julian, and went to the door of the living-room. He
yelled down the stairway:_‘Who is it? What do you want?’_‘It’s the police!’
shouted back the enormous voice._‘Oh. Come on up, then,’ said Julian, relieved.
Foot-steps could be heard coming up the iron stairway, accompanied by loud
puffs and pants. Then a policeman’s helmet appeared, followed by his shoulders
and the rest of him. Soon he was standing in the living-room, beaming round at
the surprised company, panting with the effort of climbing so many stairs._‘How
did you get in?’ asked George. ‘We jammed the door shut from the
inside.’_‘Well, I managed to unjam it, miss,’ said the policeman, mopping his
forehead, and smiling. He was the same policeman that Julian had seen that
afternoon. ‘Not much protection that, really. You ought to get a new key
made.’_‘How did you get over here - the tide’s in,’ said Julian. You couldn’t
have walked over Demon’s Rocks.’_‘No, sir. I got Jem Hardy’s boat,’ said the
policeman. ‘By the way, my name’s Sharp, sir - Police Constable Sharp.’_‘A very
good name for a policeman,’ said Julian,’ with a cheerful grin. ‘Well, have you
caught the thief who took our key, and the other things?’_‘No, sir. But I’ve a
pretty good idea who it is,’ said Sharp. ‘I couldn’t find anyone who’d been
silting on the quay during the time you were away from the light-house, sir -
but I did by chance find a lady whose windows look down on the jetty, and she
happened to see someone standing about there. She said he went over the rocks
to the light-house.’_‘Who was it? The milkman, the postman?’ asked Dick._‘Oh
no, sir, I told your friend they were good fellows,’ said the constable,
looking quite shocked. ‘It was er - well, sir, a man who’s a bit of a bad
lot.’_‘Who’s that?’ asked Julian, suddenly afraid it might be old Jeremiah.
Could he be a bad lot - he had sounded such a good fellow!_‘Well, sir, it’s no
one you know,’ said Sharp. ‘It’s one of a family with rather a bad name, sir -
a man called Jacob - Jacob Loomer, sir. He comes of a family that used to do a
bit of wrecking, and...’_‘Wrecking! Old Jeremiah was telling us of long-ago
wreckers!’ said Dick. ‘One was called Nosey - and another was called Bart -
relations of a well-known wrecker called One-Ear - er, One-Ear...’_‘Bill,’ said
Sharp. ‘Ah yes - One-Ear Bill. He lived a long time ago, when old Jeremiah was
a young man. This here Jacob, the one that was seen going into your light-house
today, would be his great-great-great grandson, I reckon - something like that.
Living image of old One-Ear Bill according to Jeremiah. There’s a bad strain in
that family - can’t seem to get it out!’_‘Well - you say it was Jacob who came
into the light house? Why can’t we have him arrested then?’ said Julian. ‘And
make him give up the key he took - and the other things?’_‘Well, sir, if you’ll
come along with me and identify your things, maybe I can do something about
it,’ said the constable. ‘But he may have hidden them all by now - though he’s
that free-handed I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t given them all away. A
bit of a fool, Jacob is, as well as a rogue. Ah - he’d have liked the job of
wrecking ships, he would - right up his street.’_‘I’ll come with you now,’ said
Julian. ‘The others don’t need to, do they?’_‘Oh no - you’ll do, sir,’ said the
policeman, and he and Julian went down the spiral stairway to the entrance. The
others heard the door bang, and looked at one another._‘Well! To think that a
great-great-great grandson of that horrid old One-Ear Bill is still living in
the same place as the old wrecker himself did!’ said Dick. ‘And he’s a rogue
too. History repeating itself?’_‘We must go and see the Wreckers’ Cave tomorrow,
if we can,’ said George. ‘Jeremiah Boogie said he would show it to us.’_‘So
long as there isn’t an old old wrecker hiding there!’ said Anne. ‘Older than
Jeremiah Boogie - with a beard down to his feet - a sort of Old Man of the Sea
- with a horrid gurgling voice, and eyes like a fish!’_‘Really, Anne!’ said
George astonished. ‘I’ll be scared to go into caves if you say things like
that!’_‘I wonder how Julian’s getting on,’ said Tinker. ‘Mischief, stop jigging
up and down - you make me feel out of breath!’_Julian was at Jacob’s house, and
there, sure enough, were the things he had stolen - the rug - the clock - and
Anne’s purse - empty now!_‘And what about the key?’ demanded the constable.
‘Come on now - you took the key out of the door of the light-house - we know
you did. Give it here, Jacob.’_‘I didn’t take it.’ said Jacob, sullenly._‘I’ll
have to take you in, you know, Jacob,’ said the constable. ‘You’ll be searched
at the police-station. Better give up the key now.’_‘Search me all you like!’
said Jacob. ‘You won’t find that key on me. I tell you. I didn’t take it. What
would I want that key for?’_‘For the same reason that you usually want keys
for,’ said the constable. ‘For breaking in and stealing. All right, Jacob. If
you won’t let this young gentleman have his key, I’ll have you searched at the
police-station. Come along with me.’_But alas, no key was found on the surly
Jacob, and the constable shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows at
Julian._‘If you take my advice, sir, I’d get a different lock put on your door.
Jacob’s got your key somewhere. He’ll be at the light-house again as soon as he
sees you all go out.’_‘Bah!’ said Jacob, rudely. ‘You and your keys. I tell you
I didn’t take it. There wasn’t a key there...’_‘Come along with me, Jacob,’ said
the constable. He turned to Julian. ‘Well, that’s all, sir. We’ll have his
house searched. The odds are that he’s hidden the key somewhere. He’s an artful
dodger, this one!’_Julian went back to the light-house, rather worried. It
might take a few days in a little place like this to have a new lock put in. In
the meantime they would either have to keep themselves prisoners in the
lighthouse - or leave a front door that anyone could open!_The others listened
excitedly to his tale, when he went back. They were glad to have the rug, the
clock, and the purse again - though Anne was sad that all her money was
gone._‘We’ll have to get a new lock and key,’ said Julian. ‘After all, this
light-house has only been lent to us, and it’s our responsibility to look after
it and all it contains. It’s a good thing it was only our things that were
taken - not Professor Hayling’s!’_‘It’s getting rather late,’ said Anne,
jumping up. ‘We haven't had our tea yet! I’ll get it. Anyone feel like buns
with butter and jam?’_Everyone did, and soon Anne produced a large plate of
delicious looking buns. They talked as they drank their tea, and ate the
buns._‘I vote we go and find Jeremiah Boogie tomorrow, and see if he’s heard of
the robbery, and if he has anything interesting to say about it,’ said
George._‘And also we really must get him to show us the Wreckers’ Cave,’ said
Julian. ‘By the way, what were the names of the two men who have the job of
showing the visitors round the caves? I’m pretty sure one was Jacob!’_‘You’re
right - it was - and the other man was called Ebenezer!’ said Dick. ‘Well -
let’s hope Jacob is locked up, or out of the way somewhere when we go to see
the caves. We shall get some black looks from him, if not!’_‘Well, we can give
him some back!’ said George, putting on a terrific scowl, and making Timmy give
a sudden whine. She patted him. ‘It’s all right, Timmy - that scowl wasn’t for
you!’_‘We’d better go to the caves tomorrow morning when the tide will be more
or less out,’ said Julian. ‘And I’d better see if I can find a locksmith here
who can give us a new lock and key quickly!’_‘Why not slip out now?’ said Dick.
‘I’ll come with you for a bit of fresh air. Want to come girls?’_‘No, I’d like
to finish my book, said Anne, and George said the same. Tinker was playing with
Mischief, and he didn’t want to come either._‘Well, you and the light-house
will be safe with Timmy and Mischief to look after you!’ said Julian, and down
the stairway he went, with Dick close behind him._The locksmith promised to
come and look at the door in the next day or two. ‘Can’t leave my shop just
now,’ he said. ‘Nobody to see to it! It’ll take me a few days to do the job for
you, I’m afraid, sir.’_‘Oh blow!’ said Julian. ‘We’ve already had a thief in
the light-house! We don’t like to go out and leave it empty now!’_They rowed
back to the light-house, shut and jammed the door as best they could, and went
up to the girls. Timmy gave them an uproarious welcome, and Mischief took a
flying leap from a chair-back on to Dick’s shoulder._‘No lock or key for a few
days,’ said Dick, sitting down and tickling the delighted little monkey. ‘I did
want to go and see the caves tomorrow - especially the famous Wreckers’ one -
but we can’t possibly leave the light-house empty.’_‘Woof,’ said Timmy at
once._‘He says, why not leave him behind, and let him guard it,’ said George,
solemnly, and Timmy at once said ‘Woof’ again._They all laughed. Dick patted
Timmy, and ruffled the fur behind his ears. ‘Dear old Tim - all right, you
guard the light-house - you shall have a Very Special Bone for a
reward!’_‘That’s settled then. We leave Timmy here on guard, and we all go off
to the caves,’ said Julian. ‘Well, one of the brothers who show visitors round
will be missing tomorrow, I fear - Jacob will not be there!’_‘I bet we’ll get
some scowls from the other brother - what’s his name now - Ebenezer?’ said
Anne. ‘We’ll have to be careful that we don’t get pushed into a deep pool of
water!’_‘Dear me, yes,’ said Julian. ‘One never knows! We’ll certainly be on
our guard!’___Chapter Sixteen__DOWN IN THE CAVES__Next morning George awoke
with a jump. Timmy was pushing her gently with his nose. ‘What is it,
Tim?" said George. Timmy gave a bark, and ran to where the spiral stairway
led downwards._‘Go down and tell the boys what it is you want,’ said George,
sleepily. So down the stairway went Timmy, and into the room where the boys
were sleeping. He trotted in and nudged Julian with his nose, but Julian was so
fast asleep that he didn’t stir._Timmy pawed at him, and Julian awoke with a
jump. He sat up. ‘Oh, it’s you, Tim - what on earth do you want? Is anything
wrong with the girls?’_‘Woof,’ said Timmy, and ran to the spiral stairway. He
disappeared down it, barking._‘Blow! He’s heard someone!’ said Julian, yawning.
‘Well, if it’s Ebenezer or Jacob - no, it can’t be Jacob, of course - I’ll tell
him what I think of people who steal!’_He unjammed the door of the light-house
and opened it. On the step stood two milk-bottles! ‘Well, really, Timmy, fancy
waking me because the milkman came!’ said Julian, taking in the bottles. ‘Good
old milkman - I wonder if he had to come by boat - the sea’s pretty high this
morning - but I suppose he could just about have waded over the rocks!’_At
breakfast the Five remembered that they meant to see the caves that morning.
They had a very fine meal of fried bacon, bought the day before, and eggs, with
buttered toast and marmalade to follow. Anne had made some good hot coffee, and
they all enjoyed themselves immensely. Mischief made himself a real nuisance by
putting a paw deep in the marmalade jar and then, when smacked, running all
over the place leaving sticky marmaladey marks everywhere!_‘We’d better all
take a wet rag with us as we go about the room,’ said Anne, in disgust. ‘He’s
run over the table and desk and everything. BAD Mischief! I do so hate feeling
sticky!’_Mischief was sad to feel himself in disgrace, and leapt on to Tinker’s
shoulder, putting his sticky paws lovingly round the boy’s neck. ‘That’s
right!’ said Tinker, ‘rub all your stickiness off on me, you little
monkey!’_‘We’ll wash up in the sink, and you boys can tidy up the rooms,’ said
Anne. ‘Then we’ll all go out. It’s a lovely day.’_‘Looks a bit stormy to me,’
said Dick. ‘What do you say, Tim?’_Tim agreed. He thumped his tail vigorously on
the floor, making Mischief pounce on it in joy. Anne gathered up the crockery
and took it to the sink._In an hour or so they were ready to go out. ‘Let’s
write a card to Aunt Fanny before we leave,’ said Anne. ‘Then that will be
done. We won’t say a word about the things that were stolen, though. She might
feel upset, and tell us to go back! And then what would Uncle Quentin and
Professor Hayling say?’_‘I bet they’re having a wonderful time, arguing all day
long, working out figures, and studying papers!’ said Julian. ‘And I’m pretty
certain that Aunt Fanny will have to call them to a meal at least twenty times
before they arrive at the table!’_Anne wrote the post-card and put on a stamp.
‘Now I’m ready,’ she said, standing up. Timmy ran to the top of the stairs,
glad that everyone seemed to be on the move at last. He did so love a
walk._‘Darling Timmy,’ said George. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to be left behind
to guard the light-house! You see, we haven’t a key - and we can’t jam the door
from outside. So please, Timmy dear, stay behind - on guard. You know what that
means, don’t you? ON_GUARD!_Timmy’s tail went right down. He gave a small
whine. He did so hate being left out of anything - especially a walk. He pawed
gently at George as if to say, ‘Do please change your mind.’_‘On guard, Timmy,
now,’ said George. ‘The lighthouse is in your charge. Don’t let ANYONE in.
You’d better lie on the mat just inside the entrance.’_Timmy ran slowly down
behind Julian and the others, looking very mournful indeed. ‘Now lie there,’
said George, and gave him a pat on the head. ‘We’ll take you out again soon,
and then one of us will stay to guard the light-house - but this time we all
want to_go out. ON GUARD!’_Timmy lay down on the mat, and put his head on his
paws, his big brown eyes looking up at George. ‘Dear old faithful,’ she said
ruffling the hair on his head. ‘We won’t be very long!’_They slammed the door
and went down the lighthouse steps. The tide was still out far enough for them
to be able to wade over the rocks to the jetty. ‘We must be back before it’s
well in,’ said Julian. ‘Or we’ll have to stay ashore till it’s out again. Our
boat is tied to the light-house post, remember!’_They went for a stroll along
the front and who should be there, sitting on a stone seat, but old Jeremiah
Boogie, smoking his long pipe, staring solemnly out to sea._‘Good-morning,
Jeremiah,’ said Dick, politely. ‘I hope we bought the right tobacco for you
from Tom.’_‘Oh aye,’ said Jeremiah, puffing out very strong-smelling smoke.
‘Hallo, little monkey - so you’ve come to my shoulder again, have you? Well,
what’s the news from Monkey-Land?’_The others laughed as Mischief at once
poured out a stream of monkey-chatter into the old man’s ear. ‘We thought we
would go and see the caves today,’ said Julian. ‘Especially the old Wreckers’
Cave.’_‘Now don’t you let that Ebenezer take you round!’ said the old man, at
once. ‘You won’t find Jacob there - oho - I know what’s happened to him. And
serve him right. Never could keep his fingers to himself, that one! Ebenezer’s
as bad. He could steal the buttons off your coat, and you’d never know! Now
look - what about me showing you the caves? I know them inside out, and I can
show you things that that rat of an Ebenezer doesn’t even know of.’_‘Well -
we’d certainly much rather you took us, and not Ebenezer,’ said Julian.
‘Ebenezer may be feeling rather angry because we told the police about his
brother stealing things. We’ll give you some more tobacco - I mean baccy - if
you’ll guide us round.’_‘Well, let’s go now,’ said Jeremiah, getting up very
spryly. ‘This way!’_And off they all went, Mischief too - the little monkey did
Jeremiah the honour of sitting on his shoulder all the way down the village
street. The old old man was delighted to see how everyone stared and
laughed._He took them round the foot of some very high cliffs. They came to a
rocky beach farther along, and walked over it. ‘There’s the entrance,’ said the
old man, pointing to a large hole in the cliff nearby. ‘That’s the way to the
caves. Got a torch?’_‘Yes - we brought one each,’ said Julian, patting his
pocket. ‘Do we have to pay to go in?’_‘No. People give Ebenezer a tip - five
pence or so - if he shows them round - or Jacob, when he’s there,’ said
Jeremiah. ‘I’ll deal with Ebby, though. Don’t you waste your money on that
scoundrel!’_The hole in the cliff led to the first cave, which was a big one.
Lighted lanterns hung here and there, but gave very little light._‘Mind your
step, now,’ warned Jeremiah. ‘It’s real slippery in places. This way - through
this old arch.’_It was cold and damp in the cave, and the children had to go
carefully, and avoid the puddles left by the sea. Then suddenly Jeremiah turned
a corner and went in a completely different direction! Down and down and down
they went!_‘Hey - we’re going towards the sea now surely?’ said Julian, in
surprise. ‘Do the caves go under the sea, then? Not away back into the
cliff?’_‘That’s right,’ said Jeremiah. ‘This is a real rocky coast - and the
way we’re taking leads down a tunnel under the rocks, and then into the caves
deep under ground. See the rocky roof over our heads - well, if you listen, you
can hear the sea now, mumbling and grumbling over it - that roof is the bed of
the sea!’_That was a very strange thought indeed, and rather alarming! Anne
gazed fearfully up at the rocky roof overhead, and shone her torch on it,
half-expecting to see a few cracks leaking salt-water from the sea rolling over
the rocky roof! But no - there was a little moisture shining on it, and that
was all._‘Are we soon coming to the Wreckers’ Cave?’ asked George. ‘Mischief,
stop making those noises. There’s nothing to be scared of!’_Mischief didn’t
like this cold, dark strange walk underground, and had begun to make harsh
frightened noises, and then suddenly gave a loud scared screech._‘Don’t! You
made me jump!’ said Anne. ‘Goodness - listen to the monkey’s screech echoing
all along the tunnel and back! Sounds like a hundred monkeys chattering at
once! Our voices echo too!’_Mischief was most alarmed to hear the enormous
amount of screeches and chattering noises that now filled the tunnel. He began
to cry almost like a baby, and clung to Tinker as if he would never let him
go._‘I expect he thinks this place is absolutely full of screeching monkeys,’
said Anne, sorry for the terrified little creature. ‘It’s only the echo,
Mischief.’_‘He’ll soon get used to it,’ said Tinker, hugging the monkey close
to him._‘You want to hear the echo just round the next bend of the tunnel!’
said Jeremiah, stroking the little monkey, and very foolishly gave an enormous
yell just as they got there!_The yell came back ten times as loud, and the
tunnel seemed suddenly full of shouts tumbling over one another. Everyone
jumped violently, and Mischief leapt high in the air in terror. He sprang to
the ground, and scampered away at top speed, wailing in his little
monkey-voice. He tore down the tunnel, tail in air, and disappeared round the
corner. Tinker was very upset._‘Mischief! Come back!’ he yelled. ‘You’ll get
lost!’_And along came the echo at once. ‘Get lost, get lost, get lost - lost -
lost!’_‘Don’t you worry about your monkey,’ said Jeremiah, comfortingly. ‘I’ve
had a score of monkeys in my time - and they always come back!’_‘Well, I’ll
jolly well stay down here till Mischief does come back!’ said Tinker in rather
a shaky voice._They came out into a cave. This too was lighted by lanterns,
though very poorly. They had all heard the murmur of voices as they came to it,
and wondered who was there._Three other visitors were in the cave, sight-seeing,
like the children. A big burly fellow was with them, with jet-black hair,
deep-set dark eyes, and a surly mouth - so like Jacob that Julian guessed at
once that he was the brother, Ebenezer._As soon as Ebenezer set eyes on
Jeremiah, he roared in fury._‘You get out! This is my job - you get out. I’ll
show the caves to those youngsters!’_And with that such a battle of words
followed that the Five were almost deafened, especially as the echo repeated
everything very loudly indeed! The three visitors fled away up the tunnel,
fearing a fight. Anne was very frightened, and clung to Julian._Ebenezer came
shouting up to old Jeremiah, his hand raised. ‘Haven’t I told you more’n a
hundred times to keep out of these caves? Haven’t I told you I’m the one to
show folks around - and Jacob too?’_‘Don’t take no notice of him!’ said
Jeremiah, turning his back on the angry man. ‘He’s nought but a Big Mouth, same
as his brother Jacob!’_‘Look out!’ yelled Julian, as the angry Ebenezer rushed
at Jeremiah, his fist raised to strike him. ‘LOOK OUT!’___Chapter
Seventeen__MISCHIEF AGAIN - AND A SURPRISE!__Jeremiah saw the angry man coming
at him, and very neatly side-stepped. Ebenezer couldn’t stop, stepped heavily
on a strand of very slippery seaweed - and went sprawling into a corner!_‘Ho!’
said Jeremiah, delighted. ‘Very nice, Ebenezer! Get up, and run at me
again!’_‘He’d better not,’ said Julian, in his most grown-up voice. ‘I shall
report him to the police if he does - and that will make a pair of them in two
days. Jacob got into trouble yesterday - and now it will be Ebenezer.’_Ebenezer
got up, scowling, and glared at Jeremiah, who grinned back in delight. ‘Coming
at me again, Ebby?’ he said. ‘It’s grand fun to hit an old man, isn’t it?’_But
Ebenezer was very much afraid that Julian would do what he had threatened, and
report him to the police. He rubbed his shoulder where it had struck a piece of
rock, and debated what to do._‘Come along,’ said Jeremiah, to the five watching
children. ‘I’ll take you down to the Wreckers’ Cave. Ebby can come too, if so
be he can behave hisself. But mebbe he’d like to run away home, and get his
shoulder looked to!’_That was enough for Ebby! He determined to follow the
little company, and made rude remarks all the time. So he tailed them, and shouted
at them from a safe distance. How they wished they had Timmy with them! He
would have made short work of the rude Ebenezer!_‘Don’t take any notice of
him,’ said Julian, ‘Lead on Jeremiah. My word, isn’t it dark in this tunnel!
Good thing we all brought good torches!’_The tunnel came to an end at last and
opened out into an extraordinary cave. The roof was unexpectedly high, and the
irregular sides were ridged with shelves of rocks. On the shelves were dirty
old boxes, a crate or two and some sacks._‘What in the world are those?’ asked
Dick, shining his torch on them._‘Well young sir, they’re just what they look
like - ordinary boxes and sacks,’ said Jeremiah. ‘Put there by Ebenezer and
Jacob to fool people! They tells everybody they’re what the old wreckers got
out of ships they wrecked, years ago! Hoo-hoo-hoo! Anybody that believes those
lies deserves to be fooled. They’re all from Ebby’s back-yard. Seen them lying
there meself! Hoo-hoo-hoo!’_His hoo-hooing laugh echoed round the cave, and
Ebenezer made an angry growling noise rather like a dog._‘I’m not going to fool
these kids,’ said Jeremiah. ‘You and your sacks and boxes! I know where the old
things are, the real old things - oh yes I do!’_‘They’re no better than the
sacks and boxes there, wherever they are!’ said Ebby, in a growling voice.
‘You’re lying, old Jeremiah - you don’t know nothing!’_‘Take us on farther,’
said Dick. ‘There must be more caves. I think this is exciting. Is this really
where the old wreckers hid the things they salvaged from the wrecks they caused
- or just a tale?’_‘Oh, this is their cave, that’s true enough. Dressed up a
bit by Ebby there!’ said Jeremiah. ‘But I know the caves farther on. Ebby
doesn’t! He’s too skeered to go farther under the sea. Aint’ you, Ebby?’_Ebby
said something that sounded rude. Julian turned to Jeremiah eagerly. ‘Oh do
take us farther - if it isn’t dangerous!’_‘Well, I’m going farther on, anyway,’
said Tinker, suddenly. ‘Mischief hasn’t come back - so he must be lost - and
I’m going to find him!’_Julian saw that Tinker was quite determined. ‘Right,’
he said. ‘We’ll come with you. Jeremiah, lead the way! But it’s not really
dangerous, is it? I mean - we don’t want to find the sea sweeping through these
caves, right up to where we are!’_‘Tide’s not on the turn yet,’ said Jeremiah.
‘We’re all right for a while. When it comes in, it swirls up this passage here
- but it stops at the Wreckers’ Cave - that’s just too high for it, see? The
tunnel runs downwards fast now. It goes right under your light-house, have you
seen it down at the bottom of the shaft?’_‘Good gracious, yes!’ said Julian,
remembering. ‘I went down it - and the sea was swirling in and out at openings
in the bottom of the shaft. Do you mean to say that the sea that rises in the
shaft at high tide, comes racing up into these tunnels too?’_‘Aye, that it
does,’ said Jeremiah. ‘You can get from here to the lighthouse under the rocky
sea-bed right to that foundation shaft. But nobody dares! Tide comes in so
quickly, you might get caught and drownded!’_Ebby at once shouted something
rude again - it sounded as if he was telling Jeremiah to go and ‘get drownded
too’!_‘Do let’s go on farther,’ said Dick. ‘Come on, Jeremiah.’_So Jeremiah led
them farther on under the rocky bed of the sea. It was strange and rather
frightening to hear the constant noise of the water racing over the roof of the
winding tunnel. Their torches lighted up slimy walls, and rocky shelves and
hollows._‘You know - this would have been a very good place to hide treasure,’
said Julian, glancing up at a dark hollow in the roof of the tunnel. ‘Though I
don’t know how anyone would set about looking for it - there are hundreds of
nooks and crannies - and isn’t it cold in this tunnel!’_‘Well, the sun’s rays
never penetrate down here,’ said Dick. ‘My word, the sea sounds pretty loud
now!’_‘I wish we could find Mischief,’ said Anne to George. ‘Look at poor
Tinker. He’s crying. He’s pretending not to, but I could see the tears rolling
down his cheeks last time I flashed my torch on him.’_They stopped to look at
something - a strange jellylike thing, like an enormous sea anemone. Ebby
caught them up, and bumped into Dick. He rounded on Ebby at once._‘Keep off!
Follow us if you like, but don’t come so near. We don’t like you!’_Ebby took no
notice but kept as close behind everyone as he possibly could, and Dick
realized that he was probably feeling very scared! Then, as they rounded
another corner of' the tunnel, and saw yet another cave, Tinker gave a yell
that echoed everywhere._‘MISCHIEF! LOOK! THERE HE IS! MISCHIEF!’_And sure
enough, there was the little monkey, crouched under a small shelf of rock,
shivering in fright. He wouldn’t even go running to Tinker. Tinker had to pick
him up and hug him._‘Mischief! Poor Mischief - were you very frightened?’ he
said. ‘You’re trembling all over! You shouldn’t have run away! You might have
been lost for ever!’_Mischief had something clutched in his tiny paw. He
chattered to Tinker, and put his little furry arms round his neck. As he did
so, he opened one paw - and something fell out and rolled over the rocky
floor._‘What have you dropped, Mischief?’ said Dick, and shone his torch down
on to the floor of the cave. Something was glittering there - something round
and yellow! Everyone stared, and a shock of excitement went through Julian, who
was nearest. ‘A gold coin!’ he cried, and picked it up. ‘As bright as when it
was minted. Mischief, where did you get it from? Look, Dick, look, George -
it’s gold all right!’_Immediately everyone was full of the greatest excitement,
one thought only in their heads._The treasure! Mischief must have found the
treasure! It was an old coin - very old. Where could Mischief have found
it?_‘Oh let’s go farther on and see!’ cried Dick._‘Jeremiah, it must bc the
treasure! Mischief will lead us to it!’_But Mischief would do nothing of the
sort. He was NOT going to lose himself again. He was going to sit on Tinker’s
shoulders, with an arm safely round the boy’s neck! He hadn’t liked being lost,
all by himself in the dark._Jeremiah would not go any farther, either. He shook
his head. ‘No - not today, young sirs. Tide will soon be sweeping up these
tunnels - faster than we can walk. Better turn back now, in case we’re caught.
Many’s the visitor that’s had to run for his life, when the tide came up all of
a sudden!’_George’s sharp ears caught the sound of swoosh-swoosh! Somewhere the
tide had crept in! ‘Come on!’ she said. ‘We’d better do what Jeremiah says. The
sea’s coming up the tunnel now as well as over it - and soon it will be sweeping
up the beach too, and in at the cliff-passages. We’ll be caught in the middle,
and have to stay here for ages!’_‘No need for alarm, missy,’ said old Jeremiah.
‘There’s a bit of time yet. Hallo - where’s Ebenezer gone?’_‘Blow - he must
have heard us talking about Mischief’s gold piece,’ said George. ‘I forgot all
about him! Now he knows that Mischief has found a gold coin, he’ll feel sure
that the treasure may be somewhere down here - and he’ll look for it as soon as
ever he can! WHY didn’t we keep quiet about it?’_‘I forgot he was standing near
us,’ groaned Dick. ‘Well I suppose the whole of Demon’s Rocks Village will know
by now that a monkey has found the treasure - and hordes of sight-seers will
swarm down here, hoping to find it. It must have been put in a pretty dry
place, surely, for that coin to be so bright and untarnished.’_‘Buck up - we’d
better go back as quickly as possible,’ said Julian. ‘Look at old Jeremiah -
he’s too thrilled for words! He’s planning to find the treasure himself at the
earliest possible moment!’_‘Well, I vote we have a shot at it ourselves
tomorrow,’ said Dick, excitement welling up in him at the thought. ‘Good old
Mischief! You’re better than any detective!’_Then away up the tunnels they
went, making all kinds of plans. WHAT an excitement!___Chapter Eighteen__BACK
IN THE LIGHT-HOUSE - AND AN EXCITING TALK!__Old Jeremiah was as excited as the
others, but he said very little. He was angry to think that Ebenezer should
have been there to see the find. He didn’t trust that Ebby - nor that Jacob
either! They’d be ferreting after that treasure as sure as nuts were nuts, and
monkeys were monkeys! Ha - wouldn’t they like to know where it was! He stumped
on, up the old tunnels, thinking hard, and at last they came out into the
welcome daylight again!_‘Here, Jeremiah - buy yourself some more baccy,’ said
Julian, putting twenty pence into the old man’s hand. ‘And don’t count too much
on that treasure! I expect it’s just an odd coin that Mischief found in a dry
corner somewhere!’_‘Thank you, young sir,’ said the old man. ‘I’m not wanting
the treasure myself - I’m just hoping that Ebby and Jacob don’t find it.
They’ll be hunting all the time for it now!’_They were glad to be out in the
open again. The sun had gone now, and the wind had whipped up. It was raining
hard._‘I say - we’d better buck up, else we shan’t be able to walk back to the
light-house over the rocks!’ said Julian, worried. But fortunately the wind was
against the tide and they just had time to wade over to the light-house steps._‘There’s
our little boat bobbing-about,’ said Tinker. ‘And hark - I can hear old Timmy
barking! He’s heard us coming!’_So he had. He had been lying on the door-mat,
his ears glued to the crack under the door, listening, listening. Nobody had
come near the light-house and not a sound did old Timmy hear but the wind and
the sea, and a few gulls gliding by._‘We’re back, Timmy!’ yelled George, and
she pushed at the door. It opened, and Timmy leapt out, almost knocking her
over. Mischief sprang on to the dog’s back, and chattered at him without
stopping._‘He’s telling him about the gold coin he found,’ said Tinker, with a
laugh. ‘Oh, I wish you’d been with us, Timmy. It was grand!’_‘It feels as if
we’ve been away for ages,’ said George. ‘But it isn’t very late after all -
unless my watch is slow! I'm hungry. Let’s have something to eat and talk about
everything - and what we’re going to do!’_So, over biscuits and sandwiches and
coffee, they talked and talked. ‘We must get down to the caves again as soon as
possible!’ said George. ‘I’m absolutely certain that Jacob and Ebby will be
down there, hunting for coins, as soon as the tide’s out again.’_‘Well, we
can’t do anything today, that’s certain,’ said Dick. ‘For one thing the tide’s
in now - and for another thing it’s blowing up for a storm. Just hark at the
wind!’_Timmy was sitting as close to George as he possibly could. He hadn’t
liked her going out without him. She sat with her arm round him, eating her
biscuits, occasionally giving him half of one. Tinker was doing the same with
Mischief!_The children talked and talked. Where could Mischief have found that
coin? Was it one on it’s own, that the sea had swept into the tunnel? Or was it
part of a whole lot of coins? Had it come from an ironbound box, whose wooden
sides had rotted away? They talked endlessly, their eyes bright, the round gold
coin on the table in front of them._‘I suppose it would be treasure-trove if we
found it?’ said Dick. ‘I mean - it would be so old that it would belong to the
Crown, and not to anyone in particular.’_‘I expect we’d be allowed to keep a
few coins ourselves,’ said George. ‘If only we could go straightaway now and
hunt in that tunnel! I feel as if I can’t wait!’_‘Woof,’ said Timmy, agreeing
though he really hadn’t much idea of what they were talking about!_‘I say -
LISTEN to the sea crashing over the rocks between us and the jetty!’ said
Julian, startled at the sudden booming. ‘The wind must be working up to a
gale!’_‘Well, bad weather’s been forecast for some time,’ saicl Dick gloomily.
‘Blow! It’ll be jolly difficult rowing to and fro in that little Bob-About
boat. I doubt if we’d be able to walk across the rocks even at low tide, with a
big sea running before the wind.’_‘Oh don’t be so gloomy!’ said Anne._‘Well, do
you want us to be prisoners here in the light-house?’ demanded Dick._‘It
wouldn’t matter - there’s plenty of food,’ said Anne._‘No there isn’t! Remember
there are five of us - and Timmy and Mischief as well,’ said Dick._‘Shut up,
Dick,’ said Julian. ‘You’re scaring Anne and Tinker. This storm will soon blow
over - we’ll be able to pop out and do some shopping tomorrow.’_But the storm
grew fiercer, and the sky became so dark that Anne lighted the lamps. Rain
slashed against the light-house, and the wind made a loud howling noise that
made Timmy growl deep down in his throat._Anne went to look out of the window.
She felt frightened when she saw the great waves that came surging over the
rocks below. Some of them broke on the rocks, and the spray flew so high that
it spattered the window out of which she was looking! She drew back in
alarm._‘Do you know what hit the window then? It was spray from a great
wave!’_‘Whew!’ said Julian, and went to the window himself. What a wonderful
sight! The sea was grey now, not blue, and it raced along towards the shore,
great waves curling over into white manes, spray flying. Out to sea there were
angry waves too, topped with white, which turned into spray as the strong wind
caught them. Only a few gulls were out, screaming in excitement, allowing the
wind to take them along on their great white wings._‘Well, I certainly wouldn’t
mind being a gull today,’ said Dick. ‘It must be a wonderful feeling to ride on
a storm - no wonder they are screaming in joy!’_‘Ee-oo, Ee-oo, EE-OOO,
EE-OOOOO!’ cried the gulls, sounding like cats mewing in hunger._‘I’m sorry for
the strips out in this,’ said Julian. ‘Goodness - think of the sailing-ships in
the olden days, caught on this rocky coast in a wind like this - it’s almost a
hurricane!’_‘And think of that wicked old One-Ear Bill, gloating when he saw a
ship sailing nearer and nearer the rocks!’ said George. ‘And even taking the
warning-lamp out of its place on the cliff, and bringing it near here to make
sure that any ships out that night would make straight for the rocks -
CRASH!’_‘Don’t,’ said Anne. ‘I hate to think of things like that.’_‘Let’s have
a game,’ said Julian. ‘Where are the cards? Move that lamp a bit closer to the
table, Dick. It’s getting so jolly dark. Now no more talk of wrecks! Think of something
cheerful - tea-sup, for instance - the treasure - and...’_‘You know, I think it
would be quite easy to find the treasure,’ said Dick, bringing the lamp close
to the table. ‘Mischief is a very clever little thing. I’m sure he would
remember where he found that coin, and lead us straight to the place.’_‘It
might have been just an odd coin, dropped by the man who hid the hoard,’ said
Anne._‘It might - but wherever it was found I think we can safely say that the
main hoard wouldn’t be very far away,’ said Dick._‘Well, if we do go hunting
we’ll have to go when the tide is well out,’ said Julian. ‘I don’t really fancy
scrabbling about in those caves and tunnels under the rocky sea-bed, when I
know that somehow or other when the tide is coming in the water gets under the
sea-bed, as well as on it.’_Dick sat frowning, thinking out something. ‘Ju,’ he
said at last, ‘you remember the direction we went in, as soon as we were
underground this morning? We went left-ish all the way, didn’t we?’_‘Yes, we
did,’ said Tinker, at once. ‘I had my little compass with me - look - it clips
to my wristwatch - and we went sharp west all the time.’_‘Towards the
light-house, that would be,’ said Julian, and drew a quick plan. ‘See - here’s
the light-house, say - and just here is the entrance into the cliff, where we
first went - here’s the path we took, curving right back to the sea again,
under the rocky beach - here it goes - and that’s a cave, see, then more
tunnel, and caves - the way always curving sharply to the left...’_‘A bit
farther on and we’d have been almost under the light-house!’ said Dick, in
amazement._‘That’s right,’ said Julian. ‘And maybe in the old days, before this
light-house was built, and ships were sent crashing on the rocks on which it
now stands, there was a tunnel down from those light-house rocks that joined up
with the tunnel we were in this morning - so that the wreckers would find it
very easy to stow away anything valuable they found in a wrecked ship without
being seen!’_‘Whew! You mean they waited till the ship smashed up, then waded
over the rocks, as we do, took what they could find, and disappeared down a
tunnel there to hide it!’_‘And came out the other end!’ said Anne._George
stared at Julian, and her eyes were bright. ‘Maybe the tunnel is still
somewhere in these rocks!’ she said. ‘Somewhere down at the edge of them,
because we know the sea gets into the tunnel. Julian, let’s look for it
tomorrow. I think you’re right. There may be a hole in the rocks here
somewhere, that drops down into the tunnel we were in.’_Nobody wanted to play a
game after that! They felt much too excited. They studied Julian’s plan again
and again, glad that Tinker’s little compass had shown him so clearly that
morning that the under-sea passages had led due west to the light-house
rocks._‘Do you suppose that everyone has forgotten the old hole?’ said Dick.
‘Nobody has told us anything about it, not even Jeremiah. Do you think it may
have been blocked up?’_Julian frowned, thinking hard._‘Well, yes - it may have
been,’ he said. ‘It is queer that Jeremiah didn’t say anything about it. Anyway
we’ll have a good hunt tomorrow.’_‘And if we find it, we’ll drop down and hunt
for the treasure!’ said Tinker, his eyes shining. ‘WHAT a shock for Ebenezer
and Jacob if we find it first!’___Chapter Nineteen__A NASTY SHOCK!__The storm
blew itself out that evening, and next day was much calmer. The sky still
looked angry, and rain fell now and again, but it was possible to get out of
the light-house door in the morning, and go down the steps on to the
rocks._‘Shall we go shopping first - or look for the hole?’ said Julian._‘Look
for the hole,’ said Dick, promptly. ‘The wind is still pretty strong, and the
storm might blow up again - just look at that angry sky! We wouldn’t be able to
mess about round the edge of the rocks if the sea gets any rougher.’_They
spread out and went cautiously over the great rocks on which the light-house
was built. At low tide the rocks stood well up, out of the sea. The light-house
was built on the highest part, and seemed to tower over the searchers as they
clambered here and there, seeking for any hole that looked as if it might lead
down into some tunnel below._‘Here’s a hole!’ called Anne, suddenly, and they
all clambered over to her in excitement, Timmy too. Julian looked down to where
Anne was pointing. ‘Yes - it does look a likely one,’ he said. ‘Big enough to
take a man, too. I’ll climb down and see.’_He slid down the hole, holding on to
projecting pieces of rock as he went. The others watched, thrilled. Timmy
barked. He didn’t like to see Julian disappearing like this!_But before Julian
quite disappeared, he shouted again. ‘I’m afraid it’s no good! It’s come to a
sudden end! I’m standing on firm rock, and though I’ve felt all round it with
my feet, there’s no opening anywhere. It’s a blind end!’_What a disappointment!
‘Blow!’ said Dick, lying down on the rocks and putting his arm down the hole to
help Julian to climb up again. ‘I had high hopes then! Julian - here’s my hand.
Do you want any help?’_‘Thanks - it is a bit difficult!’ said Julian. He
climbed up with difficulty, and squeezed out of the hole thankfully. ‘I
wouldn’t like to get wedged in here!’ he said. ‘Especially with the tide coming
in!’_‘It’s beginning to pour with rain again!’ said Anne. ‘Shall we go shopping
now - or wait a bit?’_‘Oh, let’s wait,’ said George. ‘I’m cold and wet now.
Let’s go into the light-house and make some hot coffee. WHAT a disappointment!
Never mind - we can always go down the tunnels we were in yesterday and search
around - maybe Mischief will show us where he found the gold coin!’_They all
went into the light-house, and once more Julian jammed the door. ‘I wish that
locksmith would come,’ he said. ‘If we go down into the caves, we’ll have to
leave old Timmy behind on guard - and it is such a shame!’_‘Woof,’ said Timmy,
heartily agreeing. They all went upstairs and Anne began to make the coffee. As
they were sitting drinking it, Timmy suddenly sprang to his feet with a most
blood-curdling growl. Everyone jumped, and Anne spilt her coffee._‘Timmy!
What’s up?’ said George, in alarm. Timmy was standing with his nose towards the
closed door of the room, his hackles rising up on his neck. He looked truly
fierce!_‘What on earth is the matter, Tim?’ said Julian, going to the door. ‘There
can’t be anyone on the stairway - the entrance door’s jammed!’_Timmy raced out
of the door as soon as Julian opened it and tore down the spiral stairway at
such a speed that he fell, and rolled to the bottom. George gave a terrified
scream. ‘Timmy! Have you hurt yourself?’_But Timmy leapt to his feet at once,
and ran to the entrance door, growling so ferociously that Anne felt really
frightened. Julian ran down and went to the door. It was still well and truly
jammed._‘Timmy! Maybe it’s just the poor milkman, come with some milk again,’
he said, and unjammed the door. He took hold of the handle to open it._It
wouldn’t open! Julian pulled and tugged, but it was of no use, The door simply
would NOT open!_By this time everyone was down beside him. ‘Let me try,’ said
Dick. ‘The door must just have stuck.’_No - he couldn’t open it either! Julian
looked gravely round at everyone. ‘I’m afraid - very much afraid - that
SOMEBODY has locked us in!’ he said._There was a horrified silence. Then George
cried out in anger. ‘Locked us in! How dare they! Who’s done this!’_‘Well - I
think we can guess,’ said Julian. ‘It was whoever came and stole our key the
other day!’_‘Ebenezer - no, Jacob!’ cried Dick. ‘One of the two, anyway. How
DARE they? What are we to do? We can’t get out. Why have they done this - this
- silly - wicked thing?’_‘I’m afraid it’s because they think we might go
looking for the treasure - and find it,’ said Julian, his face grave. ‘We felt
sure that Mischief might remember where he had found that gold coin - and lead
us there - and I’m pretty sure they think the same. So this is their way of
making sure they have time to find the treasure, before we do!’_‘They’re
wicked, they’re wicked!’ cried George, taking hold of the handle of the door,
and pulling it violently. ‘We’re prisoners!’_‘Don’t pull the handle off, old
thing,’ said Julian. ‘That wouldn’t help at all. Let’s go upstairs and talk
about it. We’ll have to think of some way out of this unexpected
difficulty.’_They went soberly upstairs again, and sat down in the living-room.
Yes - they were certainly prisoners!_‘What are we going to do?’ said Dick. ‘We
are in a real fix, Julian.’_‘Yes. You’re right,’ said Julian, looking worried.
‘We can’t get out of the light-house, that’s certain. On the other hand - how
can we get help? No telephone. Shouting would never be heard. Can’t use our
boat. No one would ever know we are prisoners - they’ve seen us going in and
out of the light-house, and if we suddenly don’t appear any more, they’ll
simply think we have gone home, and that the light-house is empty again!’_‘We
shall die of starvation!’ said Anne, scared._‘Oh no - I expect we shall think
of something,’ said Dick, seeing that Anne was really frightened. ‘All the
same, it’s a puzzle. We can’t get out - and no one can get in! Whoever locked
that door has certainly taken the key away with him.’_They talked and they
talked, and finally they felt hungry, so they had a meal - though they felt
that they ought to eat sparingly, in case their food ran short too quickly._‘And
I feel so hungry,’ complained George. ‘I keep feeling hungry here.’_‘That’s
what I told you. Living in a light-house somehow makes you feel hungry all the
time!’ said Tinker._‘We’ll try and catch the milkman tomorrow morning,’ said
Julian, suddenly. ‘Let’s see, now - we could write a note, and push it under
the door, so that he would see it tomorrow when he comes. We could put “HELP -
WE ARE LOCKED IN.”’_‘It would blow away,’ said George. ‘You know it would.’_‘We
could pin it down our side - and then it wouldn’t,’ said Anne. ‘Half of it
would still stick out under the door.’_‘Well, it’s worth trying,’ said Dick,
and immediately wrote out the note on a large sheet of paper. He shot
downstairs to pin it to the mat - and shoved half the paper underneath so that
it stuck out on the other side of the door._He ran back upstairs. ‘I don’t for
a moment think that the milkman will come across the rocks in this weather,’ he
said. ‘They’ll be almost impassable. Still we’ll hope for the best!’_There
didn’t seem anything else to do. The evening came early, for the sky was very
dark again, and the wind once more got up, and howled dismally. Even the gulls
decided that it was no longer a good idea to glide to and fro._They played
games that evening, and tried to laugh and make jokes. But secretly everyone
was worried. Suppose that the stormy weather went on and on, and nobody guessed
they were locked in the light-house, and the milkman didn’t bring any milk, and
didn’t see the note - and they ate all their food and..._‘Cheer up, everyone,’
said Julian, seeing the dismal looks around the table. ‘We’ve been in worse
fixes than this.’_‘Well, I don’t think we have!’ said Anne. ‘I just can’t see
ANY way out of this one!’_There was rather a long silence during which Timmy
sighed heavily, as if he too was worrying! Only the monkey seemed cheerful, and
went head-over-heels at top speed round the room, sitting up for laughs at the
end. But nobody laughed. Nobody even seemed to notice him. Mischief felt very
sad, and crept over to Timmy for comfort._‘There is one idea that might be a
good one,’ said Julian, at last. ‘It’s been running round in my mind for a
while - and I’m not sure whether it’s possible or not. Anyway, it’s one we
might try tomorrow, if help doesn’t come.’_‘What?’ asked everyone, at once, and
Timmy lifted his head and whined, as if he too quite understood._‘Well, do you
remember that I went down that foundation shaft?’ said Julian, ‘and saw the
water swirling at the bottom? Now - do you suppose it’s at all possible that
that shaft was bored down through a natural hole - and the light-house builders
chose to put the foundation shaft there because there was a ready-made shaft
they could use? - a fine hole going right down through the rock! And they made
the hole into a cement-lined shaft, strong and everlasting, so that the
light-house would never be at the mercy of waves and wind - but would stand
firm, whatever happened?’_This was a new idea to everyone, and it took a little
while to sink in. Then Dick smacked the table-top and made them all
jump._‘Julian! You’ve got it! Yes - that strong cement-lined shaft runs down a
natural hole - and that hole must be the one we’ve been looking for! The one
that connects up with the tunnels we were in this morning! No wonder we
couldn’t find it when we hunted all over the rocks! The shaft-makers used
it!’_There was silence again. Everyone was taking this in, even Tinker. Julian
looked round the table and smiled. ‘Have you all jumped to it?’ he said. ‘If
that is the hole we were looking for - what about one of us going down that
iron ladder again to the bottom - and finding out if it does lead into the
tunnel we were in today?’_‘And walking through it, and up the passage and
coming out through the cliff entrance we used this morning!’ said George.
‘Julian! What an absolutely wonderful idea! We could escape that way! What a
shock for Ebby and Jacob! We’ll do it somehow - we’ll do it!’___Chapter
Twenty__DOWN THE SHAFT AND INTO THE TUNNEL__It was a most exciting idea to
think that the iron ladder in the great cement-lined shaft might possibly lead
to the tunnel they had been into that morning. Julian had seen water swirling
at the bottom, when the tide was in - possibly if they went down it when the
tide was going out, there would be no danger of being trapped!_The storm was
very fitful now - sometimes it came back again, and then the wind blew so hard
that it seemed as if the buffeted light-house must fall! Rain fell in torrents
that night, and during the dark early hours of the morning, when the tide was
in, great waves pounded over the rocks, sending spray almost over the top of
the light-house. Julian awoke and looked out of the bedroom window in awe._‘I
hope there’s no ship out anywhere near here tonight,’ he said, and then gave a
sudden exclamation, ‘What’s that - something swept right across the sky!’_‘It’s
the beam from the new light-house at High Cliffs,’ said Dick. ‘I saw it last
night. It must have a very powerful beam, mustn’t it, to show even on a night
like this?’_They watched for a little while, and then Julian yawned._‘Let’s try
to go to sleep,’ he said. ‘We thought we were going away for a nice little
holiday - and BANG - we’re in the middle of something again!’_‘Well, let’s hope
that we come out of it all right,’ said Dick, settling down in his rugs once
more, ‘I must say that I feel a bit cut off from civilization at the moment.
‘Night, Julian.’_In the morning the storm was still about, and the wind was
terrific. Julian ran down to the entrance door to see if the milkman could
possibly have come - and had seen their message for help._But no - the paper
was still half on their side, flapping on the mat. Obviously the milkman hadn’t
dared to cross the rocks that morning, either on foot or by boat!_Dick had
looked out of the window to make sure that tlieir boat was still safely moored
to the post - and to his surprise and distress, it was no longer there! Tinker
was very upset._‘Where’s my little boat gone? Has somebody stolen it?’_‘Maybe -
or possibly the storm broke the mooring-rope, and the boat was smashed to
pieces on the rocks,’ said Julian, ‘Anyway, it’s gone. Poor old Tinker. What a
shame!’_Tinker was very sad, and Mischief tried to comfort him, doing all sorts
of silly tricks to make him laugh. But Tinker wouldn’t laugh. He really was
right down in the dumps._They had rather a sparse breakfast, and were very
silent. Anne cleared away and washed up, and then Julian called them all
together._‘Well, now we must decide about this descent down the shaft to what
we hope will be the tunnel we were in yesterday,’ he said. ‘I am going down
myself.’_‘Toss for it!’ said Dick, at once. ‘There’s no reason why I shouldn’t
go, is there? Or what ahout us both going, in case the other gets into trouble,
and needs help?’_‘Not a bad idea,’ said Julian. ‘Except that there won’t be
anyone to look after the girls and Tinker.’_‘WOOF!’ said Timmy, indignantly,
standing up at once. Julian laughed and patted him._‘It’s all right, Timmy. I
just wanted to see if you thought you could guard them well. All right - Dick
and I will go down the shaft. The sooner the better. We simply must go while
the tide is out. What about now, Dick?’_Solemnly they all went down the spiral
stairway to the entrance door, where the trap was that opened on to the great shaft.
Julian pulled up the lid and gazed down into blackness. He shone his torch
down, but he could not see the bottom. ‘Well - here goes!’ he said, and lowered
himself down into the shaft, his feet seeking the rungs of the iron ladder.
‘Keep cheerful, girls. We’ll get through the tunnels and passages, and to the
entrance in the cliff - and fetch help for you in no time at all!’_‘Julian,
please take care,’ said Anne, in a shaky voice. ‘Please, please do take
care!’_Down went Julian, his torch now held between his teeth. After him went
Dick. The girls shone their own torches down the shaft, but soon the boys were
so far down that they could not be seen. Only their voices came up now and
again, sounding very hollow and peculiar._‘We’re at the bottom!’ shouted Julian,
at last. ‘It’s rock, and there’s no water at present! We’ve a clear way to
follow! I crawled out of the hole at the bottom, and there’s some kind of
tunnel there all right. We’re off now - crawling out, and into the tunnel.
Cheer up, all of you! See you soon!’ And then the queer hollow voice stopped,
and the girls and Tinker heard nothing more. Timmy began to whine. He couldn’t
understand these queer goings-on at all!_Julian and Dick were feeling rather
pleased with themselves. It hadn’t been very difficult to squeeze out of the
arches at the bottom of'the shaft. Now they were in a dark narrow tunnel, whose
roof sometimes came down so low that they had to bend double. It smelt damp and
seaweedy, but there seemed to be plenty of air. In fact at times quite a little
breeze seemed to flow round them._‘I shall be glad when we come into a tunnel
we recognize!’ said Julian, at last. ‘We surely must be near where we were
yesterday. Hallo, what’s this? Dick - look, Dick!’_Dick looked to where
Julian’s torch was shining and gave a shout. ‘A gold coin - another one! We
must be near where old Mischief ran off to yesterday. Look - there’s another -
and another. Where on earth did they come from?’_The boys shone their torches
all around, and saw at last where the coins had fallen from. Above their head
was a dark hole, running up into the rock. As they shone their torches on it, a
gold coin slid out and dropped down to join the others._‘This is where Mischief
found the coin!’ cried Dick. ‘Julian there must be a box or something up there,
which is rotting away, and letting out the money it contains bit by
bit.’_‘Whoever would have guessed at such a hiding-place!’ said Julian,
marvelling as he shone his torch above his head. ‘There’s absolutely nothing to
be seen except that dark hole - no box, nothing. It must have been pushed right
into a recess at the side of the hole, by someone who knew a good hiding-place
was there.’_‘Give me a leg-up so that I can put in my hand and feel,’ said
Dick. ‘Buck up - this is too exciting for words!’_Julian gave him a leg-up, and
Dick put his head and shoulders into the hole. He felt to one side - nothing -
felt to the other side, and his hand came across something hard and cold - an
iron band perhaps? He ran his hand over it and touched something soft and
crumbly - old, old wood rotting away, maybe - possibly a wooden chest - only
held together by the iron bands. He scrabbled about and Julian gave a sudden
shout._‘Hey - you’ve showered me with money! Whew - I never saw so many gold
coins in my life!’_‘Julian - I think there’s more than one box or chest up
there,’ said Dick, jumping down, and looking at the big heap of shining coins
at his feet. ‘There may be a fortune there! Talk about treasure-trove! Look -
let’s not disturb anything else up that hole. No one knows about it except
ourselves. Better gather up these coins though, just in case that awful Ebby
takes it into his head to come down this way!’_So they filled their pockets
with the coins and then made their way onwards again. To their joy they soon
recognized one of the tunnels they had been in the day before. ‘Plain sailing
now,’ said Dick joyfully. ‘We’ll soon be out, and then we’ll get the locksmith
to pick the lock of the light-house, so that we can get in.’_‘Sh!’ said Julian,
suddenly. ‘I think I can hear something.’ They listened, but went on again,
thinking that Julian was mistaken._But he wasn’t! As they turned a dark corner
that led into a cave, someone leapt at them! Julian went down to the ground at
once, and Dick followed. He just had time to see that Ebenezer was there with
someone else - Jacob perhaps?_As Dick fell, gold coins spilled out of his
pocket. Ebenezer gave a cry and bent down to them at once. Julian tried to take
his chance and slip by him - but the other man caught him and sent him spinning
backwards. ‘Where did you find that money? You tell us or you’ll be sorry!’
shouted Ebenezer, and the echo came back at once, ‘Sorry - sorry -
sorry!’_‘Run, Dick!’ panted Julian. ‘It’s our only chance!’ He gave Ebenezer a terrific
shove, which sent him into the other man - yes, it was Jacob - and then he and
Dick were off at once, running as fast as they could, back along the way they
had come. ‘You come here!’ yelled Ebenezer, and they heard him pounding after
them._‘Hurry!’ panted Dick. ‘If only we can get to the shaft, we’re all
right.’_But alas, they took the wrong turning, and soon found themselves in a
cave they had never seen before. Ebenezer and Jacob blundered past without
seeing them. ‘Better stay here a while,’ said Julian. ‘Let them get a good way
off.’_So they stayed still and quiet, and then at last ventured out of their
hiding-place and tried to find their way back to the right path._‘You know - if
we get lost down here, we’re done for!’ said Julian. ‘And once the tide flows
in, we shall be in a pretty poor way! Somehow we’ve got to get out through the
cliff way or back to the shaft. Hang on to me, Dick. We mustn’t get separated,
whatever happens!’_They stumbled on, not really knowing whether they were going
in the right direction or not. They seemed to go through endless tunnels and
caves - what a labyrinth there was in that great strata of rocks! They they
heard voices!_‘That’s Ebby’s voice - and Jacob’s too,’ whispered Julian.
‘They’re coming this way. Hide here, and keep still!’_So they hid quietly, and
listened to Ebby and Jacob. ‘Those boys have got to come back here,’ said Ebby.
‘We’ll wait. Don’t make a sound!’_‘We’ll have to make a dash for it, and hope
for the best!’ whispered Julian. ‘Come on! We’ll be caught by the tide soon if
we’re not quick!’_They both made a sudden rush, and passed the surprised Ebby
and Jacob at a run. Then down the tunnel beyond them they went as fast as they
could, bumping their arms and legs and heads against the rocky walls, but holding
their torches steadily in front of them. On they went and on - and behind them,
breathing heavily, came Ebby and Jacob._‘I think this must be a bad dream!’
panted Dick. ‘JULIAN! JULIAN! look - there’s water coming along this tunnel!
The tide’s coming in!’_‘Come on,’ said Julian. ‘I feel as if the shaft isn’t
far away now. I seem to know this tunnel - and this cave. Come on, Dick, we
haven’t a minute to spare! We’ve GOT to get to the ladder!’_‘Look! There’s the
shaft!’ yelled Dick at last. ‘Come on - we shall just about be able to squeeze
under the arch at the bottom! Hurry Julian - the water’s up to our ankles
now!’_They reached the shaft and squeezed under the small archway that let the
water run through from side to side over the rocky bottom of the shaft. They
began to mount the ladder, and then stopped to hear if there were any sounds
from Ebby or Jacob._They heard yells. EBBY! COME BACK! Tide’s flowing in!’ and
then they heard Ebby’s angry voice._‘I’m coming! They’ve gone farther down -
and they won’t like it! They’ll be drowned before they get much farther!’_Dick
grinned. ‘Come on, Ju, - up we go! I can see the light through the trap-door at
the top. The girls have left it open, bless them!’_And soon the two boys were
clambering out of the trap-door, with Timmy barking madly and licking their
necks, the girls and Tinker too excited for words!_‘What happened? Didn’t you
get out of the tunnel to find help for us? Were those men there? What
happened?’_‘Plenty!’ said Julian. ‘But unfortunately we didn’t get past Ebby
and Jacob, who were lying in wait for us. So we’re still stuck in this
light-house, with nobody to help us. BUT...’_‘But what?’ asked George, shaking
his arm ‘Julian, you look excited. What’s happened?’_‘We found the treasure!’
said Julian. ‘Come on - we’ll tell you all about it!’ And he led the way up the
spiral stairway, with Tinker and the excited girls close behind._Soon the boys
were telling their story, and George and Anne and Tinker listened and exclaimed
and danced about, and were altogether marvellous listeners to a marvellous
tale._‘It MUST have been the treasure - in an iron-bound chest - oh, Ju,
weren’t you excited when the coins poured out?’_‘Yes. It was certainly a very
fine moment,’ said Julian. ‘Mischief, stop pulling my hair. My word. It’s been
an exciting morning! What about a drink of lemonade - and by the way, what’s
the weather been like? We couldn’t see a thing down below!’_‘Oh, it’s awful
again, Julian!’ said Anne. ‘There’s another storm coming - look at those
scurrying black clouds.’_‘It does look bad,’ said Julian, his excitement
leaving him, as he saw clearly that another big storm was blowing up. ‘We
certainly shouldn’t be able to get out of here today, even if we could get out
of the door!’_‘Julian, Tinker found his father’s old pocket radio in a
cupboard,’ said Anne. ‘And it still works. We listened to the weather report,
and it gave an important warning to all ships at sea or by the coast. It said
they must run to safety as soon as they could.’_‘Well, I’m blessed if I know
what to do for the best,’ said Julian, looking out of the window. ‘How in the
world are we to let people know we’re here, marooned in the light-house? We’ll
simply have to think of something!’_But that was easier said than done! How did
one get help when there was no way to get help? How did one escape out of a
locked light-house when there was no key?___Chapter Twenty-one__A WONDERFUL
IDEA__‘I’m thirsty,’ said Tinker. ‘I’ll get some lemonade.’_‘Well, go slow with
it, then,’ said Dick. ‘You don’t know how long we may be locked up here - and
we haven’t endless food and drink!’_Tinker looked alarmed. ‘Might we be locked
up here for weeks and weeks?’ he said._‘If people thought we had left the
light-house and gone back home because of the bad weather, we might easily be
here for some time,’ said Julian, soberly. ‘Nobody would bother about us -
they’d think we were safe at home.’_‘But Mother would soon feel worried if she
didn’t hear from us,’ said George. ‘We said we’d send her a card each day, you
know - and if she doesn’t have one for a day or two, she would be sure to get
worried, and send someone over here.’_‘Hurrah for mothers!’ said Dick,
relieved. ‘All the same - I don’t fancy a week or so here with hardly anything
to eat. We’ll have plenty of one thing though - and that’s rain water!’_‘There
must be some way out of this,’ said Julian, who had been sitting silent,
frowning at his thoughts._‘Can’t we get a message out somehow? Are there any
flags here, Tinker, that we could wave out of a window?’_‘No,’ said Tinker.
‘I’ve never seen any. What about a white table-cloth? We’ve one of
those.’_‘Yes. That would do,’ said Julian. ‘Fetch it, Tinker.’_Tinker pulled it
off the table and gave it to Julian. Julian went to the window and looked
through the glass, which was misted with spray. ‘I don’t expect anyone will
notice a table-cloth being shaken out of this window,’ he said. ‘But I’ll try
it. My word - the window’s hard to open. It seems to have stuck.’_He opened it
at last, and immediately an enormous gust of wind came in, and everything went
flying - papers, books, carpets - chairs fell over, and poor Mischief was blown
from one side of the light-house room to the other. Timmy barked in fright and
tried to catch the flying papers as they went by his nose. The table-cloth
disappeared at once!_Julian managed to close the window again after a terrific
effort, and once more the room became peaceful. ‘Whew!’ said Julian. ‘I didn’t
guess there was such a gale outside. I should think that table-cloth is about
five miles away by now! The gulls will get a surprise when it comes flapping
along in the sky.’_George couldn’t help laughing at that, frightened though she
was. ‘Oh, Julian - it was a jolly good thing you didn’t fly off with the
table-cloth! My word, what a gale! I wonder the light-house stands it.’_‘Well,
we do feel a buffet now and again,’ said Dick. ‘There - did you feel that? It
was either a wave bumping into the rocks, or spray forced against us - I
distinctly felt the light-house shake a little.’_‘Rubbish!’ said Julian, seeing
Anne’s scared face. ‘Don’t make silly jokes like that.’_‘You’re quite sure that
the light-house can’t be blown down?’ said Anne, in a small voice._‘Dear Anne,
use your common-sense,’ said Julian. ‘Would it have stood for all these years
if it hadn’t been strong enough to stand against storms far worse than
this?’_‘Mischief is feeling frightened too,’ said Tinker. ‘He’s gone and
hidden, look.’_‘Well, long may he stay there,’ said Julian. ‘At least, he’s not
trying to open the biscuit-tin, or delve into the bag of sweets! I should just
like to know how many of our sweets he has eaten up to now!’_WHOOOOOOOOSH!_That
was an extra big gale of wind that buffeted the light-house, and made Timmy
stand up and growl. Rain pattered against the window, sounding as if someone
was throwing pebbles._Julian was very worried. It really did look as if the
stormy weather was going on and on. It might quite well continue for a few
days, and their food certainly would not last long. There were still some tins
left, and they had plenty of water, of course - the rain saw to that - but
somehow they were all always so hungry!_‘Cheer up, Julian,’ said George. ‘You
do look grim.’_‘I feel it,’ said Julian. ‘I cannot for the life of me think of
any way to escape from here, or even to get help. We’ve no way of
signalling...’_‘Pity the light-house lamp is no longer going,’ said Tinker.
‘That would have been a fine signal.’_To Tinker’s enormous surprise Julian
suddenly gave a shout, leapt up, came over to Tinker, and gave him such a clap
on the back that the surprised boy almost fell off his chair!_‘W-w-what’s the
matter?’ stammered Tinker, rubbing his shoulder._‘Don’t you see - perhaps we
can set the old lamp going, and make it shine out as it used to do - not to
warn ships, of course - but to make people realize that we are prisoners in the
light-house!’ said Julian, jubilantly. ‘Tinker - do you know if it’s possible
to light the lamp?’_‘I think so,’ said Tinker. ‘My father showed me how it
worked, and I think I remember. Oh - and there’s a bell that can be struck,
too!’_‘Better and better!’ said Julian. ‘Where is the bell?’_‘It was dismantled
and put away,’ said Tinker. ‘It used to hang in that sort of verandah place
that runs outside, round the lamp-room - there’s a big hook for it there.’_‘Oh
- it hung in that outside gallery, did it?’ said Julian. ‘Well - that means
that one of us would have to go out there in the wind and hang it up - not too
good! There must be a ninety-mile-an-hour gale up there. Anyway, let’s get the
bell and have a look at it.’_The great bell was down in the store-room, covered
up. It was made of brass, and once had had a hammer that struck it at
intervals, worked by some simple machinery. But the machinery was in pieces -
no good at all!_‘We’ll take the bell upstairs,’ said Julian. ‘Gosh, it’s heavy
as lead. Dick, I’ll want your help.’_Between them the two boys carried the
heavy bell up to the living-room, and Tinker brought up the old hammer that
used to strike it. Julian and Dick held up the bell by its loop of iron. ‘Hit
it with the hammer, Tinker,’ said Julian. ‘See if it stills sounds
loudly.’_Tinker struck it hard with the hammer - and at once a great deep clang
filled the room from side to side, making Timmy jump almost out of his skin. He
and Mischief left the room at top speed, and fell down the spiral stairway
together. All the others jumped too, and stared at one another in awe. The
sound of the bell went booming round and round the room, filling their ears so
that they had to shake their heads to try and get rid of the sound. Julian at
last clasped the rim of the bell with both his hands and the sound died
away._‘What a WONDERFUL bell!’ he said, in awe. ‘Look how old it is, too - see,
it says “Cast in 1896”! My word - if only we could get it hung up in its place
on the gallery, the sound of it would go right to the village and beyond! I
wonder how many ships heard it in the old days, booming out every now and again
as the hammer struck it.’_Tinker raised the hammer again, but Dick stopped him.
‘No - you saw how scared Timmy and Mischief were. They’ll probably jump through
a window, glass and all, if we sound the bell again!’_‘We’ll wait till we think
the wind has died down a bit, and then try to hang the bell,’ said Julian. ‘Now
let’s look at the lamp. Will it want oil, Tinker?’_‘It may do - though I think
there’s some still in it, left when the light-house was closed down,’ said
Tinker. ‘But there is plenty down in the store-room.’_‘Good,’ said Julian,
feeling decidedly more cheerful. ‘Now - if the gale dies down at all, we’ll try
to hang the bell. We can strike that as soon as it’s hung, and not wait till we
light the lamp.’_But the gale seemed to get worse, and Julian really did wonder
if the old light-house would stand up to it! Should he take everyone down to
the store-room? Just in case? ‘I will if the gale gets worse,’ he thought.
‘Though if the light-house should fall, there wouldn’t be much chance for us,
whatever part of it we’re in!’_They went up to the lamp-room in the afternoon and
looked at the great old lamp. Tinker explained how it worked. ‘It used to go
round and round mechanically,’ he said, ‘and there were screens here - and here
- that shut out the light in places as it went round - so that the light seemed
to go on and off, if any ship was watching it - it seemed to flash, you see,
instead of to shine steadily. Ships noticed it more quickly then.’_The screens
were broken in pieces. There was still some oil in the lamp, but Julian added
more. The wick seemed perfectly good. Now if only they could light the lamp,
and keep it going, someone would be sure to see it, and wonder about it!_Julian
felt in his pocket for matches. As the lamp-room was enclosed in glass, it was
easy to keep the match alight. He touched the oily wick with it - and hey,
presto! the lamp was lighted!_It was a very big lamp, and, close to, the light
was quite blinding. Dick crowed with delight. ‘We’ve done it! Old light-house,
you’re going to shine once more tonight! You’re alive again!’_‘Now to hang the
bell,’ said Julian, and he cautiously opened the door leading on to the gallery
outside, having waited until the wind died down for a moment. He and Dick
lifted the bell up to the hook there and slipped the iron loop over it. It hung
there, swinging, and Julian lifted the hammer - but at that moment a great gust
took him and he staggered, almost falling over the railing!_Dick caught him
just in time, and, with George’s help, dragged him into the lamp-room. They
were all very white-faced! ‘That was a narrow escape,’ said George, her hands
shaking and her body trembling. ‘We’ll have to be careful if we go out on the
gallery again! Perhaps we had better rely only on the lamp.’_‘I vote we all go
down and have some hot tea,’ said Julian, thankful for his escape. His legs
felt shaky as he went down the stairs. He was most surprised! Julian was seldom
scared, and it was peculiar to have legs that suddenly gave at the
knees!_However, everyone soon recovered when they were drinking hot tea and
eating ginger biscuits. ‘I wish it was dark so that we could see how bright the
light is from the lamp when it shines,’ said Dick. ‘It will be dark very
quickly today.’_It was! So dark that the light streaming from the old lamp at
the top of the light-house was brilliant! It cut a shining path through the
night, gleaming yellow._And through the roar of the sea went a great clanging,
as Julian, with Dick holding on to him, struck the old bell hanging in the
gallery._‘Listen!’ said George, her hand on Timmy’s collar._‘Listen! BOOM. BOO-OOO-OOM!
BOOOOM! Tim, that bell must feel happy tonight - it’s found its voice
again!’_BOOOOOOOOOM! Has anyone heard that old bell on this stormy night? Has
anyone seen the light from the old old lamp?_BOOOOOOOOOM!!!___Chapter
Twenty-two__THE END OF THE ADVENTURE__Down in the village of Demon’s Rocks that
night, people drew their curtains, made up their fires, and sat down in their
arm-chairs. They were thankful not to be out in the wind and the rain._Old
Jeremiah Boogle was lighting his pipe, sitting by his own roaring fire, when he
heard a sound that made him drop the flaring match, and listen in
amazement._BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM!_‘A bell! A bell I’ve not heard for nigh on forty
years!’ said old Jeremiah, standing up, hardly able to believe his ears. ‘No - it
can’t be the light-house bell. That’s been gone for many a
day!’_BOOOOOOOOM!_Jeremiah went to his window and pulled aside the old curtain.
He stared out - and could not believe his eyes! He gave a yell. MILLIE! Come
look here! Lighthouse lamp is shining out! MILLIE! Where’s that granddaughter
of mine? MILLIE!’_‘What is it, Grandad, now?’ said a plump little woman,
bustling in._‘Look, Millie - am I seeing right - ain’t that the light-house
lamp a-shining there?’ said Jeremiah._‘Well - there’s a bright light shining
out there high above Demon’s Rocks,’ said Millie. ‘But I never in my life saw
the light-house lamp shining out before! And what’s that booming noise,
Grandfather - like a wonderful great bell?’_‘That’s the old bell in the
light-house!’ said Jeremiah. ‘I couldn’t mistake that! Many’s the time I heard
it booming out to warn ships off them Demon’s Rocks in the old days. Millie, it
can’t be! It don’t hang there no more. And the light don’t shine no more.
What’s happening?’_‘I dunno, Grandad,’ said Millie, scared. ‘Ain’t no one in
the light-house, far as I know!’_Old Jeremiah smacked his hand down on the
window-sill, knocking over a plant-pot. ‘There are folk there - three boys and
two girls, and a monkey too - and a dog as well!’_‘Well, there now!’ said
Millie. ‘And what would they be there for? Did they set the lamp a-going and
sound that bell? BOOOOOM - there it goes again - enough to wake all the babies
in Demon’s Rocks Village!’_Millie was right. It did wake all the babies, and
the children - and amazed every man and woman in the place, including Ebenezer
and Jacob. They had leapt to their feet when they had heard the bell, and were
astounded to see the great light shining out steadily in the night._They heard
people hurrying by their cottage, on their way to Demon’s Rocks jetty. They
heard Jeremiah’s big voice booming out too. ‘It’s they children up there in the
light-house, a-banging that bell, and setting that light a-shining. Something’s
wrong! It’s help they’re needing, folks! Something’s wrong!’_Ebenezer and Jacob
knew quite well what was wrong! The children were locked in the light-house and
couldn’t get out! They might be ill or hurt - or starving - but they couldn’t
get out to fetch help. And now the whole village was aroused, and when the morning
came, a boat would bob out on the great waves and find out what had
happened!_Ebby and Jacob disappeared that night! It wasn’t Constable Sharp they
feared - it was the people of the village! They slipped away in the dark and
the rain, and were gone. But you’ll be caught, Ebby, you’ll be caught, Jacob!
And no one will be sorry for you. No one at all!_When daylight came, there were
many people on the jetty, ready to go across to the light-house. The wind was
so rough that great waves still rolled over the rocks on which the light-house
stood. Soon a boat was launched, and Jeremiah, Constable Sharp and the village
doctor went across, the boat careering from side to side like a mad thing, as
the waves caught it._They went up the steps to the light-house and banged at
the door - and from the other side came Julian’s glad voice. ‘You’ll have to
break down the door. Ebby or Jacob locked us in and took the key. We can’t get
out, and we’re running short of food!’_‘Right. Stand back,’ shouted Jeremiah,
‘Constable and I are going to break in!’_Jeremiah was old but he was still
hefty, and Constable Sharp was heftier still. The lock suddenly splintered
under their enormous shoves, and the door flew wide open! Jeremiah and the
policeman shot inside and bumped into Julian and the rest, sending them flying.
Timmy barked in astonishment and Mischief fled up the stairway!_Soon they were
all in the living-room, and Julian was pouring out his story. Anne made tea and
handed round steaming cups. Jeremiah listened open-mouthed, and the policeman
busily took notes. The doctor, glad that no one was ill or hurt, sipped his tea
and listened, too._‘We didn’t know how to get out when we were locked in,’ said
Julian, coming to the end of his long story. ‘So in the end we lighted the old
lamp, and hung up the old bell, and struck it with the hammer. I could hardly
stand in the gallery, though, there was such a wind! I struck it for half an
hour, and then my brother here went on till he felt too cold. The lamp didn’t
burn all night - it went out early this morning.’_‘But both bell and light did
their job well, son,’ said Jeremiah, looking twenty years younger, he was so
excited. ‘Ah, to think that old lamp shone again, and that old bell sounded - I
thought I must be dreaming!’_‘We’ll be after that Ebenezer and Jacob,’ said the
policeman, shutting his notebook, ‘And it seems to me you’d all best go home,
young sir. This weather’s going on for a bit - and there’s nothing to keep you
here, is there?’_‘Well,’ said Julian, ‘actually there is something to keep us
here. You know the old wreckers’ lost treasure you told us about, Jeremiah?
Well - we’ve found it!’_Jeremiah was so astounded that he couldn’t say a word!
He goggled at Julian, and opened and shut his mouth like a fish. Julian took
some golden coins out of his pocket and showed them to the policeman and the
doctor, and to Jeremiah._‘There you are!’ he said. ‘We know where there are
thousands of these - they are in iron-bound boxes and chests down in one of the
tunnels in the rock. What do you think of that? We can’t leave here till we’ve
given the treasure into the hands of the police! It belongs to the Crown,
doesn’t it?’_‘Yes, it does,’ said Constable Sharp, gazing at the bright gold
coins. ‘But you’ll get a fine reward, young man - all of you will! Where’s this
treasure? I’d better get it straight away.’_‘Well - you have to go down the
foundation shaft of the light-house,’ said Julian, gravely, but with a twinkle
in his eye, ‘and crawl under the archway at the bottom, and then make your way
down the tunnel - but be careful the sea doesn’t catch you - and then when you
come to...’_The policeman stopped scribbling down what Julian was saying, and
looked startled. Julian laughed._‘It’s all right - Dick and I will fetch it
ourselves today, and give it to you, complete with every single gold coin,’ he
said. ‘We don’t need to go down the shaft - there’s another way in - the way
you took us, Jeremiah. We’ll go this morning, for a last excitement. And then -
home! Perhaps you would kindly telephone to Kirrin Garage for a car to fetch us
at twelve o’clock, Constable?’_‘Oh good!’ said Anne. ‘An adventure is always
exciting but I’ve really had enough at the moment! This was such a bad-weather
one! Oh, Constable, look out - that monkey has pulled out your whistle!’_So he
had - and what is more he blew it - PHEEEEEEEEEE. Jeremiah almost jumped out of
his skin, and Mischief received a slap that almost made him jump out of his
skin too!_‘Good-bye, Jeremiah,’ said Julian. ‘It’s been fine meeting you - and
thanks for coming to rescue us. We’ll see you again some day. Come along
Constable - we’ll go and find the treasure with you now.’_‘I don’t think I’ll
come,’ said Anne, who really didn’t like dark, smelly tunnels and caves. ‘I’ll
do the packing.’_‘Timmy and I will help you,’ said George, who knew that Anne
wouldn’t like to be left alone in the light-house._The boys went off with
Jeremiah, the doctor and Constable Sharp, rowing over the rocks to the jetty.
The doctor and Jeremiah said good-bye at the jetty, and the three boys and
Mischief took Constable Sharp to find the treasure. They had to push their way
through quite a crowd of people, who had collected on the quay, anxious to know
why the light had shone out from the light-house in the night, and why the bell
had sounded._‘Make way, please,’ said the policeman, politely. ‘Everything is
all right. These children were locked in the light-house and couldn’t get out.
Make way, please. There is no need for any excitement!’_‘No - that’s all over
now - isn’t it, Ju?’ said Dick. ‘Whew - it was just a bit too exciting, at
times! I shall be quite glad to be at Kirrin Cottage again, with peace and
quiet all around us.’_‘You’ve forgotten that Uncle Quentin and his friend will
still be there,’ said Julian, with a grin. ‘There’ll be plenty going on while
they’re around! I’m afraid they won’t be at all pleased to see us back!’_Oh yes
they will, Julian - especially when they hear the exciting story you have to
tell! You’ll have some fun showing round a gold coin or two. Timmy is to have
one hung on his collar, as a reward for guarding you so well - how proud he
will be!_Well, good-bye to you all! Good-bye, Julian, and Dick, and a good
journey home! Good-bye, Anne and George - and Tinker too, and Mischief, you
funny little monkey!_And good-bye, dear old Timmy, best of friends. How we wish
we had a dog like you! See you all again some day!__
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