26

a bad time – and a surprising meeting

but jack didn’t wake up – and for a very good reason too. he wasn’t asleep.

he was wide awake and staring at this colossal fortune in paper money. itdidn’t make sense. why was it all stored here, in this cave underground?

who did it belong to? why didn’t they put it into a bank in the usual way?

‘perhaps the men working this mine are finding a lot of copper andselling it secretly, and keeping the money here that they get for it,’ thoughtjack. he was so lost in amazement at the sight of such a fortune piled upthere in front of him that he did not hear someone coming to the door of thecave he was in.

the man who opened the door and saw jack in the cave was even moresurprised than jack himself. he stood staring at the boy with his mouthwide open, and his eyes almost falling out of his head. then he dragged theboy roughly out of the cell, and pulled him to the room where the machinewas working.

‘look here!’ yelled the man. ‘look here! i found him in the store room.’

the machine was stopped at once. the men gathered round jack and hiscaptor. one of them stepped forward. it was jake.

he looked very evil and the black patch he wore over one eye made himlook most peculiar. he shook jack so roughly that the boy lost his breathcompletely and sank down on the ground when jake let go of his arm.

‘where are the rest of you?’ said jake. ‘you tell me, see! who are youwith? what are you doing down here? what do you know?’

jack picked up his nugget, looked round for kiki, who had flown infright to the roof of the cave, and tried to think what to answer for the best.

the men took no notice of his big copper nugget, which surprised jack verymuch. he had been afraid they would take it away from him at once.

‘i don’t know where the others are,’ he said at last. ‘we came to theisland together, two boys and two girls, and i got separated from the others.’

‘who else was with you?’ demanded jake. ‘you kids didn’t come here byyourselves.’

‘we did,’ insisted jack. ‘i say – who does all that money in there belongto?’

the listening men made some low, threatening noises, and jack gazedround uneasily. jake’s face grew black. he looked round at the men.

‘something’s up,’ he said, and the men nodded. he turned again to jack.

‘now look here,’ he said, ‘you know a lot more than you’ve told us –you’ve picked up something from the others, haven’t you? – well, you justtell us all you know, or you may never see daylight again. see? is thatclear?’

it was horribly clear. jack began to tremble. kiki gave a screech thatmade everyone jump.

‘i don’t know what you mean,’ said jack desperately. ‘all we knew wasthat someone was working these copper mines again, getting copper, andthat bill smugs was taking food here in his boat. that’s honestly all iknow.’

‘bill smugs,’ repeated jake. ‘that’s what the other kids said. who is thisbill smugs?’

jack was puzzled. ‘isn’t that his real name?’ he said.

‘what’s his real name?’ suddenly said jake, so threateningly that jackdropped his precious nugget in a panic, thinking the man was going tostrike him. it fell on the edge of jake’s foot and the man picked it up andhad a look at it.

‘what’s this stone you’re carrying about?’ he said, in curiosity. ‘are youkids mad? a parrot – and a heavy stone – bill smugs – copper mines.

you’re all crazy.’

‘i think this kid knows more than he’s said,’ said oily, stepping besidejake. ‘what about locking him up without any food for a day or so? thatwill make him talk. or what about a good beating?’

jack went pale, but he did not show that he was afraid. ‘i don’t know anymore than i’ve already told you,’ he said. ‘what is there to know, anyway?

what’s the mystery?’

‘take him away,’ said jake roughly. ‘he’ll talk when he’s half-starved.’

olly took the boy by the shoulder and led him roughly from the cave,prodding him unkindly as he did so. he led him to the same cell-like cavein which the other children had been imprisoned. just as he was pushing theboy in, kiki flew down and hacked viciously at the man’s face with hercurved beak. olly put up his hands to protect himself, and dropped historch. it went out.

jack slipped swiftly to the side and crouched outside the cell in silence.

kiki did not know where he was. she flew into the cell and perched on thetable there, in complete darkness.

‘now then, now then, what a pity!’ she said loudly. the cell door banged.

olly had shut it on the parrot, thinking that it was jack talking inside there.

he had not even known that the bird could talk.

he turned the key in the lock. kiki was still talking away softly, thoughneither jack nor olly could hear the words. as olly was turning away, jakecame up.

‘did you put him in?’ he asked, and flashed his torch on to the shut door.

‘yes,’ said olly. ‘he’s gassing away to himself in there – you can hearhim – i think he’s mad.’

the men listened, and kiki’s voice came clearly from the cell. ‘what apity, what a pity!’

‘he’s sorry for himself, isn’t he?’ said jake, and then he gave such ahorrible laugh that jack’s heart went cold with fear. ‘he’ll be sorrier stillsoon.’

the men went back to the machine cave and soon the clattering, bangingnoises began again. jack stood up. kiki had saved him from a horriblepunishment – poor kiki. she didn’t know she had saved him. jack moved tothe door, meaning to unlock it and get the parrot out.

but the key was gone. one of the men must have taken it. so kiki was aprisoner, a real prisoner, and would have to stay there till someone let herout.

but anyway jack himself was free. ‘there’s something wrong about allthis business,’ the boy thought. ‘something wrong about all that money –and those mysterious machines. the men are bad. they can’t be friends ofbill’s. we’ve made a mistake.’

he went down the passage carefully, not daring to switch on his torch. ifonly he could find the shaft-hole and go up it. perhaps the others would beat the top, waiting for him? or had they gone back home and left him allalone? was it still daytime or was it night?

jack stumbled along passage after passage, wishing that kiki was withhim for company. he felt lonely and afraid now. he wanted to talk tosomebody. he wanted to see the others.

at last he was so tired that he could not go on. he curled up in a cornerof a small cave, shut his eyes and fell into a restless, uncomfortable kind ofsleep. for hours he slept, tired out, his limbs getting stiff as he lay there.

and kiki slept too, in the cave, puzzled and angry, missing her master asmuch as he missed her.

when jack awoke he put up his hand to feel kiki, as he often did – butthe bird was not on his shoulder. then he remembered. kiki was a prisoner.

because of her and her ability to talk like a human being, he, jack was free.

he knew a lot. he knew about the hidden treasure. he knew about thosemachines which were so well hidden in these underground caves for somesinister reason. he knew that the men working them were bad men. if theythought their secret, whatever it was, had been discovered, they would notstop at anything.

‘the thing i’ve got to do, the thing i really must do, is to escape and tellwhat i know,’ thought jack. ‘i somehow think i ought to go to the police.

i’d like to go and tell bill – because i think now he’s not in league withthose men – but i’m still not certain. anyway, the thing is – i’ve got to tellsomebody.’

so once more the boy began his endless wandering in the workings of themines. up and down long, musty passages he went, his torch now givinghim only a very poor light.

and then suddenly it gave out altogether. jack tapped it a little. hescrewed and unscrewed the bottom. but the battery was dead – no lightwould come from his torch unless he put in a new battery – and certainly hecould not do that at the moment.

jack really did feel afraid then. there was only one hope now of escape,and that was to find, by good luck, the shaft leading up to the open air. butthat was a very poor chance indeed.

he wandered on, groping his way, his hand out before his face, carryingthe nugget uncomfortably under his arm, holding it there with his otherhand. then he thought he heard something. he stopped and listened. no – itwas nothing.

he went on again, and suddenly stopped. he couldn’t help feeling thatpeople were near. was that somebody breathing? he stood in the dark,holding his breath and listening. but he heard nothing. ‘maybe,’ he thought,‘the other person is holding his breath and listening too.’

he went on – and suddenly he bumped hard into somebody. was it jake,or olly? he began to struggle desperately and the other person held on tohim firmly, hurting his arm. the nugget dropped to the ground and hitjack’s foot.

‘oh, my foot, my foot!’ groaned poor jack.

there was an astonished silence. then a powerful torch was switched onby his captor, and a voice said in amazement, ‘why, it’s jack!’

‘freckles!’ came philip’s voice too, and he ran to jack and gave him anaffectionate slap on the back. ‘freckles! what luck to come across you likethis!’

‘tufty! and bill!’ said jack, his voice breaking in a great gasp of joy andrelief. oh, the delight of hearing a familiar voice after so many hours oflonely darkness! the joy of seeing philip, his tuft of hair sticking up fromhis forehead as usual! and bill, with his familiar grin, his twinkling eyes,and his good dependable feeling of grown-upness – jack was glad to have agrown-up to help him. children could meddle in things to a certain extent –but there often came a time when you had to lean on the grown-ups.

he gave a gulp, and bill patted him on the back. ‘fine to see you, jack. ibet you’ve got plenty to tell us.’

‘i have,’ said jack. he took out his handkerchief and blew his nose hard.

then he felt better. ‘where are the girls?’

‘safe at home,’ said philip. ‘we missed you somehow down in the minesyesterday, jack, and we got taken prisoner, but we escaped, got up the shaft?hole, found our boat and sailed away in the half-dark. i went to find oldbill, and here he is. we couldn’t come in his boat because it was smashedby someone – and joe’s boat was gone too.’

‘well – how did you come then?’ asked jack in astonishment.

‘there’s a way under the sea from craggy-tops to here,’ said philip.

‘what do you think of that? we found it in an old book about craggy-tops.

it took us ages to come. it was very weird. i didn’t like it much. but here weare.’

jack was really amazed to hear how they had come. he questioned themeagerly. but bill had a few questions to ask jack. ‘this is all much moreimportant than you think, jack,’ he said. ‘let’s sit down. i’ve got an ideayou can solve a big mystery for me.’