30 bill gets busy
bill swung out of the car, took hold of philip by the arm and had a good look at him. ‘you’re allright?’ he demanded. ‘all of you? your mother’s been nearly off her head with worry.’
‘i’m all right, bill, so’s everybody. but we’ve fallen right into the middle of a mostextraordinary adventure,’ said philip. ‘i must tell you quickly. we’ve got to get busy. you see . . .’
‘come into the police station,’ said bill. philip followed the burly figure, full of relief to hearhis determined voice, and to see his strong, clever face.
soon the whole story was being poured out. bill listened in amazement, occasionally rappingout a sharp question. when he heard how philip had taken the statue out of the crate and puthimself in its place, and was taken to the railway station, he burst out laughing.
‘i never in my life knew children like you! whatever will you do next? i can’t cope with you.
but, joking apart, this is a most extraordinary thing, philip, most amazing. the men you gotcaught up with are the very men i’d been after for some time. we couldn’t find out what they wereup to – though we knew jolly well they were up to no good.’
‘really?’ said philip, astonished. ‘by the way, bill – that night we were to go with you in yourplane – and got into the wrong one – we heard shots. was that anything to do with you?’
‘it was,’ said bill grimly. ‘it so happened that two of the men were spotted there, and detained.
they shot their way out – and that was what you heard. i nearly got a bullet in my leg. i can tellyou, we shall be very glad to get our hands on them and have something to charge them with.
clever rogues! they are crooks from south america, in touch with the old nazis, who have toldthem the whereabouts of many of the lost or hidden treasures in europe. many of them have neverbeen found, you know.’
‘gosh – you wait till you see our treasure caves!’ said philip. ‘oh – by the way, here’s anotebook i pinched from one of the men’s coats.’
he handed it over. bill squinted at it, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head.
‘i say – my word! – look here – this is a code – the code the rascals use – and a list of all thepeople concerned in this racket – with their addresses in code! philip, you deserve a medal. this isa first-class find. we can round up the whole gang.’
philip was delighted at bill’s pleasure. bill got up and went to the telephone. he made manycalls, short, sharp and to the point. philip listened but could not make much of them. he hoped billwould soon set off to rescue the others. they would be waiting most anxiously.
bill put down the telephone receiver at last. ‘we’re taking my aeroplane and another, andtwelve men counting myself,’ he said. ‘starting at twelve.’
‘i’m going too, aren’t i?’ said philip anxiously.
‘i think you’d better stay and see your mother,’ said bill. ‘and also – there may be a bit of adust-up, you know, when we get there.’
philip stared at him in the greatest indignation. ‘bill! the others will be there – jack and the rest– and you’d keep me out of it? didn’t i come here, didn’t i . . .’
‘all right, all right, old son,’ said bill. ‘you shall come. goodness knows what furtheradventure you’d get into if i left you behind.’
philip cheered up at once. he took lizzie out of his pocket and introduced her to bill. ‘meetbusy dizzy lizzie,’ he said, and lizzie ran on to bill’s knee.
‘sounds like kiki’s make-up,’ said bill. ‘busy dizzy lizzie! what a name for a lizard!’
‘i suppose we can’t get anything to eat here, can we?’ asked philip, wondering if there wereever any eatables at a police station. ‘i’ve had chocolate to nibble at times, but that’s all.’
‘i was going to suggest that we should ask the good constable here to provide us with a reallyslap-up meal,’ said bill. ‘we could go to the hotel, but you don’t look very presentable at themoment – you seem to exude bits of straw from top to toe. we’ll have a good meal and then giveyou a wash and brush-up.’
the wind got up as they ate their meal. bill stared out of the window. ‘hope this wind diesdown,’ he said. ‘looks a bit stormy to me.’
bill was right. just before it was time for them to set off in the car to the aerodrome, thetelephone rang. bill answered it. he listened gravely and turned to philip.
‘there’s a gale warning out,’ he said. ‘afraid it’s no good starting off yet, philip. very stormyweather where we want to go.’
‘blow!’ said philip, disappointed and anxious. ‘the others will be so worried, waiting andwaiting for us.’
‘yes, they will,’ said bill. ‘but the aerodrome doesn’t give out warnings like this withoutreason. they are apparently expecting one of those sudden gale-storms that mean a plane must flyabsolutely blind. not so funny. we’ll have to wait a bit.’
philip looked upset. it would be too awful if those men got back to the valley before they didand perhaps caught the others. and he did so badly want bill to catch the men red-handed –wanted him to get there before them and wait for them to come again and take away the treasures.
‘by the way, bill – how do you know where to fly to?’ he asked suddenly. ‘i didn’t know whatthe valley was – or where – except that it is in austria. elsa and the old man told us that.’
‘it’s down in that interesting little notebook you gave me,’ said bill, ‘together with other placeswhere they may also find hidden treasures. oh, that notebook told me quite a lot i wanted to know,philip.’
bill got out a map and showed philip exactly where the valley was. ‘it had a bad time in thewar,’ he said, ‘and the only pass into it was bombed. it hasn’t been unblocked again, as far as iknow. plans were afoot to work on it this year. a man called julius muller – the one you were toldto get in touch with – has been trying to get permission to unblock the valley and enter it.’
‘i wonder what happened to otto,’ said philip. ‘the poor prisoner, you know.’
‘his address is in the book,’ said bill. ‘i have already asked for information about him, idaresay i shall get some soon.’
he did. the telephone rang that afternoon and a voice informed bill that otto engler had beenfound outside a big hospital, unconscious. he had almost died of heart trouble, but was makingslight progress now, though he could not speak a word.
‘i bet those brutes ill-treated him and made him tell them the exact whereabouts of the treasurecaves,’ said philp, ‘and then took him and left him somewhere in the street, ill and terrified.’
‘quite likely,’ agreed bill. ‘they wouldn’t stop at much.’ the telephone bell rang again, andbill took up the receiver once more.
‘gale getting worse,’ he told philip. ‘have to put off our trip till tomorrow. pity your mother’sso far away or we could have dropped in to see her. i’ve been trying to get her on the phone.’
philip did speak to his mother that afternoon, though it was only a three minute talk. mrsmannering was so relieved to hear his voice that she could hardly say a word herself. however,philip found plenty to say, and had to stop halfway through because he was cut off.
next day dawned fair and warm. the wind had almost gone – blown itself out in the night,which had been extremely stormy and wild. philip had awakened once or twice and had felt gladthey had not tried to fly through it, for certainly it was a very wild storm.
he had slept in a comfortable bed put up in the cell of the police station. this seemed veryexciting to him. ‘first time i’ve ever passed a night in prison,’ he told bill.
‘well, i hope it will be the last,’ said bill. ‘prison is not a pleasant place, my boy.’
bill’s car was brought to the door. it was large and bright and swift. he and philip got in, billstarted up the engine and they roared away. twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy miles anhour and more! philip was thrilled.
‘she does go,’ he said. ‘funny that a car seems faster than an aeroplane when you’re in it. muchmore of a rush, somehow.’
they reached the aerodrome at last. there was bill’s plane, its propellers whirring fast. besideit was another, very like it. eleven men stood about, waiting. they saluted bill.
‘get into my plane,’ bill ordered philip. ‘i want a word with my men.’
he had his word and got in. five of the men got in bill’s plane and six in the other. there was aterrific roar, and first bill’s plane took off and then the other one. they flew into the wind, circledround, rose higher and then made off for the east.
philip gave a sigh of relief. now things were on the move again. he would soon see the others.
how glad they would be!
after some time bill spoke to philip. ‘we’re coming to that valley of yours, philip, now – orshould be. have a look out and see if you recognise it.’
philip looked down. ‘oh yes!’ he cried. ‘that’s it! and look – there are four planes down there!
that’s where we land! you’d better look out in case the men are about and shoot!’
bill’s plane roared down lower. it swung into the wind and landed perfectly. the second planefollowed suit.
the engines stopped. there was silence. bill waited to see if anyone came running out. no, nota soul. he and the other men poured out. philip followed.
there seemed to be no one about at all. bill told his men to scatter and make a search beforethey went any further. soon one of them gave a shout. ‘hey! there’s one of them here! all tied uplike a chicken!’
it was pepi, half dead with cold and hunger. he was so glad to be set free that he did not showmuch surprise at seeing so many strangers. in charge of one of the men he tottered over to bill.
‘put him in the hut and lock him up,’ ordered bill. ‘who could have tied him up, philip?’
‘i can’t imagine,’ said philip, puzzled. ‘and look, bill, here are two of our suitcases – fallen outof the tree, i suppose. funny.’
‘there are still seven men to be accounted for,’ said bill. ‘right. well, now – we’d better set offto these treasure caves. look out, men, in case there’s any ambush. we don’t want to be shot upwithout warning.’
they set off, philip telling bill the way. bill was filled with amazement to see the valley, thetowering mountains, the burnt ruins . . . it seemed so extraordinary to think of the four childrenmarooned here in the middle of such thrilling adventures.
‘can you hear the waterfall now?’ asked philip eagerly, after a time. ‘i can! we’re getting near.’
the men were amazed to hear the noise of the great waterfall, and even more astonished to seeit. they did not say very much, for they were tough men, not easily surprised by anything. butthey stood and stared for some time.
‘now – careful – because we’re getting near to the cave entrance,’ said philip at last. ‘shall i gofirst? i think i’d better.’
